Sunday, March 06, 2011

New Book of Praise (5)

From Jubilee bulletin of 3/6/2011

The new Book of Praise (5)
Hymn 9, Glory Be to the Father

The new Book of Praise includes nineteen of the twenty-eight songs of the Augment. Over the next while, I will give a brief introduction to each of these new hymns in the order in which they appear in our hymnary.

Hymn 9, Glory Be to the Father, is an ancient liturgical text written, originally in Greek, in the second century. The initial part of the Gloria Patri (“Glory to the Father”) may be traced back to the Trinitarian baptismal formula recorded in Matthew 28:19. The second part, which begins with “as it was in the beginning,” was added by a synod in 529 as a response to the heresy of Arianism. The text reflects the orthodox teaching of the eternal unity and equality of the holy Trinity.

Charles Meineke (1782-1850) composed this tune, GLORIA PATRI. He served as organist at Saint Paul Episcopal Church in Baltimore, Maryland. Meineke published several volumes of hymns during his life.

This song of praise can be used any time a doxology is liturgically appropriate.
~gvp
Sources: Psalter Hymnal Handbook; Internet