Chris Tomlin and Ben Fielding recast 4th century hymn

AN ANCIENT hymn, written in the 4th century, has become the source for "The First Hymn", a new single by two modern worship singer/songwriters, Chris Tomlin and Hillsong's Ben Fielding. A documentary, The First Hymn, telling the story of how archaeologists working in the Egyptian desert in 1918 discovered a manuscript known as P. Oxy XV1786, known to be the only surviving fragment of Christian Greek music from the first 400 years of the Church, has been produced. The 86-minute documentary fronted by Australian pastor and church historian John Dickson tells the history of the hymn and how fielding and Tomlin became involved.

Premier Christianity wrote, "On one level, this might sound like a geeky exercise. But the strength of the documentary is found in its presenter, whose enthusiasm for his subject is infectious." The First Hymn is available to stream on the Wonder platform (wonder.watch) before being released to Amazon, Apple and Google Play in September.