Council of Laodicea Reversed

This will be a short blog.

The history of the Church can teach us by example; sometimes positively (good to repeat) and sometimes negatively (good to repeal and not do that again).

In 363, after the church Council of Nicea in 325 AD/CE, which dealt with crippling heresies and helped define ‘what Christians believe’ in a Creed, there was a little-know church Council held in the neighboring city of Laodicea. It was also small in attendance, consisting of 30-some local leaders from the regions of Phygia, now known as modern-day Turkey.

These 30 leaders had an axe to grind; they really hated congregational singing. They claimed it was un-tamed and un-dignified, drowning out the ‘proper’ music of the Church during gatherings.

This, of course, was in the wake of Roman Emperor Constantine’s declaration in 312 AD/CE that Christianity would be the official Roman religion.

It should also be noted that the Laodiceans had been prophetically called out for their spiritual difficulties, and that Jesus may have not felt completely welcome in what they were doing at the time John wrote Revelations (96 AD/CE- see Revelations Chapter 3:14-22).

So, at this little local Church Council of 363-364 AD/CE, the leaders present banned congregational singing.

They said only the designated trained worship band could sing, and that the music would be a pre-determined format that ‘properly glorified God’ (Gregorian Chant).

And so, no congregational singing from 364 until 1517 AD/CE… over 1,100 years… when Martin Luther, in the Protestant revolution strongly said, “Let the people sing unto God!”

TAKE-AWAY

There is a new question circulating around Worship Leader circles… are we re-instituting the Council of Laodicea’s edict by installing large, sweep-over-the-congregation in walls of PA sound, drowning them out in favor of the ‘professionals’ who are on stage?

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This kind-of launches a new series of blogs, ‘Sing a New Song’, which will look at

   <>what IS music and song, especially as taught in the Scriptures?

   <>what is the Song of Heaven, and what does it mean for us today?

   <>what IS ‘a New Song’, and how is that supposed to operate in our lives?

   <>why is there literally thousands of references, stories and commands regarding music, melody, singing, songs and instruments in the Scriptures?

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By the way, I officially declare the Edict of Laodicea regarding congregational singing NULL AND VOID.

written by crisbaj

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