The Gloria Patri, also known as the Glory Be to the Father or, colloquially, the Glory Be, is a

doxology A doxology (Ancient Greek: ''doxologia'', from , '' doxa'' 'glory' and -, -''logia'' 'saying') is a short hymn of praises to God in various forms of Christian worship, often added to the end of canticles, psalms, and hymns. The tradition derive ...

, 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 praise to

God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...

in various

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 ...

liturgies Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

. It is also referred to as the Minor Doxology ''(Doxologia Minor)'' or Lesser Doxology, to distinguish it from the Greater Doxology, the Gloria in Excelsis Deo. The earliest Christian doxologies are addressed to the Father "through" (διὰ) 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 ...

, or to the Father and the Holy Spirit with (μετά) the Son, or to the Son with (σύν) the Father and the Holy Spirit. The

Trinitarian 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 Fa ...

doxology addressed in parallel fashion to all three Divine Persons of the Trinity, joined by ''and'' (καί), as in the form of baptism, Matthew 28:19, became universal in Nicaean Christianity, which was established as the official faith of the Church with the

Edict of Thessalonica The Edict of Thessalonica (also known as ''Cunctos populos''), issued on 27 February AD 380 by Theodosius I, made the Catholicism of Nicene Christians the state church of the Roman Empire. It condemned other Christian creeds such as Arianism ...

in 380.Adrian Fortescue, "Doxology" in ''Catholic Encyclopedia'' (New York 1909)
/ref>

Greek version

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 ...

wording is as follows: :, : Glory be to the Father :Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, :Both now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen. The second part is occasionally slightly modified and other verses are sometimes introduced between the two halves.

Syriac version

:East Syriac (used by the Assyrian Church of the East and the

Chaldean Catholic Church , native_name_lang = syc , image = Assyrian Church.png , imagewidth = 200px , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Our Lady of Sorrows Baghdad, Iraq , abbreviation = , type ...

) :: :: :Malabar East Syriac (used by the

Syro Malabar Church lat, Ecclesia Syrorum-Malabarensium mal, മലബാറിലെ സുറിയാനി സഭ , native_name_lang=, image = St. Thomas' Cross (Chennai, St. Thomas Mount).jpg , caption = The Mar Thoma Nasrani Sl ...

) :: :: :West Syriac (used by the

Syriac Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = syc , image = St_George_Syriac_orthodox_church_in_Damascus.jpg , imagewidth = 250 , alt = Cathedral of Saint George , caption = Cathedral of Saint George, Damascus ...

and the Syriac Catholic Church) :: :: :Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, :from everlasting and for ever and ever (literal translation) According to ''Worship Music: A Concise Dictionary'', the lesser doxology is of Syrian origin. There is an alternate version which the

and Syriac Catholic Church use in their liturgies: :: :: :Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, :And upon us, weak and sinful, may mercy and compassion be showered, in both worlds, forever and ever. Amen.

Arabic

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

is one of the official liturgical languages of the Church of Jerusalem and the

Church of Antioch The Church of Antioch ( ar, كنيسة أنطاكية, Romanization: kánīsa ʾanṭākiya, IPA: a.niː.sa ʔan.tˤaː.ki.ja was the first of the five major churches of the early pentarchy in Christianity, with its primary seat in the ancient ...

, both

autocephalous Autocephaly (; from el, αὐτοκεφαλία, meaning "property of being self-headed") is the status of a hierarchical Christian church whose head bishop does not report to any higher-ranking bishop. The term is primarily used in Eastern O ...

Orthodox Churches and two of the four ancient

Patriarchates Patriarchate ( grc, πατριαρχεῖον, ''patriarcheîon'') is an ecclesiological term in Christianity, designating the office and jurisdiction of an ecclesiastical patriarch. According to Christian tradition three patriarchates were esta ...

of the

Pentarchy Pentarchy (from the Greek , ''Pentarchía'', from πέντε ''pénte'', "five", and ἄρχειν ''archein'', "to rule") is a model of Church organization formulated in the laws of Emperor Justinian I (527–565) of the Roman Empire. In this ...

. The

wording of this doxology is as follows: : :

Roman Rite Latin version

:Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto, :Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in sæcula sæculorum. Amen. : :Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, :As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. This differs from the Greek version because of the insertion of "sicut erat in principio", which is now taken to mean "as it (glory) was in the beginning", but which seems originally to have meant "as he (the Son) was in the beginning", and echo of the opening words of the

Gospel according to John The Gospel of John ( grc, Εὐαγγέλιον κατὰ Ἰωάννην, translit=Euangélion katà Iōánnēn) is the fourth of the four canonical gospels. It contains a highly schematic account of the ministry of Jesus, with seven "sig ...

: "In the beginning was the

Word A word is a basic element of language that carries an semantics, objective or pragmatics, practical semantics, meaning, can be used on its own, and is uninterruptible. Despite the fact that language speakers often have an intuitive grasp of w ...

". In 529, the Second Synod of

Vasio Vaison-la-Romaine (; oc, Vaison) is a town in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. Vaison-la-Romaine is famous for its rich Roman ruins and mediaeval town and cathedral. It is also unusual in ...

Gaul Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...

said in its fifth canon that the second part of the doxology, with the words "sicut erat in principio", was used in Rome, the East, and Africa, and ordered it to be said likewise in Gaul. Writing in the 1909

Catholic Encyclopedia The ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'' (also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedia'') i ...

Adrian Fortescue Adrian Henry Timothy Knottesford Fortescue (14 January 1874 – 11 February 1923) was an English Catholic priest and polymath. An influential liturgist, artist, calligrapher, composer, polyglot, amateur photographer, Byzantine scholar, an ...

, while remarking that what the synod said of the East was false, took the synod's decree to mean that the form originally used in the West was the same as the Greek form. From about the 7th century, the present Roman Rite version became almost universal throughout the West.

Mozarabic Rite Latin version

::Gloria et honor Patri et Filio et Spiritui sancto ::in sæcula sæculorum. ::Glory and honour to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit ::for ages of ages. The similarity between this version used in the then extreme west of the Church and the Syriac version used in the extreme east is noteworthy.

English versions

The following traditional form is the most common in Anglican usage and in older Lutheran liturgical books: :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. The translations of "semper" as "ever shall be", and "in sæcula sæculorum" as "world without end" date at least from

Thomas Cranmer Thomas Cranmer (2 July 1489 – 21 March 1556) was a leader of the English Reformation and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI and, for a short time, Mary I. He helped build the case for the annulment of Henry' ...

's ''

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 ...

''. The Catholic Church uses the same English form, but today replaces "Holy Ghost" with "Holy Spirit", as in ''The Divine Office'' the edition of 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 ...

used in most English-speaking countries outside the United States. ''Divine Worship: The Missal'', published by the Holy See in 2015 for use under the Apostolic Constitution ''Anglicanorum Coetibus'' allows "Holy Spirit" and "Holy Ghost" to be used interchangeably. In 1971, the

International Consultation on English Texts The English Language Liturgical Consultation (ELLC) is a group of national associations of ecumenical liturgists in the English-speaking world. Their work has been concerned with developing and promoting common liturgical texts in English and shari ...

(ICET) used since 1971: :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. This was adopted in the publication, ''Liturgy of the Hours'' (Catholic Book Publishing Company), but has not come into popular use by lay Catholics. It is found also in some Anglican and Lutheran publications. A variant found in '' Common Worship'' has "will" instead of "shall": :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. Especially in Anglican circles, there are various alternative forms of the Gloria designed to avoid masculine language. The form included in ''Celebrating Common Prayer'' is: :Glory to God, Source of all being, :Eternal Word and Holy Spirit; :as it was in the beginning is now :and shall be for ever. Amen. The doxology in the use of the English-speaking Orthodox and Greek-Catholic Churches, follows the Greek form, of which one English translation is: :Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, :now and forever and to the ages of ages. Amen. The translation of the Greek form used by the Melkite Greek Catholic Church in the United States is: :Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, :now and always and forever and ever. Amen.

Use

Eastern Churches

In the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via ...

Oriental Orthodoxy The Oriental Orthodox Churches are Eastern Christian churches adhering to Miaphysite Christology, with approximately 60 million members worldwide. The Oriental Orthodox Churches are part of the Nicene Christian tradition, and represent ...

, the

Church of the East The Church of the East ( syc, ܥܕܬܐ ܕܡܕܢܚܐ, ''ʿĒḏtā d-Maḏenḥā'') or the East Syriac Church, also called the Church of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, the Persian Church, the Assyrian Church, the Babylonian Church or the Nestorian C ...

, and the

Eastern Catholic Churches The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also called the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous (''sui iuris'') particular churches of th ...

, the Lesser Doxology is frequently used at diverse points in services and private prayers. Among other instances, it is said three times by the

reader A reader is a person who reads. It may also refer to: Computing and technology * Adobe Reader (now Adobe Acrobat), a PDF reader * Bible Reader for Palm, a discontinued PDA application * A card reader, for extracting data from various forms of ...

during the

usual beginning The usual beginning is the series of prayers with which most Divine Services begin in the Eastern Orthodox Church and those Eastern Catholic Churches which follow the Byzantine Rite. Normal form The usual beginning starts with a blessing by the pr ...

of every service, and as part of the dismissal at the end. When it is used in a series of hymns it is chanted either before the last hymn or before the penultimate hymn. In the latter case, it is divided in half, the "Glory..." being chanted before the penultimate hymn, and "Both now..." being chanted before the final hymn (which is usually a

Theotokion A Theotokion (; pl. ) is a hymn to Mary the Theotokos (), which is read or chanted ( troparion or sticheron) during the canonical hours and Divine Liturgy of the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic churches, as well as in the praises of the Or ...

Western Churches

In the Roman Rite, the ''Gloria Patri'' is frequently chanted or recited in the

principally at the end of psalms and canticles and in the

responsories A responsory or respond is a type of chant in western Christian liturgies. Definition The most general definition of a responsory is any psalm, canticle, or other sacred musical work sung responsorially, that is, with a cantor or small group si ...

. There are a few exceptions: for the

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

in the

Book of Daniel The Book of Daniel is a 2nd-century BC biblical apocalypse with a 6th century BC setting. Ostensibly "an account of the activities and visions of Daniel, a noble Jew exiled at Babylon", it combines a prophecy of history with an eschatology ...

, Chapter 3 (

The Prayer of Azariah and Song of the Three Holy Children The Prayer of Azariah and Song of the Three Holy Children, abbreviated ''Pr Azar'', is a passage which appears after Daniel 3:23 in some translations of the Bible, including the ancient Greek Septuagint translation. The passage is accepted by so ...

), the ''Gloria Patri'' is not chanted; rubrics in the liturgical books direct that: ''In fine huius cantici non dicitur Gloria Patri'' ("at the end of this canticle the ''Gloria Patri'' is not to be said"). Instead, the phrase "Praise him, and magnify him forever" is used. The ''Gloria Patri'' also figures in the

Introit The Introit (from Latin: ''introitus'', "entrance") is part of the opening of the liturgy, liturgical celebration of the Eucharist for many Christian denominations. In its most complete version, it consists of an antiphon, Psalms, psalm verse and ' ...

of the Latin Mass. It is also present in the

in the form of the Roman Rite published in ''Divine Worship: The Missal''. The prayer also figures prominently in pious devotions, notably the rosary, where it is recited at the end of each decade. Amongst

Anglicans Anglicanism is a Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia ...

, the ''Gloria Patri'' is mainly used at the Daily Offices of

Morning Morning is the period from sunrise to noon. There are no exact times for when morning begins (also true of evening and night) because it can vary according to one's lifestyle and the hours of daylight at each time of year. However, morning s ...

and Evening Prayer, to introduce and conclude the singing or recitation of psalms, and to conclude the canticles that lack their own concluding doxologies.

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 ...

have historically added the ''Gloria Patri'' both after the chanting of the

Responsorial Psalm Responsorial psalmody primarily refers to the placement and use of the Psalm within the readings at a Christian service of the Eucharist. The Psalm chosen in such a context is often called the responsorial psalm. Although often associated with ...

and following the ''

Nunc Dimittis The Nunc dimittis (), also known as the Song of Simeon or the Canticle of Simeon, is a canticle taken from the second chapter of the Gospel of Luke, verses 29 through 32. Its Latin name comes from its incipit, the opening words, of the Vulgate ...

'' during their Divine Service, as well as during

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 b ...

and

Vespers Vespers is a service of evening prayer, one of the canonical hours in Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic (both Latin and Eastern), Lutheran, and Anglican liturgies. The word for this fixed prayer time comes from the Latin , meanin ...

in the

Canonical hours In the practice of Christianity, canonical hours mark the divisions of the day in terms of fixed times of prayer at regular intervals. A book of hours, chiefly a breviary, normally contains a version of, or selection from, such prayers. In ...

. In

Methodism Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's br ...

, the ''Gloria Patri'' (usually in the traditional English form above) is frequently sung to conclude the "responsive reading" of the psalms as they are set out for congregational reading.Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes (2011), "Introduction to the Canticles and Psalms" in ''Singing the Faith'', with the words of the Gloria printed inside the front cover The prayer is also frequently used in evangelical

Presbyterian 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 ...

churches.

References

External links

"Doxology" at New Advent

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20110514002016/http://www.christusrex.org/www1/pater/index.html A website with the Lord's Prayer in multiple languages; some of the languages also have the ''Glory Be''
Audio recordings and texts of the Gloria Patri and other prayers in various languages
{{Authority control Christian prayer Christian worship and liturgy Rosary