Christ the Victorious

Hymn lyrics and .mp3 Download

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1. Christ the victorious, give to your servants rest with your saints in the regions of light. Grief and pain ended, and sighing no longer, there may they find everlasting life.

2. Only immortal one, mighty Creator! We are your creatures and children of earth. From earth you formed us, both glorious and mortal, and to the earth shall we all return.

3. God-spoken prophecy, word at creation: "You came from dust and to dust shall return." Yet at the grave shall we raise up our glad song, "Alleluia, alleluia!"

4. Christ the victorious, give to your servants rest with your saints in the regions of light. Grief and pain ended, and sighing no longer, there may they find everlasting life.

Words by: Carl P. Daw, Jr.
Music by: Alexis Lvov

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Story of the hymn Christ the Victorious

"Christ the Victorious" (full first line: "Christ the Victorious, give to your servants") is a modern funeral hymn text written by Carl P. Daw, Jr., an Episcopal priest, hymnwriter, and former executive director of The Hymn Society in the United States and Canada.

Daw composed the text in 1982 specifically for inclusion in The Hymnal 1982 of the Episcopal Church (USA). It was created as a new text to pair with the well-known tune RUSSIAN HYMN (also called RUSSIAN ANTHEM or by its original association with "God, the Omnipotent!"), a majestic 19th-century melody by Alexis Lvov.

The original words to that tune were a prayer for national peace and divine intervention, but Daw's version shifts the focus to themes of resurrection hope, rest for the departed, and Christ's ultimate victory over death, making it especially suitable for burial, memorial, or funeral services.

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