HYMN FOR HOLY TRINITY SUNDAY Holy, Holy, Holy. Council of Nicaea
- Gracia Grindal
- Jun 9
- 4 min read
Updated: 5 days ago
Text: Reginald Heber (1783-1826) Tune: John Bacchus Dykes (1823-1876)
1.Holy, holy, holy!
Lord God Almighty!
Early in the morning
Our song shall rise to Thee;
Holy, holy, holy!
Merciful and mighty!
God in Three Persons,
Blessed Trinity!
2. Holy, holy, holy!
All the saints adore thee!
Casting down their golden crowns
Around the glassy sea;
Cherubim and seraphim
Falling down before thee.
Which wert, and art, and
Evermore shall be!
3. Holy, Holy, Holy!
Though the darkness hide thee!
Though the eye of sinful man
Thy glory may not see;
Only thou art holy;
There is none beside Thee,
Perfect in power,
In love and purity.
4. Holy, holy, holy!
Lord God Almighty!
All thy works shall praise thy name
In earth and sky and sea.
Holy, holy, holy!
Merciful and mighty!
God in Three Persons,
Blessed Trinity!
REFLECTION
The subject of this hymn, the Holy Trinity, and the tune called Nicaea, are perfect for this month which is the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea. The new pope, Leo XIV, has planned to attend festivities marking the anniversary.
What happened then? The Emperor Constantine, who had some years before made Christianity the religion of the empire, called church leaders together in the town of Nicaea, now Iznik, Turkey. It began on May 20, 325 and concluded at the end of July. It was the Council of Nicaea, called by the Emperor to settle the issue of the Trinity. The question was concerning the nature of Christ and his relation to the Father. Was he coequal or was he beneath the rank of the Father? Arius, a presbyter from Cyrene, argued that Jesus was not coeternal with the Father, but created by the Father.
Some 250-300 bishops and church dignitaries attended, accompanied by their priests and deacons, making the number according to some up to 2000 dignitaries. At the beginning Constantine appeared in full dazzling regalia and addressed the group in Latin, rather than the Greek many of the eastern dignitaries spoke. He,, however, participated in the conclave in Greek, listened to the debate, and deferred to the decision which resulted in the Nicene Creed. One can hear in the Creed what was at issue in the care it takes for describing the nature of Christ: “We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one being with the Father. Through him all things were made.”
For some time that battle raged in the empire. The Arians were a powerful force for some time. The history of hymnody is impacted by that fight. While the followers of Arius would sing his songs in their gatherings, not just religious, but in taverns, etc., the movement was a threat. Ambrose, the bishop of Milan, however, met the threat with, among other things, a collection of his hymns. They were more beautiful, for one thing, even sweet. In fact, Ambrose’s symbol was the beehive and his icon has bees somewhere near his mouth, for his words were so sweet. If you look through Ambrose’ hymns you will find that most of the time they teach the Trinity. (for more on Ambrose click here )
Our hymn for Trinity Sunday is possibly one of the top hymns in the Christian church around the world today. While its use has diminished somewhat most of us of a certain age remember it as the gathering hymn for every Sunday and came to know it by heart. Sing it this Sunday with thanksgiving for our ancestors in the faith so long ago.
HYMN INFO
Reginald Heber attended Brasenose college at Oxford and became an Anglican parish priest. In the meantime, he had developed an interest in India. In 1823 he was appointed Bishop of Calcutta. He took to his calling with great vigor, traveling through the diocese of Calcutta, hither and yon. On his visitations, he traveled through Bengal, Bombay and Ceylon. During that time, in Dehli, he became ill with a fever. After confirming forty-two natives into the Christian faith in Trichinopoly on April 3, 1826, he took a cold bath as he had done before and died, probably of exhaustion.
This text, with its tune by John Bacchus Dykes, named Nicea after the place where the Nicene Creed was written, shows the interest in the early church that would mark the movement that was stirring in England toward what became the Oxford Movement.
LINKS
The Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra
Oslo Gospel Choir/ Salmeskatt
Danish Christian pop singer Signe Walsøe
Swedish meeting of a Pentecostal type group, Aasmöte/the first part
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