Faith of Our Fathers

Representative Text

1 *Faith of the martyrs, living still
in spite of dungeon, fire, and sword;
oh, how our hearts beat high with joy
whene’er we hear that glorious word!

Refrain:
Faith of the martyrs, holy faith,
we will be true to thee till death.

2 The martyrs chained in prison cells
were still in heart and conscience free,
and bless’d would be their children’s fate
if they, like them, should die for thee! [Refrain]

3 Faith of the martyrs, we will love
both friend and foe in all our strife,
and preach thee, too, as love knows how,
by saving word and faithful life! [Refrain]

*Alternate phrases: “Faith of our fathers” or “Faith of our mothers”

Source: Voices Together #575

Author: Frederick William Faber

Raised in the Church of England, Frederick W. Faber (b. Calverly, Yorkshire, England, 1814; d. Kensington, London, England, 1863) came from a Huguenot and strict Calvinistic family background. He was educated at Balliol College, Oxford, and ordained in the Church of England in 1839. Influenced by the teaching of John Henry Newman, Faber followed Newman into the Roman Catholic Church in 1845 and served under Newman's supervision in the Oratory of St. Philip Neri. Because he believed that Roman Catholics should sing hymns like those written by John Newton, Charles Wesley, and William Cowpe, Faber wrote 150 hymns himself. One of his best known, "Faith of Our Fathers," originally had these words in its third stanza: "Faith of Our Fathers! Mary'… Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: Faith of our fathers, living still
Title: Faith of Our Fathers
Author: Frederick William Faber (1849)
Meter: 8.8.8.8.8.8
Language: English
Notes: Spanish translation: See "Omnipotente Padre Dios; Swahili translation: See "Neno la mungu takata"
Copyright: Public Domain

Notes

Faith of our fathers! living still. F. W. Faber. [A Pledge of Faithfulness.] This hymn appeared as the first of two hymns, one “Faith of our Fathers," for England; and the second the same for Ireland, in his Jesus and Mary; or, Catholic Hymns for Singing and Reading, 1849, in 4 stanzas of 6 lines. It was repeated in his Oratory Hymns, and several Roman Catholic collections for missions and schools. Its use illustrates most forcibly how in hymnody, as in other things, "extremes meet." In the original stanza iii., lines 1, 2, read:—

"Faith of our Fathers! Mary's prayers
Shall win our country back to thee."

In 1853 Drs. Hedge & Huntington altered these lines to:—

"Faith of our Fathers! Good men's prayers
Shall win our country all to thee."

for their Unitarian Hymns for the Church of Christ, No. 455. With this alteration it has passed into several Nonconformist collections in Great Britain and America. With the alteration of these few words the hymn is regularly sung by Unitarians on the one hand, and by Roman Catholics on the other, as a metrical embodiment of their history and aspirations.

--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Timeline

Media

You have access to this FlexScore.
Download:
Are parts of this score outside of your desired range? Try transposing this FlexScore.
General Settings
Stanza Selection
Voice Selection
Text size:
Music size:
Transpose (Half Steps):
Capo:
Contacting server...
Contacting server...
Questions? Check out the FAQ

A separate copy of this score must be purchased for each choir member. If this score will be projected or included in a bulletin, usage must be reported to a licensing agent (e.g. CCLI, OneLicense, etc).

This is a preview of your FlexScore.
Baptist Hymnal 1991 #352
  • Bulletin Score (PDF)
  • Full Score (PDF)
  • Bulletin Score (melody only) (PDF)
The Cyber Hymnal #1416
  • Adobe Acrobat image (PDF)
  • Noteworthy Composer score (NWC)
  • XML score (XML)
Small Church Music #6617
  • PDF Score (PDF)
Timeless Truths #315
  • Faith_of_Our_Fathers.pdf (PDF)
The United Methodist Hymnal #710
  • Full Score (PDF)
  • Bulletin Score (melody only) (PDF)
  • Bulletin Score (PDF)
Worship and Rejoice #530

Instances

Instances (1 - 67 of 67)
TextPage Scan

African American Heritage Hymnal #409

TextPage Scan

African Methodist Episcopal Church Hymnal #429

Ambassador Hymnal #142

TextAudioPage Scan

Baptist Hymnal 1991 #352

TextFlexScoreAudioPage Scan

Baptist Hymnal 2008 #594

Text

Breaking Bread (Vol. 39) #496

TextPage Scan

Catholic Book of Worship III #446

Catholic Book of Worship III #447

TextPage Scan

Celebrating Grace Hymnal #645

TextPage Scan

Chalice Hymnal #635

Church Gospel Songs and Hymns #43

Church Hymnal, Mennonite #458

TextPage Scan

CPWI Hymnal #412

TextAudioPage Scan

Evangelical Lutheran Worship #812

Text

Evangelical Lutheran Worship #813

Gather (3rd ed.) #677

TextPage Scan

Gather Comprehensive #600

Gather Comprehensive, Second Edition #579

TextPage Scan

Glory and Praise (3rd. ed.) #593

Great Songs of the Church (Revised) #494

Hymnal #413

TextPage Scan

Hymns for a Pilgrim People #505

TextPage Scan

Hymns of Faith #550

Hymns of the Christian Life #370

TextPage Scan

Hymns of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints #84

Hymns of the Saints #433

TextPage Scan

Journeysongs (2nd ed.) #698

TextPage Scan

Journeysongs (3rd ed.) #667

Lead Me, Guide Me (2nd ed.) #552

One in Faith #733

Oramos Cantando = We Pray In Song #564

Praise for the Lord (Expanded Edition) #136

Praise y Adoración #185a

Page Scan

Praise! Our Songs and Hymns #133

Rejoice Hymns #379

RitualSong (2nd ed.) #787

RitualSong #726

Sacred Selections for the Church #222

TextPage Scan

Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal #304

TextPage Scan

Sing Joyfully #118

Audio

Small Church Music #69

Audio

Small Church Music #6617

Page Scan

Soul-stirring Songs and Hymns (Rev. ed.) #407

TextPage Scan

The A.M.E. Zion Hymnal #529

TextPage Scan

The Celebration Hymnal #404

The Christian Life Hymnal #322

Page Scan

The Covenant Hymnal #584

TextScoreAudio

The Cyber Hymnal #1416

The Dulcimer Hymn Book #49

The Family Hymnal #13

TextPage Scan

The Hymnal 1982 #558

Text

The Hymnal for Worship and Celebration #279

The New Century Hymnal #381

TextPage Scan

The New National Baptist Hymnal (21st Century Edition) #282

TextFlexScoreAudioPage Scan

The United Methodist Hymnal #710

TextFlexScoreAudioPage Scan

The Worshiping Church #692

TextAudio

Timeless Truths #315

TextPage Scan

Total Praise #412

TextFlexScoreAudioPage Scan

Trinity Hymnal (Rev. ed.) #570

TextPage Scan

Voices Together #575

Voices United #580

Text

Worship (3rd ed.) #571

Worship (4th ed.) #676

TextScoreFlexScoreAudioPage Scan

Worship and Rejoice #530

TextPage Scan

Worship and Service Hymnal #169

Worship His Majesty #330

TextPage Scan

Yes, Lord! #27

Include 753 pre-1979 instances
Suggestions or corrections? Contact us