Above:  St. Bartholomew, by El Greco

Image in the Public Domain

Text by John Athelstan Laurie Riley (1858-1906)

Hymn Source = The English Hymnal (1906)

A Hymn for the Feast of St. Bartholomew  (That, at least, is how The English Hymnal of 1906 classifies the text.)

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Saints of God!  Lo, Jesu’s people

Age to age your glory tell;

In his name for us ye labored,

Now in bliss eternal dwell.

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Twelve poor men, by Christ anointed,

Braved the rich, the wise, the great,

All the world counts dear rejecting,

Rapt in their apostolate.

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Thus the earth their death-wounds purchased,

Hallowed by the blood therefrom,

On her bosom bore the nations,

Laved, illumined,–Christendom.

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On this feast, almighty Father,

May we praise thee with the Son,

Evermore his love confessing,

Who from Both with Both is One.

Above:  The Crucifixion of Jesus

Image in the Public Domain

Anonymous Latin Text, 13th-15th Centuries

English Translation by John Athelstan Laurie Riley (1858-1945)

Hymn Source = The English Hymnal (1906), The Church of England

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Dost thou truly seek renown

Christ his glory sharing?

Wouldst thou win the heavenly crown

Victor’s meed declaring?

Tread the path the Saviour trod,

Look upon the crown of God,

See what he is wearing.

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This the King of heaven bore

In that sore contending;

This his sacred temples wore,

Honour to it lending;

In this helm he faced the foe,

On the Rood he laid him low,

Satan’s kingdom ending.

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Christ upon the Tree of Scorn,

In salvation’s hour,

Turned to gold these pricks of thorn

By his Passion’s power;

So on sinners, who had earned

Endless death, from sin returned,

Endless blessings shower.

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When in death’s embrace we lie,

Then, good Lord, be near us;

With thy presence fortify,

And with victory cheer us;

Turn our erring hearts to thee,

That we crowned for ay may be:

O good Jesu, hear us!

Above:  The Massacre of the Innocents, by Tintoretto

Image in the Public Domain

Original Text by Marcus Aurelius Clemens Prudentius (348-circa 413)

English Translation by John Athelstan Laurie Riley (1858-1945)

Hymn Source = The English Hymnal (1906), The Church of England

A hymn for the Feast of the Holy Innocents

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All hail, ye little Martyr flowers,

Sweet rosebuds cut in dawning hours!

When Herod sought the Christ to find

Ye fell as bloom before the wind.

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First victims of the Martyr bands,

With crowns and palms in tender hands,

Around the very altar, gay

And innocent, ye seem to play.

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What profited this great offence?

What use was Herod’s violence?

A Babe survives that dreadful day,

And Christ is safely borne away.

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All honour, laud, and glory be,

O Jesu, virgin-born, to thee;

All glory, as it is ever meet

To Father and to Paraclete.

Above:  St. Paul’s Cathedral and Blackfriars Bridge, London, England, United Kingdom, 1880s

Image Creator = G. W. Wilson and Company

Image Source = Library of Congress

Reproduction Number = LC-DIG-ppmsca-06814

John Athelstan Laurie Riley (1858-1945) was an accomplished man.  He, a High Church Anglican, wrote hymns, translated hymns, served on the committee for The English Hymnal (1906), promoted the study of liturgy, and encouraged ecumenical relations with Eastern Orthodox churches.

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All Hail, Ye Little Martyr Flowers:

https://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2016/09/22/all-hail-ye-little-martyr-flowers/

Dost Thou Truly Seek Renown:

https://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2016/09/22/dost-thou-truly-seek-renown/

O Food of Men Wayfaring:

https://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2015/02/11/o-food-of-men-wayfaring/

Saints of God!  Lo, Jesu’s People:

https://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2016/09/22/saints-of-god-lo-jesus-people/

What Sweet of Life Endureth:

https://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2016/09/21/what-sweet-of-life-endureth/

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Above:  St. John of Damascus

Image in the Public Domain

St. John of Damascus (675 or 676-749 or 754 or 780) was an influential theologian, monk, priest, orator, poet, hymn writer.  Some of his texts, in English translations, have enriched English-language hymnody, especially in Anglican traditions, since the 1800s.

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Come, Ye Faithful, Raise the Strain:

https://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2016/09/21/come-ye-faithful-raise-the-strain/

Thou Hallowed Chosen Morn of Praise:

https://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2016/09/21/thou-hallowed-chosen-morn-of-praise/

What Sweet of Life Endureth:

https://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2016/09/21/what-sweet-of-life-endureth/

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Above:  The Entombment of Christ

Image in the Public Domain

Original Greek Text (700s) by St. John of Damascus

English Translation John Athelstan Laurie Riley (1858-1945)

Hymn Source = The English Hymnal (1906), The Church of England

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What sweet of life endureth

Unmixed with Bitter Pain?

‘Midst earthly change and chances

What glory doth remain?

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All is a feeble shadow,

A dream that will not stay;

Death cometh in a moment,

And taketh all away.

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O Christ, a light transcendent

Shines in thy countenance,

And none can tell the sweetness,

The beauty of thy glance.

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In this may thy poor servant

His joy eternal find;

Thou calledst him, O rest him,

Thou Lover of mankind!

Above:  Icon of the Resurrection

Image in the Public Domain

Original Greek Text (700s) by St. John of Damascus

English Translation from Hymns of the Eastern Church (1862), by John Mason Neale (1818-1866)

Hymn Source = The English Hymnal (1906), The Church of England

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Thou hallowed chosen morn of praise,

That best and greatest shinest:

Lady and queen and day of days,

Of things divine, divinest!

On thee our praises Christ adore

For ever and for evermore.

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Come, let us taste the Vine’s new fruit,

For heavenly joy preparing;

To-day the branches with the Root

In Resurrection sharing:

Whom as true God our hymns adore

For ever and for evermore.

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Rise, Sion, rise! and looking forth,

Behold thy children round thee!

From east and west, from south and north,

Thy scattered sons have found thee;

And in thy bosom Christ adore

For ever and for evermore.

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O Father, O co-equal Son,

O co-eternal Spirit,

In persons Three, in substance One,

And One in power and merit;

In thee baptized, we thee adore

For ever and for evermore.

Above:  Icon of the Resurrection

Image in the Public Domain

Original Greek Text (700s) by St. John of Damascus

English Translation from Christian Remembrances (1859), by John Mason Neale (1818-1866)

Hymn Source = The English Hymnal (1906), The Church of England

The reference to Christian Remembrances comes from William Gustave Polack, The Handbook to the Lutheran Hymnal, Second Edition (1942).

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Come, ye faithful raise the strain

Of triumphant gladness;

God hath brought his Israel

Into joy from sadness;

Loosed from Pharaoh’s bitter yoke

Jacob’s sons and daughters;

Led them with unmoistened foot

Through the Red Sea waters.

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‘Tis the Spring of souls to-day;

Christ hath burst his prison,

And from three days’ sleep in death

As a Sun hath risen;

All the winter of our sins

Long and dark, is flying

From his Light, to whom we give

Laud and praise undying.

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Now the Queen of seasons, bright

With the Day of splendour,

With the royal Feast of feasts,

Comes its joy to render;

Comes to glad Jerusalem

Who with true affection

Welcomes in unwearied strains

Jesu’s Resurrection.

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Neither might the gates of death,

Nor the tomb’s dark portal,

Nor the watchers, nor the seal,

Hold thee as a mortal;

But to-day amidst the twelve

Thou didst stand, bestowing

That thy peace which evermore

Passeth human knowing.