155. The Church's One Foundation

One Lord, One Faith, One Birth

The Church's One Foundation was written in 1866 by the Anglican Vicar, Samuel Stone (1839-1900). He wrote the hymn in response to a series of controversial treatises on the Pentateuch and the Book of Joshua written by John William Colenso (1814–1883), first Anglican Bishop of Diocese of Natal, South African. In them he raised the possibility of biblical fallibility, arguing that parts of scripture were not literally or historically accurate. The Church's One Foundation is set to the tune Aurelia, written in 1864 by the English organist and composer Samuel Sebastian Wesley (1810-1876). He was the grandson of Charles Wesley. In the Liturgy of the Hours it is used in the Commons of the Dedication of a Church.