Te Deum
The Te Deum is a Latin Christian hymn traditionally ascribed to a date before AD 500, but perhaps with antecedents that place it much earlier. It is central to the Ambrosian hymnal, which spread throughout the Latin Church with other parts of the Ambrosian Rite of Milan in the 6th to 8th centuries. It is sometimes known as the Ambrosian Hymn, although authorship by Saint Ambrose is unlikely. The term Te Deum can also refer to a short religious service that is based upon the hymn.
It continues in use in many contexts by several denominations. In particular it is the core of a short church service of thanksgiving held, often at short notice, to celebrate good news such as a military victory, the signing of a peace treaty, or the birth of a royal child.
History
Authorship of the hymn is traditionally ascribed to Saint Ambrose or Saint Augustine.In 19th-century scholarship, Saint Hilary of Poitiers and Saint Nicetas of Remesiana were proposed as possible authors. In the 20th century, the association with Nicetas has been deprecated, so that the hymn, while almost certainly dating to the 4th century, is considered as being of uncertain authorship. Authorship of Nicetas of Remesiana was suggested by the association of the name "Nicetas" with the hymn in manuscripts from the 10th century onward, and was particularly defended in the 1890s by Germain Morin. Hymnologists of the 20th century, especially Ernst Kähler, have shown the association with "Nicetas" to be spurious. The Te Deum has structural similarities with a eucharistic prayer and it has been proposed that it was originally composed as part of one.
The hymn was part of the Old Hymnal since it was introduced to the Benedictine order in the 6th century, and it was preserved in the Frankish Hymnal of the 8th century. It was, however, removed from the New Hymnal which became prevalent in the 10th century. It was restored in the 12th century in hymnals that attempted to restore the praiseful intent of the Rule of St. Benedict, Chap. 12: How the Morning Office Is to Be Said.
In the traditional office, the Te Deum is sung at the end of Matins on all days when the Gloria is said at Mass; those days are all Sundays outside Advent, Septuagesima, Lent, and Passiontide; on all feasts and on all ferias during Eastertide.
Before the 1961 reforms of Pope John XXIII, neither the Gloria nor the Te Deum were said on the feast of the Holy Innocents, unless it fell on Sunday, as they were martyred before the death of Christ and therefore could not immediately attain the beatific vision.
In the Liturgy of the Hours of Pope Paul VI, the Te Deum is sung at the end of the Office of Readings on all Sundays except those in Lent, on all solemnities, on the octaves of Easter and Christmas, and on all feasts. The revised Handbook of Indulgences grants a plenary indulgence, under the usual conditions, to those who recite it in public on New Year's Eve.
In the Daily Office of the Catholic Ordinariates the Te Deum is sung at Morning Prayer as the Canticle following the First Lesson. It is appointed for Sundays except in Pre-Lent and Lent, Feasts and Solemnities, and all days during the Octaves of Christmas, Easter, and Pentecost.
It is also used together with the standard canticles in Morning Prayer as prescribed in the Anglican Book of Common Prayer, as an option in Morning Prayer or Matins for Lutherans, and is retained by many churches of the Reformed tradition.
The hymn is in regular use in the Catholic Church, Lutheran Church, Anglican Church and Methodist Church in the Office of Readings found in the Liturgy of the Hours, and in thanksgiving to God for a special blessing such as the election of a pope, the consecration of a bishop, the canonization of a saint, a religious profession, the publication of a treaty of peace, a royal coronation, etc. It is sung either after Mass or the Divine Office or as a separate religious ceremony. The hymn also remains in use in the Anglican Communion and some Lutheran Churches in similar settings.
Music and text
Originally, the hymn Te Deum was written on a Gregorian chant melody. The petitions at the end of the hymn are a selection of verses from the book of Psalms, appended subsequently to the original hymn.The hymn follows the outline of the Apostles' Creed, mixing a poetic vision of the heavenly liturgy with its declaration of faith. Calling on the name of God immediately, the hymn proceeds to name all those who praise and venerate God, from the hierarchy of heavenly creatures to those Christian faithful already in heaven to the Church spread throughout the world.
The hymn then returns to its credal formula, naming Christ and recalling his birth, suffering and death, his resurrection and glorification. At this point the hymn turns to the subjects declaiming the praise, both the universal Church and the singer in particular, asking for mercy on past sins, protection from future sin, and the hoped-for reunification with the elect.
Latin and English text
| Latin text | Translation from the Book of Common Prayer | Translation from ICEL, as confirmed by the Holy See, May 14 2020 Prot. No. 6/20 |
Salvum fac pópulum tuum, Dómine, et bénedic hæreditáti tuæ. | O Lord, save thy people: and bless thine heritage. | Save your people, Lord, and bless your inheritance. |
File:Ceiling murals in the chancel, Vä Church.jpg|thumb|right|12th-century murals in Vä Church, Sweden, depicting angels and saints holding scrolls with the text of Te Deum
''In the Book of Common Prayer, verse is written in half-lines, at which reading pauses, indicated by colons in the text.''