“Stainer’s “God So Loved the World”: Solemn, Meditative, and Beautiful

For Sunday, March 1, 2026
”God So Loved the World” by Sir John Stainer

By David Jolliffe

At the 11 am service on March 1, the St. Paul’s adult choir will sing John Stainer’s lovely anthem, “God So Loved the World,” the ninth movement of Stainer’s famous oratorio, The Crucifixion.  Composed in 1887, the oratorio, which depicts the final week of Christ’s life on earth, was dedicated to the choir of St. Marylebone Parish Church in London.  The St. Marylebone choir has performed “God So Loved the World” every Good Friday since the original performance.

The familiar lyrics come from the gospel of John—John 3:16-17—in the King James Version:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,

that whosoever believeth in him should not perish,

but have everlasting life.

For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world;

but that the world through him might be saved.

While the full oratorio is seldom performed (the St. Paul’s choir sang the entire piece in 2022) “God So Loved the World” is a staple for choirs in the United States and the United Kingdom because of its beautiful and dramatic chord changes and melody.

Stainer was born in London in 1840, the son of a schoolmaster. He became a chorister at St. Paul’s Cathedral at age ten and was appointed to the position of organist at St. Michael’s College in Tenbury at sixteen. He later became organist at Magdalen College in Oxford and subsequently organist at St Paul's Cathedral. When he retired owing to his poor eyesight and deteriorating health, he returned to Oxford to become Heather Professor of Music at the university. He died unexpectedly while on holiday in Italy in 1901.