A short Version in Syriac and Arabic of the Gloria in Excelsis Deo , with Additions by St. Athanasius the Great*

: The manuscripts preserved in the Mingana Collection ‒Mingana Syriac MS 83 and Syriac MS 155‒ contain, inter alia , an interesting short piece dealing with the text of the Gloria in Excelsis Deo in Syriac and Arabic respectively with additions by Saint Athanasius the Great. The purpose of this paper is to draw the attention of scholars and colleagues to the existence of this hitherto unpublished work as well as to present its text and provide an analysis of its contents, linguistic features and likely authenticity.


Introduction
The rich collection of the Mingana Syriac, Arabic and Garshūni manuscripts, preserved in the University of Birmingham Library (England) 1 contains numerous valuable, and in some cases unique, works. Volume I of the Catalogue in particular contains a number of seminal works on a variety of Patristic and Christian subject matters in Syriac and Arabic (Garshūni). Two of these manuscripts, Mingana Syriac MS 83 and Syriac MS 155, contain a piece dealing with the text of the Gloria in Excelsis Deo in Syriac and Arabic respectively with additions by St. Athanasius the Great.

History of the Hymn
Gloria in excelsis Deo is the title and beginning of a hymn known also as the Greater Doxology as distinguished from the "Minor Doxology" or Gloria Patri and the "Angelic Hymn". 2 The title is often abbreviated to "Gloria in Excelsis" or simply "Gloria". It is an example of the psalmiidiotici ('private psalms'), i.e. compositions by individuals in imitation of the biblical Psalter that were popular in the 2 nd and 3 rd centuries. 3 Another surviving example of this lyric poetry is the Te Deum. The hymn begins with the words that the angels sang when the birth of Christ was announced to shepherds in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 2, verse 14. Other verses were added very early, forming a doxology, which in the fourth century became part of morning prayers, and is still recited in the Byzantine Rite Orthros service. 4

The Manuscripts
The text of the present piece has survived in the following Mingana manuscripts: (i) MS Mingana Syriac 83, dated A.G. 2096 = A.D. 1785. The part of the manuscript which comprises our Syriac text consists of fols. 142a-143b. This manuscript contains a collection of prayers and tracts of a mystical character in Syriac, including the prayer of Philoxenus of Mabbug; the vision of Macarius of Egypt; the commandments of our Lord to his disciples and the Trisagion, the first part of which is said to have been recited by the angels near the tomb of our Lord, and the second part by Joseph and Nicodemus. 5 Saint Athanasius "Patriarch of Alexandria". 7 For the sake of comparison I reproduce below the text of the Syriac and Arabic versions of the original hymn, i.e. without any additions, together with present-day Greek text of the same and its translation. This is followed by the Syriac and Arabic text and translation of the additions attributed to Saint Athanasius of Alexandria. A comparison of the Syriac text of the piece with that of the Arabic shows that, with the exception of a few insignificant variations such as orthographic readings and the omission, addition or abbreviation of a word, they are substantially the same. Some features of the Arabic text indicate that it may have been translated from Syriac.

English Translation
Glory to you who has shown us the light. Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, goodwill to all people. We praise you, we bless you, we worship you, we glorify you, we give thanks to you for your great glory. Lord, King, heavenly God, Father, almighty; Lord, the only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit. Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father who take away the sin of the world, have mercy on us, you who take away the sins of the world. Receive our prayer, you who sit at the right hand of the Father, and have mercy on us. For you only are holy, only you are Lord Jesus Christ, to the glory of God the Father. Amen. Each day we bless you, and we praise your name forever and to the ages of ages.

Additions attributed to St. Athanasius
The following is the Syriac and Arabic text of the additions ascribed to Saint Athanasius of Alexandria in both manuscripts:

Translation of the Additions
Blessed are you, Lord Almighty, the God of our fathers. Your name is glorified and magnified by praises for ever and ever. You are worthy of glory; you are worthy of praise. Acclaim befits you, the God and Father of all, the Father of Truth with your Only-Begotten Son and your All Holy and Life-giving Spirit. Now and for ever and ever, Amen. Our Lord Jesus Christ, do not shut the gate of your mercy in our face. We the sinners, your servants, confess; have mercy on us. O Lord, your love caused you to come down to us from your position (place) so that through your death our mortality has become null and void: have mercy on us.

Conclusion
The Authenticity of the Piece with its additions must be questioned. Based on the language and the contents of both manuscripts, this piece probably belongs to the Pseudo-Athanasius works attributed to St. Athanasius which are of uncertain authenticity and are unlikely to be genuine Athanasius. To the best of my knowledge it does not rank amongst the surviving genuine authentic works of Saint Athanasius. It most likely falls into the category of valued works ascribed to Saint Athanasius the Great and sheltered under his authority. It is to be ranked with the spuria rather than with the merely dubia. None the less it is not without interest to Patristic scholars who are concerned with the out put of the great Theologian and Church Father of Alexandria.