Francis Bland Tucker

Francis Bland Tucker (1895–1984) was an American Episcopal priest, biblical scholar, hymn writer, translator, and hymnal editor whose work became important in twentieth-century Anglican and ecumenical hymnody. Born in Norfolk, Virginia, on January 6, 1895, he was the son of Episcopal bishop Beverley Dandridge Tucker and the brother of Henry St. George Tucker, later Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church. He earned a B.A. from the University of Virginia in 1914, served with Evacuation Hospital No. 15 of the American Expeditionary Forces during the First World War, and completed his B.D. at Virginia Theological Seminary in 1920. He was ordained deacon in 1918 and priest in 1920.

Tucker served parishes in Virginia before becoming rector of St. John’s Church, Georgetown, Washington, D.C., from 1925 to 1945. He then served Christ Church, Savannah, Georgia, from 1945 until retirement in 1967 and was later named rector emeritus. His ministry combined parish leadership with biblical scholarship, liturgical work, hymnology, and civic service.

His hymn-writing career grew from service on the commission that prepared The Hymnal 1940. He later served on Episcopal church-music and theological committees and contributed texts, translations, paraphrases, and revisions to later hymnals. Representative works include “All Praise to Thee, for Thou, O King Divine,” “Awake, O Sleeper, Rise from Death,” and his paraphrase of prayers from the Didache beginning “Father, we thank thee who hast planted.” The Hymn Society named him a Fellow in 1980. Tucker died in Savannah on January 1, 1984.