Gloria Patri

This ascription of praise to the Holy Trinity is no doubt derived from Jewish doxologies, similar to that at the end of the Lord’s Prayer or specifically Christian doxologies such as Romans 16:27, Philippians 4:20, and Revelation 5:13. Its use at the end of psalms is at least as old as the fourth century, and metrical paraphrases are found attached to hymns in the early medieval Offices as well as in more modern hymnody.

There was no strong pressure to change the ICET text printed above as layout 1, but the Consultation believed that, where it was appropriate, layout 3 in six lines would make the structure and meaning clearer. It recognized that when arranged for singing, the Gloria Patri would normally be arranged in two or four lines. It also recognized that different parts of the English-speaking world differ in their use of “shall” and “will” and that some Churches will therefore wish to conclude “and shall be for ever. Amen.” An advantage of the six-line scheme is that it encourages “will” (or “shall”) to be stressed, as is intended. The line references in the following notes are to layout 1.

Line 1. The first part of the doxology is the more ancient and appears originally to have had the form Gloria Patri per Filium in Spiritu Sancto (“Glory to the Father through the Son in the Holy Spirit”). In the fourth century, in opposition to those who claimed that this form expressed the Son’s subordination to the Father, the more familiar form began to be used. The naming of the three Persons in parallel order agrees with the baptismal formula in Matthew 28:19. As a safeguard against any suggestion of tritheism some have suggested that the more ancient form quoted above should be restored. Consideration was also give to a form beginning “Glory to God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” The Consultation decided to retain the first part in its traditional form since this has long been regarded as setting forth doctrinal orthodoxy.

Line 2. The second part has developed from the simple response “for ever,” first to include “now,” and later, but only in the West, “as it was in the beginning.” The Synod of Vaison in 529 considered the latter addition to be a protest against those who did not believe in the preexistence of the Son. It has been pointed out that in this case the second half might apply not to “Glory” but to “the Son” and that there is perhaps an intentional echo of John 1:1 in sicut erat in principio. It seems better to follow tradition, however, in taking “Glory” as the subject.

There are no verbs in the Greek form and only erat (“was”) in the Latin. In actual use, forms without verbs in English have been found to be too brief, particularly when sung.