The First Hymn Project

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Dr. John Trotter conducts members of the Concert Choir and Symphony Orchestra in a debut performance of the original First Hymn and the Tomlin-Fielding rendition.

In Egypt in 1897, two Oxford scholars uncovered the oldest known Christian hymn containing lyrics and musical notation among a vast collection of ancient manuscripts now known as the Oxyrhynchus Papyri. Ever since, the fragile fragment has been contained within Oxford walls.

Rev. Dr. John Dickson didn’t want it to stay that way. Currently Wheaton’s Jean Kvamme Distinguished Professor of Biblical Studies and Public Christianity, Dickson is an Australian scholar, author, documentarian, and former singer-songwriter. He is also the founder and director of Undeceptions, an organization that seeks to promote truth and deep Christian thought. While studying the papyrus fragment of the ancient Greek hymn at Oxford in 2016, he thought: What if we bring the hymn back to life?

Several years later, Dickson met with producers and directors to begin the process of sharing the story of the hymn through film. The documentary would highlight the initial discovery in Egypt, discuss how the fragment has been preserved in Oxford, and unpack ancient Greek music to better demonstrate the significance of the hymn, which was composed in a popular music style for Greek-speaking Romans in third-century Egypt.

When award-winning musicians Chris Tomlin and Ben Fielding agreed to write a modern rendition of the hymn, Dickson’s dream began to be realized. The film transformed from simply uncovering the original hymn’s story to also featuring the challenging yet rewarding process of “resurrecting the song for a new generation,” as Dickson describes. The documentary concludes with footage from Tomlin and Fielding’s debut performance of the new hymn in front of a 10,000- person crowd in Nashville. Filming for The First Hymn Project also took place in Egypt, Oxford, Australia, and Wheaton.

Many Wheaton College collaborations went into the project. Dean of the Wheaton College Conservatory of Music Dr. Michael Wilder was a key music scholar interviewed in the film. Under the direction of Dr. John Trotter, Conductor and Professor of Music, the student Concert Choir performed arrangements (by Dr. Tony Payne, Associate Professor of Music Emeritus) of both the original hymn and the Tomlin-Fielding rendition. They were accompanied by members of the Wheaton College Symphony Orchestra. On April 8, during a pre-screening of The First Hymn Project, the ensembles performed each arrangement live in the Armerding Concert Hall on campus.

“I constantly find myself thinking about the original churches that sang this,” said Dickson. “It brings me to tears thinking about how I wish those suffering Christians in the mid-200s could see their efforts are still bringing glory to God.”