| Christ Is Made the Sure Foundation | |
| Year: | 1851 |
| Genre: | Hymn |
| Written: | John Mason Neale |
| Meter: | 8.7.8.7.8.7 |
| Melody: | "Westminster Abbey" by Henry Purcell, or "Regent Square" by Henry Smart. |
"Christ Is Made the Sure Foundation" is a Christian hymn, translated in 1851 by John Mason Neale from the second part of the 6th- or 7th-century Latin monastic hymn Urbs beata Jerusalem.[1] [2]
While originally an unaccompanied plainsong melody, the hymn is now commonly sung to either the tune of "Westminster Abbey", adapted from the final section of Henry Purcell's anthem "O God, Thou Art My God'" Z35; or the tune of "Regent Square", composed by Henry Smart. The texts of modern versions of the hymn vary substantially from Neale's original translations.[3] Today, the hymn widely featured in hymnals across the world.
The hymn was sung during the marriage ceremonies of Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones in 1960, and Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer in 1981, and was the opening hymn of Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee service in St Paul's Cathedral on 3 June 2022.[4] It was also sung during the funeral proceedings of Elizabeth II, at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, on 19 September 2022,[5] and also in an arrangement by James O'Donnell at the coronation of Charles III and Camilla in 2023.[6]