We three kings of orient are (arr Mather) - Cantate Domino

We Three Kings of Orient Are also known as “The Quest of the Magi” is a Christmas carol (technically an Epiphany carol) written by Reverend John Henry Hopkins, Jr., who wrote both the lyrics and the music as part of a Christmas pageant for the General Theological Seminary in New York City. It is suggested to have been written in 1857 but did not appear in print until his Carols, Hymns and Song in 1863.

Hopkins was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1820, and died in Hudson, New York in 1891. He was a clergyman, author, book illustrator, stained glass window designer, and editor of the Church Journal out of New York. He was the son of John Henry Hopkins, the first bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Vermont and the eighth Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. In 1872, John Henry Hopkins became rector of Trinity Episcopal Church in Plattsburgh, NY.

The three kings are magi, probably from the area of Persia, who, according to the bible, visited Jesus Christ, as a small child (not at the manger as often portrayed in nativity scenes). Although they were later assigned the names of Balthazar, Gaspar and Melchior, nowhere in the Bible does it say that there were only three magi.