Te Deum

English-language translations of
Te Deum (c. 410s)
by Anonymous

The Te Deum is an early Christian hymn of praise. Though its authorship is traditionally ascribed to Saints Ambrose and Augustine, on the occasion of the latter's baptism by the former in AD 387, modern scholars doubt this attribution, many assigning it to Nicetas, bishop of Remesiana in the late 4th to early 5th centuries.

The hymn follows the outline of the Apostles' Creed, mixing a poetic vision of the heavenly liturgy with its declaration of faith. Naming 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 glorification. At this point the hymn turns to the subjects declaiming the praise, both the Church in general and the singer in particular, asking for mercy on past sins, protection from future sin, and the hoped-for reunification with the elect.

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English-language translations of Te Deum include:

Te Deum

"Te Deum" in The Rite of the Consecration of a Bishop in the Catholic Church, 1848.
"Te Deum" in the Church of England's Book of Common Prayer, 1892.
"Holy God We Praise Thy Name" by Clarence Alphonsus Walworth, 1858
"We Praise Thee" in The Episcopal Church's Book of Common Prayer, 2007.
"You are God" by the International Consultation on English Texts, 1984.

Musical settings edit

"Festival Te Deum", by Arthur Sullivan, 1872.
"Grosser Gott", anonymous
"Te Deum Laudamus" by Joseph Barnby

This work was published before January 1, 1929, and is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago.

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