Core Glossary
Core Glossary
translation_memory.json is the enforced glossary for every Phase 2 translation in this curriculum. This document summarizes its shape and the principles behind it; see the Glossary Risk Groups for the full per-term entries.
Composition
The glossary holds 47 terms spanning all four risk tiers, drawn from the doctrines identified in Doctrine Analysis and grounded in the cultural risks identified in Culture Analysis. Every term entry records:
- The approved Modern Greek translation and a transliteration (included for every term in this Language Package, since precise pronunciation and spelling both matter for a script this curriculum’s broader pipeline otherwise renders only in Latin-script languages)
- The doctrine risk tier (Critical/High/Medium/Low)
- Explicitly rejected readings, specific to either secular semantic bleaching or patristic/liturgical over-accretion as relevant to that term
- Notes explaining the direction and nature of the term’s two-thousand-year semantic drift from Paul’s own usage
Governing principles
- The Koine text as the anchor — where Modern Greek has drifted, this glossary anchors back to the NT’s own first-century usage rather than to either later patristic theological development or later secular usage, treating both as things to actively correct for rather than assume.
- Explicit bidirectional disambiguation, not silent avoidance — because Greek’s risk runs in two opposite directions (accretion and bleaching) depending on the term, every Critical-risk term’s notes specify which direction applies and why, rather than using a single boilerplate warning.
- Version-controlled and append-only in Phase 2 — if a new term is discovered during document translation, it is added to translation memory and the version number incremented, never silently improvised per-document.
Relationship to the Doctrine Risk Registry
Every glossary term’s doctrine field links back to an entry in doctrine_risk_registry.json, so a term’s risk tier is always traceable to the specific doctrine it protects — the glossary enforces vocabulary and names its direction of semantic drift, the doctrine registry explains why that vocabulary matters.
Critical Risk Terms
Calling
Approved rendering: κλήση
Transliteration: klísi
Doctrine: Divine Calling
Rejected alternatives: κλήση με την καθημερινή έννοια μιας τηλεφωνικής κλήσης ή δικαστικής κλήσης/κλήσης τροχαίας
CRITICAL, and a uniquely Greek risk: in Modern Greek, ‘κλήση’ overwhelmingly means an ordinary phone call or a legal summons/traffic ticket in everyday speech (‘μου ήρθε κλήση,’ ‘I got a ticket’). This is the reverse problem from most languages in this pipeline: instead of a false-sounding word carrying too much wrong meaning, a genuinely correct, biblically rooted word risks being heard as trivial or bureaucratic because of overwhelming secular usage. Requires deliberate reactivation of the theological sense in every occurrence.
Father
Approved rendering: Πατέρας
Transliteration: Patéras
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
God as personal Father; standard and unambiguous. ‘Πατήρ’ is the elevated liturgical/NT form; ‘Πατέρας’ is standard Modern Greek.
God
Approved rendering: Θεός
Transliteration: Theós
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Standard and unambiguous; no rival deity-name confusion in Greek culture.
Grace
Approved rendering: χάρη
Transliteration: chári
Doctrine: Grace
Rejected alternatives: χάρη με την καθημερινή έννοια της γοητείας ή ομορφιάς, χάρη ως νομική/προεδρική χάρη (απονομή χάριτος)
CRITICAL: same word as the NT’s χάρις, but Modern Greek has substantially broadened its everyday secular use — ‘χάρη’ now commonly means personal charm or gracefulness (‘έχει χάρη,’ ‘she’s charming’) or a legal pardon/clemency (‘απονομή χάριτος,’ a presidential pardon). Paul’s theological sense (unmerited divine favor) risks being heard through either secular sense; must be anchored explicitly to the theological meaning in every occurrence.
Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: Άγιο Πνεύμα
Transliteration: Ágio Pnévma
Doctrine: Sanctification
Standard and unambiguous personal third Person of the Trinity. As with Romanian, Greek Orthodox theology rejects the Filioque (the Spirit proceeding from the Father alone), a controversy in which Greek-speaking Byzantine theologians (notably Photius) played the central historical role. Romans itself does not address procession directly, but translators should avoid trinitarian phrasing elsewhere in the curriculum presuming the Filioque as settled.
Holy
Approved rendering: άγιος
Transliteration: ágios
Doctrine: Sanctification
CRITICAL: identical word to ‘saints’ below — Greek does not have separate words the way English distinguishes the adjective ‘holy’ from the noun-category ‘saint.’ See Saints for the full risk discussion.
Imputed Righteousness
Approved rendering: λογιζόμενη δικαιοσύνη
Transliteration: logizómeni dikaiosýni
Doctrine: Justification by Faith
Rejected alternatives: δικαιοσύνη ως αποκλειστικά εσωτερική μεταμόρφωση μέσω της θέωσης, χωρίς καμία δικανική διάσταση
CRITICAL: ‘λογίζομαι’ (‘to credit, reckon, count’) is Paul’s own verb in Romans 4, quoting Genesis 15:6 from the Septuagint — a text a Greek reader can access in the very same language Paul is using. Greek Orthodox theology, however, generally folds justification into the larger, more holistic theosis framework, emphasizing real transformation over forensic crediting. This compound phrase should be anchored directly to Paul’s own LXX-quoting argument in Romans 4, which is uniquely and directly available in Greek, rather than left to default to either Western systematic category.
Jesus
Approved rendering: Ιησούς
Transliteration: Iisoús
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Standard NT and liturgical form, unchanged for two millennia.
Justification
Approved rendering: δικαίωση
Transliteration: dikaíosi
Doctrine: Salvation
Rejected alternatives: δικαίωση με τη σύγχρονη καθημερινή έννοια του ‘να αποδειχθεί κανείς σωστός’ (προσωπική δικαίωση)
CRITICAL: Modern Greek ‘δικαίωση’ is very commonly used colloquially for simple personal vindication (‘τελικά δικαιώθηκα,’ ‘I was proven right in the end’), a substantially weaker, secular sense than Paul’s forensic declaration of righteousness before God. This is semantic erosion through ordinary modern usage, not doctrinal corruption from a rival religious system.
Lord
Approved rendering: Κύριος
Transliteration: Kýrios
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: Κύριος με την καθημερινή έννοια της ευγενικής προσφώνησης ‘κύριε’ (αντίστοιχο του ‘Mr.’)
CRITICAL, and among the most distinctive risks in this entire pipeline: in Modern Greek, ‘κύριος’ is also the completely ordinary polite title equivalent to English ‘Mister/Sir’ (‘κύριε’ in address, ‘ο κύριος Παπαδόπουλος,’ ‘Mr. Papadopoulos’). Romans 10:9’s confession ‘Jesus is Lord’ (Ἰησοῦς Κύριος) must be actively reconnected to its Septuagint background, where Κύριος is the standard Greek rendering of the divine name YHWH — meaning Paul’s application of the word to Jesus is a direct claim to Jesus’s identity with God, a datum uniquely traceable in Greek. Must never be allowed to register with the flatness of the everyday honorific.
Messiah
Approved rendering: Μεσσίας
Transliteration: Messías
Doctrine: Messianic Promise
Transliterated from Hebrew via the NT’s own Greek text; ‘Χριστός’ (‘Anointed One’) is the direct Greek translation and by far the more common NT and liturgical term. Both are correct; ‘Χριστός’ should be preferred in most contexts as the NT’s own overwhelming preference, with ‘Μεσσίας’ reserved for contexts specifically invoking the Hebrew messianic-promise background.
Righteousness
Approved rendering: δικαιοσύνη
Transliteration: dikaiosýni
Doctrine: Salvation
Rejected alternatives: δικαιοσύνη αποκλειστικά με τη σύγχρονη έννοια της νομικής ή κοινωνικής δικαιοσύνης
CRITICAL: same word as the NT’s δικαιοσύνη, but Modern Greek everyday usage strongly foregrounds the secular/legal sense (the justice system, ‘το Υπουργείο Δικαιοσύνης,’ the Ministry of Justice). Paul’s sense — a right standing before God granted through faith — must be actively distinguished from the dominant modern civic/legal sense a contemporary Greek reader will default to first.
Saints
Approved rendering: άγιοι
Transliteration: ágioi
Doctrine: Sainthood
Rejected alternatives: Άγιοι αποκλειστικά ως αγιοποιημένα, τιμώμενα πρόσωπα με ονομαστική εορτή
CRITICAL, and structurally tighter than in any other language in this pipeline: Greek uses the exact same word, ἅγιος/άγιος, for both the ordinary adjective ‘holy’ and the specific title ‘Saint’ (Άγιος Παύλος, ‘Saint Paul’; Αγία Αικατερίνη, ‘Saint Catherine’). Greek culture celebrates ονομαστική εορτή (name days) tied to a person’s patron saint, a bigger cultural event than birthdays in Greece and Cyprus. Romans 1:7 calls every believer κλητοῖς ἁγίοις; there is no lexical way to avoid using the identical word Modern Greek uses for canonized, venerated saints, which makes the accompanying explanatory note not optional stylistic guidance but the only available disambiguation tool.
Salvation
Approved rendering: σωτηρία
Transliteration: sotiría
Doctrine: Salvation
CRITICAL: this is the actual New Testament word, unchanged for two thousand years — a translation gap of zero, unique among every Language Package in this pipeline. The risk is not a wrong word but accreted meaning: Greek Orthodox theology, developed continuously in the Greek language by the Cappadocian Fathers, Maximus the Confessor, and Gregory Palamas, has folded σωτηρία into the doctrine of θέωσις (theosis) — participatory deification, becoming partakers of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4) — a theological development a Modern Greek reader accesses directly, without translation, unlike readers of any other language in this pipeline. Preserve Romans’ own emphasis on salvation decisively received by faith without either flattening or contradicting the theosis framework a Greek Orthodox reader brings to the same word.
Son Of God
Approved rendering: Υιός του Θεού
Transliteration: Yiós tou Theoú
Doctrine: Sonship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: Υιός του Θεού με τη γενική έννοια που αποδίδεται σε κάθε πιστό
CRITICAL: full phrase required. Unique eternal Sonship, distinct from the adoptive ‘τέκνα Θεού’ (children of God) language Romans 8 applies to believers.
High Risk Terms
Called
Approved rendering: κλητός
Transliteration: klitós
Doctrine: Divine Calling
Same NT word; see ‘calling’ for the specific Modern Greek semantic-bleaching risk affecting the related noun.
Covenant
Approved rendering: διαθήκη
Transliteration: diathíki
Doctrine: Davidic Covenant
Rejected alternatives: διαθήκη με τη σύγχρονη κυρίαρχη έννοια της κληρονομικής διαθήκης (legal will)
Same NT word (also the word for ‘Testament,’ as in Παλαιά/Καινή Διαθήκη, Old/New Testament), but in ordinary Modern Greek usage ‘διαθήκη’ overwhelmingly means a last will and testament (an inheritance document). Paul’s covenantal sense — a relational bond, not an inheritance instrument executed at death — needs active reinforcement against this dominant secular legal sense.
Election
Approved rendering: εκλογή
Transliteration: eklogí
Doctrine: Effectual Calling
Rejected alternatives: εκλογή με τη σύγχρονη κυρίαρχη πολιτική έννοια (πολιτικές εκλογές, ψηφοφορία)
Same NT word, but Modern Greek ‘εκλογή/εκλογές’ is dominated by its political sense (elections, voting) in everyday usage. God’s sovereign, gracious choice in Romans 9-11 must be actively distinguished from the ballot-box connotation a contemporary Greek reader will default to first.
Faith
Approved rendering: πίστη
Transliteration: písti
Doctrine: Faith
Rejected alternatives: πίστη με τη γενική έννοια της αφοσίωσης σε οποιαδήποτε ιδέα ή πρόσωπο
Personal trust in Christ specifically. Modern Greek ‘πίστη’ also covers general loyalty or belief in anything (e.g. ‘πίστη στον εαυτό σου,’ ‘faith in yourself’), a secular-psychological usage Romans does not intend.
Gospel
Approved rendering: ευαγγέλιο
Transliteration: evangélio
Doctrine: Gospel
Identical to the NT’s own εὐαγγέλιον; zero translation gap. The task is preventing the modern secular sense of ‘good news’ (used casually for any good news, e.g. sports results) from displacing the specific NT sense of the proclamation of salvation through Christ crucified and risen.
Incarnation
Approved rendering: ενανθρώπηση
Transliteration: enanthrópisi
Doctrine: Incarnation
Standard Greek Orthodox theological term (also σάρκωσις, ‘being made flesh’), central to the patristic formula, written originally in Greek by Athanasius, ‘God became man so that man might become god’ (theosis). Ensure Romans’ own emphasis — the incarnation qualifying Christ as kinsman-redeemer, inaugurating justification, Romans 1:3-4, 8:3 — is not lost beneath the theosis framing, which a Greek reader accesses in the original patristic language, not in translation.
Intercession
Approved rendering: μεσιτεία
Transliteration: mesiteía
Doctrine: Prayer and Intercession
Rejected alternatives: μεσιτεία αποκλειστικά των αγίων και της Παναγίας ως απαραίτητων μεσαζόντων
Greek Orthodox piety gives saints’ and especially the Παναγία’s (‘All-Holy,’ the standard Greek title for Mary) intercession a constant, central liturgical role (paraklesis services, pilgrimage sites such as Tinos). Romans 8:26-27, 34 describe the Spirit and Christ interceding directly; this curriculum should not argue against requesting others’ prayers, but must not let ‘μεσιτεία’ default to saintly or Marian mediation as the primary or necessary model.
Law
Approved rendering: νόμος
Transliteration: nómos
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Prophecy
The Mosaic law/Torah, same NT word; also the ordinary Modern Greek word for civil law in general, requiring context to keep Paul’s specific argument about the Mosaic law distinct from law-in-general.
Obedience Of Faith
Approved rendering: υπακοή πίστεως
Transliteration: ypakoí písteos
Doctrine: Obedience of Faith
Rejected alternatives: υπακοή στους θεσμούς της Εκκλησίας ανεξάρτητα από την πίστη
Romans 1:5 and 16:26. Obedience flowing from faith, not independent moral or ecclesiastical compliance.
Resurrection
Approved rendering: ανάσταση
Transliteration: anástasi
Doctrine: Resurrection of Christ
Same NT word. Ανάσταση is the central event of Greek Orthodox Easter (Πάσχα), Greece’s paramount religious and cultural holiday; ‘Χριστός Ανέστη!’ (‘Christ is risen!’) is the universally known Easter greeting. This is a strong cultural and liturgical asset, not primarily a risk; the task is doctrinal precision (bodily, historical, once-for-all) rather than persuasion.
Sanctification
Approved rendering: αγιασμός
Transliteration: agiasmós
Doctrine: Sanctification
Same root as ‘holy/saints’ (ἅγιος). ‘Αγιασμός’ is also the specific Greek Orthodox liturgical rite of the Great Blessing of Water (celebrated at Epiphany); ensure Romans’ sense of the Spirit’s ongoing work of moral transformation is not narrowed to this specific ritual association.
Medium Risk Terms
Abba
Approved rendering: Αββά
Transliteration: Avvá
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
Aramaic term of intimacy preserved in Romans 8:15 in the NT’s own Greek text (transliterated there too, since Aramaic ‘Abba’ was foreign even to the original Greek-speaking audience); retain the transliteration paired with ‘Πατέρα.‘
Adoption
Approved rendering: υιοθεσία
Transliteration: yiothesía
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
Standard modern legal-and-theological term; low risk.
Church
Approved rendering: εκκλησία
Transliteration: ekklisía
Doctrine: Church as God’s People
Rejected alternatives: Εκκλησία αποκλειστικά ως ο θεσμός/η ιεραρχική Ορθόδοξη Εκκλησία, ή αποκλειστικά το κτίριο
Same NT word (originally ‘assembly, called-out ones’), but Modern Greek usage foregrounds either the institutional national Church (‘η Εκκλησία της Ελλάδος’) or the physical church building. Romans 16’s sense of a local gathered congregation should be kept distinct from both.
Fellowship
Approved rendering: κοινωνία
Transliteration: koinonía
Doctrine: Christian Fellowship
Rejected alternatives: κοινωνία αποκλειστικά ως λήψη της Θείας Κοινωνίας (Ευχαριστίας), κοινωνία με τη σύγχρονη έννοια της κοινωνίας/κοινωνικού συνόλου
Same NT word, but in Modern Greek ‘κοινωνία’ primarily and most commonly means either ‘society’ (the whole social order) or ‘Holy Communion’ (receiving the sacrament, ‘πήγα να κοινωνήσω,’ ‘I went to receive communion’). Romans’ general sense of shared participation in Christ among believers must be disambiguated from both dominant modern senses.
Gentiles
Approved rendering: έθνη
Transliteration: éthni
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles
Rejected alternatives: εθνικοί με σύγχρονη εθνικιστική χροιά
The NT’s ἔθνη (‘nations/peoples’); Modern Greek ‘έθνος’ carries strong modern nationalist connotation (Greek national identity, ‘το Έθνος’), so care is needed to keep the NT’s ethnic-religious sense (non-Jewish peoples) distinct from modern nation-state connotations.
Glory
Approved rendering: δόξα
Transliteration: dóxa
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: δόξα με τη σύγχρονη έννοια της φήμης ή επιτυχίας (π.χ. αθλητική δόξα)
God’s radiant honor and presence. Modern Greek ‘δόξα’ is also used commonly for worldly fame or acclaim (e.g. sporting glory), a secular sense that must be kept distinct from Romans’ theological usage.
Kingdom Of God
Approved rendering: βασιλεία του Θεού
Transliteration: vasileía tou Theoú
Doctrine: Kingdom Mission
God’s sovereign reign; standard usage.
Mission
Approved rendering: αποστολή
Transliteration: apostolí
Doctrine: Mission to the Nations
Same root as ‘apostle’ (απόστολος); also the ordinary Modern Greek word for ‘mission’ in any secular sense (a company’s mission, a military mission), requiring context to keep the gospel-proclamation sense clear.
Peace
Approved rendering: ειρήνη
Transliteration: eiríni
Doctrine: Peace with God
Rejected alternatives: ειρήνη με την ησυχαστική έννοια της εσωτερικής ή νοερής ησυχίας (μυστικιστική παράδοση)
Relational peace with God through justification (Romans 5:1). Greek Orthodox mystical tradition (Hesychasm, ἡσυχασμός, associated with Mount Athos and Gregory Palamas) developed ‘ἡσυχία’ (stillness/inner quiet) as a technical contemplative category; ensure ‘ειρήνη’ is not read primarily through this mystical-contemplative lens rather than Romans’ relational, forensic sense.
Power Of God
Approved rendering: δύναμη Θεού
Transliteration: dýnami Theoú
Doctrine: Power of God for Salvation
Standard, unambiguous rendering.
Providence
Approved rendering: πρόνοια
Transliteration: prónoia
Doctrine: Providence
Rejected alternatives: πρόνοια με τη σύγχρονη έννοια της κοινωνικής πρόνοιας (social welfare)
God’s personal, purposive governance; established theological term, but Modern Greek ‘πρόνοια’ is also the standard word for state social-welfare provision (‘Υπουργείο Πρόνοιας’), a secular institutional sense that should not crowd out the theological one.
Seed Of David
Approved rendering: σπέρμα Δαβίδ
Transliteration: spérma Davíd
Doctrine: Davidic Covenant
Romans 1:3; conveys physical lineage and covenant fulfillment. ‘Σπέρμα’ is the literal NT word (‘seed’), retained in formal/liturgical register even though ordinary Modern Greek would use a different word for biological descent in casual speech.
Sin
Approved rendering: αμαρτία
Transliteration: amartía
Doctrine: Universal Human Accountability
Rejected alternatives: αμαρτία με την καθημερινή, εξασθενημένη έννοια του ‘κρίμα’ (π.χ. ‘τι αμαρτία να πεταχτεί το φαγητό’)
Moral transgression before a personal God. Modern Greek colloquially uses ‘αμαρτία’ in a weakened idiomatic sense close to English ‘what a shame/pity’ (e.g. about wasted food), which risks under-weighting Romans’ argument about sin’s seriousness if that idiomatic register bleeds into translated teaching material.
Spiritual Gifts
Approved rendering: πνευματικά χαρίσματα
Transliteration: pnevmatiká charísmata
Doctrine: Spiritual Gifts
Same root as χάρις (grace). Spirit-given enablements for the whole church per Romans 12, not to be confused with the modern secular use of ‘χάρισμα’ for natural talent or personal charisma (e.g. ‘έχει χάρισμα στην ομιλία,’ ‘he has a gift for public speaking’).
Thanksgiving
Approved rendering: ευχαριστία
Transliteration: efcharistía
Doctrine: Thanksgiving
Rejected alternatives: Θεία Ευχαριστία αποκλειστικά (η Ευχαριστία ως Μυστήριο)
Same word root as the Eucharist itself (Θεία Ευχαριστία, the sacrament of Holy Communion). Romans’ general sense of gratitude to God must be distinguished from the specific sacramental reference — an ambiguity essentially unique to Greek among the languages in this pipeline, given the word is literally identical.
Low Risk Terms
Apostle
Approved rendering: απόστολος
Transliteration: apóstolos
Doctrine: Apostleship
Identical to the NT word; unambiguous and stable across two millennia.
David
Approved rendering: Δαβίδ
Transliteration: Davíd
Doctrine: Davidic Covenant
Standard proper name, same as the NT’s own form.
Exhort
Approved rendering: προτρέπω
Transliteration: protrépo
Doctrine: Mutual Edification
Standard term. A related word, ‘παρακαλώ,’ also means the everyday ‘please/you’re welcome,’ so context determines register.
Israel
Approved rendering: Ισραήλ
Transliteration: Israíl
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles
Standard proper name; also the name of the modern nation-state, so ensure Romans 9-11’s discussion of Israel as a people in salvation history is not read as a claim about the modern political state.
Prophecy
Approved rendering: προφητεία
Transliteration: profiteía
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Prophecy
Same NT word; standard and unambiguous.
Prophet
Approved rendering: προφήτης
Transliteration: profítis
Doctrine: Inspiration of Scripture
Same NT word; standard and unambiguous.
Referenced passages