There was, however, a certain reserve as to their general introduction into the services of the Church. Antioch indeed adopted this form of praise so early as 269, but even in the fourth and fifth centuries the more conservative monastics had scruples as to the use of anything save the Psalms. The Council of Braga in Spain, which met in 561, actually forbade the use of hymns. They seem, indeed, to have made their reputation out of doors among the people, and thus gradually to have established their right to a place within the Church. Hymns have in all ages been a favourite means of propaganda. The early heretics were quick to perceive their efficacy as a vehicle for spreading their own opinions. The Church was not slow to learn the same lesson. The Gnostic hymns of his day led Ephrem the Syrian to adopt similar metres and rhythms. His metrical homilies, sung in the religious services, were longer than hymns and more distinctly didactic in character, but they rendered great service to the churches of Syria. The Arians of Alexandria and Constantinople taught their songs to millers, sailors, and merchants. Athanasius and Chrysostom thus learned what an important part hymns might play in the service of orthodoxy, and used the weapon with great success.
Greek hymnology reached its most splendid development at the close of the eighth century. St. Andrew of Crete, whose Great Canon, 2,500 strophes in length, is sung entire on Thursday in Mid-Lent 'cum labore multo et pulmonum fatigatione', is one of the chief hymnists of the time. The strophes of his canon 'have not the point of those of John of Damascus, and make no use of refrains. The aim of it is penitential; a spirit of true penitence breathes through it, it has many beautiful passages, and is rich in allusions to the personages of the Bible, either as warnings or examples to the penitent, but its excellences are marred by repetition and prolixity'. The Laura of St. Sabas, between Jerusalem and Bethlehem, became the centre of a school of hymn-writers, of whom Cosmas and John of Damascus hold foremost rank among the Greek ecclesiastical poets. The Canon on the Ascension, by John of Damascus, is full of triumph, and gladness, and dramatic realization. His Easter Canon is the grandest effort of sacred poetry in the Greek Church. A spirit of rapt contemplation is the chief characteristic of Eastern hymnody. Where an English hymn opens up the human blessings, and seeks to bring home the great truths of religion to heart and conscience, the Greek
