THE DOXOLOGY OF THE LORD'S PRAYER - DR. GIL HAAS - SAINT AUGUSTINE OF CANTERBURY EPISCOPAL CHURCH, OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA

What has been labeled, “The Lord’s Prayer” (aka, Pater Noster, or the Our Father) is found only in Matthew’s and Luke’s gospels (Luke’s version is shorter).  The closing, or doxology, (“For Thine is the kingdom,” etc) is not found in either version.  Some Church manuscripts from the fourth century include it while others do not.  Roman Catholics have never included the doxology in their liturgy, but uniformly the Orthodox branch of Christendom has prayed this concluding phrase.  The English wording of the Lord’s Prayer (used by both Anglicans and Catholics) was the one first mandated by Henry VIII while the English church still communed with Rome, and it did not include the doxology.  Later translations replaced “which art” with “who art” and “in earth” with “on earth.”  The first few editions of the Book of Common Prayer did not add the doxology.  However, during the reign of Elizabeth I and a resurgence in the desire to rid the Church of England from Catholic vestiges, the Lord’s Prayer was changed to include the doxology.  The Lord’s Prayer in most instances in our Book of Common Prayer concludes with the doxology.  However, when it is used in our Compline Service (pp 132-133), it is omitted.
~Dr. Gil Haas, Saint Augustine of Canterbury Episcopal Church, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma