Gloria Patri: The History and Theology of the Lesser Doxology

“Amen"

T “ Amen” The Book of Revelation ends with these lines: “‘Surely, I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all” (Rev 22:20–21). Amen is a Semitic word that means “thus” or “it is true.” Amen is rooted in the verb mn, which is related to various Hebrew words indicating truth, faith, and trust.67 In saying Amen one is saying “yes” to all of life in the providence of God, who is sovereign Lord of all that comes about. Paul writes: “For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you, Silvanus and Timothy and I, was not ‘Yes and No’; but in him it is always ‘Yes.’ For in him every one of God’s promises is a ‘Yes.’ For this reason it is through him that we say the ‘Amen,’ to the glory of God. But it is God who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us, by putting his seal on us and giving us his Spirit in our hearts as a first installment” (2 Cor 1:19–22). Thus, at the end of a prayer led by another, the Amen signifies that the respondent accepts the prayer as his or her own, approves its sentiments, and concurs in its petition. “So be it” in English (Ainsi soit-il in French or Così sia in Italian) captures something 112 of the content of Amen. Justin Martyr writes in the second century : “At the end of these prayers [Eucharistic prayers] and thanksgiving , all present express their approval by saying ‘Amen’. This Hebrew word, ‘Amen,’ means ‘So be it.’”68 St. Augustine writes of the word “Amen” in one of his sermons: “My brethren, your Amen is your signature; it is your consent; it is your confirmation .”69 The word “Amen” is so ancient and venerable in Jewish and Christian prayer that it hardly requires a translation. One commentator writes that the Amen was “understood as the rati- fication of any blessing” and at the conclusion of prayers it was understood as “the appropriation of the intent which had been expressed, and thus, functioned as an affirming doxology for worshippers.”70 “A M E N ” 113 ...