From Church to Church

Representative Text

1. From church to church the bells’ glad tidings run:
A virgin hath conceived, and borne a Son
In Bethlehem.

2. And angel hosts, the midnight of His birth,
Sang Glory be to God, and peace on earth,
In Bethlehem.

3. Now go we forth, and see this wondrous thing,
The shepherds said, and seek the newborn King
In Bethlehem.

4. Then Herod sought the royal Son to slay,
Who rather should have to come to kneel and pray
In Bethlehem.

5. The star went leading on from east to west:
The wise men followed, till they saw it rest
In Bethlehem.

6. Their frankincense and myrrh, and gold they bring,
To hail the God, the Mortal, and the King
In Bethlehem.

7. With threefold gifts the Threefold God three praise,
Who thus vouchsafed the sons of man raise,
In Bethlehem.

Translator (from Latin): John M. Neale, 1818-1866

John M. Neale's life is a study in contrasts: born into an evangelical home, he had sympathies toward Rome; in perpetual ill health, he was incredibly productive; of scholarly tem­perament, he devoted much time to improving social conditions in his area; often ignored or despised by his contemporaries, he is lauded today for his contributions to the church and hymnody. Neale's gifts came to expression early–he won the Seatonian prize for religious poetry eleven times while a student at Trinity College, Cambridge, England. He was ordained in the Church of England in 1842, but ill health and his strong support of the Oxford Movement kept him from ordinary parish ministry. So Neale spent the years between 1846 and 1866 as a warden of Sackvi… Go to person page >

Author: 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 >

Text Information

First Line: From church to church the bells' glad tidings run:
Title: From Church to Church
Latin Title: Congaudeat turba fidelium
Author: Anonymous (11th Century)
Translator (from Latin): John M. Neale, 1818-1866
Source: 11th Century manuscript
Language: English
Notes: Alternate tune: Arrangement by Wilfrid G. A. Shebbeare in The Cowley Carol Book
Copyright: Public Domain

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The Cyber Hymnal #1624
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The Cyber Hymnal #1624

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