The musical and participatory worship of the Philadelphia Evangelical Church opens a new edition of “Transitions”
The ‘Transitions: Music of the Spirit’ series, organised by the Office for Religious Affairs (OAR) and the Museu de la Música de Barcelona, is back in November as part of the "(Contra)natura"season at L’Auditori. The first session of what is now the third edition of the cycle, “The Music of the Philadelphia Evangelical Church at the Temple de la Mina”, is on 14 and 16 November. The activity consists of an open worship session with the Philadelphia Evangelical Church of La Mina and a conversation to introduce and reflect on their musical and spiritual practices.
The cycle “Transitions: Music of the Spirit” aims to highlight the close ties between spirituality and music and sound shared in all cultures and human periods, through various sessions that include a conversation and a religious or musical display. The cycle is the result of collaboration between the Office for Religious Affairs (OAR) and the Museu de la Música de Barcelona, and this year reaches its third edition, as part of the “(Contra)natura” season at L’Auditori. This new “Transitions” starts with “The Music of the Philadelphia Evangelical Church at the Temple de la Mina”, the first part being a conversation with people from the community on Thursday, 14 November, and concluding with an open worship session by the community of the Philadelphia Evangelical Church at the Temple de la Mina on Saturday, 16 November.
The Philadelphia Evangelical Church has the largest representation of Roma people in the Spanish state and is one of the most important evangelical organisations in the country. Their origins date back to the 50s in France, as explained in the article by the OAR “The Philadelphia Evangelical Church”. In 1957, the pentecostal pastor Clément Le Cossec created the Mission Évangélique Tzigane (Gypsy Evangelical Mission) and the message travelled to Spain through the predication of Roma people returning from France in the 60s. In 1965, the first Philadelphia Evangelical Church was finally founded in Catalonia, in Balaguer, and the denomination gained popularity during theFrancoist repression, when several communities suffering discrimination, including the Roma people, sought opportunities for freer spiritual expression.
The base for the Philadelphia Evangelical Church as a protestant confession are Martin Luther’s reforms from the 16th century, but with some peculiarities relating to the pentecostal condition, which considers the Holy Spirit as a presence manifested in the body and through which miracles occur, and with elements typically coming from Roma culture. Their principle is “only God, only Grace, only the scriptures”, characterised by a rejection of hierarchic and priestly organisation, the belief that christening is required at an age when the individual is aware of what it entails, worship where the only point of reference is the Bible, a prohibition on adoring images and the importance of inner inspiration, leading to a form of worship where only a small part of the sermon is prepared.
The Philadelphia Evangelical Church also has a particularly festive side to it, with the highly musical tradition of Roma culture merging with an emphasis on worship and the adoration of the pentecostal denomination, plus the prominence of protestant song, resulting in spontaneous and participatory practices where music plays an essential role. During worship, which has no set structure, there are performances of so-called ‘lauds’, with different functions. For instance, there are festive lauds inviting people to join in with interjections such as “Praise be to God” and “Hallelujah”, lauds for reflection and communication with God, more unhurried and performed by a soloist and the choir, and lauds for teaching, with doctrinal or moral wording. This is a musical and spiritual tradition which has also profoundly influenced Spanish music in the last few decades.
These churches have not only become spaces for worship and interaction for the Roma community, but also a space for resistance to acculturation processes and discrimination. In Barcelona, the Philadelphia Church of La Mina has become a vital nucleus for these communities residing in the municipality of Sant Adrià de Besòs.
THE MUSIC OF THE EVANGELICAL CHURCH OF PHILDELPHIA AT THE TEMPLE DE LA MINA
Conversation “Roma identity, worship and religion”, with Maria Jerusalén Amador López, Mariví Cortés and Rafael Fajardo. Moderated by: Horacio Curti. Free admission, but places are limited.
- Date: Thursday, 14 November
- Venue: Museu de la Música, Sala Teclats (Lepant, 150)
- Time: 6.30 pm
Worship with the evangelical community of Philadelphia de la Mina, with pastor Nayara de Bethel. Limited capacity. Admission is free, but prior booking is required. REGISTER HERE.
- Date: Saturday, 16 November
- Venue: Església de Filadèlfia del Temple de la Mina (Llevant, 23, 08930 Sant Adrià de Besòs)
- Time: 8 pm