Tuesday, March 25
Can I Get an "Amen"?
Zadok discovers the church authorities in ancient Alexandria were not above using claques to guarantee good results for their sermons:
It was a longstanding custom for the congregation to applaud in church, or to shout out signs of their disapproval, when bishops preached to them. There are several indications in the fifth century patristic homilies of the bishops strugling for control over their audience. In the Alexandrian cathedral one of Cyril's avid followers, the lay professor Hierax, had the function of leading the applause during Cyril's sermons. Hierax was a well-known figure, a prominent Christian and a highly visible member of Cyril's entourage. ~pp. 10-11, St. Cyril of Alexandria and the Christological Controversy, John McGuckin
![[SMMMHDH]](http://www.mgilleland.com/music/smmmhdh.png){kind=small}
