A doxology (

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...

: ''doxologia'', from , ''

doxa Doxa (; from verb )Henry Liddell, Liddell, Henry George, and Robert Scott (philologist), Robert Scott. 1940.δοκέω" In ''A Greek–English Lexicon, A Greek-English Lexicon'', edited by Henry Stuart Jones, H. S. Jones and R. McKenzie. Oxford. ...

'' 'glory' and -, -''logia'' 'saying') is a short

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...

of praises to

God In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...

in various forms of

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

worship, often added to the end of

canticle A canticle (from the Latin ''canticulum'', a diminutive of ''canticum'', "song") is a hymn, psalm or other Christianity, Christian song of praise with lyrics usually taken from biblical or holy texts. Canticles are used in Christian liturgy. Ca ...

psalms The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived ...

, and hymns. The tradition derives from a similar practice in the

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...

ish

synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...

, where some version of the

Kaddish Kaddish or Qaddish or Qadish ( arc, קדיש "holy") is a hymn praising God that is recited during Jewish prayer services. The central theme of the Kaddish is the magnification and sanctification of God's name. In the liturgy, different version ...

serves to terminate each section of the service.

Trinitarian doxology

Among Christian traditions a doxology is typically an expression of praise sung to the Holy Trinity: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is common in high hymns for the final stanza to take the form of a doxology. Doxologies occur in the

Eucharistic prayer The Anaphora is the most solemn part of the Divine Liturgy, or the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, a thanksgiving prayer by virtue of which the offerings of bread and wine are believed to be consecrated as the body and blood of Christ. This is the us ...

s, the

Liturgy of the Hours The Liturgy of the Hours (Latin: ''Liturgia Horarum'') or Divine Office (Latin: ''Officium Divinum'') or ''Opus Dei'' ("Work of God") are a set of Catholic prayers comprising the canonical hours, often also referred to as the breviary, of the ...

, hymns, and various

Catholic devotions Catholic devotions are particular customs, rituals, and practices of worship of God or honour of the saints which are in addition to the liturgy of the Catholic Church. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops describes devotions as "exp ...

such as

novena A novena (from Latin: ''novem'', "nine") is an ancient tradition of devotional praying in Christianity, consisting of private or public prayers repeated for nine successive days or weeks. The nine days between the Feast of the Ascension and Pen ...

s and the

Rosary The Rosary (; la, , in the sense of "crown of roses" or "garland of roses"), also known as the Dominican Rosary, or simply the Rosary, refers to a set of prayers used primarily in the Catholic Church, and to the physical string of knots or b ...

''Gloria in excelsis Deo''

The Gloria in excelsis Deo, also called the Greater Doxology, is a hymn beginning with the words that the

angel In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...

s sang when the birth of Christ was announced to shepherds in . Other verses were added very early, forming a doxology.

''Gloria Patri''

The ''

Gloria Patri The Gloria Patri, also known as the Glory Be to the Father or, colloquially, the Glory Be, is a doxology, a short hymn of praise to God in various Christian liturgies. It is also referred to as the Minor Doxology ''(Doxologia Minor)'' or Lesser D ...

'', so named for its

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

incipit The incipit () of a text is the first few words of the text, employed as an identifying label. In a musical composition, an incipit is an initial sequence of notes, having the same purpose. The word ''incipit'' comes from Latin and means "it beg ...

, is commonly used as a doxology in many Christian traditions, including the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

Old Catholics The terms Old Catholic Church, Old Catholics, Old-Catholic churches or Old Catholic movement designate "any of the groups of Western Christians who believe themselves to maintain in complete loyalty the doctrine and traditions of the undivide ...

Independent Catholic Independent Catholicism is an independent sacramental movement of clergy and laity who self-identify as Catholic (most often as Old Catholic or as Independent Catholic) and form "micro-churches claiming apostolic succession and valid sacrament ...

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

Lutherans Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched ...

Anglicans Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the l ...

Presbyterians Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

, Methodists,

Disciples of Christ The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination in the United States and Canada. The denomination started with the Restoration Movement during the Second Great Awakening, first existing during the 19th ...

Reformed Baptist Reformed Baptists (sometimes known as Particular Baptists or Calvinistic Baptists) are Baptists that hold to a Calvinist soteriology (salvation). The first Calvinist Baptist church was formed in the 1630s. The 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith ...

s and

United Protestant A united church, also called a uniting church, is a Christian denomination, church formed from the merger or other form of church union of two or more different Protestantism, Protestant Christian denominations. Historically, unions of Protest ...

s. It is called the "Lesser Doxology", thus distinguished from the "Great Doxology" ('' Gloria in Excelsis Deo''), and is often called simply "''the'' doxology". As well as praising God, it was regarded as a short declaration of faith in the equality of the three Persons of the

Holy Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the F ...

. The

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

text, :Δόξα Πατρὶ καὶ Υἱῷ καὶ Ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι :καὶ νῦν καὶ ἀεὶ καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν. is rendered into

as, :''Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto. Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in sæcula sæculorum. Amen.'' which is literally translated :'' Glory eto the

Father A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. An adoptive fathe ...

, and to the

Son A son is a male offspring; a boy or a man in relation to his parents. The female counterpart is a daughter. From a biological perspective, a son constitutes a first degree relative. Social issues In pre-industrial societies and some current c ...

, and to the

Holy Spirit In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is the divine force, quality, and influence of God over the Universe or over his creatures. In Nicene Christianity, the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is the third person of the Trinity. In Islam, the Holy Spirit acts as ...

.'' :''As it was in the beginning, and now, and always, and into the ages of ages.

Amen Amen ( he, אָמֵן, ; grc, ἀμήν, ; syc, ܐܡܝܢ, ; ar, آمين, ) is an Abrahamic declaration of affirmation which is first found in the Hebrew Bible, and subsequently found in the New Testament. It is used in Jews, Jewish, Christia ...

.'' "

In saecula saeculorum The phrase "unto the ages of ages" expresses either the idea of eternity, or an indeterminate number of aeons. The phrase is a translation of the original Koine Greek phrase "" (''eis toùs aionas ton aiṓnōn''), which occurs in the original ...

", here rendered "ages of ages", is the

calque In linguistics, a calque () or loan translation is a word or phrase borrowed from another language by literal word-for-word or root-for-root translation. When used as a verb, "to calque" means to borrow a word or phrase from another language wh ...

of what was probably a Semitic

idiom An idiom is a phrase or expression that typically presents a figurative, non-literal meaning attached to the phrase; but some phrases become figurative idioms while retaining the literal meaning of the phrase. Categorized as formulaic language, ...

, via

Koine Greek Koine Greek (; Koine el, ἡ κοινὴ διάλεκτος, hē koinè diálektos, the common dialect; ), also known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek or New Testament Greek, was the common supra-reg ...

, meaning "forever." It is also rendered "world without end" in English, an expression also used in

James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) *James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) *James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu *James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...

Authorised Version The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and published in 1611, by sponsorship of K ...

of the Bible in

Ephesians The Epistle to the Ephesians is the tenth book of the New Testament. Its authorship has traditionally been attributed to Paul the Apostle but starting in 1792, this has been challenged as Deutero-Pauline, that is, pseudepigrapha written in Pau ...

3:21 and

Isaiah Isaiah ( or ; he, , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "God is Salvation"), also known as Isaias, was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named. Within the text of the Book of Isaiah, Isaiah himself is referred to as "the ...

45:17. Similarly, "et semper" is often rendered "and ever shall be", thus giving the more metrical English version, :''... As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.'' A common version of the

, as approved by the

U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is the episcopal conference of the Catholic Church in the United States. Founded in 1966 as the joint National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) and United States Catholic Conference (US ...

, uses a newer, different translation for the Latin: :''Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.'' The most commonly encountered

English version: :''Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, both now, and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen'' The modern

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

version found in ''

Common Worship ''Common Worship'' is the name given to the series of services authorised by the General Synod of the Church of England and launched on the first Sunday of Advent in 2000. It represents the most recent stage of development of the Liturgical Movemen ...

'' is slightly different, and is rooted in the aforementioned translations found in the Authorised Version: :''Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.''

"Praise God, from whom all blessings flow"

Another doxology in widespread use in English, in some Protestant traditions commonly referred to simply as The Doxology or The Common Doxology, begins "Praise God, from whom all blessings flow". The words are thus: :''Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;'' :''Praise Him, all creatures here below;'' :''Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;'' :''Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.'' These words were written in 1674 by

Thomas Ken Thomas Ken (July 1637 – 19 March 1711) was an English cleric who was considered the most eminent of the English non-juring bishops, and one of the fathers of modern English hymnody. Early life Ken was born in 1637 at Little Berkhampstead, ...

as the final verse of two hymns, " Awake, my soul, and with the sun" and "Glory to thee, my God, this night," intended for morning and evening worship at

Winchester College Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of the ...

. This final verse, separated from its proper hymns and sung to the tune "

Old 100th "Old 100th" or "Old Hundredth" (also known as "Old Hundred") is a hymn tune in long metre, from the second edition of the Genevan Psalter. It is one of the best known melodies in many occidental Christian musical traditions. The tune is usually a ...

", "Duke Street", "

Lasst uns erfreuen "" (Let us rejoice most heartily) is a hymn tune that originated from Germany in 1623, and which found widespread popularity after ''The English Hymnal'' published a 1906 version in strong triple meter with new lyrics. The triumphant melody and r ...

", "The Eighth Tune" by

Thomas Tallis Thomas Tallis (23 November 1585; also Tallys or Talles) was an English composer of High Renaissance music. His compositions are primarily vocal, and he occupies a primary place in anthologies of English choral music. Tallis is considered one o ...

, among others, frequently marks the dedication of

alms Alms (, ) are money, food, or other material goods donated to people living in poverty. Providing alms is often considered an act of virtue or Charity (practice), charity. The act of providing alms is called almsgiving, and it is a widespread p ...

or offerings at Sunday worship. The popular Hawaiian version ''Hoʻonani i ka Makua mau'' was translated by

Hiram Bingham I Hiram Bingham, formally Hiram Bingham I (October 30, 1789 – November 11, 1869), was leader of the first group of American Protestant missionary, missionaries to introduce Christianity to the Hawaiian islands. Like most of the missionaries, he w ...

and is published in hymnals. Many

Mennonite Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christian church communities of denominations. The name is derived from the founder of the movement, Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland. Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the Radic ...

congregations sing a longer and more embellished setting of this text known as "Dedication Anthem" by Samuel Stanley. In Mennonite circles, this doxology is commonly known as "606" for its hymn number in ''The Mennonite Hymnal''

969 Year 969 ( CMLXIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar, the 969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 1st millennium, the 69th ...

and colloquially known as the "Mennonite National Anthem." Students at

Goshen College Goshen College is a Private college, private Mennonite Church USA, Mennonite Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Goshen, Indiana. It was founded in 1894 as the Elkhart Institute of Science, Industry and the Arts, ...

stand and sing the doxology when 6:06 remains in a soccer game – as long as Goshen is winning the game. Some Christian denominations have adopted altered versions of the Doxology in the interest of

inclusive language Inclusive language avoids expressions that are considered to express or imply ideas that are sexist, racist, or otherwise biased, prejudiced, or insulting to any particular group of people and sometimes animals as well. Use of inclusive language ...

or other considerations. Some

congregations eliminate the masculine pronouns. Some denominations, such as the

Anglican Church of Canada The Anglican Church of Canada (ACC or ACoC) is the Ecclesiastical province#Anglican Communion, province of the Anglican Communion in Canada. The official French-language name is ''l'Église anglicane du Canada''. In 2017, the Anglican Church co ...

(''Common Praise''), the

United Church of Canada The United Church of Canada (french: link=no, Église unie du Canada) is a mainline Protestant denomination that is the largest Protestant Christian denomination in Canada and the second largest Canadian Christian denomination after the Catholi ...

(''

Voices United The United Church of Canada (french: link=no, Église unie du Canada) is a mainline Protestant denomination that is the largest Protestant Christian denomination in Canada and the second largest Canadian Christian denomination after the Cathol ...

''), and the

United Church of Christ The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination based in the United States, with historical and confessional roots in the Congregational, Calvinist, Lutheran, and Anabaptist traditions, and with approximately 4 ...

(''

New Century Hymnal ''The New Century Hymnal'' is a comprehensive hymnal and worship book published in 1995 for the United Church of Christ. The hymnal contains a wide-variety of traditional Christian hymns and worship songs, many contemporary hymns and songs, and a ...

''), replace "heavenly host" with a reference to God's love. The United Church of Christ version reads: :''Praise God from whom all blessings flow;'' :''Praise God, all creatures here below;'' :''Praise God for all that love has done;'' :''Creator, Christ, and Spirit, One.'' The

Presbyterian Church (USA) The Presbyterian Church (USA), abbreviated PC(USA), is a mainline Protestant denomination in the United States. It is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the US, and known for its liberal stance on doctrine and its ordaining of women and ...

accepted this version of the Doxology in 2014 to accompany the Glory to God, the Presbyterian Hymnal. This version was written by the Rev. Neil Weatherhogg, pastor of both the First Presbyterian Church of Kerrville, Texas and the Harvey Browne Presbyterian Church in Louisville Kentucky. This version was published by Rev. Weatherhogg in 1990. This hymn maintains

Gender neutrality Gender neutrality (adjective form: gender-neutral), also known as gender-neutralism or the gender neutrality movement, is the idea that policies, language, and other social institutions (social structures or gender roles) should avoid distinguish ...

as it does not refer to God in gender specific terminology. It goes: :''Praise God from whom all blessings flow;'' :''Praise God, all creatures here below;'' :''Praise God above ye heavenly host;'' :''Praise Triune God, whom we adore'' Other versions of this doxology exist as well, with various lyrics, including in the United Methodist Hymnal (#621), "Be Present at Our Table, Lord," which is often sung as grace before meals using the tune "Old 100th;" hymn by John Cennick; tune from the Genevan Psalter, 1551; attributed to Louis Bourgeois: :''Be present at our table, Lord;'' :''be here and everywhere adored;'' :''thy creatures bless, and grant that we'' :''may feast in paradise with thee.''

Eucharistic doxology

In the

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementar ...

a prose doxology concludes the

eucharistic prayer The Anaphora is the most solemn part of the Divine Liturgy, or the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, a thanksgiving prayer by virtue of which the offerings of bread and wine are believed to be consecrated as the body and blood of Christ. This is the us ...

, preceding the

Our Father The Lord's Prayer, also called the Our Father or Pater Noster, is a central Christian prayer which Jesus taught as the way to pray. Two versions of this prayer are recorded in the gospels: a longer form within the Sermon on the Mount in the Gosp ...

. It is typically sung by the presiding priest along with any concelebrating priests. The Latin text reads: :''Per ipsum, et cum ipso, et in ipso, est tibi Deo Patri omnipotenti in unitate Spiritus Sancti, omnis honor et gloria per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.'' (1. Through him, with him, in him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is yours almighty Father, forever and ever Amen. and 2. Through him, and with him, and in him, O God, almighty Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is yours, forever and ever. Amen.) The equivalent passage in the

Book of Common Prayer The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the name given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The original book, published in 1549 in the reign ...

(1549) of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

reads: :By whom and with whom, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, all honour and glory be unto thee, O Father almighty, world without end. Amen.

Lord's Prayer doxology

Another familiar doxology is the one often added at the end of the

Lord's Prayer The Lord's Prayer, also called the Our Father or Pater Noster, is a central Christian prayer which Jesus taught as the way to pray. Two versions of this prayer are recorded in the gospels: a longer form within the Sermon on the Mount in the Gosp ...

: "''For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever, Amen''." This is found in manuscripts representative of the Byzantine text of Matthew 6:13, but not in the manuscripts considered by Catholics to be the most reliable. According to Scrivener's "Supplement to the Authorized English version of New Testament", it is omitted by eight out of 500 or so manuscripts. Some scholars do not consider it part of the original text of Matthew, and modern translations do not include it, mentioning it only in footnotes. Since

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...

, the doxology, in the form "''For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and for ever''", is used in the

Roman Rite The Roman Rite ( la, Ritus Romanus) is the primary liturgical rite of the Latin Church, the largest of the ''sui iuris'' particular churches that comprise the Catholic Church. It developed in the Latin language in the city of Rome and, while dist ...

of the

, after the

Embolism An embolism is the lodging of an embolus, a blockage-causing piece of material, inside a blood vessel. The embolus may be a blood clot (thrombus), a fat globule ( fat embolism), a bubble of air or other gas (gas embolism), amniotic fluid (amniot ...

. The ''Catholic Encyclopedia'' (1914) claims that this doxology "appears in the Greek

textus receptus ''Textus Receptus'' (Latin: "received text") refers to all printed editions of the Greek New Testament from Erasmus's ''Novum Instrumentum omne'' (1516) to the 1633 Elzevir edition. It was the most commonly used text type for Protestant denomi ...

and has been adopted in the later editions of the

, ndis undoubtedly an interpolation." In fact, the Lord's Prayer doxology is often left away by Catholics, such as in the Liturgy of the Hours, or when, which is quite often outside Mass, a

Hail Mary The Hail Mary ( la, Ave Maria) is a traditional Christian prayer addressing Mary, the mother of Jesus. The prayer is based on two biblical passages featured in the Gospel of Luke: the Angel Gabriel's visit to Mary (the Annunciation) and Mary's ...

follows immediately (e. g. in the Rosary where the Gloria Patri serves as doxology). According to the

Catechism of the Catholic Church The ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' ( la, Catechismus Catholicae Ecclesiae; commonly called the ''Catechism'' or the ''CCC'') is a catechism promulgated for the Catholic Church by Pope John Paul II in 1992. It aims to summarize, in book for ...

, this doxology takes up

Other doxologies

In the

Epistle of Jude The Epistle of Jude is the penultimate book of the New Testament as well as the Christian Bible. It is traditionally attributed to Jude, brother of James the Just, and thus possibly brother of Jesus as well. Jude is a short epistle written in ...

, the last two verses (24 and 25) are considered to be a doxology and are used by many Protestant Christians, especially in public worship settings: :"Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen." (

KJV The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and published in 1611, by sponsorship of K ...

) At

Matins Matins (also Mattins) is a canonical hour in Christian liturgy, originally sung during the darkness of early morning. The earliest use of the term was in reference to the canonical hour, also called the vigil, which was originally celebrated by ...

, Orthodox worship specifies a Great Doxology for feast days and a Small Doxology for ordinary days. Both include the Gospel doxology of the angels at Christ's birth (

Luke People *Luke (given name), a masculine given name (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Luke (surname) (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Luke the Evangelist, author of the Gospel of Luke. Also known as ...

2:14: "Glory to God in the highest; and on earth peace to men of good will"). The lines of this doxology are the opening lines of the prayer '' Gloria in Excelsis'' recited during the Roman Catholic

Unitarian Universalism

Unitarian Universalism Unitarian Universalism (UU) is a liberal religion characterized by a "free and responsible search for truth and meaning". Unitarian Universalists assert no creed, but instead are unified by their shared search for spiritual growth, guided by a ...

, "the Doxology" typically refers to Curtis W. Reese's adaptation of "From all that dwell below the skies", an 18th-century paraphrase of Psalm 117 by

Isaac Watts Isaac Watts (17 July 1674 – 25 November 1748) was an English Congregational minister, hymn writer, theologian, and logician. He was a prolific and popular hymn writer and is credited with some 750 hymns. His works include "When I Survey the ...

: :"From all that dwell below the skies :let songs of hope and faith arise; (Or, alternatively, let faith and hope with love arise) :let peace, goodwill on earth be sung (Or let beauty, truth and good be sung) :through every land, by every tongue." (Or in every land, in every tongue.) While many congregations who use a doxology use these words and sing them to the tune of

, there are nine different lyrics that congregations may choose to use, along with three tunes (

, Tallis' Canon, and Von Himmel Hoch) listed in the Unitarian Universalist hymnal ''

Singing the Living Tradition ''Singing the Living Tradition'' is a hymnal published by the Unitarian Universalist Association Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) is a liberal religious association of Unitarian Universalist congregations. It was formed in 1961 by th ...

''. These doxologies appear in Unitarian Universalist services as short songs of communal praise and connection, placed in the service much as Trinitarian doxologies are placed in a Protestant service.

Pentecostal

A popular doxology in African-American

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement

and Baptist churches is "Praise Him, Praise Him", written in the 1980s by famed African American Gospel singer and minister Reverend Milton Biggham. Praise him, praise him, praise him, praise him! Jesus, blessed Savior, he's worthy to be praised. From the rising of the sun until the going down of the same, he's worthy, Jesus is worthy, he's worthy to be praised. Glory! Glory! In all things give him glory. Jesus, blessed Savior, he's worthy to be praised. For God is our rock, hope of salvation; a strong deliverer, in him I will always trust. Praise him, praise him, praise him, praise him! Jesus, blessed Savior, he's worthy to be praised. From the rising of the sun until the going down of the same, he's worthy, Jesus is worthy, he's worthy to be praised. Praise him, praise him, praise him, praise him! Jesus, blessed Savior, he's worthy to be praised.

Iglesia ni Cristo

In the Iglesia ni Cristo, the Doxology is sung before the

Benediction A benediction (Latin: ''bene'', well + ''dicere'', to speak) is a short invocation for divine help, blessing and guidance, usually at the end of worship service. It can also refer to a specific Christian religious service including the expositio ...

and Concluding Rites during worship services. It reads: :

Derivations

Because some Christian worship services include a doxology, and these hymns therefore were familiar and well-practiced among church

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

s, the English word ''sockdolager'' arose, a deformation of ''doxology'', which came to mean a "show-stopper", a production number. The ''

Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a com ...

'' considers it a "fanciful" coinage, but an 1893 speculation reported in the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'' as to the origin of the word as one of its early attestations: :A writer in the March ''

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

'' gives this as the origin of the slang word "socdollager", which was current some time ago. "Socdollager" was the uneducated man's transposition of "doxologer", which was the familiar New England rendering of "doxology". This was the Puritan term for the verse ascription used at the conclusion of every hymn, like the "Gloria" at the end of a chanted psalm. On doctrinal grounds it was proper for the whole congregation to join in the singing, so that it became a triumphant winding up of the whole act of worship. Thus is happened that "socdollager" became the term for anything which left nothing else to follow; a decisive, overwhelming finish, to which no reply was possible.19 March 1893, ''Chicago Daily Tribune'', pg. 36

References

{{reflist

External links

Hymns of the Spirit Three
Contains numerous "doxologies" to the tune "Old Hundredth" used in the Unitarian, Universalist and

liberal Christian Liberal Christianity, also known as Liberal Theology and historically as Christian Modernism (see Catholic modernism and Fundamentalist–Modernist controversy), is a movement that interprets Christian teaching by taking into consideration m ...

traditions, in English, Spanish and French. Christian hymns Order of Mass Christian terminology Greek words and phrases