"Gloria in excelsis Deo" (Latin for "Glory to God in the highest") is a hymn known also as the Greater Doxology (as distinguished from the "Minor Doxology" or Gloria Patri) and the Angelic Hymn. The name is often abbreviated to Gloria in Excelsis or simply Gloria. The hymn begins with the words that the angels sang when the birth of Christ was announced to shepherds in Luke 2:14. Other verses were added very early, forming a doxology. It is used in a number of Orthodox services and is a proper hymn of Catholic Mass.