1829年，孟德爾頌於萊比錫指揮新發現的巴赫《馬太受難曲》演出，是音樂史上的大事，並對他日後的創作有很大的影響。1832年，孟德爾頌受邀寫作神劇，於1836年完成他的第一部神劇《保羅》，並於同年於杜塞爾多夫的下萊茵音樂節首演。此部神劇除了與《馬太受難曲》樂曲結構相似之外，其中的「聖詠曲」更是傳承巴赫的精髓，且有更精緻的作法。孟德爾頌曾特別陳述在他的神劇中一定要加入聖詠曲，此番用心讓神劇《保羅》中的五首聖詠曲均帶著孟德爾頌精心的設計。本文即嘗試探索神劇《保羅》中聖詠曲的運用手法以及其所欲闡述之宗教意涵，以了解聖詠曲在此部神劇中所具有的功能與意義。

In 1829, Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy conducted St Matthew Passion in Leipzig, a performance which led to the revival of Bach’s masterpiece and the rediscovery of his genius. The event is not only a landmark in music history, but it has significant imprint on the creation of the romantic composer himself. In 1832, Mendelssohn was commissioned to write an oratorio and spent four years on the work. Paulus, his first oratorio, was completed in 1836 and premiered at Lower Rhine Music Festival in Düsseldorf. In addition to the similarity in music structure, Paulus and St Matthew Passion both highlighted the use of chorale, a feature which Mendelssohn appropriated from his predecessor but further refined it in his own work. Mendelssohn once made statement about the necessity of using chorales in this oratorio. Consequently, all five chorales in Paulus have been meticulously composed and arranged by the composer. This article focuses on the use of chorale in Paulus and illustrates its religious meanings in order to investigate the function and significance of the five chorales in this work.