Faith of our fathers, living still

Faith of our fathers, living still

Author (refrain): James G. Walton; Author (st. 3): Anonymous; Author (sts. 1-2): Frederick William Faber (1849)
Tune: ST. CATHERINE (Hemy)
Published in 687 hymnals

Printable scores: PDF, Sibelius
Audio files: MIDI

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The Fruit of the Spirit

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ST. CATHERINE

Choral

God of the Ages

Full Text

1 Faith of our fathers, 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 our fathers, holy faith!
We will be true to thee till death.

2 Faith of our fathers, we will strive
To win all nations unto thee;
And through the truth that comes from God,
We all shall then be truly free. [Refrain]

3 Faith of our fathers, we will love
Both friend and foe in all our strife;
And preach thee, too, as love knows how
By kindly words and virtuous life. [Refrain]

Timeless Truths

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Author (refrain): James G. Walton

(no biographical information available about James G. Walton.) Go to person page >

Author (st. 3): Anonymous

In some hymnals, the editors noted that a hymn's author is unknown to them, and so this artificial "person" entry is used to reflect that fact. Obviously, the hymns attributed to "Author Unknown" "Unknown" or "Anonymous" could have been written by many people over a span of many centuries. Go to person page >

Author (sts. 1-2): Frederick William Faber

Faber, Frederick William, D.D., son of Mr. T. H. Faber, was born at Calverley Vicarage, Yorkshire, June 28, 1814, and educated at Balliol College, Oxford, graduating B.A. in 1836. He was for some time a Fellow of University College, in the same University. Taking Holy Orders in 1837, he became Rector of Elton, Huntingdonshire, in 1843, but in 1846 he seceded to the Church of Rome. After residing for some time at St. Wilfrid's, Staffordshire, he went to London in 1849, and established the London "Oratorians," or, "Priests of the Congregation of St. Philip Neri," in King William Street, Strand. In 1854 the Oratory was removed to Brompton. Dr. Faber died Sept. 26, 1863. Before his secession he published several prose works, some of which were… Go to person page >

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Text Information

Related Texts

First Line: Faith of our fathers, living still
Author (sts. 1-2): Frederick William Faber (1849)
Author (refrain): James G. Walton
Author (st. 3): Anonymous
Meter: 8.8.8.8.8.8
Language: English
Refrain First Line: Faith of our fathers, holy faith
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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)

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Timeline

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Media

Baptist Hymnal 1991 #352
Timeless Truths #315
  • Faith_of_Our_Fathers.pdf (PDF)
  • Faith_of_Our_Fathers.sib (SIB, Scorch)
The United Methodist Hymnal #710
Worship and Rejoice #530
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Instances

Instances (22)TextImageAudioScore
African American Heritage Hymnal #409TextImage
Baptist Hymnal 1991 #352TextImageAudioScore
Baptist Hymnal 2008 #594TextImage
Celebrating Grace Hymnal #645Image
Celebration Hymnal #404Image
Chalice Hymnal #635Text
Evangelical Lutheran Worship #812Image
Evangelical Lutheran Worship #813Image
Gather Comprehensive #600Text
Gather Comprehensive, Second Edition #579
Hymnal 1982: according to the use of the Episcopal Church #558TextImage
Hymns of Faith #550TextImage
Revival Hymns and Choruses #432
Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal #304
Sing Joyfully #118TextImage
The Hymnal for Worship and Celebration #279
The New Century Hymnal #381Image
The United Methodist Hymnal #710TextImageAudioScore
The Worshiping Church #692TextImage
Trinity Hymnal #570Text
Voices United: The Hymn and Worship Book of The United Church of Canada #580Text
Worship and Rejoice #530TextImageAudioScore
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