The Church's One Foundation

This hymn came about in the mid 1800's when the Church of England was nearly tore apart from some controversy. Bishop John William Colenso of South Africa adopted some liberal views. He had been a tireless missionary serving the Zulu people of South Africa. Now he started questioning if Moses really wrote the first five books of the Bible. He also questioned the book of Romans and denied the doctrine of eternal punishment.

In 1853 he was removed from his post. However, Colenso fought back in court and the London court of law had him reinstated. This brought about a conflict that shook the chruch to its foundation.

In 1866 Samuel Stone took the side of truth by writing twelve songs based on the Apostles' Creed. One of them was the Church's One Foundation. The music was written by Samuel Wesley the grandson of Charles Wesley.
The following year the Anglican bishops held an eclave that was the first Lambeth Conference. The tone was set by the song that became their processional for the conference. It was of course the Church's One Foundation. It has since become one of our most beloved hymns as it reminds us that the one foundation is Jesus Christ our Lord.