At the Lighting of the Lamps: Hymns of the Ancient Church

In "At the Lighting of the Lamps" John A. McGuckin has assembled and translated hymns from the Early Church from both the Greek and Latin traditions. Starting with hymns from the New Testament, such as "Hymn to the Creative Word" (from John 1), McGuckin breathes new life into these ancient texts by setting them in contemporary English free verse. On each facing page the reader will find the text to the original Greek or Latin. (He even provides a pronunciation guide to Byzantine Greek, for those who would like to read it in the original language.) This is a beautiful collection, one that could used for private prayers, or simply to read these rich ancient texts as poetry. One could even chant them to get a sense of the musical beauty of these words. This volume begins with an introduction in which McGuckin explains the role of hymnody in the Early Church, how he made some of the selections, what sources he used, and his reasoning behind some of the translations. In the end notes at the back of the book one can find additional comments on each individual hymn. The book closes with a list of primary sources and a select bibliography. This little volume (102 pages) is recommended for those who wish to read Early Church poetry and hymnody, for those who are involved in the liturgical life of the Church, for those who wish to enrichen their prayer life, or for those who are simply interested in Church history.