The
lyrics of the Oxyrhynchus hymn were written in
Greek, and poetically invoke silence for the praise of the
Holy Trinity (i.e. cosmic stillness, a motif of
ancient Greek hymnody). Historically, the hymn demonstrates Greek civilizational continuity where erudite Christian Greeks used and accepted the musical notation of their classical Greek predecessors. The music is written in
Greek vocal notation. It is entirely
diatonic, with an
ambitus of exactly an
octave from F to F an octave above, and a
final nominally on G (assuming a
key signature without sharps or flats). The notation is
Hypolydian, and employs the rhythmic symbols
macron (diseme), leimma + macron, stigme, hyphen, and colon. The text is largely set syllabically, with a few short
melismas. The hymn's meter is essentially
anapaestic, though there are some irregularities. The Oxyrhynchus hymn is the only surviving fragment of notated Christian Greek music from the first four hundred years of the Christian period, although historian and musician
Kenneth Levy has argued that the
Sanctus melody best preserved in the Western medieval
Requiem mass dates from around the fourth century. Modern recordings of the hymn have been included on a number of releases of Ancient Greek music. In 2025, the hymn was adapted into a contemporary worship song as part of
The First Hymn, a documentary project led by Australian historian John Dickson, with musicians
Chris Tomlin and
Ben Fielding creating a modern arrangement based on the original text and melody. The arrangement appeared on Tomlin's
The King Is Still the King (2025). ==Text==