The first hinário work
By 1935, Mestre Irineu had begun holding works on a more regular basis — Wednesdays generally given to healing, Saturdays to fellowship — and it was in this period that he began to organize the singing of full hinários. The first such work took place on June 23, 1935, the eve of St. John's feast day, on the veranda of the home of Maria Damião and Damião Marques, who offered their house for the occasion because Mestre Irineu's own home was too small.
By Percília Ribeiro's later account, only nine hymns existed at the time — five of Mestre Irineu's own (Lua Branca, Tuperci, Ripi, Formosa, and A Refeição), two of Germano Guilherme's, and two of João Pereira's — and each was repeated three times to fill the night. The work was held seated rather than danced, since there were too few hymns and too few people present for a Bailado, continuing through an intermission and on until dawn.
From that night to today
The tradition marks this gathering as the beginning of hinário works sung by the full community together, rather than the individually delivered "chamados" that had characterized earlier vegetalista practice, and as a step toward the more Christian character the doctrine's later hymns would take on. As more members began to receive their own hymns in the years that followed, Mestre Irineu found it necessary to review new hymns himself before they entered the repertoire, a task he later passed to Percília Ribeiro.
St. John's feast remains one of the major dates on the Santo Daime calendar, marked each year with a full festejo in the communities that observe it.