O Come All Ye Faithful

The hymn appears to be a collaboration of several people. Historians often introduce conflicting theories that make sense in historical context yet can’t come to a common verdict.

But the hymn’s symbolism and meaning present us with greater interest than its origin. Whoever the author was, he attempted to send a profound message to all Christians.

Originally written in Latin, the hymn was later translated to English and became one of the best-known Christmas songs globally.

Lyrics

O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant!
O come ye, O come ye, to Bethlehem
Come and behold Him
Born the King of Angels
O come, let us adore Him
O come, let us adore Him
O come, let us adore Him
Christ the Lord!
 
God of God, Light of Light
Lo, He abhors not the Virgin’s womb
Very God
Begotten, not created
O come, let us adore Him
O come, let us adore Him
O come, let us adore Him
Christ the Lord!
 
Sing, choirs of angels, sing in exultation
Sing, all ye citizens of heaven above!
Glory to God
All glory in the highest
O come, let us adore Him
O come, let us adore Him
O come, let us adore Him
Christ the Lord!
 
Yea, Lord, we greet Thee, born this happy morning
Jesus, to Thee be glory given
Word of the Father
Now in flesh appearing
O come, let us adore Him
O come, let us adore Him
O come, let us adore Him
Christ the Lord!

Origins

O Come All Ye Faithful is one of the oldest Christmas hymns still sung nowadays, composed in 1744. However, O Come All Ye Faithful lyrics may be even older. Historians attribute authorship to different people.

Some suggest that O Come All Ye Faithful was written by St. Bonaventure, an Italian bishop from the 13th century. Others insist O Come All Ye Faithful is the work of King John IV of Portugal from the 17th century.

Back in the day, the widely accepted theory was that the lyrics were written by Cistercian monks who followed the Rule of Saint Benedict. The most commonly credited are German, English, Spanish, and Portuguese Cistercians.

Nowadays, O Come All Ye Faithful is typically attributed to John Francis Wade because his name appears on the earliest printed versions of the hymn. John Francis Wade was an English hymnist born in 1711.

Wade lived in France and published O Come All Ye Faithful in his manuscript compilation Cantus Diversi pro Dominicis et Festis per annum in 1751. The song was initially known as Adeste Fideles and sung in Latin.

Dom John Stephan, the author of The Adeste Fideles: A Study of Its Origin and Development, determined that Wade’s 1743 manuscript was the first and original, meaning that he composed both the Latin lyrics and the music.

That was the first known printed source of the hymn, consisting of four verses. Later, a French priest Jean Francois Etienne Borderies added three more stanzas to the song, but this version was rarely printed.

O Come All Ye Faithful has been translated to English endless times, but the most famous translation we all use today was made by Frederick Oakley and published in Murray’s Hymnal in 1852.

Initially, Murray called the song Ye Faithful, Approach Ye. The English version of O Come All Ye Faithful was first performed in Marylebone, London, by Margaret Chapel.

Besides John Francis Wade, authorship of the tune was attributed to several musicians, including English composer John Reading (father of another famous musician named John Reading), George Frederick Handel, and Christoph Willibald Gluck.

Some historians suggest that the hymn was composed by Thomas Augustine Arne, an acquaintance of Wade, but we don’t know why he would deny authorship and give all the credit to Wade.

Interestingly, the lyrics are sometimes interpreted as a birth ode to Bonnie Prince Charlie, the eldest son of James Francis Stuart and Maria Stuart, perhaps written by Jacobites supporting the restoration of the House of Stuart on the British throne.

A professor from Durham University claims that Bethlehem is a cipher for England common among Jacobites. The fact that Wade fled from England to France after the Jacobite movement was crushed supports this theory, but it may be nothing else than a coincidence.

Wade also commonly decorated his notebooks with Jacobite floral motifs, and his other texts allegedly contained Jacobite ciphers. Even if that’s true, the hymn perfectly fits the narrative of Christmas.

In 1961, Sir David Willcocks, an English composer, published another musical arrangement of the hymn that became popular in the U.S. Choir of King’s College in Cambridge made O Come All Ye Faithful penultimate hymn.

Here’s a fun fact – O Come All Ye Faithful is reputed to be President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s favorite Christmas carol, and its Latin form Adeste Fideles was favored by President Thomas Jefferson.

In 2010, Mariah Carey recorded O Come All Ye Faithful on her Christmas album, featuring her mother, Patricia Carey, a former opera singer. Josh Groban released another famous version of O Come All Ye Faithful in 2007.

Of course, the man behind dozens of worldwide-favored Christmas songs, Bing Crosby, couldn’t miss a chance to record O Come All Ye Faithful in 1960, reaching No. 45 on the holiday song chart in the U.S.

According to Dee Snider from Twisted Sister, the band’s hit We’re Not Gonna Take It is based on the O Come All Ye Faithful melody. In 1988, the hymn also appeared in the movie A Very Brady Christmas.

Meaning

The meaning of O Come All Ye Faithful is somewhat ambiguous, given the mystery surrounding its origin, but we can try to decipher it. Let’s focus on the theory that the hymn is about Jesus’ birth rather than a Jacobite ode.

Throughout the entire hymn, the author refers to “ye faithful.” He invites shepherds who saw the miraculous supernova to witness the miracle of Jesus’ birth.

In the nativity story, shepherds guard their flocks when an angel appears. He tells them to fear not because he came with tidings of great joy to inform them that the Savior of all people, the Messiah, was born.

The angel gives shepherds instructions on finding Jesus, and shepherds go to town searching for a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes, sleeping in a manger. When the shepherds see Mary and Joseph with infant Jesus in his crib, they rejoice.

Many people are confused about why shepherds were the first to see Jesus. At that time, shepherds were considered outcasts of society because they had to deal with dirty sheep and their manure on a daily basis.

However, only people perceived shepherds as unclean. For God, we’re all equal, so he has sent an angel to the shepherds to show that everyone is worthy of love. Shepherds were humbled and genuinely amazed by the news, and they went to spread the word.

However, the author refers not solely to shepherds. He also addresses all the Christians who come to Bethlehem every year to celebrate Christmas, centuries after the events described in the Gospel of Matthew.

Although modern-day Christians can’t witness the miracle of Jesus’ birth, they can feel his presence in their hearts by reading prayers, partaking in sacraments, and visiting the place of his birth, the Holy Land.

The last line of the first verse, “Born the King of angels,” declares Jesus as the King of the Kings, supporting the Christian idea of Jesus being the ruler of the Kingdom of God.

Gospels make numerous references to Jesus’ three primary roles: a savior, a priest, and king. When the Three Wise Men came from the East to worship Jesus, they brought three gifts – gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Gold always has been a valuable metal presented to royalty. With this gift, the Magi acknowledged Jesus as a king whose kingdom could not be destroyed by earthly powers.

Frankincense was used in religious rituals, thus declaring Jesus our spiritual guide, and myrrh was used to embalm the dead, foretelling his fate as a Savior of all humankind.

In the Gospel of Luke, Angel Gabriel, who appears to Mary, tells her that she has conceived the son of God, who will get the throne of David and rule over the house of Jacob forever.

In the second verse, the author calls Christ the Light from Light eternal, referring to Jesus’ phrase, “I am the light of the world.” Spiritually, humankind lived in darkness before Jesus was born.

People are born sinful and were bound to die sinful until Jesus came to this world because the only way to get redemption is by shedding blood.

Jesus was born to show us the way of hope and faith and die for our sins, giving us a chance for eternal life, thus bringing light to this world.

He told his disciples that one who follows him would never live in darkness. In the third line, the author makes a reference to immaculate conception, indicating that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a Virgin Mary.

The verse ends with calling Jesus Son of God the Father, once again emphasizing his connection with the Kingdom of God. The third verse encourages all the faithful people to rejoice and sing, celebrating the birth of our Savior.

In the last verse, Jesus is referred to as the “Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing.” This line means that Jesus is a God in the human body, equal to us yet divine, serving as a link between humankind and heaven.

Despite slightly repetitive and seemingly simple lyrics, O Come All Ye Faithful symbolism is of great interest to theologists. The hymn outlines the role of Jesus in our lives, presenting him as the King of all Kings, our Savior, and the son of God.

It encourages all Christians to celebrate Christmas because the day of Jesus’ birth signified redemption for every single one of us.