Traditional Hymns
Glory Be to the Father
Glory Be to the Father
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Glory Be to the Father (.midi) Glory Be to the Father (.mp3) Glory Be to the Father Bells Version (.mp3)
1. 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. Amen.
Story of the hymn Glory Be to the Father
"Glory Be to the Father" (Gloria Patri), also called the Lesser or Minor Doxology, is an ancient short hymn of praise to the Trinity. It is not the work of a single known author or composer but grew out of early Christian liturgical practice.
Its roots reach into Jewish worship, where short doxologies (words of glory) such as the Kaddish closed sections of prayer or psalmody. Early Christians adapted this pattern, adding explicit Trinitarian language drawn especially from the baptismal formula in Matthew 28:19 ("in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit").
The earliest Christian doxologies were often addressed to the Father "through" the Son or "with" the Holy Spirit. By the second and third centuries, brief Trinitarian ascriptions of glory were already appearing in worship. The parallel form that gives equal glory to all three Persons: "Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit"—became standard in the fourth century.
This shift carried strong doctrinal weight during the Arian controversy. Arius and his followers taught that the Son was a created being, subordinate to the Father and not eternally divine. Orthodox Christians responded by insisting on co-equal glory for Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The second half of the Western form, "as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end", further affirmed the Son's eternal existence, echoing the opening of John's Gospel ("In the beginning was the Word").
