What Music Has Orthodoxy Brought Us?

Besides church chant, Bortniansky, Grechaninov, and the Znamenny chant, what music has Orthodox Christianity given us? I thought about it and realized that there is essentially one style that feels truly Orthodox—reggae. Indeed, Rastafarianism is an Orthodox-apocalyptic sect. Yes, it is heretical and marginal. But here, the question of dogma in music is not important; what matters is style and vibe. And the vibe and style of Rastafari is Orthodox.

Rastafarianism was influenced by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church; they value the heritage of the Old Testament, just like Orthodox Christians. Priests of the Nyabinghi order wear Orthodox-style clerical vestments. Their teaching is not only about personal salvation from hell but about salvation as liberation—not just of oneself but of all creation.

They also have a clear understanding of a world lying in evil—Babylon—and the divine reality—Zion. They intuitively grasped divine energies, although they recognized them only in the “vibration of the roots,” expressed through music. Of course, like any sect, they have many restrictions and mistakes. But all the more valuable are their spiritual achievements. I have never experienced reggae in any other way than as a religious, worshipful form. In every sense, it is truly cultic music.