The Threatened Series - 12
The First Council of Constantinople virtually put an end to Arianism in
the east; it migrated to the west, where it gave St Ambrose a lot of
trouble; but that's a different story.
A liturgical consequence of the Arian controversy is the Gloria Patria,
or "Lesser Doxology" (the Greater Doxology is the Gloria in Excelsis).
The older doxology had been "Gloria Patri PER Filio IN Spiritu Sancto"
- Glory be to the Father through the Son in the Holy Spirit. Now, in
reaction to Arianism, this was changed to "Gloria Patri et Filio et
Spiritui Sancto" - Glory be to the Father AND to the Son AND to the
Holy Spirit. All three persons are given equal glory. And to make it
clear that this is no innovation in doctrine, but simply a making
explicit of what had always been believed, it goes on, "Sicut erat in
principio et nunc et semper, et in saecula saeculorum, Amen." - As it
was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end,
Amen.
St Basil started using the new formula alongside the old in Caesarea,
and caused a storm. The Arians complained that he was using texts
which were not only foreign and novel, but contradicted one another.
In Basil's work 'On the Holy Spirit' he expounds the meaning of both
the old and the new formula. This is a remarkably learned treatise,
citing a host of earlier Fathers. It can be found in NPNF, Series 2,
vol. 8.
The Gloria Patri is probably the most-used of all Christian prayers.
In the daily office, it is used at the beginning of each hour, after
nearly every psalm and canticle, in responsories, and in metrical form
at the end of many hymns. It is said after every decade of the rosary,
and in many other devotions. It is not, at the moment, used at Mass.
It used to be, for it formed part of the Introit of the old Mass; but
the Introit has been simplified.
Oriens.
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