A Question about Musical Instruments in Worship

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This 4 lecture series explaining St. Paul’s Letter to the Philippians is now available at http://www.patristicnectar.org

“The present life is a wrestling school, a gymnasium, a battle, a smelting furnace, and a dyer’s house of virtue” – St John Chrysostom

Friday, March 27th, 2015

Friday of the 5th Week of Great Lent

Dear Ones

Blessings. 

A Question about Instruments in Worship

“Hello Father,
My brother-in-law was inquiring about Holy Orthodoxy…We talked about…instruments. They are currently attending a non-denominational church. He has a protestant background and texted Psalms 149 to me today and stated, “It’s ok for us to worship God with instruments and our voices.” I’m not sure how to respond…”


My Response: “In his commentary on Ps. 149 St. John Chrysostom says this:

“The new testament is a new song…in ancient times they were led by these instruments owing to the dullness of their thinking and their recent conversion from idols.”

The use of instruments in worship was essential in the OT, as was the slaughter of animals, a single central-altar in Jerusalem, and priests of Levi by bloodline.

Much has changed in the New Covenant, obviously.

We don’t look at instruments as bad, anymore than we do at any of the OT ways of worship. They are not bad, just outmoded.

Church History shows that in East and West in the first 5 centuries of worship all was without instruments, and the reason was because theology has become much more deep and rich. Look at the Creed of Israel – Dt. 6:4 The Lord our God is one.That’s it.

Now we have the highest intricacies to articulate- the Incarnation of the Son of God, the Cross, the Resurrection, Ascension, Pentecost, etc. These are deep mysteries.

When you use musical instruments you replace words with inarticulate musical tones and so your content is much thinner theologically. Take any Prot. Hymn that take 3-4 minutes to sing and compare its content with Orthodox hymnology over the same 3-4 minutes- there is absolutely no comparison.

The Fathers also say that musical instruments deeply effect the emotive state, and that is also something unique about New Covenant worship. Our worship is less sensuous and more noetic because of our non-use of instruments. The human voice is now our supreme instrument.

Saying all that- I would not try to talk about this much. It can be answered by him simply visiting one Orthodox Liturgy. The Divine Service will speak for itself.”

His Eminence, Metropolitan Joseph, Issues Letter Urging Bishops, Priests and Laypeople to Attend National March for Marriage

For complete text of Met. Joseph’s letter go to http://www.crownthem.org   or http://www.antiochian.org
Bravo Sayidna!


This will be the Third Annual March for Marriage.



At the first March for Marriage 2013 with Pastor Jim Garlow of Skyline Church in San Diego



At the first March for Marriage with our Fr. Daniel Meyer and his close seminary brother, Father Thaddaeus

Complete Akathist Tonight at 7pm










Icon of the Mother of God of the Akathist
with miniatures depicting each verse of the Akathist Hymn.

California Senate Health Committee Just Passes Assisted Suicide Bill SB 128

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1wQuWuqq34

Can you imagine? We celebrate the Annunciation and the beginning of new life while our state politicians promote death!

World Congress of Families Releases Its Agenda for WCF IX in the USA

http://wcf9.org/agenda/

WHAT IS THE WORLD CONGRESS OF FAMILIES?
The largest gathering of pro-family advocates in the world—and for the first time in history, the global gathering will come to the United States this fall.

Australia Maintains Integrity of Marriage

Australia’s Liberal Party (liberal in the 19th. century sense of the word), the nation’s ruling party, is maintaining its solid support of natural marriage (one man and one woman). Despite rumors that the government of Prime Minister Tony Abbott would weaken its opposition to the deconstruction of marriage at a meeting of Liberal MPs on March 24, such a measure was never discussed.

Lyle Shelton of the Australian Christian Lobby reports that Liberal members of parliament received over 20,000 e-mails, which ran 5 to 1 against a redefinition of marriage. Australia is one of the few Western nations to hold the line for natural marriage.. For more information on the battle in Australia, contact the Australian Christian Lobby mailto:natoffice@acl.org.au

Service Schedule

Friday 7pm Full Akathist to the Theotokos

Saturday 730am Orthros, 8am Liturgy for the Akathist, 4pm Catechism, 530pm Great Vespers

Forgive me.

Father Josiah