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Bible Dictionaries
Gloria in Excelsis
The American Church Dictionary and Cyclopedia
or Meaning "Glory in the Highest," the title of the final hymn in the Communion Office. It is called the "Greater Doxology," and also, the "Angelic Hymn" as it is based on the song of the angels at Christ's Birth, which forms its opening words. The Gloria in Excelsis is the oldest and most inspiring of all Christian hymns. Its author and the time of its composition are unknown, but it was in use in the very earliest ages of the Church as a daily morning hymn. Its introduction into the Liturgy appears to have been gradual. The first words of it are found in the Liturgy of St. James, from which fact we learn that the germ of it was evidently used in Apostolic times. It is interesting to note that in ancient Liturgies the Gloria in Excelsis was placed at the beginning and not at the end of the Communion Office. It occupied such a position in our own Liturgy until A.D. 1552, when it was placed after the Thanksgiving. By the rubric permission is given to use a hymn instead of it, and this is often done during Advent and Lent, thus reserving the Gloria in Excelsis for use in more joyous seasons such as Christmas, Easter, etc.
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Miller, William James. Entry for 'Gloria in Excelsis'. The American Church Dictionary and Cyclopedia. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/acd/g/gloria-in-excelsis.html. 1901.
