Core Glossary
Core Glossary: 1 John — Romanian Language Package Extension
This glossary extends the baseline Romans translation_memory.json for the 1 John curriculum. Terms marked [BASELINE REUSE] are already recorded in the baseline translation memory and MUST be rendered exactly as recorded there — no new analysis or alternative renderings are proposed for these. Terms marked [NEW] are proposed additions specific to 1 John’s vocabulary, to be merged into translation memory (with version increment) before Phase 2 translation begins per the baseline’s Translation Memory Load and Enforcement Instructions.
A. Baseline Terms Reused Exactly (no changes)
| Term | Romanian rendering | Risk | Doctrine | 1 John occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| God | Dumnezeu | Critical | God the Father / Trinity | Throughout |
| Jesus | Iisus | Critical | Lordship/Sonship of Christ | Throughout |
| Son of God | Fiul lui Dumnezeu | Critical | Sonship of Christ | 3:8; 4:15; 5:5,10,12,13,20 |
| Father | Tată | Critical | Adoption / God the Father | 1:2-3; 2:1,13-16,22-24; 3:1; 4:14 |
| Holy Spirit | Duhul Sfânt | Critical | Sanctification / Spirit’s witness | 3:24; 4:2,13; 5:6-8 |
| faith / believe | credință / a crede | High | Faith | 3:23; 4:16; 5:1,4-5,10,13 |
| sin | păcat | High (Medium in Romans; retained High here given epistle’s density of sin/confession/forgiveness material) | Universal Human Accountability / Confession | 1:7-10; 2:1-2,12; 3:4-9; 5:16-18 |
| righteousness / righteous | dreptate / drept | Critical | Salvation | 1:9; 2:1,29; 3:7,10,12 |
| fellowship | părtășie | High (Low in Romans; elevated here — see note below) | Fellowship with God and One Another | 1:3,6-7 |
| calling / called | chemare / chemat | High | Divine Calling (used only incidentally; not a major 1 John doctrine) | n/a as major term, retained for consistency if invoked in supplementary material |
| incarnation | întrupare | Critical | The Incarnation | Conceptually anchors 1:1-3; 4:2-3 |
| covenant | legământ | High | (background only; not directly thematized in 1 John) | n/a |
| election | alegere | High | (not directly thematized in 1 John; retained for cross-curriculum consistency) | n/a |
| intercession | mijlocire | High | Prayer and Intercession | Conceptual root of new term “Mijlocitor” (Advocate), 2:1 |
| adoption | înfiere | Medium | Adoption (background for “children of God”) | Conceptual background to 3:1-2 |
| grace | har | Critical | (not a major direct term in 1 John’s own vocabulary, but underlies the doctrine of unearned love/forgiveness) | Conceptual background |
Note on “fellowship” (părtășie): the baseline records this as Low risk in Romans (general congregational fellowship). In 1 John, κοινωνία-with-God is the epistle’s stated positive purpose (1:3-4) and stands theologically alongside “God is love” and “God is light” as foundational. This glossary retains the baseline’s exact Romanian rendering (“părtășie,” rejecting “comuniune” for the same Eucharistic-overtone reason as the baseline) but elevates the risk tier to High for this curriculum, since so much doctrinal weight in 1 John rests on this single term.
B. New Terms Proposed for 1 John (to be added to translation memory)
| # | Term (English) | Original (Greek) | Transliteration | Romanian rendering | Risk | Doctrine | Alternatives rejected | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | God is Light | ὁ θεὸς φῶς ἐστιν | ho theos phōs estin | Dumnezeu este lumină | Critical | God is Light and God is Love | — | Fixed formula (1:5); must render identically at every occurrence. Strong Orthodox mystical/liturgical asset (Tabor Light, Palamite theology, “Hristos, Lumina cea adevărată”); risk is over-mystification eclipsing the chapter’s ethical argument (walking in light = no habitual sin, honesty about sin) — teach both dimensions. |
| 2 | light | φῶς | phōs | lumină | Critical | God is Light | — | See #1. |
| 3 | darkness | σκότος / σκοτία | skotos / skotia | întuneric | Medium-High | God is Light | — | Moral/spiritual estrangement, not merely absence of illumination. |
| 4 | God is Love | ὁ θεὸς ἀγάπη ἐστίν | ho theos agapē estin | Dumnezeu este dragoste | Critical | God is Light and God is Love | ”Dumnezeu este iubire” (less established; “dragoste” is the standard rendering in both Cornilescu and Orthodox Synodal Romanian Bibles, e.g. this exact verse) | Fixed formula (4:8, 4:16); must render identically at every occurrence, per baseline’s fixed-formula consistency rule (cf. Romans 1:16-17, 8:28). |
| 5 | love (noun) | ἀγάπη | agapē | dragoste | Critical | God is Love | ”iubire” (rejected as the less traditionally established noun form in Romanian Bible usage, though not doctrinally wrong) | Romanian lacks the Greek ἀγάπη/ἔρως/φιλία distinction; “dragoste” spans romantic and self-giving love alike in ordinary usage. Requires explicit teaching that this is God’s own self-giving nature/action, not sentiment. |
| 6 | love (verb) | ἀγαπάω | agapaō | a iubi | Critical | God is Love | — | See #5. |
| 7 | fellowship — see Section A | — | — | părtășie | High | Fellowship with God and One Another | ”comuniune” (rejected — stronger Eucharistic/liturgical overtone per baseline) | — |
| 8 | to confess (sin / Christ) | ὁμολογέω | homologeō | a mărturisi | Critical | Confession and Forgiveness of Sin / Testing the Spirits (christological confession) | — | Single Greek verb covers both confessing sins to God (1:9) and confessing Christ’s identity (4:2,15). Both senses risk being absorbed into the sacramental category of Taina Spovedaniei; requires translator note at every occurrence distinguishing direct address to God from the sacrament (not denying the sacrament’s validity, but not letting it silently substitute for the text’s own direct address). |
| 9 | to cleanse | καθαρίζω | katharizō | a curăți | High | Confession and Forgiveness of Sin | — | Sacramental association (Confession, Communion) is a legitimate resonance but must not obscure 1:9’s direct, unmediated divine response to confession. |
| 10 | to forgive | ἀφίημι | aphiēmi | a ierta | High | Confession and Forgiveness of Sin | — | God’s forgiveness grounded in his own faithful and just character (1:9), not the penitent’s merit. |
| 11 | propitiation / atoning sacrifice | ἱλασμός | hilasmos | jertfă de ispășire | Critical | Confession and Forgiveness of Sin / Incarnation | ”jertfă de împăcare” (considered; rejected as slightly softer, tending toward reconciliation-emphasis alone rather than the justice-satisfying sense) | Genuine conceptual gap parallel to baseline’s “imputed_righteousness.” Must not be flattened into Orthodox victory-over-death/ransom emphasis alone, nor imposed as a narrow Western forensic category foreign to Orthodox categories. Escalate to human theologian review at every occurrence (1 John 2:2; 4:10), matching baseline’s Romans 3:25 rule. |
| 12 | Advocate | παράκλητος (applied to Christ) | paraklētos | Mijlocitor | Critical | Prayer and Intercession (extended from baseline) | “Mângâietor” (rejected here — reserved for the Spirit’s Johannine title elsewhere; would cause confusion applying the same Romanian word to both Christ in 1 John 2:1 and the Spirit) | Directly extends baseline’s High-risk “intercession” (mijlocire) doctrine. Must foreground Christ’s own direct advocacy before the Father, not saint/Marian intercession, per baseline’s forbidden-substitution rule. |
| 13 | blood (of Jesus/Christ) | αἷμα | haima | sânge | Critical | Confession and Forgiveness of Sin / Incarnation | — | Atonement-cluster term; escalate to human theologian review at every occurrence alongside ἱλασμός. |
| 14 | Word of Life | ὁ λόγος τῆς ζωῆς | ho logos tēs zōēs | Cuvântul vieții | Critical | The Incarnation | — | Distinct from, but conceptually linked to, the Johannine Logos title of Christ (Ioan 1:1, “Cuvântul”). Strong Orthodox liturgical asset (Gospel of John’s prologue at Paschal liturgy); ensure the tangible, historical, eyewitness emphasis of 1:1-3 is not lost. |
| 15 | to confess Jesus Christ come in the flesh | ὁμολογεῖ Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν ἐν σαρκὶ ἐληλυθότα | homologei… en sarki elēlythota | a mărturisi că Iisus Hristos a venit în trup | Critical | The Incarnation and Antichrist | — | Extends baseline’s “incarnation” (întrupare) High-risk note; the specific test distinguishing the Spirit of God from the spirit of antichrist (4:2-3). Orthodox iconographic tradition (post-iconoclasm Nicaea II) is a strong doctrinal asset affirming Christ’s full, depictable humanity. |
| 16 | antichrist | ἀντίχριστος | antichristos | antihrist | High | The Incarnation and Antichrist | — | Romanian folk-apocalyptic culture defaults toward a single future political/numerological figure; 1 John’s own emphasis (many present antichrists, identified by christological/incarnational denial) must be explicitly taught. |
| 17 | anointing | χρῖσμα | chrisma | ungere | Critical | Testing the Spirits | — | Strong collision with Taina Sfântului Mir (Chrismation), a formal Holy Mystery administered once by a priest. 1 John’s χρῖσμα is the Spirit’s ongoing teaching ministry in every believer, not the sacramental rite. Requires explicit translator note at every occurrence (2:20, 2:27). |
| 18 | truth | ἀλήθεια | alētheia | adevăr | High | Testing the Spirits / Confession | — | Risk of narrowing to institutional-ecclesial authority claims (cf. “pillar and ground of the truth,” 1 Tim 3:15, applied to Church institution); 1 John’s usage is primarily relational/christological. |
| 19 | children of God | τέκνα θεοῦ | tekna theou | copii ai lui Dumnezeu | High | Love for the Brethren as Evidence of New Birth | — | Adoptive familial status; must remain sharply distinguished from Christ’s unique “Fiul lui Dumnezeu” Sonship per baseline’s Critical distinction. |
| 20 | born of God / begotten of God | γεννάω ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ | gennaō ek tou theou | născut din Dumnezeu | Critical | Love for the Brethren as Evidence of New Birth | — | Strong collision with sacramental baptismal-regeneration theology (Taina Sfântului Botez). Legitimate Orthodox association, but 1 John’s own behavioral/relational test (does not go on sinning; loves the brethren) must remain the operative teaching point, not resolved solely by appeal to infant baptism having occurred. |
| 21 | commandment(s) | ἐντολή / ἐντολαί | entolē / entolai | poruncă / porunci | High | Love for the Brethren as Evidence of New Birth / general obedience | — | Extends baseline’s “obedience_of_faith” note; risk of defaulting to ecclesiastical-observance compliance (“poruncile bisericii”) rather than the specific love/faith commandment 1 John names. |
| 22 | brother (fellow believer) | ἀδελφός | adelphos | frate | Medium | Love for the Brethren as Evidence of New Birth | — | Must retain “fellow believer” sense; note colloquial Orthodox monastic usage of “frate” as a form of address for monks, a secondary association to flag but not a primary collision. |
| 23 | to abide / remain | μένω | menō | a rămâne | High | Fellowship with God and One Another / Assurance | — | Signature Johannine mutual-indwelling term. Orthodox theosis framework (real participation in God’s uncreated energies) is an asset; risk is flattening into mere static/metaphorical association rather than real ongoing communion. |
| 24 | to be perfected / made complete | τελειόω / τέλειος | teleioō / teleios | a desăvârși / desăvârșit | Medium-High | God is Love / Assurance | — | Strong resonance with Orthodox ascetic-theological desăvârșire (goal of the spiritual life); risk of abstraction into individual ascetic perfection detached from the concrete love-for-brethren context John specifies. |
| 25 | Savior | σωτήρ | sōtēr | Mântuitor | Critical | Assurance of Salvation and Eternal Life | — | Built on baseline’s established “mântuire” word-family; standard, universally recognized Orthodox liturgical title with no rival term to reject. |
| 26 | only begotten | μονογενής | monogenēs | Unul-Născut | Critical | The Incarnation / Sonship of Christ | ”singurul Fiu” (considered; rejected in favor of the already-established Nicene Creed liturgical phrase) | Reuses the exact phrase from the Romanian Orthodox liturgical Nicene Creed (“Fiul lui Dumnezeu, Unul-Născut”), recited at every Divine Liturgy — a strong cultural/liturgical asset requiring no new coinage. |
| 27 | confidence / boldness (before God) | παρρησία | parrēsia | îndrăzneală (judgment/eschatological sense, 4:17) / încredere (prayer-confidence sense, 3:21, 5:14) | High | Assurance of Salvation and Eternal Life | — | “Îndrăzneală” reuses established Orthodox Divine Liturgy vocabulary (introduction to the Lord’s Prayer). Direct parallel to baseline’s Romans “assurance_of_salvation” High-risk note on tension with Orthodox theosis’s ongoing, unfinished process; teach the tension rather than smoothing it over. |
| 28 | fear (tormenting) | φόβος | phobos | frică | Medium-High | God is Love | — | Must be distinguished by translator note from the positive Orthodox devotional category “frica de Dumnezeu” (reverent fear/awe of God, a virtue); 4:18’s φόβος is the tormenting dread love expels, not filial reverence. |
| 29 | to test the spirits | δοκιμάζειν τὰ πνεύματα | dokimazein ta pneumata | a cerceta duhurile | High | Testing the Spirits | — | Extends baseline’s “spiritual_gifts” note: Orthodox tradition associates spiritual discernment especially with monastic elders/spiritual fathers; 1 John addresses every believer with a concrete, non-specialist christological test. |
| 30 | spirit of truth / spirit of error | πνεῦμα τῆς ἀληθείας / πνεῦμα τῆς πλάνης | pneuma tēs alētheias / pneuma tēs planēs | duhul adevărului / duhul rătăcirii | High | Testing the Spirits | — | Contrasted spiritual sources tested by their confession about Christ. |
| 31 | to overcome / victory | νικάω / νίκη | nikaō / nikē | a birui / biruință | Medium-High | Overcoming the World | — | Asset: resonates with Orthodox ascetic “spiritual combat” vocabulary; risk: 5:4-5 grounds victory explicitly in new birth and faith, not primarily ascetic effort — this precise ground must be retained. |
| 32 | the world (as God-opposed system) | ὁ κόσμος | ho kosmos | lumea | Medium | Overcoming the World | — | Distinguish from the neutral “world” as object of God’s saving love (4:9, John 3:16 background) versus the God-opposing value-system (2:15-17, 5:19). |
| 33 | eternal life | ζωὴ αἰώνιος | zōē aiōnios | viața de veci | Critical | Assurance of Salvation and Eternal Life | ”viața eternă” (Cornilescu-tradition variant; noted, not primary) | 1 John 5:13 is the epistle’s single clearest programmatic assurance statement; cross-reference baseline’s Romans 8 assurance escalation rule for identical treatment. |
| 34 | sin unto death | ἁμαρτία πρὸς θάνατον | hamartia pros thanaton | păcat spre moarte | High | Confession and Forgiveness of Sin | — | Risk of collapse into the formal Catholic/Orthodox “mortal sin” (păcat de moarte) versus “venial sin” moral-theology category; 1 John’s concern is narrower and pastoral (whether to pray for a brother in a particular sin). |
| 35 | idols | εἴδωλα | eidōla | idoli | High | Testing the Spirits / closing exhortation | — | Historically weaponized in icon-veneration polemics; must be taught on its own terms (false gods/false worship tied to the epistle’s false teaching) without adjudicating the icon debate (resolved at Nicaea II via latria/proskynesis distinction). |
| 36 | witness / testimony | μαρτυρία | martyria | mărturie | Medium | Assurance of Salvation and Eternal Life | — | Romanian distinguishes “mărturie” (witness/testimony) from “mucenicie” (martyrdom), unlike Greek’s single root — low collision risk on that specific distinction. |
| 37 | water and blood and Spirit | ὕδωρ καὶ αἷμα καὶ πνεῦμα | hydōr kai haima kai pneuma | apa și sângele și Duhul | High | Assurance of Salvation and Eternal Life / The Incarnation | — | Present the sacramental (Baptism/Eucharist) reading as one defensible historic option among others, not the text’s single settled meaning. |
| 38 | lawlessness | ἀνομία | anomia | fărădelege | Medium | Confession and Forgiveness of Sin | — | Established Orthodox liturgical-penitential term (Psalm 50/51 usage); strong asset. |
| 39 | devil / the evil one | διάβολος / ὁ πονηρός | diabolos / ho ponēros | diavolul / cel rău | Medium | Overcoming the World | — | Standard, low-collision terms across Romanian Christian traditions. |
| 40 | liar / lie | ψεύστης / ψεῦδος | pseustēs / pseudos | mincinos / minciună | Low | Confession and Forgiveness of Sin / Love for the Brethren | — | Standard vocabulary, minimal risk. |
| 41 | walk (conduct of life) | περιπατέω | peripateō | a trăi / a merge | Medium | God is Light | — | Metaphor for ongoing manner of life, either in light or darkness. |
| 42 | true God | ἀληθινός θεός | alēthinos theos | Dumnezeul cel adevărat | Critical | Assurance of Salvation and Eternal Life | — | Reuses baseline “Dumnezeu” (Critical); closing affirmation contrasted with the idols of the same verse (5:20-21). |
C. Risk Summary for 1 John Extension
| Risk Tier | Count (new terms, Section B) | Review routing |
|---|---|---|
| Critical | 11 | Human theologian (every occurrence) |
| High | 15 | Human theologian |
| Medium-High | 4 | Human theologian (border cases, treat as High) |
| Medium | 9 | Native speaker review |
| Low | 3 | Automated review |
Total new terms proposed: 42 Baseline terms reused without modification: 15 (Section A)
Escalation cross-references to baseline rules:
- Propitiation/atonement terms (ἱλασμός, αἷμα) → same escalation tier as baseline’s Romans 3:25 atonement/propitiation rule.
- Advocate (Mijlocitor) → same forbidden-substitution rule as baseline’s “mijlocire” (never default to saint/Marian mediation as primary model).
- Anointing (ungere), Confession (a mărturisi), Born of God (născut din Dumnezeu) → new sacramental-collision entries requiring translator notes at every occurrence, structurally parallel to baseline’s “sfinți” (saints) note.
- Eternal life / Assurance terms (viața de veci, îndrăzneală/încredere) → same escalation tier as baseline’s Romans 8:1, 8:28-39 assurance-of-salvation rule.
This glossary must be merged into translation_memory.json (version increment required) and cross-checked against bible_term_registry.json and doctrine_risk_registry.json before Phase 2 segment translation of 1 John begins, per the baseline’s Translation Memory Load and Enforcement Instructions.
Critical Risk Terms
God
Approved rendering: Dumnezeu
Transliteration: theos
Doctrine: God the Father / Trinity
Original: θεός
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Standard and unambiguous across all Romanian Christian traditions. In 1 John, God is the subject of the two great ontological predications ‘God is light’ (1:5) and ‘God is love’ (4:8,16).
Jesus
Approved rendering: Iisus
Transliteration: Iēsous
Doctrine: Lordship/Sonship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: Isus (Protestant/Cornilescu spelling)
Original: Ἰησοῦς
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Use ‘Iisus’ (Orthodox Synodal spelling) as primary; ‘Isus’ noted only as the expected Evangelical/Cornilescu variant. In 1 John, Jesus’s real, fleshly coming is the confession that distinguishes the Spirit of God from the spirit of antichrist (4:2-3).
Son Of God
Approved rendering: Fiul lui Dumnezeu
Transliteration: ho huios tou theou
Doctrine: Sonship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: fiu al lui Dumnezeu în sensul generic aplicat oricărui credincios
Original: ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Must remain sharply distinct from 1 John’s adoptive ‘copii ai lui Dumnezeu’ language applied to believers (3:1-2).
Father
Approved rendering: Tată
Transliteration: patēr
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family / God the Father
Original: πατήρ
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. God as personal Father, the one before whom Christ acts as Advocate (2:1) and who sent the Son (4:14).
Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: Duhul Sfânt
Transliteration: pneuma hagion
Doctrine: Sanctification
Original: πνεῦμα ἅγιον / τὸ πνεῦμα
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Given to believers as evidence of mutual abiding with God (3:24; 4:13) and as the one who anoints/teaches every believer (2:20,27).
Righteousness
Approved rendering: dreptate
Transliteration: dikaiosynē
Doctrine: Salvation
Rejected alternatives: dreptate câștigată exclusiv prin efort moral propriu
Original: δικαιοσύνη / δίκαιος
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Right standing/character consistent with being born of God (2:29; 3:7,10), and God’s own faithful, just character grounding forgiveness (1:9).
Incarnation
Approved rendering: întrupare
Transliteration: en sarki elēlythota / ho logos tēs zōēs
Doctrine: The Incarnation and Antichrist
Original: ἐν σαρκὶ ἐληλυθότα / ὁ λόγος τῆς ζωῆς
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package; risk tier elevated from High (Romans) to Critical for this curriculum, because confessing Christ’s real, fleshly coming is the explicit test distinguishing the Spirit of God from the spirit of antichrist (4:2-3), not background doctrine as in Romans.
Grace
Approved rendering: har
Transliteration: charis
Doctrine: Grace
Rejected alternatives: favoare doar în sens legal, fără nicio participare reală a credinciosului
Original: χάρις
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Not a major direct term in 1 John’s own vocabulary but underlies the epistle’s argument that God’s love and forgiveness precede and are not earned by human response (4:10,19).
Salvation
Approved rendering: mântuire
Transliteration: sōtēria
Doctrine: Assurance of Salvation and Eternal Life
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Underlies the new term ‘Mântuitor’ (Savior, 4:14); Orthodox theosis framework must not flatly contradict 1 John’s own settled-assurance argument (5:13), mirroring the baseline’s Romans 8 assurance-of-salvation caution.
God Is Light
Approved rendering: Dumnezeu este lumină
Transliteration: ho theos phōs estin
Doctrine: God is Light and God is Love
Original: ὁ θεὸς φῶς ἐστιν
Category: God
NEW. Fixed formula (1:5); must render identically at every occurrence. Strong Orthodox mystical/liturgical asset (Tabor Light, Palamite theology, ‘Hristos, Lumina cea adevărată’); risk is over-mystification eclipsing the chapter’s ethical argument about walking in light.
Light
Approved rendering: lumină
Transliteration: phōs
Doctrine: God is Light and God is Love / Walking in Light vs. Darkness
Original: φῶς
Category: God
NEW. God’s essential moral purity and truth, the standard against which conduct (‘walking’) is measured. Orthodox mystical theology gives this extraordinary devotional resonance; ensure 1 John’s ethical emphasis (no habitual sin, honesty about sin) is not lost beneath mystical-experiential expectation.
God Is Love
Approved rendering: Dumnezeu este dragoste
Transliteration: ho theos agapē estin
Doctrine: God is Light and God is Love
Rejected alternatives: Dumnezeu este iubire (less established in Romanian Bible tradition)
Original: ὁ θεὸς ἀγάπη ἐστίν
Category: God
NEW. Fixed formula (4:8,16); must render identically at every occurrence, per baseline’s fixed-formula consistency rule (cf. Romans 1:16-17, 8:28).
Love Noun
Approved rendering: dragoste
Transliteration: agapē
Doctrine: God is Love
Rejected alternatives: iubire (less traditionally established noun form in Romanian Bible usage)
Original: ἀγάπη
Category: Love
NEW. Romanian lacks Greek’s agapē/erōs/philia distinction; ‘dragoste’ spans romantic and self-giving affection alike in ordinary usage. Requires explicit teaching that this is God’s own self-giving nature/action, not sentiment.
Love Verb
Approved rendering: a iubi
Transliteration: agapaō
Doctrine: God is Love
Original: ἀγαπάω
Category: Love
NEW. Same collision risk as the noun form; must be distinguished from romantic/affective usage in ordinary Romanian speech through explicit teaching.
Confess
Approved rendering: a mărturisi
Transliteration: homologeō
Doctrine: Confession and Forgiveness of Sin / Testing the Spirits
Original: ὁμολογέω
Category: Confession
NEW. Single Greek verb covers both confessing sins to God (1:9) and confessing Christ’s identity (4:2,15). Requires a translator note at every occurrence distinguishing direct address to God from Taina Spovedaniei, without denying the sacrament’s validity, and distinguishing the christological confession sense from either.
Propitiation
Approved rendering: jertfă de ispășire
Transliteration: hilasmos
Doctrine: Confession and Forgiveness of Sin / Atonement and Propitiation
Rejected alternatives: jertfă de împăcare (too reconciliation-emphasis-only, softer than the source term)
Original: ἱλασμός
Category: Salvation
NEW. Genuine conceptual gap parallel to baseline’s ‘dreptate imputată’: Orthodox soteriology emphasizes victory over death/ransom over penal-satisfaction categories. Must not be flattened into victory-language alone nor imposed as a narrow Western forensic category. Escalate to human theologian review at every occurrence (2:2; 4:10), matching baseline’s Romans 3:25 rule.
Advocate
Approved rendering: Mijlocitor
Transliteration: paraklētos
Doctrine: Christ’s Advocacy (Intercession)
Rejected alternatives: Mângâietor (reserved for the Spirit’s distinct Johannine title, would cause confusion), Paraclet (carries strong Byzantine-liturgical association with the Holy Spirit via Paraclisul)
Original: παράκλητος
Category: Christology
NEW. Directly extends baseline’s High-risk ‘mijlocire’ to Critical. Must foreground Christ’s own direct advocacy before the Father (2:1), not saint/Marian mediation, per baseline’s forbidden-substitution rule.
Blood
Approved rendering: sânge
Transliteration: haima
Doctrine: Confession and Forgiveness of Sin / Atonement and Propitiation
Original: αἷμα
Category: Salvation
NEW. Christ’s sacrificial, atoning death, the ground of cleansing from sin (1:7). Atonement-cluster term; escalate to human theologian review at every occurrence alongside ἱλασμός.
Word Of Life
Approved rendering: Cuvântul vieții
Transliteration: ho logos tēs zōēs
Doctrine: The Incarnation and Antichrist
Original: ὁ λόγος τῆς ζωῆς
Category: Christology
NEW. Identifies Christ as the eternal, preexistent Word made tangibly, historically manifest (1:1-3). Strong Orthodox liturgical asset (John’s prologue at the Paschal liturgy); ensure the tangible, historical, eyewitness emphasis (‘heard, seen, handled’) is not lost beneath abstract Logos-speculation.
Confess Incarnation
Approved rendering: a mărturisi că Iisus Hristos a venit în trup
Transliteration: homologei Iēsoun Christon en sarki elēlythota
Doctrine: The Incarnation and Antichrist
Original: ὁμολογεῖ Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν ἐν σαρκὶ ἐληλυθότα
Category: Christology
NEW. The specific christological confession test distinguishing the Spirit of God from the spirit of antichrist (4:2-3). Orthodox iconographic tradition (Nicaea II, against iconoclasm) is a strong doctrinal asset affirming Christ’s full, depictable humanity.
Anointing
Approved rendering: ungere
Transliteration: chrisma
Doctrine: Testing the Spirits / Anointing of the Holy Spirit
Rejected alternatives: hrismă (would collapse directly onto the sacrament’s own technical liturgical name and eliminate needed fencing)
Original: χρῖσμα
Category: Sanctification
NEW. Strong collision with Taina Sfântului Mir (Chrismation), a formal Holy Mystery administered once by a priest with consecrated chrism after baptism. 1 John’s χρῖσμα is the Spirit’s ongoing teaching ministry in every believer, not the sacramental rite. Requires an explicit translator note at every occurrence (2:20,27).
Born Of God
Approved rendering: născut din Dumnezeu
Transliteration: gegennētai ek tou theou
Doctrine: Love for the Brethren as Evidence of New Birth / New Birth-Regeneration
Original: γεγέννηται/γεγεννημένος ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ
Category: Salvation
NEW. Strong collision with Orthodox baptismal-regeneration theology (Taina Sfântului Botez). Legitimate association, but 1 John’s own behavioral test (does not go on sinning; loves the brethren, 3:9-10; 5:1-4,18) must remain the operative teaching criterion, not resolved solely by appeal to infant baptism.
Savior
Approved rendering: Mântuitor
Transliteration: sōtēr
Doctrine: Assurance of Salvation and Eternal Life
Original: σωτήρ
Category: Christology
NEW. Christ as the exclusive Savior of the world, sent by the Father (4:14). Built on baseline’s established ‘mântuire’ word-family; standard, universally recognized Romanian Orthodox liturgical title with no rival term to reject.
Only Begotten
Approved rendering: Unul-Născut
Transliteration: monogenēs
Doctrine: The Incarnation / Sonship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: singurul Fiu (rejected in favor of the already-established liturgical phrase)
Original: μονογενής
Category: Christology
NEW. Reuses the exact phrase from the Romanian Orthodox liturgical Nicene Creed (‘Fiul lui Dumnezeu, Unul-Născut’), recited at every Divine Liturgy — a strong cultural/liturgical asset requiring no new coinage (4:9).
Eternal Life
Approved rendering: viața de veci
Transliteration: zōē aiōnios
Doctrine: Assurance of Salvation and Eternal Life
Rejected alternatives: viața eternă (Cornilescu-tradition variant; noted, not primary)
Original: ζωὴ αἰώνιος
Category: Eschatology
NEW. 1 John 5:13 is the epistle’s single clearest programmatic assurance statement; cross-reference baseline’s Romans 8 assurance-of-salvation escalation rule for identical treatment.
True God
Approved rendering: Dumnezeul cel adevărat
Transliteration: ho alēthinos (theos)
Doctrine: Idols and False Worship / Truth and Error Discernment
Original: ὁ ἀληθινός (θεός)
Category: God
NEW. Reuses baseline ‘Dumnezeu’ (Critical); the closing affirmation of exclusive, true deity, contrasted with the idols of the same verse (5:20-21).
High Risk Terms
Faith
Approved rendering: credință
Transliteration: pistis
Doctrine: Faith
Rejected alternatives: evlavie religioasă generală
Original: πίστις / πιστεύω
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Personal trust in Christ, the explicit ground of overcoming the world (5:4-5) and of assurance (5:13).
Sin
Approved rendering: păcat
Transliteration: hamartia
Doctrine: Universal Human Accountability / Confession and Forgiveness of Sin
Original: ἁμαρτία
Category: Sin
Inherited from Romans package; risk tier elevated from Medium (Romans) to High for this curriculum given the density of sin/confession/forgiveness material across 1 John chapters 1-3 and 5.
Fellowship
Approved rendering: părtășie
Transliteration: koinōnia
Doctrine: Fellowship with God and One Another
Rejected alternatives: comuniune (carries stronger Orthodox Eucharistic/liturgical association)
Original: κοινωνία
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package; risk tier elevated from Low (Romans) to High for this curriculum, since κοινωνία-with-God is 1 John’s stated positive purpose (1:3), carrying doctrinal weight equal to ‘God is love/light.‘
Calling
Approved rendering: chemare
Transliteration: klēsis
Doctrine: Divine Calling
Rejected alternatives: chemare monahală (a call to monastic life)
Original: κλῆσις / κλητός
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Not a major direct term in 1 John’s own vocabulary; retained for cross-curriculum glossary consistency.
Covenant
Approved rendering: legământ
Transliteration: diathēkē
Doctrine: Covenant (background)
Rejected alternatives: contract legal
Original: διαθήκη
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Background concept only; not directly thematized in 1 John’s own vocabulary.
Election
Approved rendering: alegere
Transliteration: eklogē
Doctrine: Election (background)
Rejected alternatives: predestinare dublă în sens calvinist strict
Original: ἐκλογή
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Background concept only; not directly thematized in 1 John’s own vocabulary; retained for cross-curriculum consistency.
Intercession
Approved rendering: mijlocire
Transliteration: paraklētos (root) / enteuxis
Doctrine: Prayer and Intercession / Christ’s Advocacy
Rejected alternatives: mijlocirea exclusivă a sfinților și a Maicii Domnului
Original: παράκλητος (root) / ἔντευξις
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Conceptual root of 1 John’s new term ‘Mijlocitor’ (Advocate, 2:1); must not default to saint/Marian mediation as the primary model.
Darkness
Approved rendering: întuneric
Transliteration: skotos / skotia
Doctrine: Walking in Light vs. Darkness
Original: σκότος / σκοτία
Category: Sin
NEW. Moral and spiritual estrangement from God (1:6; 2:9,11), not merely absence of physical illumination.
Cleanse
Approved rendering: a curăți
Transliteration: katharizō
Doctrine: Confession and Forgiveness of Sin
Original: καθαρίζω
Category: Sin
NEW. Sacramental association with Confession/Communion is legitimate but must not obscure 1:9’s direct, unmediated divine response to confession.
Forgive
Approved rendering: a ierta
Transliteration: aphiēmi
Doctrine: Confession and Forgiveness of Sin
Original: ἀφίημι
Category: Sin
NEW. God’s act of pardoning confessed sin, grounded in his own faithful and just character (1:9), not the penitent’s merit.
Antichrist
Approved rendering: antihrist
Transliteration: antichristos
Doctrine: The Incarnation and Antichrist
Original: ἀντίχριστος
Category: Eschatology
NEW. Established loanword across Romanian Christian traditions; Romanian folk-apocalyptic culture (Slavic-influenced) defaults toward a single future political/numerological figure, so 1 John’s emphasis on many present antichrists identified by christological denial must be explicitly taught alongside, not instead of, legitimate future expectation.
Truth
Approved rendering: adevăr
Transliteration: alētheia
Doctrine: Testing the Spirits / Truth and Error Discernment
Original: ἀλήθεια
Category: Faith
NEW. Risk of narrowing to institutional-ecclesial authority claims (cf. ‘pillar and ground of the truth,’ 1 Tim 3:15); 1 John’s usage is primarily relational/christological.
Children Of God
Approved rendering: copii ai lui Dumnezeu
Transliteration: tekna theou
Doctrine: Adoption / Children of God
Original: τέκνα θεοῦ
Category: Salvation
NEW. Adoptive familial status and future hope (3:1-2); must remain sharply distinguished from Christ’s unique ‘Fiul lui Dumnezeu’ Sonship per baseline’s Critical distinction.
Commandment
Approved rendering: poruncă / porunci
Transliteration: entolē / entolai
Doctrine: The Commandment to Love
Original: ἐντολή / ἐντολαί
Category: Faith
NEW. Extends baseline’s ‘obedience_of_faith’ note. Risk of defaulting toward ‘poruncile bisericii’ (ecclesiastical-observance compliance) rather than the specific love/faith commandment 1 John names (2:7-11; 3:22-24; 4:21).
Abide
Approved rendering: a rămâne
Transliteration: menō
Doctrine: Fellowship with God and One Another / Assurance of Salvation
Original: μένω
Category: Church
NEW. Signature Johannine mutual-indwelling term (4:12-16). Orthodox theosis framework (real participation in God’s uncreated energies) is a strong asset; risk is flattening into a merely static or metaphorical association rather than the real, ongoing communion John intends.
Perfected
Approved rendering: a desăvârși / desăvârșit
Transliteration: teleioō / teleios
Doctrine: God is Love / Sanctification
Original: τελειόω / τέλειος
Category: Sanctification
NEW. Love reaching its intended goal/expression when concretely enacted among believers (4:12,17-18). Strong resonance with Orthodox ascetic-theological ‘desăvârșire’ (theosis’s goal); risk if abstracted into individual ascetic self-perfection detached from love for others.
Confidence Boldness
Approved rendering: îndrăzneală / încredere
Transliteration: parrēsia
Doctrine: Assurance of Salvation and Eternal Life / Christian Assurance in Prayer
Original: παρρησία
Category: Faith
NEW. ‘Îndrăzneală’ (judgment-day sense, 4:17) reuses established Orthodox Divine Liturgy vocabulary (introduction to the Lord’s Prayer); ‘încredere’ (present prayer-confidence sense, 3:21; 5:14). Direct parallel to baseline’s Romans assurance-of-salvation High-risk note on tension with Orthodox theosis’s ongoing, unfinished process — teach the tension, do not smooth it over.
Fear
Approved rendering: frică
Transliteration: phobos
Doctrine: God is Love
Original: φόβος
Category: Faith
NEW. Tormenting, anxious dread of one uncertain of God’s favor, which perfect love expels (4:18). Must be distinguished by translator note from the positive Orthodox devotional category ‘frica de Dumnezeu’ (reverent fear/awe of God, a cherished virtue) — 4:18 is not correcting that virtue.
Test Spirits
Approved rendering: a cerceta duhurile
Transliteration: dokimazein ta pneumata
Doctrine: Testing the Spirits
Original: δοκιμάζειν τὰ πνεύματα
Category: Church
NEW. Every believer’s command to actively test spiritual claims/teachers against the christological standard (4:1-3). Orthodox tradition associates spiritual discernment especially with monastic elders/spiritual fathers (stareți, duhovnici); must be foregrounded as addressed to every believer, not a specialist class.
Spirit Of Truth Error
Approved rendering: duhul adevărului / duhul rătăcirii
Transliteration: pneuma tēs alētheias / pneuma tēs planēs
Doctrine: Testing the Spirits
Original: πνεῦμα τῆς ἀληθείας / πνεῦμα τῆς πλάνης
Category: God
NEW. The two contrasted spiritual sources behind true and false teaching, tested by confession about Christ (4:6). Ensure ‘duhul rătăcirii’ is not confused with an impersonal force; both are personal spiritual realities.
Overcome Victory
Approved rendering: a birui / biruință
Transliteration: nikaō / nikē
Doctrine: Overcoming the World
Original: νικάω / νίκη
Category: Faith
NEW. Victory over the world’s system, grounded explicitly in being born of God and believing (5:4-5), echoing 2:13-14 and 4:4. Orthodox ascetic ‘spiritual combat’ vocabulary is a genuine asset; risk is reassigning 5:4-5’s explicit ground (new birth and faith) to meritorious ascetic effort alone.
Sin Unto Death
Approved rendering: păcat spre moarte
Transliteration: hamartia pros thanaton
Doctrine: Sin unto Death (Pastoral Distinction in Prayer)
Original: ἁμαρτία πρὸς θάνατον
Category: Sin
NEW. A narrow, pastoral distinction concerning whether to pray for a brother observed in a particular sin (5:16-17), not a systematic doctrine of degrees of sin. Risk of collapsing into the formal ‘păcat de moarte’ vs. ‘păcat ușor’ moral-theology category.
Idols
Approved rendering: idoli
Transliteration: eidōla
Doctrine: Idols and False Worship
Original: εἴδωλα
Category: Sin
NEW. Historically weaponized in polemics against Orthodox and Catholic icon veneration; must be taught on its own terms — a warning against false gods/worship tied to the false teaching combated throughout 1 John — without adjudicating the icon debate (resolved at Nicaea II, 787 AD, via the latria/proskynesis distinction), 5:21.
Water Blood Spirit
Approved rendering: apa și sângele și Duhul
Transliteration: to hydōr kai to haima kai to pneuma
Doctrine: The Witness of God Concerning His Son / The Incarnation
Original: τὸ ὕδωρ καὶ τὸ αἷμα καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα
Category: Christology
NEW. The threefold witness confirming Jesus as the Christ (5:6-8). Present the sacramental (Baptism/Eucharist) reading as one defensible historic option among others, not the text’s single settled meaning, since 1 John does not explicitly name the sacraments here.
Medium Risk Terms
Adoption
Approved rendering: înfiere
Transliteration: huiothesia
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
Original: υἱοθεσία (root concept) / τέκνα θεοῦ
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Background doctrine underlying 1 John’s ‘children of God’ language (3:1-2).
Brother
Approved rendering: frate
Transliteration: adelphos
Doctrine: Love for the Brethren as Evidence of New Birth
Original: ἀδελφός
Category: Church
NEW. Fellow believer, the concrete, visible test case for love claimed toward the invisible God (2:9-11; 3:10-17; 4:20-21). Note colloquial Orthodox monastic usage of ‘frate’ as address for monks — a secondary association to flag, not a primary collision.
World
Approved rendering: lumea
Transliteration: ho kosmos
Doctrine: Overcoming the World
Original: ὁ κόσμος
Category: Sin
NEW. The God-opposing value-system — ‘the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life’ (2:15-17) — not to be loved or conformed to. Distinguish from the neutral ‘world’ as object of God’s saving love (4:9).
Witness Testimony
Approved rendering: mărturie / a mărturisi (testify sense)
Transliteration: martyria / martyreō
Doctrine: The Witness of God Concerning His Son
Original: μαρτυρία / μαρτυρέω
Category: Faith
NEW. Testimony — both the apostolic eyewitness testimony (1:1-3; 4:14) and God’s own testimony concerning his Son (5:9-10). Romanian distinguishes ‘mărturie’ from ‘mucenicie’ (martyrdom), unlike Greek’s single root; ensure ‘mărturisim’ (testify, 4:14) is not confused with the confession sense of ὁμολογέω (4:15).
Lawlessness
Approved rendering: fărădelege
Transliteration: anomia
Doctrine: Universal Sinfulness and Righteousness
Original: ἀνομία
Category: Sin
NEW. Sin’s essential character as rebellion against God’s order (3:4). Established Orthodox liturgical-penitential term (Psalm 50/51 ‘fărădelegile mele’) — a strong asset given liturgical familiarity.
Devil
Approved rendering: diavolul / cel rău
Transliteration: diabolos / ho ponēros
Doctrine: Overcoming the World
Original: διάβολος / ὁ πονηρός
Category: Sin
NEW. The personal, malevolent spiritual adversary, identified as the spiritual father of sin and murder (3:8,12) and the one believers overcome (2:13-14). Standard, low-collision terms across Romanian Christian traditions.
Walk
Approved rendering: a trăi / a merge
Transliteration: peripateō
Doctrine: Walking in Light vs. Darkness
Original: περιπατέω
Category: Sanctification
NEW. Metaphor for one’s ongoing manner of life/conduct, either in light or darkness (1:6-7; 2:6,11). Ensure this clearly conveys ongoing conduct, not a single act.
Know
Approved rendering: a cunoaște
Transliteration: ginōskō
Doctrine: Faith
Original: γινώσκω
Category: Faith
NEW. Experiential, relational knowledge of God, inseparable from loving and obeying him (2:3-5; 3:1,6,16,19-20; 4:6-8,13,16; 5:20). Ensure this conveys relational, covenantal knowing, not merely intellectual assent.
Manifested
Approved rendering: s-a arătat
Transliteration: phaneroō
Doctrine: The Incarnation
Original: φανερόω
Category: Christology
NEW. To make visible, reveal openly — used of the Word of life (1:2), Christ’s appearing to destroy sin and the devil’s works (3:5,8), and God’s love shown in sending the Son (4:9). Love and Christ’s appearing are historical, visible events, not abstract ideas.
Low Risk Terms
Liar Lie
Approved rendering: mincinos / minciună
Transliteration: pseustēs / pseudos
Doctrine: Confession and Forgiveness of Sin / Love for the Brethren
Original: ψεύστης / ψεῦδος
Category: Sin
NEW. Moral falsehood — claiming love or fellowship inconsistent with one’s actual conduct (1:6,10; 2:4,22; 4:20). Standard vocabulary, minimal risk.