Thursday, October 22, 2026

It is the 22nd of October 2026. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

 

I don’t have many hard and fast rules here on the Almanac, but you can be sure that if a Christian minister or author is featured on the cover of Time magazine, they most certainly deserve an episode.

 

To be known primarily as a Christian and then on the cover of what was once America’s chief popular news magazine is to have entered the public consciousness and worthy of a look.

 

It was Time magazine from June 29th, 1931. On the cover was one Cyril Argentine Alington, dressed in academic robes; the headline read: “Headmaster of Eton and Boy, He teaches the Pops, the Tugs, the Wet and Dry Bobs”. That is a reference to the various kinds of students at Eton. The article presents Alington as a most impressive man in that most exclusive of all secondary schools- Eton College- roughly equivalent to a private high school; it produced 20 Prime Ministers as well as the likes of George Orwell, Aldous Huxley, and Sir Ian Fleming of James Bond fame.

 

The Time magazine article is highlighting this most peculiar of English institutions and presents Alington, the Head Master, as a charismatic teacher and preacher, effectively the leader of a miniature society. He was one of the remarkable figures of his age but you most likely know him for his famous Easter hymn.

 

Alington was born on this, the 22nd of October, in 1872, in Ipswich. He studied at Marlborough and Trinity College Oxford. In 1899 he moved to Eton and was ordained a deacon in the church of England. In 1901 he was ordained a priest and was appointed headmaster at Eton in 1916. From that prestigious post, he was also made the Chaplain to King George V and became a popular author.

 

His biographers note that while he was intelligent, it wasn’t his intellect that necessarily marked him- rather it was his ability to communicate. He was called “the most alive and brilliant of the younger masters—the best preacher, the most entertaining division master, the most inspiring tutor”. Time magazine notes his “fine, sonorous voice” known for his “jolly good remarks” and as a “priest of orthodox convictions”. The article also notes that his bedside is filled with mystery stories. He was inspired enough by those that he himself wrote a number of mystery novels, including “Mr Evans- A Cricket Detective Story”.

 

He was also a popularizer of theology outside the walls of Eton. He wrote Elementary Christianity, Christian Outlines and Can We Believe in God?

 

He had 6 children with his wife Hester Margaret Lyttelton- one of whom married a future Prime Minister and another who died in World War II. After Eton, he was made the Dean of Durham Cathedral.

 

But if you do not know the name, Cyril Argentine Alington, you probably know his most famous hymn (at least by one name or another). It was published in 1931 as “Good Christian Men Rejoice and Sing” and has undergone a series of alterations. Please note, this is not “Good Christian Men Rejoice,” the Christmas song, but the one that sounds eerily similar and is for Easter. I propose renaming one of the two, as it’s confusing. You can go on your music streaming service to distinguish the tunes of both.

 

You might know it as “Good Christians All Rejoice”- with phrases like “All Mankind” being replaced with “All the World”. The fact that it has been altered can serve as evidence of its popularity. Many antiquated hymns are simply retired, but those with staying power tend to be given modern facelifts. One unfortunate alteration is the removal of the line “Bring flowers of song to strew his way”- sure, that’s not a modern phrasing, but it follows George Herbert’s Poem “Easter”. “Good Christian Men” was used in its time as an argument for the writing of “new” or “contemporary” songs for use in the church.

 

After his time as Dean of Durham, Cyril Alington retired to Herefordshire (HERR-ih-fuhd-shuh), where he wrote “A Dean’s Apology,” a kind of autobiography. He would die on the 16th of May 1955. The Time Magazine cover, teacher and hymn writer born on this day in 1872 was 82 years old.

 

The Last word for today comes from the daily lectionary and Psalm 90:

Relent, Lord! How long will it be?
 Have compassion on your servants.

14 Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love,
 that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.

15 Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
 for as many years as we have seen trouble.

16 May your deeds be shown to your servants,
 your splendor to their children.

17 May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us;
 establish the work of our hands for us—
 yes, establish the work of our hands.

 

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 22nd of October 2026 brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by the pastor and Catechist of the Eton of Random Lake; he is Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man who knows that Waterloo was won at Eton, but is now being consumed as sparkling water… I’m Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.