In the CELESTIAL CHURCH OF CHRIST, only revealed hymns are sung during services, that is, hymns given by the Holy Spirit. Each one has a date, a place and circumstances. The choir, born in Abidjan in February 1950, is charged with keeping them and handing them on as they were received.
This guide is a starting point. It gives the key dates of the hymns and of the choir, answers the questions choristers and the faithful ask, and each time points to the full teaching. To begin: Abidjan, February 1950: the birth of the celestial choir.
Hymn 239, the first hymn
On Sunday 5 October 1947, in Porto-Novo, the future Prophet prayed in public for the first time. Among the onlookers who had come to see him, a woman who did not belong to the Church was seized by the Holy Spirit. She sang in Goun, for hours, a hymn with a single verse:
Oh! dear brother believers, lift up your heads and give ear to what Jehovah says. Do you know why you are in this great Church? Do you know why you are in this great Church? May Holy Mary come to accompany us, and may all the saints together accompany us.
Then she left, and no one ever saw her again. At once, the Spirit asked the Prophet that, during services, only revealed hymns be sung from then on, until the end of time. The Prophet kept the tune thanks to the little music theory he had learned as a child; Nathaniel A. YANSUNNU then wrote it down, words and music, and translated it into Yoruba and then into French. It is sung in the Prophet's version, untouched. The whole story: Hymn 239, the Church's first hymn; the page for hymn 239.
Key dates
- 5 October 1947: at the first service, a woman in the congregation sings hymn 239, and the Spirit asks that only revealed hymns be sung from then on.
- Late 1947 - early 1948: Nathaniel A. YANSUNNU writes down hymn 239, then each revealed hymn, words and music.
- February 1950: the Church's first choir, in Treichville, a district of Abidjan.
- 1950: hymn 206, sung by a one-year-old baby; her mother comes back to life.
- 1953: the first "adopted hymns", and the beginning of the translations into French.
- 1956: hymn 67, sung by an eight-day-old baby, on Whit Monday.
- February 1959: the choir of the Supreme Headquarters, in Porto-Novo.
- Around 1961: the Prophet sees the choir's garments in a vision.
- 31 October 1964: hymn 291, at the Supreme Headquarters.
- 1965: hymns 204 and 242.
- 1967: the choir warden's tunic.
- March 1980: the Prophet asks for a hymn book for the whole Church.
- 24 December 1984: the Prophet's last meeting with the choirmasters, at Imeko.
- 1996: publication of the Recueil de chants en français, Tome I (Collection of hymns in French, Volume I).
The questions people ask
Can any hymn be sung during a service?
No. Since the first service, in 1947, only revealed hymns are sung there. The only exception, the Prophet's own wish in 1953, is a few "adopted hymns" from a Protestant hymn book, for the faithful who understood neither Goun nor Yoruba.
Were the Glorias revealed?
No. The Glorias, the Te Deums and the Venites are a heritage of the time the Prophet and Nathaniel A. YANSUNNU spent in the Protestant choir of Porto-Novo. The Church kept 52 Glorias. Their story: “Gloria, Te Deum, Venite: the choir's Protestant heritage”.
Can a hymn be changed?
It can be harmonised, that is, voices can be added, but the melody is never changed. There are no solos in the hymns of the services. The Prophet's rules: “Revealed hymns: do not touch the melody”.
Can drums or guitar be played?
Not during the hymns. On Sundays, hymns are sung with the keyboard, or with a trumpet fitted with a mute. Instruments accompany thanksgivings and the great feasts, and the Glorias are sung without drums or guitar.
Why is the same hymn not sung the same way everywhere?
Because each parish translated it in its own way, word for word, instead of following its spiritual meaning. Hymn 291, for example, was long sung with two verses instead of six. Its story: Hymn 291 and Thursday 31 October 1964.
Can recordings of hymns be sold?
No. The revealed hymns belong to the Holy Spirit alone, and the Prophet forbade trading in them.
Can a choir sing in wrapper cloth or concert dress?
No. During its performances, a choir wears only the revealed garment. The details: “The choir's garments: what the Prophet cut with his own hand”.
Words to know
- Revealed hymn: a hymn given by the Holy Spirit, often through the mouth of a visionary.
- Hymn register: the numbered list of the Church's hymns. The very first hymn, given on 5 October 1947, bears the number 239 in it.
- Adopted hymn: a hymn taken from a Protestant hymn book, with the Prophet's agreement, from 1953 onwards.
- Melody: the main tune, the one sung by the soprano voice. It is not touched.
- Harmonise: to add voices to the melody, according to one's level in music.
- Camail: the choristers' short blue and yellow cape, "the Church's greatest garment of battle".
- Choirmaster: the one who leads the choir and teaches it the hymns.
- Choir warden: the one who keeps discipline.
- Choir president: originally, the person who funded the harvest festival.
The hymn books
- Recueil de chants en français, Tome II: the Church's hymns in French, faithful to the revealed words and music;
- Histoire des chants: where each hymn comes from, and how the Church's chorus and choir were born.
