Core Glossary
Acts — Core Glossary (Phase 1, Step 8)
This glossary consolidates every load-bearing theological term identified in analysis/07_semantic_analysis.md, spanning Acts chapters 1–28. Terms already established in the baseline Romans translation_memory.json are marked [REUSED] and their Romanian rendering is repeated here unchanged, per the hard rule that established renderings must be reused exactly. Terms new to this curriculum are marked [NEW] and are proposed here for incorporation into the extended translation memory and doctrine risk registry.
Part A — Terms Reused Exactly from the Romans Baseline
| English Term | Romanian Rendering | Risk | Doctrine | Acts Chapters Where Load-Bearing | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| gospel | evanghelie | High | Gospel; Gospel to Jews and Gentiles | 1, 2, 10, 13, 15, 20, 28 | No change from Romans baseline. |
| grace | har | Critical | Grace; Justification apart from the Law | 2 (v.47, secular sense — flag distinctly), 4, 11, 13, 14, 15, 20 | Acts 15:11, 20:24 carry full theological weight identical to Romans; Acts 2:47 uses χάρις in its ordinary secular sense — must be distinguished with a translator note. |
| faith | credință | High | Faith; Justification apart from the Law | 3, 6, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 20, 26 | Object of faith (Christ) must remain recoverable from context throughout Acts as in Romans. |
| righteousness | dreptate | Critical | Salvation; Justification apart from the Law | 3 (title “Cel Drept”), 7, 13, 17, 24 | New use as a Christological title (“the Righteous One,” ch. 3, 7, 22) built on this root; flag distinctly as title use. |
| justification | îndreptățire | Critical | Justification apart from the Law | 13 (vv.38-39, key proof text) | Must match Romans 3–5 rendering precisely; Acts 13:38-39 is Acts’ own thesis-statement parallel to Romans. |
| salvation | mântuire | Critical | Salvation; Gospel to Jews and Gentiles | 2, 4, 10, 11, 15, 16, 26, 27 | Acts 4:12 (exclusivity), 16:30-31 (Philippian jailer) are flagship texts requiring theologian review. |
| apostle | apostol | Low | Apostolic Authority and Miracles | throughout | No change. |
| called / calling | chemat / chemare | Medium/High | Divine Calling | 1, 2, 9, 13, 16 | Must never default to “chemare monahală” as in Romans baseline. |
| holy | sfânt | Medium | Sanctification | 2, 3, 4, 9, 13 (via Duhul Sfânt, sfinți) | No change. |
| saints | sfinți | Critical | Sainthood | 9 (v.13, 32, 41), 26 (v.18) | Every occurrence requires the same all-believers clarifying note documented in the Romans baseline; Acts 9 uses “sfinți” narratively of the Damascus/Joppa believing communities. |
| sanctification | sfințire | High | Sanctification | 20, 26 | Acts 26:18 pairs sanctification directly with forgiveness and inheritance language. |
| adoption | înfiere | Medium | Adoption | (implicit, not directly worded in Acts; retained for cross-document consistency) | No direct Acts occurrence of the term itself; retained as background doctrine. |
| resurrection | înviere | Critical | Resurrection of Christ; also general/final resurrection | 1, 2, 4, 17, 23, 24, 26 | Acts extends the term to the general resurrection of the just and unjust (ch. 24) beyond Christ’s own resurrection (ch. 2) — both senses must retain full doctrinal precision. |
| lord | Domnul | Critical | Lordship of Christ | 2, 4, 10, 11, 16 | Acts 2:36 (“Lord and Christ”) and 16:31 must remain consistent with Romans 10:9’s “Iisus este Domnul.” |
| son_of_god | Fiul lui Dumnezeu | Critical | Sonship of Christ | (implicit; not a frequent explicit Acts phrase but doctrinally presupposed throughout) | Retained for cross-document consistency. |
| incarnation | întrupare | High | Incarnation | (background doctrine; Acts assumes rather than states this) | No direct new Acts occurrence. |
| peace | pace | Medium | Peace with God | (general background) | No major new Acts occurrence. |
| spiritual_gifts | daruri duhovnicești | Medium | Spiritual Gifts | 2, 19 | Tongues and prophecy in Acts 2 and 19 are instances of this broader category. |
| thanksgiving | mulțumire | Low | Thanksgiving | 27 (implicit, Paul’s meal) | Minor. |
| fellowship | părtășie | Low | Christian Fellowship; Church as Community | 2 (v.42) | Distinguish from the more liturgically loaded “comuniune,” per baseline note; especially relevant alongside the new “frângerea pâinii” term. |
| church | Biserică | Medium | Church as God’s People; Church as Community | 2, 5, 8, 9, 11, 12, 14, 15, 20 | Acts narrates the church’s founding and early structure; avoid the exclusivist institutional over-reading noted in the baseline. |
| kingdom_of_god | împărăția lui Dumnezeu | Medium | Kingdom Mission | 1, 8, 14, 19, 20, 28 | Bookends the whole book (1:3, 6 and 28:31). |
| law | lege | High | Justification apart from the Law | 6, 7, 13, 15, 18, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25 | Central to the Judaizing controversy across chs. 15, 21. |
| sin | păcat | Medium | Universal Human Accountability | 2, 3, 5, 22, 26 | Acts 2:38 and 22:16 are baptism-forgiveness texts requiring careful sequencing notes. |
| gentiles | neamuri | Low | Gospel to Jews and Gentiles; Unity of Jews and Gentiles | 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 18, 21, 22, 26, 28 | Central recurring term throughout the second half of Acts. |
| glory | slavă | Medium | Deity of Christ | 7 (Stephen’s vision), 9 (light from heaven), 22 | No change. |
| obedience_of_faith | ascultarea credinței | High | Obedience of Faith | (background; conceptually present in repentance-baptism sequence) | Reinforced by Acts’ repentance/baptism narrative pattern. |
| power_of_god | puterea lui Dumnezeu | Medium | Power of God for Salvation; Apostolic Authority | 1, 2, 3, 4, 26 (ironic contrast with “power of Satan”) | Acts 26:18’s contrast (Satan’s power vs. God) is a notable new pairing. |
| messiah | Mesia | Critical | Messianic Promise | 2, 3, 9, 17, 18, 26 | ”Christ” (Χριστός) used as virtual proper name/title throughout Acts; render per established convention (Hristos as proper name, Mesia when the titular/messianic sense is in view), consistent with Romans baseline usage. |
| prophet / prophecy | proroc / prorocie | Low | Fulfillment of Prophecy | 2, 3, 7, 11, 13, 15, 21 | Agabus (ch. 11, 21) is a notable NT prophetic figure. |
| covenant | legământ | High | Davidic Covenant | 2, 3, 7 | Acts 2:30 (oath to David), Acts 3:25 (covenant with Abraham) both occur. |
| election | alegere | High | Effectual Calling; Conversion of Paul | 9 (v.15, “vas ales”), 13, 18 | New concrete narrative instance (Paul as “chosen instrument”) of the same doctrinal category as Romans 9–11. |
| intercession | mijlocire | High | Prayer and Intercession | 12 (church praying for Peter), 21 (prophetic warning), 27 | Acts 12:5 (“earnest prayer was made to God”) is a strong positive intercession model without saint/Marian mediation, useful pedagogically. |
| providence | pronia lui Dumnezeu | Medium | Providence | 2 (v.23, God’s plan), 17 (Areopagus), 18 (v.10), 27 | Acts 2:23’s “definite plan and foreknowledge” is Acts’ clearest providence statement. |
| mission | misiune | Medium | Mission to the Nations; Great Commission Fulfilled | 1, 13, 16, 22, 26 | Acts 1:8 and 28:31 bookend this doctrine for the whole book. |
| david | David | Low | Davidic Covenant | 2, 4, 7, 13, 15 | No change. |
| israel | Israel | Low | Unity of Jews and Gentiles | 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 10, 13, 21, 26, 28 | No change. |
| jesus | Iisus | Critical | Lordship of Christ | throughout | Standardized spelling per Orthodox Synodal convention, per baseline; “Isus” only in Evangelical/Cornilescu-tradition parallel material. |
| god | Dumnezeu | Critical | Deity of Christ | throughout | No change. |
| holy_spirit | Duhul Sfânt | Critical | Sanctification; Holy Spirit and Pentecost | throughout, esp. 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 10, 13, 15, 19 | The central doctrinal term of the entire Acts curriculum’s first doctrine (“The Holy Spirit and Pentecost”); every occurrence of Filioque-sensitive trinitarian phrasing must avoid presuming the Filioque as settled, per baseline note. |
| father | Tată | Critical | Adoption into God’s Family | (background; “God of our fathers,” ch. 3, 22 uses “fathers” of patriarchs, a distinct sense) | Note: “our fathers” (patriarchs) in Acts 3:13, 22:14 is a different sense from “Tată” as personal address to God; do not conflate. |
| abba | Avva | Medium | Adoption into God’s Family | (not directly occurring in Acts; retained for consistency) | No direct Acts occurrence. |
| exhort | îndemna | Low | Mutual Edification | 11, 14, 20 | Barnabas “exhorting” new believers (11:23), Paul exhorting elders (20:2). |
| seed_of_david | sămânța lui David | Medium | Davidic Covenant | 13 (v.23) | Paul’s Pisidian Antioch sermon parallels Peter’s Pentecost sermon in Davidic argument. |
| imputed_righteousness | dreptate imputată | Critical | Justification apart from the Law | 13 (conceptually, vv.38-39) | Acts 13:38-39 is the closest Acts parallel to this Romans category; construct and explain as in the baseline, not assumed as familiar vocabulary. |
Part B — New Terms Introduced by Acts (Proposed for Extended Translation Memory)
| English Term | Romanian Rendering | Risk | Doctrine | Original (Greek) | Key Acts Passages | Risk Reasoning |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pentecost | Cincizecime | Critical | The Holy Spirit and Pentecost | πεντηκοστή (pentēkostē) | 2:1; 20:16 | Popular Romanian term “Rusalii” carries pre-Christian folk-superstition associations (nymph-spirits, protective taboos during Pentecost week) that risk syncretistic contamination of the biblical feast; standardize on the transparent Scriptural calque “Cincizecime.” |
| baptism | botez | Critical | Repentance and Baptism | βαπτίζω / βάπτισμα (baptizō / baptisma) | 2:38, 41; 8:12,36-38; 9:18; 10:47-48; 16:15,33; 18:8; 19:3-5; 22:16 | Direct collision with Orthodox sacramental infant-baptism theology (regenerative, normally administered in infancy, integrated with chrismation) vs. Acts’ narrated pattern of immediate adult baptism following repentance/faith. Requires an explicit teaching note at every occurrence distinguishing Acts’ historical narrative pattern from later developed sacramental practice, without denying either. |
| repentance | pocăință | High | Repentance and Baptism | μετάνοια / μετανοέω (metanoia / metanoeō) | 2:38; 3:19; 5:31; 8:22; 11:18; 17:30; 19:4; 20:21; 26:20 | Orthodox usage strongly associates “pocăință” with the sacramental rite of confession (Taina Pocăinței); must teach the term’s root sense here (inward turning to God) as prior to and distinct from, though not opposed to, later sacramental confession practice. |
| speaking in tongues | a vorbi în [alte] limbi | Medium | The Holy Spirit and Pentecost | γλῶσσα / λαλεῖν γλώσσαις (glōssa / lalein glōssais) | 2:4,6,8,11; 10:46; 19:6 | Acts 2 describes known human languages (xenolalia) understood by hearers; risk of conflation with 1 Corinthians’ distinct ecstatic-utterance-requiring-interpretation phenomenon and with modern charismatic/cessationist debates. Anchor each occurrence to its specific context. |
| witness | martor / mărturie | High | Persecution and Bold Witness | μάρτυς / μαρτυρία (martys / martyria) | 1:8,22; 2:32; 3:15; 4:33; 5:32; 10:39,41; 13:31; 22:15,20; 26:16 | Foundational term for the doctrine of bold witness under persecution; must be taught alongside its later specialized development into “martir” (martyr in the death sense), first narratively enacted at Stephen’s death (7:54-60; named explicitly 22:20). |
| boldness | îndrăzneală | High | Persecution and Bold Witness | παρρησία (parrēsia) | 4:13,29,31; 9:27-28; 13:46; 14:3; 18:26; 19:8; 26:26; 28:31 | Must be consistently rendered as Spirit-produced courage to keep proclaiming the gospel under social/political pressure, not generic self-confidence; bookends the whole book (4:13 and 28:31). |
| signs and wonders | semne și minuni | Medium | Apostolic Authority and Miracles | σημεῖα καὶ τέρατα (sēmeia kai terata) | 2:19,22,43; 4:30; 5:12; 6:8; 8:13; 14:3; 15:12 | Recurring formula authenticating apostolic proclamation; must be taught as subordinate/confirmatory to the preached word, not independent displays of power. |
| the breaking of bread | frângerea pâinii | Critical | The Church as Community | κλάσις τοῦ ἄρτου (klasis tou artou) | 2:42,46; 20:7,11; 27:35 | Orthodox readers will naturally read this as the Divine Liturgy/Eucharist; requires an explicit note distinguishing the developing early-church practice narrated in Acts from later fully developed Eucharistic liturgical theology, without denying continuity. |
| all things in common | [a avea] de obște / în comun | Medium | The Church as Community | κοινός (positive sense) (koinos) | 2:44-45; 4:32-35 | Teach as a voluntary, Spirit-produced generosity specific to the Jerusalem church’s circumstances, not a universal ecclesiastical economic mandate; note the same root’s opposite (negative, “unclean”) sense in Acts 10:14-15. |
| common / unclean | necurat / spurcat | High | Gospel to Jews and Gentiles; Justification apart from the Law | κοινός (negative sense) (koinos) | 10:14-15,28; 11:8-9 | Collision risk with the Romanian Orthodox fasting calendar’s own dietary-restriction categories; must clarify this concerns the Mosaic ceremonial food code and its typological fulfillment in Gentile inclusion, not later church fasting discipline. |
| the Way | Calea | Medium | Church as Community; Persecution and Bold Witness | ἡ ὁδός (hē hodos) | 9:2; 19:9,23; 22:4; 24:14,22 | Earliest self-designation of the Christian movement, prior to “Christian” (11:26); render as a capitalized proper self-designation with a teaching note on its historical priority. |
| the restoration of all things | așezarea din nou a tuturor lucrurilor | High | Great Commission Fulfilled (eschatological horizon) | ἀποκατάστασις πάντων (apokatastasis pantōn) | 3:21 | The technical term ἀποκατάστασις is historically associated with the church-censured universalist doctrine of Origen; must be rendered in its own contained sense (future renewal of creation at Christ’s return per the prophets) without implying support for the doctrine that all, including the unrepentant, will ultimately be saved. |
| the Righteous One | Cel Drept | High | Justification apart from the Law; Messianic Promise | ὁ δίκαιος (ho dikaios) | 3:14; 7:52; 22:14 | New Christological title built on the already-Critical “dreptate” root; flag distinctly as a title for Christ, not a general ethical description. |
| God-fearer | [bărbat/femeie] temător(oare) de Dumnezeu | Medium | Gospel to Jews and Gentiles | ὁ φοβούμενος/σεβόμενος τὸν θεόν (ho phoboumenos/sebomenos ton theon) | 10:2,22; 13:16,26; 16:14; 17:4,17; 18:7 | Technical first-century social category (Gentile synagogue-adjacent sympathizer, uncircumcised); requires background explanation for full comprehension. |
| chosen instrument | vas ales | High | Conversion of Paul; Divine Calling | σκεῦος ἐκλογῆς (skeuos eklogēs) | 9:15 | Concrete narrative instance of the same “eklogē” (election) root as Romans 9–11; same caution against imposing strict Calvinist monergism or dissolving into pure free will applies. |
| Christians (name) | creștini | Low | Church as Community | Χριστιανοί (Christianoi) | 11:26; 26:28 | Established, unambiguous, low-risk term across all Romanian Christian traditions; historically outsider-coined nickname later adopted as self-designation. |
| great persecution | prigoană (mare) | Medium | Persecution and Bold Witness | διωγμός (diōgmos) | 8:1; 11:19; 13:50 | Standard term; theological weight lies in the paired providential outcome (scattering advances the mission) rather than the term itself. |
| simony (buying spiritual power) | simonie | Medium | Apostolic Authority and Miracles | (narrative source of the later term; no single Greek technical term) | 8:9-24 | Established Romanian ecclesiastical loanword directly derived from this passage; useful pedagogical point of contact, but must be explained as originating here. |
| eunuch | famen | Low | Gospel to Jews and Gentiles | εὐνοῦχος (eunouchos) | 8:27,34,36,38-39 | Standard biblical term; theological weight from Deuteronomy 23:1/Isaiah 56:3-5 background, not the rendering itself. |
| elders | prezbiteri / bătrâni | High | Church as Community; Apostolic Authority | πρεσβύτεροι (presbyteroi) | 11:30; 14:23; 15:2,4,6,22-23; 16:4; 20:17; 21:18 | Risk of collapsing into the modern institutional “preot” (priest) office in a way that over-reads later developed sacramental priesthood into Acts’ local-church leadership function; used interchangeably with “overseers” in 20:17,28. |
| overseers / bishops | episcopi | Critical | Church as Community; Apostolic Authority | ἐπίσκοποι (episkopoi) | 20:28 | Direct collision with Orthodox three-fold ministry (bishop distinct from and superior to priest/presbyter): Acts 20:17,28 uses “elder” and “overseer” of the identical group of men without distinction. Requires human theologian review at every occurrence; teach as reflecting the New Testament’s earlier, less differentiated terminology without denying the legitimacy of later developed polity. |
| laying on of hands / appointment with prayer and fasting | punerea mâinilor / rânduire (hirotonie) | High | Apostolic Authority and Miracles; Church as Community | χειροτονέω / ἐπίθεσις τῶν χειρῶν (cheirotoneō / epithesis tōn cheirōn) | 6:6; 13:3; 14:23; 19:6 | χειροτονέω is the direct etymological root of the Orthodox sacramental ordination rite “hirotonie”; must avoid both anachronistic imposition of later developed sacramental theology and dismissive under-translation as merely administrative appointment. |
| circumcision | tăiere împrejur | High | Justification apart from the Law | περιτομή / περιτέμνω (peritomē / peritemnō) | 15:1,5,24; 16:3; 21:21 | Central Judaizing controversy term; must be clearly bounded as a first-century salvation-condition debate, not a general statement about the value of any bodily/liturgical practice. |
| yoke | jug | Medium | Justification apart from the Law | ζυγός (zygos) | 15:10 | Metaphor for the crushing burden of comprehensive law-observance; standard, moderate risk. |
| apostolic decree (idol-food, blood, strangled things, sexual immorality) | [poruncile] jertfite idolilor, sânge, dobitoace sugrumate, curvie | Medium | Justification apart from the Law; Church as Community | ἀλίσγημα εἰδώλων, πορνεία, πνικτόν, αἷμα | 15:20,29; 21:25 | Practical wisdom preserving Jewish-Gentile table fellowship; must not be taught as a permanent comprehensive ethical code superseding the freedom the council just granted from the full law. |
| Nazirite vow | jurământ (de nazireat) | Low | Justification apart from the Law (nuance) | εὐχή (euchē, cf. Numbers 6) | 21:23-24 | Requires Old Testament background (Numbers 6); nuances the Law doctrine by showing Paul’s continued respectful engagement with Jewish custom. |
| Sanhedrin | Sinedriul | Low | Apostolic Authority; Persecution and Bold Witness | συνέδριον (synedrion) | 4:15; 5:21,27,34,41; 6:12,15; 22:30; 23:1,6,15,20,28; 24:20 | Established proper-noun/institutional term; low ambiguity. |
| unknown god | Dumnezeul necunoscut | Medium | Gospel to Jews and Gentiles; Great Commission Fulfilled | Ἄγνωστος Θεός (Agnōstos Theos) | 17:23 | Illustrates positive contextualized apologetic method; must not be read as affirming equivalence between the pagan altar’s referent and the true God — Paul redefines, not endorses. |
| exorcism / exorcists | exorciști / a alunga duhuri | Medium | Apostolic Authority and Miracles | ἐξορκιστής (exorkistēs) | 19:13-16 | Distinguish genuine apostolic authority in Christ’s name from magical/formulaic imitation, which the text shows failing disastrously. |
| conversion / turning | a se întoarce (de la … la) | High | Conversion of Paul; Great Commission Fulfilled | ἐπιστρέφω (epistrephō) | 3:19; 9:35; 11:21; 14:15; 15:19; 26:18,20 | Summarizes the whole conversion doctrine (turning from idols/darkness to the living God/light); universal scope where present must be preserved. |
| church obtained/purchased with his own blood | [Biserica] pe care a dobândit-o cu sângele Său | Critical | Church as Community; Apostolic Authority (atonement embedded in a leadership charge) | περιεποιήσατο διὰ τοῦ αἵματος τοῦ ἰδίου | 20:28 | Atonement/blood-of-Christ claim embedded within a pastoral-leadership charge; must not be treated as merely a pastoral-care text without also flagging its Christological weight. |
| unhindered | fără piedică | High | Great Commission Fulfilled | ἀκωλύτως (akōlytōs) | 28:31 | Deliberately bookends Acts 1:8’s “to the ends of the earth”; final word of the book, proposed as a fixed closing formula across the curriculum. |
Risk Summary (New Terms Only)
| Risk Tier | Count | Terms |
|---|---|---|
| Critical | 6 | Pentecost, baptism, the breaking of bread, overseers/bishops, church obtained/purchased with his own blood, apostolic decree items (grouped under justification-apart-from-law critical cluster where combined with circumcision — see note) |
| High | 11 | repentance, witness, boldness, the restoration of all things, the Righteous One, chosen instrument, elders, laying on of hands, circumcision, conversion/turning, unhindered |
| Medium | 12 | speaking in tongues, signs and wonders, all things in common, common/unclean, the Way, God-fearer, great persecution, simony, yoke, apostolic decree, unknown god, exorcism |
| Low | 4 | Christians (name), eunuch, Nazirite vow, Sanhedrin |
Note: circumcision and the apostolic decree together form a single Critical-tier doctrinal cluster (“Justification apart from the Law”) even though circumcision alone is scored High individually; theologian review routing should treat any segment combining these terms as Critical.
Cross-Reference to Doctrines Named in Curriculum Parameters
| Curriculum Doctrine | Primary New Terms | Primary Reused Terms |
|---|---|---|
| The Holy Spirit and Pentecost | Pentecost, speaking in tongues, signs and wonders | holy_spirit, power_of_god, spiritual_gifts, glory |
| The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles | God-fearer, common/unclean, eunuch, unknown god | gospel, gentiles, israel |
| Repentance and Baptism | repentance, baptism | sin, salvation |
| The Church as Community | the breaking of bread, all things in common, the Way, elders, overseers/bishops, Christians (name), laying on of hands | church, fellowship, spiritual_gifts |
| Apostolic Authority and Miracles | signs and wonders, laying on of hands, simony, exorcism, elders, overseers/bishops | apostle, power_of_god |
| Persecution and Bold Witness | witness, boldness, great persecution, the Way | intercession |
| Conversion of Paul | chosen instrument, conversion/turning | election, glory |
| Justification apart from the Law | circumcision, yoke, apostolic decree, the restoration of all things, the Righteous One | justification, law, grace, imputed_righteousness |
| The Great Commission Fulfilled | unhindered, conversion/turning | mission, kingdom_of_god |
This glossary, together with analysis/07_semantic_analysis.md, forms the complete Phase 1 Step 1 deliverable for the Acts curriculum and is the required input for extending translation_memory.json, bible_term_registry.json, and doctrine_risk_registry.json in subsequent Phase 1 steps.
Critical Risk Terms
Grace
Approved rendering: har
Transliteration: charis
Doctrine: Grace; Justification apart from the Law
Rejected alternatives: favoare doar în sens legal, fără nicio participare reală a credinciosului
Original: χάρις
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package (Palamite uncreated-energies caution preserved unchanged). Extension for Acts: 15:11 and 20:24,32 carry full Critical-tier weight identical to Romans; Acts 2:47 (‘bunăvoința întregului popor’) uses the same root in its ordinary secular ‘goodwill’ sense and must be flagged distinctly so as not to inflate every ‘har’-family occurrence with soteriological weight.
Righteousness
Approved rendering: dreptate
Transliteration: dikaiosynē
Doctrine: Salvation; Justification apart from the Law
Rejected alternatives: dreptate câștigată exclusiv prin efort moral propriu
Original: δικαιοσύνη
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Extension for Acts: this root also forms the new Christological title ‘Cel Drept’ (ho dikaios, 3:14; 7:52; 22:14); the titular use must be flagged distinctly from the general soteriological noun (see righteous_one entry).
Justification
Approved rendering: îndreptățire
Transliteration: dikaiōsis / dikaioō
Doctrine: Justification apart from the Law
Rejected alternatives: transformare treptată exclusiv, fără niciun aspect de declarație
Original: δικαίωσις / δικαιόω
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Extension for Acts: 13:38-39 (‘oricine crede este îndreptățit de toate cele de care n-ați putut fi îndreptățiți prin Legea lui Moise’) is Acts’ own thesis-statement parallel to Romans 3-5 and must match that rendering precisely per the cross-document consistency rule.
Salvation
Approved rendering: mântuire
Transliteration: sōtēria / sōzō
Doctrine: Salvation; The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles
Original: σωτηρία / σῴζω
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Extension for Acts: 4:12 (absolute exclusivity — ‘nu este mântuire în nimeni altul’) and 16:30-31 (Philippian jailer’s question/answer) are flagship texts; Orthodox theosis framing must not dissolve the decisive, immediate reception these narratives describe.
Saints
Approved rendering: sfinți
Transliteration: hagioi
Doctrine: Sainthood
Rejected alternatives: sfinți canonizați, venerați prin icoane și moaște, invocați ca mijlocitori
Original: ἅγιοι
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Extension for Acts: 9:13,32,41 and 26:10,18 use ‘sfinți’ narratively of ordinary believing communities at Joppa/Lydda, making the corporate all-believers sense especially vivid; requires the identical explicit clarifying note at every occurrence against canonized-saint-only Orthodox popular piety.
Resurrection
Approved rendering: înviere
Transliteration: anastasis
Doctrine: Resurrection of Christ
Original: ἀνάστασις
Category: Eschatology
Inherited from Romans package (cultural asset caveat preserved). Extension for Acts: extends beyond Christ’s own resurrection (2:24-32; 13:30-37) to the general resurrection of the just and unjust at final judgment (17:31-32; 23:6; 24:15,21; 26:8,23); both senses require full bodily-historical precision.
Lord
Approved rendering: Domnul
Transliteration: kyrios
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Original: κύριος
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. Extension for Acts: 2:36 (‘Domn și Hristos’) and 16:31 (‘Domnul Iisus’) must remain verbally consistent with Romans 10:9’s ‘Iisus este Domnul’ per the cross-document consistency rule.
Son Of God
Approved rendering: Fiul lui Dumnezeu
Transliteration: huios theou
Doctrine: Sonship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: fiu al lui Dumnezeu în sensul generic aplicat oricărui credincios
Original: υἱὸς θεοῦ
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. Extension for Acts: 9:20 (‘el este Fiul lui Dumnezeu’) and 13:33 (citing Psalm 2:7) apply this title to Iisus; never abbreviate in a way that could read as adoptive or honorary sonship.
Messiah
Approved rendering: Mesia
Transliteration: Christos / Mashiach
Doctrine: Messianic Promise
Original: Χριστός / מָשִׁיחַ
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. Extension for Acts: ‘Hristos’ functions largely as a proper-name/title fused with ‘Iisus’ throughout Acts; render ‘Mesia’ specifically when the titular/messianic argument is explicit (2:31,36; 3:18,20; 9:22; 17:3; 18:5,28).
Jesus
Approved rendering: Iisus
Transliteration: Iēsous
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: Isus (Protestant/Cornilescu spelling)
Original: Ἰησοῦς
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. Standardized as ‘Iisus’ (Orthodox Synodal spelling) throughout Acts; ‘Isus’ only in Evangelical/Cornilescu-tradition parallel material, never mixed within one document.
God
Approved rendering: Dumnezeu
Transliteration: theos
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Original: θεός
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Standard and unambiguous throughout Acts.
Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: Duhul Sfânt
Transliteration: pneuma hagion
Doctrine: The Holy Spirit and Pentecost; Sanctification
Original: πνεῦμα ἅγιον
Category: Holy Spirit and Pentecost
Inherited from Romans package. Extension for Acts: the central term of this curriculum’s anchor doctrine (1:5,8; 2:1-4,33,38; 4:31; 5:3-4,32; 8:15-17; 10:44-47; 19:1-6). Must never be rendered as an impersonal force; avoid trinitarian phrasing elsewhere presuming the Filioque as settled, per the baseline caution.
Imputed Righteousness
Approved rendering: dreptate imputată
Transliteration: elogisthē autō eis dikaiosynēn
Doctrine: Justification apart from the Law
Rejected alternatives: îndreptățire doar ca transformare ontologică, fără niciun aspect juridic sau declarat
Original: ἐλογίσθη αὐτῷ εἰς δικαιοσύνην (conceptual parallel: δικαιοῦται, Acts 13:39)
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Extension for Acts: 13:38-39 is the closest Acts parallel to this category; construct and explain the compound phrase rather than assuming it is familiar vocabulary, per the baseline caution.
Pentecost
Approved rendering: Cincizecime
Transliteration: pentēkostē
Doctrine: The Holy Spirit and Pentecost
Rejected alternatives: Rusalii (popular Romanian term carrying pre-Christian folk-superstition associations — nymph-spirits, protective taboos during Pentecost week)
Original: πεντηκοστή
Category: Holy Spirit and Pentecost
NEW term for Acts. Standardizes on the transparent Scriptural calque used by both Cornilescu and the Synodal text (Acts 2:1; 20:16). ‘Rusalii’ is permitted only in bracketed liturgical-calendar cross-reference notes, never as the primary rendering, to avoid syncretistic contamination of the biblical feast.
Baptism
Approved rendering: botez
Transliteration: baptizō / baptisma
Doctrine: Repentance and Baptism
Rejected alternatives: botez privit ca efect mecanic al apei, fără pocăință și credință, negarea validității botezului pruncilor practicat de Biserica Ortodoxă
Original: βαπτίζω / βάπτισμα
Category: Repentance and Baptism
NEW term for Acts. Direct collision with Orthodox sacramental theology (regenerative, normally infant, chrismation-linked) vs. Acts’ narrated pattern of immediate adult baptism following repentance/faith (2:38,41; 8:12,36-38; 9:18; 10:47-48; 16:15,33; 18:8; 19:3-5; 22:16). Requires an explicit teaching note at every occurrence distinguishing Acts’ historical narrative pattern from later developed sacramental practice, without denying either.
Breaking Of Bread
Approved rendering: frângerea pâinii
Transliteration: klasis tou artou
Doctrine: The Church as Community
Rejected alternatives: identificare deplină și necondiționată cu Sfânta Împărtășanie/Dumnezeiasca Liturghie actuală, reducere la o simplă masă comună fără nicio semnificație spirituală
Original: κλάσις τοῦ ἄρτου
Category: Church
NEW term for Acts. Orthodox readers will naturally read this as the Divine Liturgy/Eucharist. Requires an explicit teaching note at every occurrence (2:42,46; 20:7,11; 27:35) distinguishing the developing early-church practice from later fully developed Eucharistic liturgical theology, without denying continuity or flattening into ‘just a meal.‘
Overseers Bishops
Approved rendering: episcopi
Transliteration: episkopoi
Doctrine: The Church as Community; Apostolic Authority and Miracles
Rejected alternatives: episcopi în sensul deplin dezvoltat al ierarhiei ortodoxe cu trei trepte, retrodatat anacronic în text
Original: ἐπίσκοποι
Category: Church
NEW term for Acts. Direct collision with Orthodox three-fold ministry (bishop distinct from and superior to priest/presbyter): Acts 20:17,28 uses ‘elder’ and ‘overseer’ of the identical group of men without distinction. Requires human theologian review at every occurrence; teach as reflecting the New Testament’s earlier, less differentiated terminology without denying the legitimacy of later developed polity.
Blood Of Christ
Approved rendering: sângele Său
Transliteration: to haima to idion
Doctrine: Deity of Christ; Atonement
Rejected alternatives: reducere la un text pur pastoral-administrativ, fără conținut hristologic/ispășitor
Original: τὸ αἷμα τὸ ἴδιον
Category: Christology
NEW term for Acts. Acts 20:28’s atonement claim (‘Biserica lui Dumnezeu, pe care a dobândit-o cu sângele Său’) is embedded within a pastoral leadership charge and must not be treated as merely a pastoral-care text without also flagging its Christological/atonement weight; connects to the Isaiah 53 citation applied to Christ in 8:32-35.
High Risk Terms
Gospel
Approved rendering: evanghelie
Transliteration: euangelion
Doctrine: Gospel; The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles
Original: εὐαγγέλιον
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Standard term shared across Romanian traditions; must convey the specific proclamation of salvation through Christ crucified and risen, not generic good news. In Acts, denotes the content proclaimed from Jerusalem to Rome (1:8; 8:4; 10:36; 13:32; 14:7,15,21; 15:7; 20:24; 28:31).
Faith
Approved rendering: credință
Transliteration: pistis
Doctrine: Faith; Justification apart from the Law
Rejected alternatives: evlavie religioasă generală
Original: πίστις
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package. Extension for Acts: object of faith (Iisus Hristos) must remain recoverable from context at 3:16 (healing ‘prin credința în Numele Lui’), 14:9, 16:31, 20:21 — never generalized devotion or inherited Orthodox identity by birth.
Called
Approved rendering: chemat
Transliteration: klētos / kaleō
Doctrine: Divine Calling
Original: κλητός / καλέω
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Extension for Acts: 2:39 (‘oricâți îi va chema Domnul, Dumnezeul nostru’) carries full salvific-universal scope; must never default to ‘chemare monahală.‘
Calling
Approved rendering: chemare
Transliteration: klēsis
Doctrine: Divine Calling
Rejected alternatives: chemare monahală (specifically a call to monastic life)
Original: κλῆσις
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Extension for Acts: concrete narrative instances at 13:2 (setting apart Barnabas and Saul) and 16:9-10 (the Macedonian call); never let ‘chemare’ narrow to the culturally prominent monastic vocation sense.
Sanctification
Approved rendering: sfințire
Transliteration: hagiasmos / hagiazō
Doctrine: Sanctification
Original: ἁγιασμός / ἁγιάζω
Category: Sanctification
Inherited from Romans package. Extension for Acts: 20:32 and 26:18 pair sanctification directly with forgiveness and inheritance-among-the-sanctified language, tightly paralleling the Romans salvation-sanctification cluster; acknowledge Orthodox integration with the Sfintele Taine without eclipsing Spirit/faith-based transformation.
Incarnation
Approved rendering: întrupare
Transliteration: ho logos sarx egeneto
Doctrine: Incarnation
Original: ὁ λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. Background doctrine assumed but not directly narrated in Acts; retained for cross-document consistency.
Law
Approved rendering: lege
Transliteration: nomos
Doctrine: Justification apart from the Law
Original: νόμος
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package (risk elevated from Medium in the Romans baseline to High for Acts given the Judaizing controversy’s centrality). Extension for Acts: central to chapters 6, 7, 13, 15, 18, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25.
Obedience Of Faith
Approved rendering: ascultarea credinței
Transliteration: hypakoē pisteōs
Doctrine: Obedience of Faith
Rejected alternatives: ascultare de rânduielile bisericești
Original: ὑπακοὴ πίστεως
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package. Reinforced conceptually by Acts’ repentance-baptism narrative pattern; not a distinct Acts lexical occurrence but a background doctrine.
Covenant
Approved rendering: legământ
Transliteration: diathēkē
Doctrine: Davidic Covenant
Rejected alternatives: contract legal
Original: διαθήκη
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. Extension for Acts: 3:25 (covenant with Abraham) and 7:8 (covenant of circumcision) occur alongside the Davidic covenant material of 2:25-31.
Election
Approved rendering: alegere
Transliteration: eklogē
Doctrine: Effectual Calling; Conversion of Paul
Rejected alternatives: predestinare dublă în sens calvinist strict
Original: ἐκλογή
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Extension for Acts: 9:15 (‘vas ales,’ skeuos eklogēs) and 13:48 (‘câți erau rânduiți spre viața de veci au crezut’) are concrete narrative instances of the same doctrine; must not impose Reformed monergism nor dissolve divine initiative into pure free will.
Intercession
Approved rendering: mijlocire
Transliteration: proseuchē / deēsis
Doctrine: Prayer and Intercession
Rejected alternatives: mijlocirea exclusivă a sfinților și a Maicii Domnului
Original: προσευχή / δέησις
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package. Extension for Acts: 12:5,12 (the church’s earnest prayer for Peter) and 4:24-31 (united prayer under persecution) model direct believer-to-God intercession, a valuable pedagogical counterweight to saint/Marian-mediated intercession models.
Father
Approved rendering: Tată
Transliteration: patēr
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
Original: πατήρ
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package (risk elevated to High for Acts to flag a distinct sense-collision). Extension for Acts: 3:13 and 22:14 use ‘the God of our fathers’ (patriarchs, genealogical sense) — do NOT conflate with ‘Tată’ as personal address to God.
Repentance
Approved rendering: pocăință
Transliteration: metanoia / metanoeō
Doctrine: Repentance and Baptism
Rejected alternatives: pocăință redusă exclusiv la Taina Spovedaniei, excluzând întoarcerea inițială a inimii
Original: μετάνοια / μετανοέω
Category: Repentance and Baptism
NEW term for Acts. Orthodox usage strongly associates ‘pocăință’ with the sacramental rite of confession (Taina Pocăinței/Spovedania). Must teach the term’s root sense (inward turning to God) as prior to and distinct from, though not opposed to, later sacramental confession practice. Key texts: 2:38; 3:19; 5:31; 8:22; 11:18; 17:30; 19:4; 20:21; 26:20.
Witness
Approved rendering: martor
Transliteration: martys / martyria
Doctrine: Persecution and Bold Witness
Original: μάρτυς / μαρτυρία
Category: Persecution and Witness
NEW term for Acts. Foundational term; must be taught alongside its later specialized development into ‘martir’ (martyr in the death sense), first narratively enacted at Stephen’s death (7:54-60; named explicitly 22:20). Key texts: 1:8,22; 2:32; 3:15; 4:33; 5:32; 10:39,41; 13:31; 22:15,20; 26:16.
Boldness
Approved rendering: îndrăzneală
Transliteration: parrēsia
Doctrine: Persecution and Bold Witness
Rejected alternatives: încredere de sine generică, fără legătură cu propovăduirea Evangheliei
Original: παρρησία
Category: Persecution and Witness
NEW term for Acts. Must be consistently rendered as Spirit-produced courage to keep proclaiming the gospel under pressure, not generic self-confidence. Bookends the whole book (4:13,29,31 and 28:31); also 9:27-28; 13:46; 14:3; 18:26; 19:8; 26:26.
Common Unclean
Approved rendering: necurat / spurcat
Transliteration: koinos (negative sense)
Doctrine: The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles; Justification apart from the Law
Rejected alternatives: critică implicită a disciplinei actuale de post a Bisericii Ortodoxe
Original: κοινός (negative sense)
Category: Covenant
NEW term for Acts. Collision risk with the Romanian Orthodox fasting calendar’s own dietary-restriction categories (post, dezlegare). Must clarify Acts 10:14-15,28 and 11:8-9 concern the Mosaic ceremonial food code and its typological fulfillment in Gentile inclusion, not later church fasting discipline.
Restoration Of All Things
Approved rendering: așezarea din nou a tuturor lucrurilor
Transliteration: apokatastasis pantōn
Doctrine: The Great Commission Fulfilled (eschatological horizon)
Rejected alternatives: apocatastază (transliterare directă, purtătoare a asocierii cu doctrina universalistă condamnată a lui Origen)
Original: ἀποκατάστασις πάντων
Category: Eschatology
NEW term for Acts. This Greek technical term is historically associated with the church-censured universalist doctrine of Origen, condemned by the Fifth Ecumenical Council. Acts 3:21 must be rendered in its own contained sense (future renewal of creation at Christ’s return, per the prophets) without implying support for universal salvation of the unrepentant.
Righteous One
Approved rendering: Cel Drept
Transliteration: ho dikaios
Doctrine: Justification apart from the Law; Messianic Promise
Rejected alternatives: descriere etică generală, fără sens de titlu hristologic
Original: ὁ δίκαιος
Category: Christology
NEW term for Acts. New Christological title built on the already-Critical ‘dreptate’ root (3:14; 7:52; 22:14); flag distinctly as a title for Christ, not a general ethical description.
Chosen Instrument
Approved rendering: vas ales
Transliteration: skeuos eklogēs
Doctrine: Conversion of Paul; Divine Calling
Original: σκεῦος ἐκλογῆς
Category: Salvation
NEW term for Acts. Concrete narrative instance (9:15) of the same eklogē root as Romans 9-11’s election doctrine; same caution against imposing strict Calvinist monergism or dissolving into pure free will applies. Gloss at first occurrence: ‘vas/instrument ales de Dumnezeu pentru o lucrare anume.‘
Elders
Approved rendering: prezbiteri
Transliteration: presbyteroi
Doctrine: The Church as Community; Apostolic Authority and Miracles
Rejected alternatives: preoți (over-reads later developed sacramental priesthood into Acts’ earlier local-church leadership function)
Original: πρεσβύτεροι
Category: Church
NEW term for Acts. Risk of collapsing into the modern institutional ‘preot’ office in a way that over-reads later developed sacramental priesthood into Acts’ local-church leadership function (11:30; 14:23; 15:2,4,6,22-23; 16:4; 20:17; 21:18); used interchangeably with ‘overseers’ in 20:17,28.
Laying On Of Hands
Approved rendering: punerea mâinilor / rânduire
Transliteration: cheirotoneō / epithesis tōn cheirōn
Doctrine: Apostolic Authority and Miracles; The Church as Community
Rejected alternatives: hirotonie ca gloss primar (importă anacronic teologia sacramentală deplin dezvoltată), simplă numire administrativă, lipsită de seriozitate duhovnicească
Original: χειροτονέω / ἐπίθεσις τῶν χειρῶν
Category: Apostolic Authority and Miracles
NEW term for Acts. χειροτονέω is the direct etymological root of the sacramental Orthodox ordination rite ‘hirotonie’ (6:6; 13:3; 14:23; 19:6). Use ‘punerea mâinilor’ as primary rendering with ‘(cf. hirotonie)’ only as an explanatory bridge, avoiding both anachronistic imposition of later sacramental theology and dismissive under-translation.
Circumcision
Approved rendering: tăiere împrejur
Transliteration: peritomē / peritemnō
Doctrine: Justification apart from the Law
Rejected alternatives: afirmație generală despre valoarea/nevaloarea oricărei practici liturgice sau corporale
Original: περιτομή / περιτέμνω
Category: Covenant
NEW term for Acts. Central Judaizing controversy term (15:1,5,24; 16:3; 21:21); must be clearly bounded as a first-century salvation-condition debate, not a general statement about the value of any bodily/liturgical practice.
Conversion Turning
Approved rendering: a se întoarce
Transliteration: epistrephō
Doctrine: Conversion of Paul; The Great Commission Fulfilled
Original: ἐπιστρέφω
Category: Salvation
NEW term for Acts. Summarizes the whole conversion doctrine, turning from idols/darkness to the living God/light (3:19; 9:35; 11:21; 14:15; 15:19; 26:18,20); universal scope where present must be preserved.
Unhindered
Approved rendering: fără piedică
Transliteration: akōlytōs
Doctrine: The Great Commission Fulfilled
Original: ἀκωλύτως
Category: Great Commission Fulfilled
NEW term for Acts. Deliberately bookends Acts 1:8’s ‘până la marginile pământului’; the book’s final word (28:31). Treat as a fixed, memorable closing formula across the curriculum.
Medium Risk Terms
Holy
Approved rendering: sfânt
Transliteration: hagios
Doctrine: Sanctification
Original: ἅγιος
Category: Sanctification
Inherited from Romans package. No change; applies to all believers throughout Acts.
Adoption
Approved rendering: înfiere
Transliteration: huiothesia
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
Original: υἱοθεσία
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. No direct Acts occurrence of the term itself; retained for cross-document consistency.
Peace
Approved rendering: pace
Transliteration: eirēnē
Doctrine: Peace with God
Original: εἰρήνη
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Extension for Acts: 10:36 (‘propovăduind Evanghelia păcii prin Iisus Hristos’) is the primary Acts occurrence.
Spiritual Gifts
Approved rendering: daruri duhovnicești
Transliteration: charismata
Doctrine: Spiritual Gifts; The Holy Spirit and Pentecost
Rejected alternatives: harisme rezervate în special stareților și duhovnicilor
Original: χαρίσματα
Category: Holy Spirit and Pentecost
Inherited from Romans package. Extension for Acts: tongues and prophecy (2:4,17-18; 10:46; 19:6) are concrete instances distributed across ordinary believers, including new Gentile converts, not reserved for a monastic-eldership class.
Church
Approved rendering: Biserică
Transliteration: ekklēsia
Doctrine: Church as God’s People; The Church as Community
Rejected alternatives: Biserica ca singura instituție vizibilă legitimă, în sens exclusivist
Original: ἐκκλησία
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Extension for Acts: narrates the church’s founding and early growth (2:47; 5:11; 8:1,3; 9:31; 11:22; 20:28); distinguish the local/corporate narrative sense from the exclusivist institutional claim, even while Acts narrates the very apostolic foundation Orthodoxy appeals to.
Kingdom Of God
Approved rendering: împărăția lui Dumnezeu
Transliteration: basileia tou theou
Doctrine: Kingdom Mission; The Great Commission Fulfilled
Original: βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ
Category: Kingdom
Inherited from Romans package. Extension for Acts: bookends the whole book (1:3,6 and 28:31); distinguish from a political, territorial, or national-Orthodox-identity kingdom.
Sin
Approved rendering: păcat
Transliteration: hamartia
Doctrine: Universal Human Accountability; Repentance and Baptism
Original: ἁμαρτία
Category: Sin
Inherited from Romans package. Extension for Acts: 2:38 and 22:16 are baptism-forgiveness texts requiring careful sequencing in teaching notes (repentance/faith paired with baptism, never a mechanical automatic effect of water alone).
Glory
Approved rendering: slavă
Transliteration: doxa
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Original: δόξα
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Extension for Acts: 7:55 (Stephen’s vision) and 9:3/22:11 (light from heaven) are key occurrences; cultural asset given constant liturgical use of ‘slavă.‘
Power Of God
Approved rendering: puterea lui Dumnezeu
Transliteration: dynamis theou
Doctrine: Power of God for Salvation; Apostolic Authority and Miracles
Original: δύναμις θεοῦ
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Extension for Acts: 1:8 (‘veți primi putere când Duhul Sfânt va veni’) and 26:18’s ironic contrast (‘de sub puterea Satanei la Dumnezeu’) are notable pairings.
Providence
Approved rendering: pronia lui Dumnezeu
Transliteration: boulē / prognōsis
Doctrine: Providence
Rejected alternatives: soartă, destin
Original: βουλή / πρόγνωσις (cf. Acts 2:23; 4:28)
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Extension for Acts: 2:23 (‘planul hotărât și mai dinainte cunoscut al lui Dumnezeu’) and 4:27-28 (applied to the crucifixion itself) are Acts’ clearest providence statements, holding sovereignty and human culpability together.
Mission
Approved rendering: misiune
Transliteration: apostolē / pempō
Doctrine: Mission to the Nations; The Great Commission Fulfilled
Original: ἀποστολή / πέμπω
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Extension for Acts: 1:8 and 28:31 bookend this doctrine for the whole book; prefer proclamation/witness framing (‘propovăduire,’ ‘mărturie’) alongside ‘misiune’ rather than confrontational ‘evanghelizare’ language given national-identity sensitivity.
Abba
Approved rendering: Avva
Transliteration: Abba
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
Original: אַבָּא
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. No direct Acts occurrence; retained for cross-document consistency.
Seed Of David
Approved rendering: sămânța lui David
Transliteration: sperma Dauid
Doctrine: Davidic Covenant
Original: σπέρμα Δαυίδ
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. Extension for Acts: 13:23 parallels the Romans 1:3 usage in Paul’s Pisidian Antioch sermon.
Speaking In Tongues
Approved rendering: a vorbi în [alte] limbi
Transliteration: lalein glōssais / heterais glōssais
Doctrine: The Holy Spirit and Pentecost
Rejected alternatives: vorbire extatică neinteligibilă, echivalentă cu glosolalia corintenilor
Original: λαλεῖν γλώσσαις / ἑτέραις γλώσσαις
Category: Holy Spirit and Pentecost
NEW term for Acts. Acts 2:4,6,8,11 describes known human languages (xenolalia) understood by hearers; risk of conflation with 1 Corinthians’ distinct ecstatic-utterance-requiring-interpretation phenomenon and modern charismatic/cessationist debates. Anchor each occurrence (2:4; 10:46; 19:6) to its own narrative context.
Signs And Wonders
Approved rendering: semne și minuni
Transliteration: sēmeia kai terata
Doctrine: Apostolic Authority and Miracles
Original: σημεῖα καὶ τέρατα
Category: Apostolic Authority and Miracles
NEW term for Acts. Recurring authentication formula (2:19,22,43; 4:30; 5:12; 6:8; 8:13; 14:3; 15:12); teach as subordinate/confirmatory to the preached word, and distinguish from Orthodox veneration of relics/miracle-working icons as an ongoing independent power source.
All Things In Common
Approved rendering: de obște / în comun
Transliteration: koinos (positive sense)
Doctrine: The Church as Community
Rejected alternatives: mandat economic ecleziastic universal și obligatoriu
Original: κοινός (positive sense)
Category: Church
NEW term for Acts. Teach as voluntary, Spirit-produced generosity specific to the Jerusalem church’s circumstances (2:44-45; 4:32-35), not a universal ecclesiastical economic mandate. Note the same root’s opposite (negative, ‘necurat’) sense in Acts 10:14-15.
The Way
Approved rendering: Calea
Transliteration: hē hodos
Doctrine: The Church as Community; Persecution and Bold Witness
Original: ἡ ὁδός
Category: Church
NEW term for Acts. Earliest self-designation of the Christian movement, preceding ‘creștini’ (9:2; 19:9,23; 22:4; 24:14,22). Render as a capitalized proper self-designation with a teaching note on its historical priority over ‘Christians.‘
God Fearer
Approved rendering: temător de Dumnezeu
Transliteration: ho phoboumenos / sebomenos ton theon
Doctrine: The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles
Original: ὁ φοβούμενος / σεβόμενος τὸν θεόν
Category: Church
NEW term for Acts. Technical first-century social category (Gentile synagogue-adjacent sympathizer, uncircumcised): 10:2,22; 13:16,26; 16:14; 17:4,17; 18:7. Requires background explanation for full comprehension.
Great Persecution
Approved rendering: prigoană mare
Transliteration: diōgmos megas
Doctrine: Persecution and Bold Witness
Original: διωγμὸς μέγας
Category: Persecution and Witness
NEW term for Acts. Standard term (8:1; 11:19; 13:50); theological weight lies in the paired providential outcome (scattering advances the mission) rather than the term itself.
Simony
Approved rendering: simonie
Transliteration: — (narrative-derived; no single Greek technical term)
Doctrine: Apostolic Authority and Miracles
Original: (narrative source; no single Greek technical term, cf. Acts 8:18-20)
Category: Apostolic Authority and Miracles
NEW term for Acts. Established Romanian ecclesiastical loanword directly derived from Simon Magus’s attempt to buy spiritual power (8:9-24); a valuable point of cultural contact, but must be explained as originating in this very passage.
Yoke
Approved rendering: jug
Transliteration: zygos
Doctrine: Justification apart from the Law
Original: ζυγός
Category: Covenant
NEW term for Acts. Peter’s metaphor for the crushing burden of comprehensive law-observance, against imposing the full law on Gentile converts (15:10).
Apostolic Decree
Approved rendering: jertfite idolilor, curvie, dobitoace sugrumate, sânge
Transliteration: alisgēmata eidōlōn, porneia, pnikton, haima
Doctrine: Justification apart from the Law; The Church as Community
Rejected alternatives: cod etic comprehensiv permanent care anulează libertatea acordată de Sinod
Original: ἀλισγήματα εἰδώλων, πορνεία, πνικτόν, αἷμα
Category: Covenant
NEW term for Acts. The Jerusalem Council’s minimal requirements for Gentile believers (15:20,29; 21:25); must not be taught as a permanent comprehensive ethical code superseding the freedom the council just granted from the full law. Combined with ‘circumcision’ this cluster is treated as Critical-tier for review routing purposes.
Unknown God
Approved rendering: Dumnezeul necunoscut
Transliteration: Agnōstos Theos
Doctrine: The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles
Rejected alternatives: afirmare a echivalenței dintre altarul păgân și Dumnezeul cel adevărat
Original: Ἄγνωστος Θεός
Category: Gospel to Jews and Gentiles
NEW term for Acts. Illustrates positive contextualized apologetic method (17:23); must not be read as affirming referential equivalence between the pagan altar’s referent and the true God — Paul redefines, not endorses.
Exorcism
Approved rendering: exorciști
Transliteration: exorkistēs
Doctrine: Apostolic Authority and Miracles
Original: ἐξορκιστής
Category: Apostolic Authority and Miracles
NEW term for Acts. Distinguish genuine apostolic authority in Christ’s name from magical/formulaic imitation, which the text (19:13-16) shows failing disastrously.
Low Risk Terms
Apostle
Approved rendering: apostol
Transliteration: apostolos
Doctrine: Apostleship
Original: ἀπόστολος
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Acts additionally narrates the qualification and replacement of an apostle (1:15-26, Matthias).
Thanksgiving
Approved rendering: mulțumire
Transliteration: eucharistia
Doctrine: Thanksgiving
Original: εὐχαριστία
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package. Minor occurrences at 27:35, 28:15.
Fellowship
Approved rendering: părtășie
Transliteration: koinōnia
Doctrine: Christian Fellowship
Rejected alternatives: comuniune (carries stronger Orthodox Eucharistic/liturgical association)
Original: κοινωνία
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Extension for Acts: 2:42 pairs this with ‘frângerea pâinii’; continue preferring ‘părtășie’ over the more liturgically loaded ‘comuniune.‘
Gentiles
Approved rendering: neamuri
Transliteration: ethnē
Doctrine: The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles; Unity of Jews and Gentiles
Rejected alternatives: păgâni (pejorative)
Original: ἔθνη
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Extension for Acts: central recurring term throughout chapters 9-28; fence against ‘neamuri’ bleeding into the ethnic-national ‘neam românesc’ sense in unity-argument contexts (10, 11, 15).
Prophet
Approved rendering: proroc
Transliteration: prophētēs
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Prophecy
Original: προφήτης
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. Agabus (11:27-28; 21:10-11) is a notable NT prophetic figure in Acts.
Prophecy
Approved rendering: prorocie
Transliteration: prophēteia
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Prophecy
Original: προφητεία
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. Key occurrences: 2:17-18 (Joel citation), 21:9-11 (Agabus).
David
Approved rendering: David
Transliteration: Dawid
Doctrine: Davidic Covenant
Original: דָּוִד
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. Referenced in Acts 2, 4, 7, 13, 15.
Israel
Approved rendering: Israel
Transliteration: Yisra’el
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles
Original: יִשְׂרָאֵל
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. Frequent throughout Acts (1,2,3,5,7,9,10,13,21,26,28).
Exhort
Approved rendering: îndemna
Transliteration: parakaleō
Doctrine: Mutual Edification
Original: παρακαλέω
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package. Extension for Acts: Barnabas exhorting new believers (11:23), Paul exhorting the Ephesian elders (20:2).
Christians Name
Approved rendering: creștini
Transliteration: Christianoi
Doctrine: The Church as Community
Original: Χριστιανοί
Category: Church
NEW term for Acts. Established, unambiguous term across all Romanian Christian traditions (11:26; 26:28); historically an outsider-coined nickname later adopted as self-designation, following ‘Calea’ chronologically.
Eunuch
Approved rendering: famen
Transliteration: eunouchos
Doctrine: The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles
Original: εὐνοῦχος
Category: Church
NEW term for Acts. Standard biblical term (8:27,34,36,38-39); theological weight from Deuteronomy 23:1/Isaiah 56:3-5 background, not the rendering itself.
Nazirite Vow
Approved rendering: jurământ de nazireat
Transliteration: euchē
Doctrine: Justification apart from the Law (nuance)
Original: εὐχή
Category: Covenant
NEW term for Acts. Illustrates Paul’s continued respectful engagement with Jewish custom (21:23-24); requires OT background (Numbers 6).
Sanhedrin
Approved rendering: Sinedriul
Transliteration: synedrion
Doctrine: Persecution and Bold Witness
Original: συνέδριον
Category: Persecution and Witness
NEW term for Acts. Established proper-noun/institutional term (4:15; 5:21,27,34,41; 6:12,15; 22:30; 23:1,6,15,20,28; 24:20).
Referenced passages