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4 THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC LAYMEN’S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA FOR THINE IS THE KINGDOM, ETC. Note: Recently a well known Catholic lady sent us two questions regarding what is generally known as the Doxology, or the closing of the Lord’s prayer as generally said in Protestant Churches. Her letter contained another in which a scholarly gentleman undertook to show that the Catholics had erred in omitting the Doxology. Investigation shows that the great weight of authority is against any such con tention. As this is a matter that frequently arises the correspondence is reproduced in full below, names only being omitted. The Lady’s Questions. August 24, 1920. Catholic Laymen’s Association: May I intrude on your valuable time to ask a little information about the ending of the Lord’s Prayer? In a recent discussion with a Presbyterian, I stated that the ending “Thine Is the Kingdom, etc.,” had been added by the Protestant Church, and that my impression was that the Catholic Church considered it an over-emphasis of the First Person of the Blessed Trinity. My Presbyterian friend referred the question, as you will see, to a scholar, whose answer I enclose. The two questions I would be glad to have you answer are: Why do we give the greater authority to the Latin and the Vulgate versions in the compilation of the Douay Bible? and Does the Church consider the ending of the prayer, as the Protestants say it, a questioning of the equal greatness of the Three Persons of the Trinity, or does the Church merely question the authenticity of the final line? While the matter is relatively unimportant, I do not like to leave it unsettled, since my friend was sufficiently interested to carry our little conversation to a student of the Bible whose authority she looks up to. With appreciation of your attention to this little matter, Very truly yours, (Signed) What the Scholar Wrote. August 6, 1920. Dear Madam: Yours of recent date came duly to hand. Your Catholic friend is both right and wrong, as they usually are. The Doxology of the Lord’s Prayer is recorded only in the King James Version, in Matt. 6. The American revision omits it from the text, placing it as a foot-note, with this comment: “Many au thorities, some ancient, but with variations, add, “For Thine Is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory, Forever, Amen.” It is not found in some of the oldest manuscripts; it is neither in the Old Latin nor Vulgate versions, which date back to the second and fourth centuries, respectively; but it is found in all the Syriac versions (one of them dating as early as the Old Latin), and also in the Thebaic, or Egyptian, version, which dates back to the second century also. It is found in all the versions written for the Jews, and in the large majority of all the manuscripts. The Douay Bible, which the Catholics follow, is a translation from the Old Latin and the Vulgate; therefore the Doxology is not found in that version. Personally, I see no reason why it should not have been authentic, for many of the expressions of Jesus came from the Old Testament, which was His Bible; and you will find almost exactly these words, First Chronicles, 29:11, which is a record of David’s last words. There is nothing in it that does away with the Trinity; in fact, it rather emphasizes it, because of the three-in-one expression of praise, which its words declare. The Douay Bible and our King James version are so nearly alike that if your Catholic friend rejects one, she will have to reject the other also. It would probably be the part of wisdom for all Catholics to study their Bibles instead of the prayer-book, and not leave so much to the interpretation of their priests. The Reply of the Association. Replying to your letter of August 24th in regard to the addition to the Lord’s Prayer, “Thine Is the Kingdom Etc.” Your impression that the Church regards this phrase as an over emphasis of the First Person of the Blessed Trinity is, perhaps, due to a confusion arising from the addition made by the Council of Nicae to the ancient form of the Lesser Doxology, “Glory Be to the Father, Etc." Prior to the Arian heresy, which was an attack on the Trinity, this Doxology read: “Glory Be to the Father, to the Son and to the Holy Ghost.” The Council of Nicae added the words, “as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,” in order to confound the Arian heretics who held that the Son was not “from the beginning” equal to the Father, not consubstantial with Him. The reason the Church does not sanction the use of "Thine Is the Kingdom, Etc.” at the end of the Lord’s Player is merely because there is no con vincing evidence that our Lord used these words when teaching this prayer to His Apostles. It is not found in the most ancient Greek MS of the New Testa ment, particularly the Sinaitic MS, or the Vatican MS, regarded by all Greek critics, whether Catholic or non-Catholic, as the most reliable MSS in the'world. In consequence, this ending of the Lord’s Prayer is usually omitted in modern editions of the Greek New Testament by Protestant scholars, among whom may be mentioned Tischendorf, Lachman, Tregelles, (Continued on Page Twelve)