"Glory to God in the highest" —St. Luke

"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will towards men" (Luke 2:14)
This verse from the Gospel of St. Luke tells us about the angels appearing to the shepherds and announcing to them the Nativity of Christ.  This verse is part of the hymn known as the "Great Doxology" in the Eastern Churches or "Gloria" in the Western Church. The Latin version "Gloria in Excelsis Deo" was translated by St. Hilary of Poitiers (300 to 367);  it seems that St. Hilary brought the hymn from the East after being exiled there for four years. The Latin hymn uses the word "excelsis" to translate the Greek word "ypsistis" (the highest) in Luke 2:14 instead of St. Jerome's "altissimis" used in the Vulgate. In the Eastern Orthodox Chuch,  Luke 2:14 ("Glory to God in the highest...") is said three times prior to reading the Six Psalms (Hexapsalmos) at the Matins service.