There are traditions attributing the hymn to
Emperor Justinian and
Severus of Antioch, hence its common Greek designation as "Justinian's Hymn". It is popularly believed that Justinian is the person responsible for the hymn's spread and popularity. During the controversy caused by the Origenists, Emperor Justinian declared that this hymn should be sung in all Christian Churches. The
Oriental Orthodox tradition however, ascribes the hymn to
Severus of Antioch, and it is referred to in
Syriac Orthodox liturgical books as the “Hymn of St. Severus.” In the Syriac Orthodox liturgy, the hymn is sung at the start of the Divine Liturgy, whereas in the
Armenian Orthodox liturgy, it is sung during the second antiphon and the text is identical to the Byzantine version, and in the
Coptic Orthodox liturgy, during Holy Week. Analysis of an ancient Georgian Chantbook from Jerusalem has identified the text among the corpus of hymnography, supporting a timeframe of composition prior to the middle of the 6th century when the Chantbook was compiled. The attribution of the hymn to
Athanasius or an author prior to the mid-6th century seems most plausible, as it would be highly unlikely that miaphysite (
Oriental Orthodox) communities would accept a liturgical hymn composed and promulgated by
Justinian I, who was stridently pro-Chalcedonian. On the other hand, the dyophysite (
Eastern Orthodox) churches would be equally as unlikely to accept a liturgical hymn composed by someone such as
Severus of Antioch, whom they regarded to be a heretic. ==Text==