How Glorious Is Our Lord in Zion

"How glorious is our Lord in Zion", also known as "Glorious is our Lord in Zion" (Russian: Коль славенъ нашъ Господь въ Сiонѣ) is a hymn, written in the spring of 1794 by the composer Dmitry Bortniansky based on a poem of Mikhail Kheraskov. It was the unofficial anthem of the Russian Empire in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Today it is also widely used by Russian emigrants and the Russian-speaking population outside of Russia as a symbol of support for monarchists.

Background
Although we do not know the exact date the poem was written, we do know that the music to it was composed by Dmitry Bortniansky, the court composer of Paul I, in 1794. The first public performance took place on 29 November 1798 during the ceremony of laying on the Russian Emperor the crown and other regalia of the Grand Master of the Hospitaliers in the Winter Palace. Since then, it has been officially popularized by the emperor, and later supplanted the previous "national anthem" of Russians - "Let the Thunder of Victory Rumble!". Pavel did this partly because "Let the Thunder of Victory Rumble!" contained elements of glorification of the previous empress, which he did not like. It was because of this support by the authorities that it spread not only to the church but also to the army.

In 1816 it was replaced by the officially approved composition "The Prayer of Russians" and in the 1830's it was replaced as the official "national anthem" by "God Save the Tsar!".Still, both officially and unofficially, the hymn continued to be used until 1917. For this reason, it was chosen as the official anthem of the Russian state.

Later, it also became a common symbol of Russian resistance to the Bolsheviks, partly due to its religious connotations.

Meaning
The text of the hymn was inspired by the 48th Psalm and contains a lot of Christian symbolism. Its music is close to the individual Voices of the Znamenny Chant. That is why, even now, Orthodox churches around the world occasionally use it as a church hymn. In this form, it is also used on the territory of the Ukrainian State and other Orthodox nations hostile to the Russian State.

The hymn was often performed in public places and at meetings as a spiritual song. It was sung at vespers, as well as during army prayers and processions. Later, it was often performed during military ceremonies: promotion of cadets to officers, meetings of the "dawn" or "lowering of the flag with ceremony" after an artillery volley. It was also used as a bugle signal as a command: "To prayer!", or during the burial of senior officers. The anthem could be heard among all classes of the Russian people, partly due to its memorable melody.

Література

 * |Константин Ковалев-Случевский. Всё о гимне "Коль славен" Д.С. Бортнянского
 * |How Glorious Is Our Lord in Zion (Cyrillic script, romanization and english translation)

Посилання

 * | Sang by Nikolayeffskiy Choir "Homin"