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Bible Dictionaries
Gloria Patri
The American Church Dictionary and Cyclopedia
or Meaning "Glory to the Father," the first words of the short anthem used after each Psalm and elsewhere in the services, viz. "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." It is often called the "Lesser Doxology." The Gloria Patri has been used in Christian worship from the beginning and is traceable to the Baptismal formula. Its frequent use in our services is not a vain repetition, as some suppose, but is very devotional and helpful to increased earnestness in worship, drawing our thoughts from man, his wants and experiences, and directing them to the Triune God, the Author and Giver of every good and perfect gift. Sung after the Psalms it gives to them a Christian meaning and interpretation. In accordance with the ancient usage the Gloria is said with bowed head as an act of worship and of faith, and is also said facing the Altar or East. (See EAST, TURNING TO.)
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Miller, William James. Entry for 'Gloria Patri'. The American Church Dictionary and Cyclopedia. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/acd/g/gloria-patri.html. 1901.
