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Glory Be to the Father, also known as Gloria Patri, 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 Greek original[]

The original Greek wording is as follows:

Δόξα Πατρὶ καὶ Υἱῷ καὶ Ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι,
καὶ νῦν καὶ ἀεὶ καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
Both now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

This is the form used in the early Church, both East and West, and which continues to be used by the Eastern Orthodox Churches, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, the Assyrian Church of the East, and the Eastern Catholic Churches.

The later Latin version[]

Pronunciation of the Glory Be to the Father (Gloria patri) in Latin with a strong American English accent.

Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto,
Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
As it was in the beginning, both now and always, and to the ages of ages. Amen.

In 529 the Second Synod of Vasio (Vaison in the province of Avignon) said that the additional words Sicut erat in principio are used in Rome, the East, and Africa as a protest against Arianism, and orders them to be said likewise in Gaul (can. v.[clarification needed]). As far as the East was concerned, the synod was mistaken. These words have never been used in any Eastern rite and the Greeks complained of their use in the West [Walafrid Strabo (9th century), De rebus eccl., xxv[clarification needed]].

The doxology in its current form has been used in the West since about the seventh century. (see Doxology, last paragraph, at New Advent)

English version[]

This doxology in the Roman Catholic and Anglican Churches is most commonly found in the following traditional form:

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 saecula saeculorum' as 'world without end' date from Cranmer's Book of Common Prayer, and are most commonly found in Roman Catholic and Anglican usage, as well as the derivative usage of older Lutheran liturgical books.

In the current usage of the Roman Catholic, Anglican and Lutheran churches, the following translation by the International Consultation on English Texts (ICET) has been increasingly 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 forever. Amen.

The doxology has a different translation in the use of the English-speaking Orthodox and Greek-Catholic Churches, as following:

Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
now and forever and to the ages of ages. Amen.

Usage[]

In the Eastern Orthodox Churches, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, the Assyrian Church of the East and the Eastern Catholic Churches, 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 during the usual beginning 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).

In the Roman Catholic Church, the Gloria Patri is frequently chanted or recited in the Liturgy of Hours, or Divine Office, used by the clergy, principally at the end of psalms and canticles and in the responsories. It also figures in the Introit of the Mass in the Roman Rite. The prayer figures prominently in non-liturgical devotions, notably the rosary, where "Glory be" is recited before the large beads (on which an "Our Father" is prayed) which separate the five sets of ten smaller beads, called decades, upon each of which a Hail Mary is prayed.

Amongst Anglicans, the Gloria Patri is mainly used to conclude the singing or recitation of psalms and canticles at the Daily Offices of Morning and Evening Prayer.

Lutherans have historically added the Gloria Patri after the recitation or chanting of the Psalm during the Service of the Word and at various times in the Daily Office. The Gloria Patri is frequently used in evangelical Presbyterian churches. In Methodism, the Gloria Patri (usually in the traditional English form above) is frequently sung to conclude the "responsive reading" that takes the place of the Office Psalmody.

In various languages[]

In Church Slavonic[]

The original version in Church Slavonic:

Слава Отцѹ и Сынѹ и Свѧтомѹ Дѹхѹ,
И нынѣ и приснω и во вѣки вѣкωмъ. Аминь.

This is the original phrasing, still used by the Old Believers, but with the reforms of Patriarch Nikon of Moscow, вѣкωмъ was replaced with вѣкωвъ, giving и во вѣки вѣкωвъ. This change initially only affected the Russian Orthodox state church, but the influence of liturgical books printed in the Russian Empire, eventually lead to the adoption of и во вѣки вѣкωвъ in most Slavic lands, displacing the older вѣкωмъ. Still, вѣкωмъ never died out entirely, and among those who were unaware of the older usage, any who used it were considered uneducated.

The Latin version, with the additional clause, reads in Slavonic thus:

Слава Отцѹ и Сынѹ и Свѧтомѹ Дѹхѹ,
Якоже бѣ искони, и нынѣ и приснω и во вѣки вѣкωмъ. Аминь.

In French[]

Gloire au Père, et au Fils et au Saint-Esprit.
Comme il était au commencement, et maintenant et toujours, et dans les siècles des siècles. Ainsi soit-il.

In Georgian[]

დიდება მამასა და ძესა და წმიდასა სულსა
აწ და მარადის და უკუნითი უკუნისამდე. ამინ

English transliteration:

dideba mamasa da dzesa da tsmidasa sulsa
ats da maradis da ukuniti ukunisamde. amin

In Korean[]

영광이 성부와 성자와 성령께
처음과 같이 이제와 항상 영원히, 아멘.

English transliteration:

Yeong-gwang-i Seong-Bu-wa Seong-Ja-wa Seong-Ryeong-ge
Cheo-uem-gwa gat'-i i-je-wa hang-sang yeong-won-hi, Amen.

In Maltese[]

Glorja lil Missier u lil Iben u lil Ispirtu Santu.
Kif kien mill-bidu, issa u għal dejjem ta' dejjem, Amen.

In Filipino[]

Catholic Versions

Traditional form:

Luwalhati sa Ama, at sa Anak, at sa Diyos Espiritu Santo,
Kapara nang sa unang-una, ngayon at kailan man, magpasawalang-hanggan, Amen.

Newer form:

When the ICEL recommended a new English version of this prayer, the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines also made a new version of both this and the Tagalog version of the Greater Doxology. According to some liturgists, the word luwalhati ("glory") has a sexual connotation, especially in the Southern Tagalog area, and so to avoid this, the word papuri ("praise/s") was utilised instead. The new version is as follows:

Papuri sa Ama at sa Anak at sa Espiritu Santo,
Kapara nang sa unang-una, ngayon at magpasawalang-hanggan, Amen/Siya nawa.

However, as in the Anglophone world, the older form enjoys wider use and is more known than the newer form.

Protestant Version

Ang Ama'y papurihan, at ang Anak, at ang Espiritu.
Buhat sa unang mula, ngayo't magpakailanman, walang hanggan. Amen, Amen.

In Thai[]

Catholic Version:
สิริพึงมี แด่พระบิดา และพระบุตร และพระจิต เหมือนในปฐมกาล บัดนี้และทุกเมื่อตลอดนิรันดร อาเมน
Protestant Version:
สาธุการแด่พระบิดา และแด่พระบุตร พระวิญญาณบริสุทธิ์ เป็นอย่างไรก่อนเวลาเดิมนั้น บัดนี้และเบื้องหน้าต่อไป ก็เป็นอย่างนั้น อาเมน อาเมน

In Serbian[]

Slava Ocu i Sinu, i Svetome Duhu.
Sada i uvek, i u vekove vekova, Amin.

In Shona[]

Vakudziwe Baba neMwanakomana na Mweya Mutsvene. Sezvakanga zviripo pakutanga, nazvino na kare kose kwemisi isingaperi. Amen

In Croatian[]

Slava Ocu i Sinu, i Duhu Svetomu.
Kako bijaše na početku, tako i sada i vazda, i u vijeke vijekova. Amen.

In German[]

Ehre sei dem Vater und dem Sohn und dem Heiligen Geiste.
Wie im Anfang, so auch jetzt und alle Zeit und in Ewigkeit, Amen.

In Chinese[]

Roman Catholic versions:
In Roman Catholic churches, this is known as 聖三光榮經 ("Trinitarian Doxology") and is traditionally recited in classical Chinese:

欽頌榮福,天主聖父,及聖子,及聖神,吾願其獲光榮。
闕初如何,今玆亦然,以迨永遠,及世之世。亞孟。

A modern Chinese form is gaining popularity:

願光榮歸於父、及子、及聖神,起初如何,今日亦然,直到永遠。亞孟。

Protestant version:
For the Protestants in China, different from the doxology, only a few churches, such as the Church of Christ in China sing the Gloria Patri every Sunday. The Chinese lyrics can be found in Hymns of Universal Praise(in Chinese:普天頌讚), published in 1977 by the Chinese Christian Literature Council.

但願榮耀,歸於父子聖靈,父子聖靈
起初這樣現在這樣,以後也這樣
永無窮盡,阿們,阿們。

In Japanese[]

In the Japanese Orthodox Church, the version used is as follows:

光栄は父と子と聖神に帰す、今も何時も世々に、アミン。

English Transliteration:

Koei wa Chichi to Ko to Seishin ni kisu, ima mo itsumo yoyo ni, Amin.

Roman Catholic version:

願わくは父と子と聖霊とに栄えあらんことを、初めにありしごとく今もいつも世々に至るまで、アーメン。

In Vietnamese[]

Sáng danh Đức Chúa Cha, và Đức Chúa Con, và Đức Chúa Thánh Thần
Như đã có trước vô cùng, và bây giờ, và hằng có, và đời đời chẳng cùng, Amen.

English Translation:

Glory be to the name of the Father, and Son, and Holy Spirit, as it was in the infinite beginning, and now, and ever shall be, for generations without end. Amen.

In Indonesian[]

Kemuliaan kepada Bapa, dan Putera dan Roh Kudus
Seperti pada permulaan, sekarang, selalu dan sepanjang segala abad. Amin.

English Translation:

Glory to the Father and Child and Holy Spirit, in the beginning, now, always, and through all of the centuries, Amen.

Media[]

References[]

External links[]

cs:Sláva Otci ga:Glóir don Athair ja:光栄讃詞 ko:영광송 la:Gloria Patri hu:Kis doxológia no:Ære være nn:Ære vere pag:Nagalang pt:Glória (Oração) ru:Краткое славословие sq:Lavdi Atit sk:Sláva Otcu sv:Gloria Patri tl:Luwalhati zh:榮耀頌

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