Soli Deo gloria is a Latin term for Glory to God alone. It has been used by artists like Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frideric Handel, and Christoph Graupner to signify that the work was produced for the sake of praising God. The phrase has become one of the five solae propounded to summarise the Reformers' basic beliefs during the Protestant Reformation. As a greeting, it was used by monks in cistercian and trappist monastic orders in written comunication. As a doctrine, it means that everything is done for God's glory to the exclusion of mankind's self-glorification and pride. Christians are to be motivated and inspired by God's glory and not their own.
Meaning and related terms
The three words Soli Deo gloria have meaning in Latin as follows: ' is the dative singular of the adjective "lone", "sole", and agrees with the dative singular ',, meaning "to God"; and is the nominative case of "glory","gloria". Soli Deo gloria is usually translated glory to God alone, but some translate it glory to the only God. A similar phrase is found in the Vulgate translation of the Bible: "soli Deo honor et gloria". This is grammatically the same as the signature of Bach and Handel, but using the dative "to the only God" then two nominative subjects "honour and glory." The verse reads differently in Greek and English because of the additional adjective "wise": ἀφθαρτῷ, ἀορατῷ, μόνῳ, σοφῷ Θεῷ, aphthartôi, aoratôi, mónōi, sophôi Theôi—"to the immortal, invisible, unique, wise God."
Musical and literary usage
The Baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach wrote the initials "S. D. G." at the end of all his church compositions and also applied it to some, but not all, his secular works. This dedication was at times also used by Bach's contemporary George Frideric Handel, e.g. in his Te Deum. The 16th century Spanish mystic and poet St. John of the Cross used the similar phrase, Soli Deo honor et gloria, in his Precautions and Counsels. In tribute to Bach, the term was also chosen by Sir John Eliot Gardiner as the name for his own record label after leaving Archiv Produktion, to continue and complete his Bach cantatas project. Aaron Shust's 2009 song "To God Alone " was inspired by Bach's writing "S.D.G." at the bottom of his musical scores.
Together with sola fide, sola gratia, sola scriptura and solus Christus, the phrase has become part of what is known as the Five Solae, a summary statement of central tenets of the Protestant Reformation. Although these individual phrases have been used for centuries, it is not clear when they were first put together.
