The Gloria Patri, also known in English 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 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,[1] or to the Father and the Holy Spirit with (μετά) the Son,[2] or to the Son with (σύν) the Father and the Holy Spirit.[2]
The Trinitarian 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 Roman Empire with the Edict of Thessalonica in 380.[3]
- ^ (Romans 16:27; Jude 25; Letter of Clement to the Corinthians, 4; Martyrdom of Polycarp, 20; etc.)
- ^ a b "CHURCH FATHERS: Martyrdom of Polycarp". newadvent.org. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
- ^ Adrian Fortescue, "Doxology" in Catholic Encyclopedia (New York 1909)