Soli Deo gloria

Soli Deo gloria is a Latin term for Glory to God alone. It has been used by famous artists like Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel to give God credit for their work. The phrase has become one of the five solas propounded to summarise the Reformers' basic beliefs during the Protestant Reformation.

As a doctrine, it means essentially that everything that is done is for God's glory to the exclusion of humankind's self-glorification and pride. Christians are to be motivated and inspired by God's glory and not their own.

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Meaning and related terms

The three words S.D.G. have meanings in Latin as follows: soli is the dative singular of the adjective "lone," "sole," and agrees with the dative singular Deo, (in the nominative dictionary form Deus), meaning "to God"; and gloria is the nominative case of "glory."

Soli Deo gloria is usually translated glory to God alone[1][2], but some translate it glory to the only God.[3] A similar phrase is found in the Vulgate translation of the Bible: "soli Deo honor et gloria".[4] This is grammatically the same as the signature of Bach and Handel, but using the dative "to the only God" then two nominative subjects "honour and glory." The verse reads differently in Greek and English because of the additional adjective "wise" aphthartoi, aoratoi, monoi, sophoi Theoi "to the immortal, invisible, unique, wise, God."

Musical and literary usage

The Baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach wrote the initials "SDG" at the beginning and end of all his church composition and also applied it to some, but not all, his secular works.[1] This dedication was at times also used by Bach's contemporary George Frideric Handel, e.g. in his Te Deum.[5] The 16th century Spanish mystic and poet St. John of the Cross used the similar phrase, Soli Deo honor et gloria, in his Precautions and Counsels.[6]

In tribute to Bach, the term was also chosen by Sir John Eliot Gardiner as the name for his own record label after leaving Archiv Produktion, to continue and complete his Bach cantatas project.

Protestant usage in the 'Five Solas'

Together with sola fide, sola gratia, sola scriptura and solus Christus, the phrase has become part of what is known as the five solas, a summary statement of central tenets of the Protestant Reformation.[7] Although these individual phrases have been used for centuries, it is not clear when they were first put together.

The emphasis of soli Deo gloria was allegedly in contradistinction to the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church of the day. An opposing view in Catholic ecclesiology is that the Church is the mystical body of Christ, and to honor the Church is to honor Christ himself. To distinguish the Body of Christ in this sense from his physical body, the term "Mystical Body of Christ" is often used, as in the title, of the encyclical Mystici Corporis Christi of Pope Pius XII which states, "the mystical Body of Christ... is the Catholic Church."[8]

Other denominational views

In Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic theology, the term latria is used for the form of adoration and glorification directed only to the Holy Trinity..[9] The term dulia is used for saints in general and hyperdulia (below latria) for the Virgin Mary.[10] The definition of the three level hierarchy of latria, hyperdulia and dulia goes back to the Second Council of Nicaea in 787.[11]

Mottos

Soli Deo gloria is the motto of the Brotherhood of Saint Gregory, a Christian Community of friars of the Episcopal Church founded within the Anglican communion in 1969. Soli Deo Gloria is also the motto for Wheaton Academy, a high school located in West Chicago, Illinois, which was founded in 1853, and Concordia College.[4] Soli Deo Gloria is the motto of Luther College and Dordt College. Soli Deo Gloria is the motto of the Chapel Choir at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio. Soli Deo Gloria is the motto of the American Guild of Organists. It is also the motto of Christ Presbyterian Academy in Nashville, Tennessee.

Soli Deo Gloria is also found on the face of the South African one rand coin.

The alternative saying Soli Deo Honor Et Gloria is the motto of the Huddleston family, a family of personal soldiers for Mary I of England (19 July 1553 – 17 November 1558) during her re-establishment of Roman Catholicism.

Relation to Solus Christus

Some believe this sola is redundant vis-a-vis Solus Christus, since the divine nature of Jesus has been a fundamental tenet of Christianity since before the time of the Apostolic Fathers and the Council of Nicea.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b The Cambridge companion to Bach, John Butt, ed. Cambridge University Press 1997 ISBN 0521587808 page 52 [1]
  2. ^ The Routledge dictionary of Latin quotations: the illiterati's guide to Latin maxims, mottoes, proverbs and sayings, Jon R. Stone, Routledge, 2005 p. 207
  3. ^ Ursuline Sisters of Louisville
  4. ^ 1 Timothy 1:17 in the Vulgate
  5. ^ Händel and the English Chapel Royal by Donald Burrows 2005 ISBN 0198162286 page 103 [2]
  6. ^ I Am With You Always by Benedict Groschel 2011 ISBN 1586172573 page 166 [3]
  7. ^ Reformed Theology, by R. Michael Allen, Continuum International Publishing Group, 2010, p. 77
  8. ^ Mystici Corporis Christi
  9. ^ Catholic beliefs and traditions by John F. O'Grady 2002 ISBN 0809140470 page 145
  10. ^ Trigilio, John and Brighenti, Kenneth The Catholicism Answer Book 2007 ISBN 1402208065 page 58
  11. ^ The History of the Christian Church by Philip Smith 2009 ISBN 1150722452 page 288

External links