Liturgical Psalm-singing in the Early Church and the Protestant Reformation : From the Perspective of Full, Active, and Conscious Participation in Liturgy

Abstract

Amidst of liturgical music, psalm-singing or psalmody has a long tradition, not to mention synagogue service at the time of Jesus. This paper explores how the liturgical psalm-singing has been played in worship, thereby interacting with people’s real lives. With theological reflection on music and worship in the early church, this paper examines the appearance of psalmody in the church, observing how the church played it and how the way of singing psalms has been transmitted in the Protestant tradition, from the perspective of full, active, and conscious participation in liturgy. In conclusion, therefore, the issue from the early church is revisited: how we make liturgical music sacred― neither secular nor profane, hence achieving “full, active, and conscious participation in liturgy.”