Core Glossary
Core Glossary — 2 Peter (English → Russian)
This glossary consolidates every load-bearing term identified in 07_semantic_analysis.md, covering all three chapters of 2 Peter. Terms already present in the baseline Romans translation_memory.json are marked [Baseline] and their recorded Russian rendering and risk tier are reused exactly, per the hard rule that established terms must not be re-derived. New terms specific to 2 Peter are risk-tiered fresh using the same Critical/High/Medium/Low framework and MUST be added to translation_memory.json in Phase 2 pre-flight per the Language Package’s term-addition procedure.
Risk tier definitions follow doctrine_risk_registry.json exactly (Critical = human theologian review mandatory; High = human theologian review mandatory; Medium = native speaker review; Low = automated review).
A. Terms Reused Verbatim from the Romans Baseline
| Term (EN) | Russian | Risk | Baseline Doctrine Reused | 2 Peter Occurrences | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| grace | благодать | Critical | Grace | 1:2, 3:18 | Reuse exactly; closing verse (3:18) pairs it with познание — see below. |
| faith | вера | High | Faith | 1:1, 1:5 | Reuse exactly. |
| righteousness | праведность | High | Salvation | 1:1, 2:5, 2:21, 3:13 | Reuse exactly across all four occurrences. |
| salvation | спасение | Critical | Salvation | (implicit; root of Спаситель, see B) | Reuse exactly wherever the verb/noun σῴζω/σωτηρία occurs. |
| apostle | апостол | Medium | Apostleship | 1:1 | Reuse exactly. |
| called / calling | призванный / призвание | Medium/High | Divine Calling / Effectual Calling | 1:10 | Reuse exactly, paired with election. |
| election | избрание | High | Effectual Calling | 1:10 | Reuse exactly. |
| holy | святой | Medium/High | Sanctification / Sainthood | 1:18 (“holy mountain”), 1:21 (“holy men”), 2:21, 3:2, 3:11 | Reuse exactly; see Part B for the “holy mountain” Mount-Athos collision flag specific to 1:18. |
| glory | слава | Medium | Deity of Christ | 1:3, 1:17 (x2 forms), 3:18 | Reuse exactly. |
| sin | грех | High | Universal Human Accountability | 1:9, 2:14 | Reuse exactly. |
| lord | Господь | Critical | Lordship of Christ | throughout (1:2, 1:8, 1:11, 1:14, 1:16, 2:1, 2:9, 2:11, 2:20, 3:2, 3:8, 3:9, 3:10, 3:15, 3:18) | Reuse exactly; also relevant to δεσπότης collision at 2:1, see Part B. |
| god | Бог | Critical | Deity of Christ | 1:1, 1:2, 1:17, 1:21, 2:4, 3:5 | Reuse exactly. |
| jesus | Иисус | Critical | Lordship of Christ | throughout | Reuse exactly; never Исус. |
| father | Отец | Medium | Adoption into God’s Family (analogous) | 1:17 | Reuse exactly. |
| holy_spirit | Святой Дух | Critical | Sanctification | 1:21 | Reuse exactly; core inspiration-of-Scripture text. |
| kingdom_of_god | Царство Божие | Medium | Kingdom Mission | 1:11 (“eternal kingdom”) | Reuse exactly. |
| power_of_god | сила Божия | Medium | Power of God for Salvation | 1:3, 1:16 | Reuse exactly. |
| prophet / prophecy | пророк / пророчество | Low | Fulfillment of Prophecy | 1:19-21, 2:1, 2:16, 3:2 | Reuse exactly. |
| providence | промысел Божий | High | Providence | 3:9 (tension with “not perish”) | Reuse concept; apply with care given predestination-adjacent context. |
B. New Terms Introduced by 2 Peter
| Term (EN) | Greek / Translit. | Russian Rendering | Risk | Category (curriculum doctrine) | Rejected Alternatives | Grounded Risk Reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Savior (title) | σωτήρ / sōtēr | Спаситель | Medium | Reliability/Inspiration; general | — | New title-form of baseline спасение; consistency required across 5 occurrences. |
| full/experiential knowledge | ἐπίγνωσις / epignōsis | познание | High | Reliability and Inspiration of Scripture; Growing in Christian Virtue | гнозис (never — Gnosticism association) | Must stay visibly distinct from γνῶσις/знание or Peter’s own two-tier distinction (initial saving knowledge vs. cultivated growth) collapses. |
| knowledge (general/cultivated) | γνῶσις / gnōsis | знание | Medium | Growing in Christian Virtue | гнозис (never) | Companion term to ἐπίγνωσις; same Gnosticism-loanword hazard. |
| godliness | εὐσέβεια / eusebeia | благочестие | Medium | Growing in Christian Virtue | набожность (too narrowly devotional/pietistic) | Standard term but culturally coded toward Orthodox ritual observance; clarify Christ-centered character, not ritual practice. |
| divine nature | θεία φύσις / theia physis | Божеское естество (Синод.) / Божественная природа | Critical | Divine Nature and Escaping Corruption | обожение as a direct substitute (never — must be named explicitly, not silently blended) | The classical Orthodox theosis proof-text; risk of total absorption into or reactive rejection of the theosis framework. |
| partaker(s) (of divine nature) | κοινωνός / koinōnos | причастник | Critical | Divine Nature and Escaping Corruption | — | «Причастник» = Eucharistic communicant in ordinary Russian usage; strong risk of sacramental (mis)reading of a verse about promise-mediated, corruption-escaping participation. |
| corruption | φθορά / phthora | тление / растление | High | Divine Nature and Escaping Corruption | распад (too clinical/secular) | Must remain the clear antithesis of the divine-nature term (1:4) and recur consistently at 2:12, 2:19. |
| virtue / excellence | ἀρετή / aretē | добродетель | Medium | Growing in Christian Virtue | нравственность (too abstract/secular-ethical) | Positive convergence with Orthodox ascetic “добродетели” tradition; guard against importing a graded ladder-of-virtues framework Peter does not teach. |
| self-control | ἐγκράτεια / egkrateia | воздержание | Medium | Growing in Christian Virtue | самоконтроль (too clinical/secular, no spiritual register) | Risk of narrowing to formal dietary/fasting discipline rather than general self-mastery over desire. |
| endurance / steadfastness (human) | ὑπομονή / hypomonē | терпение | Medium | Growing in Christian Virtue | стойкость (acceptable secondary gloss) | Must be kept distinct from divine долготерпение (μακροθυμία, ch. 3). |
| brotherly love | φιλαδελφία / philadelphia | братолюбие | Low | Growing in Christian Virtue | — | Standard, low risk. |
| love | ἀγάπη / agapē | любовь | Low | Growing in Christian Virtue | — | Standard; capstone virtue of 1:5-7 chain. |
| myths/fables | μῦθος / mythos | басня / миф | Medium | Reliability and Inspiration of Scripture | легенда (too neutral) | Modern “миф” risks the secular “misconception” sense rather than “fabricated deception.” |
| coming/arrival (parousia) | παρουσία / parousia | пришествие | Medium | The Certainty of Christ’s Return | появление (too weak, lacks official/royal-visitation nuance) | Shared Creedal heritage is an asset; main risk is registerial flattening into recited-creed remoteness rather than living expectation. |
| eyewitness | ἐπόπτης / epoptēs | очевидец | Low | Reliability and Inspiration of Scripture | свидетель (acceptable synonym, slightly more legal/generic) | Low risk. |
| majesty | μεγαλειότης / megaleiotēs | величие | Low-Medium | Certainty of Christ’s Return | слава (rejected as substitute — must stay distinct from δόξα) | Keep distinct from the separately-flagged слава. |
| Majestic Glory (periphrasis for God) | μεγαλοπρεπὴς δόξα / megaloprepēs doxa | велелепная слава (Scripture register) / величественная слава (expository gloss) | Medium | Deity of Christ; Reliability of Scripture | — | Archaic Synodal form needs a modern gloss for reading-level target. |
| good pleasure / delight | εὐδοκία-εὐδόκησα / eudokia | благоволение | Low-Medium | Sonship/Deity of Christ | удовольствие (too weak/secular) | Must match Gospel-parallel (Matt 3:17/17:5) wording if cross-referenced. |
| holy mountain | ὄρος ἅγιον / oros hagion | святая гора (with explicit narrative framing) | High | Certainty of Christ’s Return; Reliability of Scripture | — | «Святая Гора» is the fixed Russian designation for Mount Athos; explicit Transfiguration framing required every occurrence. |
| more sure/confirmed | βεβαιότερον / bebaioteron | вернейшее / твёрже | High | Reliability and Inspiration of Scripture | надёжное (too weak — subjective rather than evidentiary) | Central comparative claim of the core passage’s argument for Scripture’s reliability. |
| lamp | λύχνος / lychnos | светильник | Low | Reliability and Inspiration of Scripture | лампада (rejected — specific Orthodox icon-lamp object, not the biblical image) | Keep distinct from лампада. |
| morning star | φωσφόρος / phōsphoros | утренняя звезда | High | Certainty of Christ’s Return | фосфор (NEVER — chemical element and Lucifer/Люцифер etymological collision) | Absolute forbidden-substitution flag required in Phase 2 system prompt. |
| Scripture | γραφή / graphē | Писание | Medium | Reliability and Inspiration of Scripture | — | Ties to Orthodox Holy Tradition (Предание) framing; state curriculum’s sola-scriptura-adjacent stance explicitly per baseline inspiration_of_scripture note. |
| interpretation (private) | ἐπίλυσις / epilysis | толкование (собственное толкование) | Medium | Reliability and Inspiration of Scripture | — | Genuine Greek referential ambiguity (prophet’s own origination vs. reader’s interpretation); flag for native-speaker/theologian review per Ambiguity Handling rules. |
| borne along (inspiration) | φερόμενοι / pheromenoi | движимые (Святым Духом) | High | Reliability and Inspiration of Scripture | — | Verbal-plenary inspiration text; must avoid both a mere-human-insight reading and a mechanical-dictation reading. |
| false prophet | ψευδοπροφήτης / pseudoprophētēs | лжепророк | Medium | False Teachers and Their Judgment | — | Standard compound, low ambiguity. |
| false teacher | ψευδοδιδάσκαλος / pseudodidaskalos | лжеучитель | High | False Teachers and Their Judgment | — | Historically used by Orthodox polemicists against Protestants/Evangelicals; frame with Peter’s specific criteria, not as a floating sectarian slur. |
| heresy/destructive sect | αἵρεσις / hairesis | пагубное лжеучение (primary) / ересь (only with explicit framing) | Critical | False Teachers and Their Judgment | — | «Ересь» carries loaded Russian ecclesiastical-historical and contemporary anti-Protestant polemical associations; risk of the term rebounding onto the curriculum’s own tradition. |
| Master/Sovereign (of Christ) | δεσπότης / despotēs | Владыка (flagged) / Господа (Synodal-consistent default) | High | False Teachers and Their Judgment; Lordship of Christ | — | «Владыка» is the standard contemporary address for an Orthodox bishop; recommend Synodal «Господа» for running text, surface δεσπότης’s absolute-ownership force in commentary. |
| bought/redeemed | ἀγοράζω / agorazō | искупил | High | False Teachers and Their Judgment (atonement backdrop) | — | Atonement/redemption language; apply the baseline’s mandatory theologian-escalation rule for atonement/propitiation content. |
| destruction/perdition | ἀπώλεια / apōleia | погибель | Medium | False Teachers and Their Judgment; Day of the Lord | — | Standard antonym of спасение; retain full eschatological weight. |
| judgment | κρίσις / κρίμα / krisis/krima | суд | Medium | The Day of the Lord and Final Judgment | — | Positive convergence with Orthodox “Страшный Суд” iconography; ensure NT-specific content (timing, certainty) isn’t left to default to traditional imagery alone. |
| ungodliness | ἀσέβεια / asebeia | нечестие / нечестивый | Medium | False Teachers and Their Judgment | — | Direct antonym of εὐσέβεια/благочестие. |
| flood | κατακλυσμός / kataklysmos | потоп | Low | False Teachers and Their Judgment; Day of the Lord | — | Universally known via Genesis; strong shared asset. |
| sensuality/licentiousness | ἀσέλγεια / aselgeia | распутство / нечистота | Medium | False Teachers and Their Judgment | — | Needs weighty but non-sensationalized register. |
| greed | πλεονεξία / pleonexia | любостяжание / корыстолюбие | Medium | False Teachers and Their Judgment | — | Convergence with Orthodox ascetic “passions” tradition (страсти); keep tied to Peter’s concrete critique of exploitative teachers. |
| freedom/liberty | ἐλευθερία / eleutheria | свобода | Medium | False Teachers and Their Judgment | — | Risk of resonating with modern political-liberty discourse rather than moral bondage/freedom from corruption. |
| slave (negative) | δοῦλος / doulos | раб | Medium | False Teachers and Their Judgment | — | Same word as Peter’s positive 1:1 self-designation; context must clarify opposite polarity. |
| scoffer/mocker | ἐμπαίκτης / empaiktēs | ругатель / насмешник | Medium | The Certainty of Christ’s Return | — | Vivid, low-ambiguity term. |
| Day of the Lord | ἡμέρα κυρίου / hēmera kyriou | День Господень | High | The Day of the Lord and Final Judgment | воскресенье (never — this is not “Sunday”) | Colloquial/liturgical “День Господень” can be misheard as the weekly Lord’s Day (Sunday); must disambiguate explicitly as the eschatological day of judgment. |
| patience/longsuffering (God’s) | μακροθυμία / makrothymia | долготерпение | High | Patience of God’s Timing | терпение (rejected as sole equivalent — must stay distinct from human ὑπομονή) | Must convey purposive divine restraint aimed at repentance, not slowness or inactivity; kept distinct from human терпение. |
| repentance | μετάνοια / metanoia | покаяние | Critical | Patience of God’s Timing | — | Direct collision with the Orthodox sacramental Mystery of Confession (Таинство Покаяния); state the intended sense (decisive personal turning, not sacramental prerequisite) explicitly. |
| perish | ἀπόλλυμι / apollymi | погибнуть | Medium-High | Patience of God’s Timing; Day of the Lord | — | Predestination-adjacent tension with 1:10’s calling/election; apply baseline election escalation caution. |
| creation | κτίσις / ktisis | творение | Low-Medium | The Day of the Lord and Final Judgment | — | Standard term. |
| elements | στοιχεῖα / stoicheia | стихии | Low | The Day of the Lord and Final Judgment | — | Good semantic match in modern Russian. |
| new heavens and new earth | καινοὺς οὐρανοὺς καὶ γῆν καινήν | новое небо и новая земля | Medium | The Day of the Lord and Final Judgment | — | Shared biblical-register phrase (Isaiah/Revelation); keep concrete, not utopian-metaphorical. |
| twist/distort (Scripture) | στρεβλόω / streblō | искажать / превращать | Medium-High | Reliability and Inspiration of Scripture | — | Verse treats Paul’s letters as “Scripture” (γραφαί) — canonicity-relevant. |
| promise | ἐπάγγελμα/ἐπαγγελία / epangelma/epangelia | обетование | Medium | Certainty of Christ’s Return; Divine Nature and Escaping Corruption | обещание (too weak/casual) | Established biblical-register term for God’s binding pledges; central to ch. 3’s mockery dispute. |
| grow (in grace/virtue) | αὐξάνω / auxanō | возрастать | Low | Growing in Christian Virtue | — | Bookends 1:5-7 and 3:18; low risk on its own, but co-occurs with Critical/High terms (благодать, познание). |
C. Risk Tier Summary for 2 Peter New Terms
| Risk Tier | Count | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|
| Critical | 4 (θεία φύσις, κοινωνός, αἵρεσις, μετάνοια) | Human theologian review mandatory |
| High | 12 (ἐπίγνωσις, φθορά, ψευδοδιδάσκαλος, δεσπότης, ἀγοράζω, ὄρος ἅγιον, βεβαιότερον, φωσφόρος, φερόμενοι, ἡμέρα κυρίου, μακροθυμία, ἀπόλλυμι/streblō cluster) | Human theologian review mandatory |
| Medium | 24 | Native speaker review recommended |
| Low | 8 | Automated review sufficient |
Note: this table covers new 2 Peter terms only; baseline-reused terms retain their Romans-registry risk tiers per Part A and are not double-counted here.
Critical Risk Terms
Grace
Approved rendering: благодать
Transliteration: blagodat’
Doctrine: Grace
Rejected alternatives: милость, дар, везение, удача
Original: χάρις
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. CRITICAL: благодать is correct, but Russian Orthodox theology (Palamas) understands it as uncreated divine energies that transform/deify, not primarily unmerited legal pardon; the ‘apart from works’ sense must be made explicit. 2 Peter extension: occurs at 1:2 (opening greeting, paired with мир) and 3:18 (closing charge, paired with познание) — the letter’s bookends double the load-bearing weight of this single Critical term; both occurrences require mandatory theologian review.
Salvation
Approved rendering: спасение
Transliteration: spaseniye
Doctrine: Salvation
Rejected alternatives: избавление (acceptable narrowly for ‘deliverance’), освобождение
Original: σωτηρία
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. CRITICAL: спасение must be anchored to Christ’s decisive death and resurrection, not left to default into open-ended Orthodox theosis process. 2 Peter extension: underlies the title Спаситель (Savior), used 5x as a fixed Christological title requiring strict cross-occurrence consistency.
Lord
Approved rendering: Господь
Transliteration: Gospod’
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: хозяин, владыка (reserve for liturgical/poetic register only)
Original: κύριος
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package (risk raised to Critical per 2 Peter-specific registry given the letter’s dense, recurring fixed title). 2 Peter uses «Господа нашего и Спасителя Иисуса Христа» 5x, requiring strict cross-occurrence consistency. At 2:1 the stronger term δεσπότης occurs alongside; Synodal tradition renders δεσπότης also as «Господа», risking loss of its distinct absolute-master-ownership force — see master_sovereign entry. Never render κύριος with «владыка» in running text.
Son Of God
Approved rendering: Сын Божий
Transliteration: Syn Bozhiy
Doctrine: Sonship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: божественный посланник
Original: υἱὸς θεοῦ
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package (risk raised to Critical per 2 Peter-specific registry given 1:17’s direct Transfiguration confession). 2 Peter extension: at 1:17 the specific wording is the Transfiguration formula «Ὁ υἱός μου ὁ ἀγαπητός μου» — this exact established Synodal Gospel-parallel phrasing, «Сын Мой возлюбленный» (Matt 3:17/17:5), must be used verbatim for cross-reference consistency, not paraphrased as a fresh translation of ‘Son of God’ generically.
God
Approved rendering: Бог
Transliteration: Bog
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: Всевышний (acceptable poetic synonym only)
Original: θεός
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Universally recognized; main risk is registerial emptying via casual secular idiom (‘слава Богу’). 2 Peter extension: 1:17’s μεγαλοπρεπὴς δόξα is a reverent periphrasis for God avoiding direct address — keep this Scripture-register nuance distinct from the plain Бог used elsewhere in the letter.
Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: Святой Дух
Transliteration: Svyatoy Dukh
Doctrine: Sanctification / Inspiration of Scripture
Rejected alternatives: дух (never use alone), энергия
Original: πνεῦμα ἅγιον
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package (risk raised to Critical per 2 Peter-specific registry, given 1:21’s core-passage inspiration formula). 2 Peter extension: central to the verbal-plenary inspiration formula «движимые Святым Духом» (1:21) — see borne_along_by_the_spirit entry; никогда not дух alone.
Jesus
Approved rendering: Иисус
Transliteration: Iisus
Doctrine: Lordship and Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: Исус (Old Believer spelling, avoid)
Inherited from Romans package. Standard modern Synodal spelling Иисус required throughout; never the Old Believer single-и spelling Исус. Occurs throughout 2 Peter, frequently within the fixed title «Господа нашего и Спасителя Иисуса Христа», requiring strict cross-occurrence consistency.
Divine Nature
Approved rendering: Божественная природа (экспозиция) / Божеское естество (синодальная цитата)
Transliteration: Bozhestvennaya priroda / Bozheskoye yestestvo
Doctrine: Divine Nature and Escaping Corruption
Rejected alternatives: обожение as a direct substitute (NEVER — must be named explicitly, not silently blended)
Original: θεία φύσις
Category: Divine Nature
CRITICAL: 2 Peter 1:4’s θεία φύσις is the single most-cited patristic proof-text for обожение/theosis in the entire NT. If theosis is referenced comparatively it must be named explicitly, never silently blended with or silently rejected against Peter’s own two-part argument (participation through the promises, achieved by escaping corruption, not via a specific rite). Mandatory human theologian review at every occurrence. Use «Божеское естество» for direct Scripture quotation (recognized Synodal citation form) and «Божественная природа» for expository teaching text, deliberately distinguished, never interchanged silently.
Partaker
Approved rendering: причастник
Transliteration: prichastnik
Doctrine: Divine Nature and Escaping Corruption
Original: κοινωνός
Category: Divine Nature
CRITICAL: «причастник» is the ordinary modern Russian word for a Eucharistic communicant (one who receives «причастие», Holy Communion). An unqualified rendering of κοινωνός at 1:4 risks being heard as sacramental participation in the divine essence via a specific rite rather than Peter’s own argument grounded in God’s promises and escape from corruption. Must state plainly, at first occurrence, that this is not a reference to the Eucharistic sacrament. Mandatory human theologian review at every occurrence.
Heresy
Approved rendering: пагубное лжеучение (основной вариант) / ересь (только с явным пояснением)
Transliteration: pagubnoye lzheucheniye / yeres’
Doctrine: False Teachers and Their Judgment
Rejected alternatives: ересь as an unqualified default rendering (rejected — see notes)
Original: αἵρεσις
Category: False Teaching
CRITICAL: αἵρεσις (2:1). «Ересь» carries the full weight of Russian ecclesiastical-historical memory (heresy trials, Old Believer schism, state-enforced Orthodox doctrinal boundaries) and is frequently applied by contemporary Russian Orthodox commentators to Protestantism itself; unreflective use risks the term rebounding onto this curriculum’s own theological tradition. Primary rendering must be the descriptive periphrasis «пагубное лжеучение»; «ересь» reserved only for an explicitly flagged discussion of the term’s own contested history. Mandatory human theologian review at every occurrence.
Repentance
Approved rendering: покаяние
Transliteration: pokayaniye
Doctrine: Patience of God’s Timing
Original: μετάνοια
Category: Salvation
CRITICAL: μετάνοια (3:9). «Покаяние» is one of the seven Mysteries/Sacraments of the Russian Orthodox Church (sacramental Confession before a priest). Unqualified use risks the term being absorbed into that specific liturgical-sacramental practice rather than conveying Peter’s sense of a decisive personal turning available to anyone at any time without a sacramental prerequisite. State the intended sense explicitly, matching the baseline’s Critical-tier grace/justification/sanctification handling. Mandatory human theologian review at every occurrence.
High Risk Terms
Faith
Approved rendering: вера
Transliteration: vera
Doctrine: Faith
Rejected alternatives: доверие, убеждение
Original: πίστις
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package. вера is standard but in Russian Orthodox usage often assumes sacramental church membership rather than personal trust in Christ. 2 Peter extension: 1:1’s ἰσότιμος πίστις (равноценная вера) compounds this term and risks being heard as claiming uniform spiritual maturity rather than the identical worth/standing of the one faith shared by apostles and ordinary believers — see equal_standing_faith entry.
Righteousness
Approved rendering: праведность
Transliteration: pravednost’
Doctrine: Salvation
Rejected alternatives: справедливость, честность
Original: δικαιοσύνη
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. праведность’s everyday register evokes an Orthodox saint/elder, biasing toward achieved virtue over gift-received righteousness; справедливость is a false friend, never substitute. 2 Peter extension: 1:1’s syntax (ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ, ‘by/in the righteousness of…’) is instrumental/causal, not Romans’ strict forensic-declarative construction — do not force into that identical mold without comment; also recurs at 2:5, 2:21, 3:13 with mostly the ‘righteous person/example’ sense (Noah, Lot), a mild positive convergence with the Orthodox праведник tradition here.
Called
Approved rendering: призванный
Transliteration: prizvannyy
Doctrine: Divine Calling / Effectual Calling
Rejected alternatives: приглашённый
Original: κλητός
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package (risk raised from Romans TM’s Medium to High per 2 Peter-specific registry, given 1:10’s direct pairing with election and the live tension with 3:9’s ‘not willing that any should perish’). Context-sensitive summons, never приглашённый (mere RSVP). 2 Peter extension: 1:10 ‘призвание и избрание’ (calling and election) is the assurance-securing pair; this pairing must be held in non-contradictory tension with 3:9.
Holy
Approved rendering: святой
Transliteration: svyatoy
Doctrine: Sanctification
Rejected alternatives: чистый, непорочный
Original: ἅγιος
Category: Sanctification
Inherited from Romans package (risk raised to High per 2 Peter-specific registry due to the 1:18 ‘holy mountain’ collision). Deep Orthodox association with canonized saints/relics is mostly an asset, but 2 Peter’s ‘holy mountain’ (ὄρος ἅγιον, 1:18) collides with «Святая Гора», the fixed Russian designation for Mount Athos specifically — see holy_mountain entry; every occurrence there requires explicit Transfiguration-narrative framing, not the bare adjective alone.
Glory
Approved rendering: слава
Transliteration: slava
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: почёт, величие
Original: δόξα
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package (risk raised to High per 2 Peter-specific registry). Registerial flattening into a casual exclamation (‘слава Богу’) is the main risk. 2 Peter extension: at 1:17 must be kept lexically distinct from the separately occurring μεγαλειότης (величие, majesty) and μεγαλοπρεπὴς δόξα (величественная/велелепная слава, Majestic Glory periphrasis) so the three related-but-distinct nouns are not flattened into one Russian word; recurs at 3:18.
Sin
Approved rendering: грех
Transliteration: grekh
Doctrine: Universal Human Accountability
Rejected alternatives: ошибка, проступок
Original: ἁμαρτία
Category: Sin
Inherited from Romans package. Seven decades of state atheism partly flattened грех into folk-moral/joking register. 2 Peter extension: 1:9’s «очищение от грехов» (cleansing from past sins) risks being heard as ongoing ritual purification rather than a once-for-all past cleansing whose forgetting produces spiritual blindness — see cleansing_from_sins entry.
Father
Approved rendering: Отец
Transliteration: Otets
Doctrine: Deity/Sonship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: батюшка (reserve exclusively for addressing an Orthodox priest)
Original: πατήρ
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package (risk raised to High per 2 Peter-specific registry). батюшка must never be used for God the Father. 2 Peter extension: occurs at 1:17 as θεοῦ πατρός in the Transfiguration theophany, granting honor and glory to the Son — keep the Trinitarian relational sense precise, not generic.
Power Of God
Approved rendering: сила Божия
Transliteration: sila Bozhiya
Doctrine: Power of God for Salvation
Rejected alternatives: энергия
Original: δύναμις θεοῦ / θεία δύναμις
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package (risk raised to High per 2 Peter-specific registry). Never энергия (Palamite uncreated-energies technical theology). 2 Peter extension: occurs as θεία δύναμις at 1:3 (‘his divine power,’ source of all spiritual provision) and δύναμις at 1:16 (paired with παρουσία, Christ’s transfiguration-power and future coming) — render «Божественная сила» / «сила Божия» consistently across both occurrences.
Election
Approved rendering: избрание
Transliteration: izbraniye
Doctrine: Effectual Calling
Rejected alternatives: судьба, рок, предопределение (use only with careful qualification)
Original: ἐκλογή
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. судьба/рок must never substitute. 2 Peter extension: 1:10’s «призвание и избрание» (calling and election) secures assurance through diligence in virtue; must be held in careful, non-contradictory tension with 3:9’s ‘God is not willing that any should perish’ — the curriculum’s own framing of this tension must be stated explicitly, not resolved silently by either Russian folk-fatalist or unstated synergism/predestination defaults.
Providence
Approved rendering: промысел Божий
Transliteration: promysel Bozhiy
Doctrine: Providence
Rejected alternatives: судьба, случай, карма (never use)
Original: (cf. Romans 8:28’s ‘all things work together’)
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Never судьба/случай/карма. 2 Peter extension: directly relevant to 3:9’s purposive divine delay (‘the Lord is not slow… but is patient’), which must be framed as active, personal governance aimed at repentance, never impersonal fate or passive inactivity — a live risk given Russian folk fatalism.
Epignosis
Approved rendering: познание
Transliteration: poznaniye
Doctrine: Reliability and Inspiration of Scripture / Growing in Christian Virtue
Rejected alternatives: гнозис (NEVER — denotes ancient Gnosticism, a heresy 2 Peter itself may implicitly oppose)
Original: ἐπίγνωσις
Category: Faith
Full, experiential, personal knowledge of God/Christ (1:2, 1:3, 1:8, 2:20) that grounds grace and godliness. Must be visibly distinguished from γνῶσις (знание) so Peter’s own two-tier distinction is not collapsed. NOTE: at 3:18 Synodal tradition itself renders the closing γνῶσις as «познание» for euphony, silently blurring the distinction at the letter’s climactic verse — treat as a deliberate, documented curriculum decision, flagged explicitly in commentary, not a silent inconsistency.
Corruption
Approved rendering: тление / растление
Transliteration: tleniye / rastleniye
Doctrine: Divine Nature and Escaping Corruption
Rejected alternatives: распад (too clinical/secular)
Original: φθορά
Category: Divine Nature
φθορά — moral corruption and its outcome (1:4, 2:12, 2:19). Must remain the clear antithesis of participation in the divine nature, not a generic synonym for ordinary sin; recurs at 2:12 and 2:19 describing the false teachers’ own coming destruction and the corrupting slavery they are subject to.
Holy Mountain
Approved rendering: святая гора (с пояснением «гора Преображения»)
Transliteration: svyataya gora
Doctrine: Apostolic Eyewitness Testimony
Original: ὄρος ἅγιον
Category: Scripture
ὄρος ἅγιον (1:18), the Mount of Transfiguration rendered sacred by Christ’s manifested glory. «Святая Гора» is the standard fixed Russian designation for Mount Athos specifically; without explicit narrative framing anchoring the phrase to the Transfiguration event (‘гора Преображения’), readers may involuntarily supply the Athos referent, undermining the eyewitness-testimony argument. Required at every occurrence, no exceptions.
More Sure Confirmed
Approved rendering: вернейшее / твёрже
Transliteration: verneysheye / tverzhe
Doctrine: Reliability and Inspiration of Scripture
Rejected alternatives: надёжное (too weak — subjective ‘reliable-feeling’ rather than evidentiary)
Original: βεβαιότερον
Category: Scripture
βεβαιότερον (1:19), comparative — Peter argues the prophetic word is at least as reliable as, if not more publicly verifiable than, his own eyewitness experience. Central to the core passage’s argument for Scripture’s reliability; must not be softened, losing the comparative, evidentiary force. Treat as functionally Critical despite nominal High tier — reinforce with explicit surrounding clause structure in exposition at every occurrence.
Morning Star
Approved rendering: утренняя звезда
Transliteration: utrennyaya zvezda
Doctrine: The Certainty of Christ’s Return
Rejected alternatives: фосфор (ABSOLUTELY NEVER — chemical element and etymological root of Latin Lucifer, a direct collision with Люцифер/сатана)
Original: φωσφόρος
Category: Eschatology
φωσφόρος (1:19), the planet Venus at dawn, herald of daybreak; elsewhere (Rev 22:16) a self-designation of Christ. The established Synodal «утренняя звезда» avoids the Lucifer collision entirely and must be used without exception; absolute forbidden-substitution flag required in the Phase 2 system prompt.
Borne Along By The Spirit
Approved rendering: движимые Святым Духом
Transliteration: dvizhimyye Svyatym Dukhom
Doctrine: Reliability and Inspiration of Scripture
Original: φερόμενοι ὑπὸ Πνεύματος Ἁγίου
Category: Scripture
φερόμενοι ὑπὸ Πνεύματος Ἁγίου (1:21), the classic verbal-plenary inspiration formula. Must avoid two live misreadings: (a) reducing inspiration to mere human religious insight, (b) implying mechanical dictation erasing human authorship. State this curriculum’s stance explicitly rather than assuming it as shared ground with Orthodox Holy Tradition categories.
False Teacher
Approved rendering: лжеучитель
Transliteration: lzheuchitel’
Doctrine: False Teachers and Their Judgment
Original: ψευδοδιδάσκαλος
Category: False Teaching
ψευδοδιδάσκαλος (2:1). In modern Russian religious-polemical usage (including Orthodox apologetic literature), «лжеучители» has historically been applied by Orthodox writers against Protestant/Evangelical minority groups themselves. Always pair with Peter’s own concrete criteria (denial of Christ, greed, sexual immorality); never leave floating as a generic sectarian label.
Master Sovereign
Approved rendering: Господа (по тексту, синодальная традиция) / Владыка (только в пояснении, с оговоркой)
Transliteration: Gospoda / Vladyka
Doctrine: False Teachers and Their Judgment / Lordship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: Владыка as the default running-text rendering (rejected — collides with the standard contemporary address for an Orthodox bishop)
Original: δεσπότης
Category: False Teaching
δεσπότης (2:1), absolute sovereign owner, stronger than κύριος. «Владыка» is theologically apt but is also the standard contemporary Russian form of respectful address for an Orthodox bishop; using it for Christ risks unintended clerical-hierarchy association. Follow Synodal practice («Господа») for running text; surface δεσπότης’s distinct absolute-ownership force only in expository commentary.
Bought Redeemed
Approved rendering: искупил
Transliteration: iskupil
Doctrine: Atonement and Redemption
Original: ἀγοράζω / ἀγοράσαντα
Category: False Teaching
ἀγοράζω/ἀγοράσαντα (2:1). Commercial-purchase atonement language applied even to the false teachers who deny the very Master who bought them. Apply the baseline’s mandatory theologian-escalation rule for atonement/propitiation content; must not flatten to a generic ‘helped’ or ‘saved,’ losing the purchase-price imagery grounding the shock of their betrayal.
Day Of The Lord
Approved rendering: День Господень
Transliteration: Den’ Gospoden’
Doctrine: The Day of the Lord and Final Judgment
Rejected alternatives: воскресенье (NEVER — this is not ‘Sunday’)
Original: ἡμέρα κυρίου
Category: Eschatology
ἡμέρα κυρίου (3:10). Established OT/Synodal prophetic technical term (Amos, Joel, Isaiah), applied to Christ’s return. In contemporary colloquial and even some liturgical usage «день Господень» can be misheard as the weekly Lord’s Day (Sunday worship), rather than the singular eschatological Day; must disambiguate explicitly on first use in every document — this is the final, cataclysmic Day, not the weekly worship day.
Patience Longsuffering
Approved rendering: долготерпение
Transliteration: dolgoterpeniye
Doctrine: Patience of God’s Timing
Rejected alternatives: терпение (rejected as sole equivalent — must stay distinct from human ὑπομονή)
Original: μακροθυμία / μακροθυμεῖ
Category: God
μακροθυμία/μακροθυμεῖ (3:9, 3:15). The deliberate restraint of a powerful party who could act immediately but delays for a redemptive purpose. Must be kept lexically distinct from human терпение (1:6) and framed as purposive restraint aimed at repentance, not divine slowness, inactivity, or indifference — a live risk of a fatalistic ‘God isn’t acting’ misreading given Russian folk fatalism.
Perish
Approved rendering: погибнуть
Transliteration: pogibnut’
Doctrine: Patience of God’s Timing / Day of the Lord
Original: ἀπόλλυμι / ἀπολέσθαι
Category: Eschatology
ἀπόλλυμι/ἀπολέσθαι (3:9). Final ruin, the direct opposite of salvation. God’s stated desire that none perish (3:9) is in live tension with — not negation of — the calling/election language of 1:10; flag alongside election/providence per the baseline’s escalation rules for predestination-adjacent territory.
Twist Distort Scripture
Approved rendering: искажают / превращают
Transliteration: iskazhayut / prevrashchayut
Doctrine: Scripture and the Canonicity of Paul’s Letters
Original: στρεβλόω / στρεβλοῦσιν
Category: Scripture
στρεβλόω/στρεβλοῦσιν (3:16). Violent, self-serving distortion of a text’s meaning. This verse explicitly calls Paul’s letters «Писание» (γραφαί), directly relevant to the canonicity dimension of the inspiration-of-Scripture doctrine; the verb ties this canonicity claim to the same false-teacher/judgment doctrine cluster as chapter 2.
Medium Risk Terms
Apostle
Approved rendering: апостол
Transliteration: apostol
Doctrine: Apostleship
Rejected alternatives: посланник, проповедник
Original: ἀπόστολος
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Fully established loanword; Orthodox usage treats ‘apostle’ as a closed, unrepeatable historical office venerated in icons/feast days. 2 Peter extension: 1:1 pairs апостол with the honorific self-title раб (slave/bondservant, see slave_bondservant), a term with strongly negative modern connotations that must be explicitly reframed as honored total belonging.
Kingdom Of God
Approved rendering: Царство Божие
Transliteration: Tsarstvo Bozhiye
Doctrine: Kingdom Mission
Rejected alternatives: государство Божие
Original: βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ
Category: Kingdom
Inherited from Romans package. Same tsardom/imperial-nostalgia caution applies. 2 Peter extension: 1:11’s «αἰώνιος βασιλεία» (eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ) is the goal of persevering diligence in the virtue chain — render «вечное Царство», reusing this baseline term exactly.
Peace
Approved rendering: мир
Transliteration: mir
Doctrine: Peace with God
Rejected alternatives: спокойствие, покой
Inherited from Romans package. мир also means ‘the world’ and ‘political peace’; must be distinguished from both senses. 2 Peter extension: 1:2’s opening greeting «χάρις καὶ εἰρήνη» (благодать и мир) reuses the Romans-established apostolic-greeting pairing exactly.
Savior
Approved rendering: Спаситель
Transliteration: Spasitel’
Doctrine: Lordship and Deity of Christ
Original: σωτήρ
Category: Christology
New title-form of the baseline спасение root (Critical). Common Greco-Roman royal/imperial title (Caesar as sōtēr) reapplied exclusively to Christ; no live rival ‘savior’ concept in Russian religious culture. Occurs 5x in 2 Peter (1:1, 1:11, 2:20, 3:2, 3:18) as a fixed title ‘Господа нашего и Спасителя Иисуса Христа’ — high frequency makes early, consistent rendering essential across the whole letter.
Gnosis
Approved rendering: знание
Transliteration: znaniye
Doctrine: Growing in Christian Virtue
Rejected alternatives: гнозис (NEVER)
Original: γνῶσις
Category: Virtue
General or cultivated understanding (1:5, 1:6), the ordinary growth-in-understanding companion to ἐπίγνωσις. Same Gnosticism-loanword hazard as epignosis applies. See epignosis entry for the 3:18 Synodal-euphony collapse note.
Godliness
Approved rendering: благочестие
Transliteration: blagochestiye
Doctrine: Growing in Christian Virtue
Rejected alternatives: набожность (too narrowly devotional/pietistic)
Original: εὐσέβεια
Category: Virtue
Reverent, God-honoring conduct flowing from right knowledge of God (1:3, 1:6, 1:7, 3:11). Standard Synodal term, but heavily coded in ordinary Russian usage toward Orthodox ritual observance (church attendance, fasting, veneration); clarify this is Christ-centered character, not ritual practice — echoes baseline caution on obedience_of_faith.
Virtue
Approved rendering: добродетель
Transliteration: dobrodetel’
Doctrine: Growing in Christian Virtue
Rejected alternatives: нравственность (too abstract/secular-ethical)
Original: ἀρετή
Category: Virtue
ἀρετή, first link in the virtue chain (1:5). Elevated literary register; positive convergence with the Orthodox ascetic «добродетели» tradition is a teaching asset but risks importing a performance-graded, monastic ladder-of-virtues framework Peter does not himself specify — frame explicitly as fruit of grace already given (1:3-4), not self-powered ascetic ascent.
Self Control
Approved rendering: воздержание
Transliteration: vozderzhaniye
Doctrine: Growing in Christian Virtue
Rejected alternatives: самоконтроль (too clinical/secular, no spiritual register)
Original: ἐγκράτεια
Category: Virtue
ἐγκράτεια (1:6). Standard term, but in Russian religious usage also denotes formal dietary/marital fasting practice (a recognized ascetic discipline); clarify as general self-mastery over desire, not narrowly the Orthodox fasting calendar.
Endurance
Approved rendering: терпение
Transliteration: terpeniye
Doctrine: Growing in Christian Virtue
Rejected alternatives: стойкость (acceptable secondary gloss)
Original: ὑπομονή
Category: Virtue
ὑπομονή (1:6), active/purposeful human endurance. Must be kept lexically distinct from divine долготерпение (μακροθυμία, ch. 3) at every occurrence in both chapters, so human endurance and divine forbearance are never collapsed into one Russian concept.
Myths Fables
Approved rendering: миф / басня
Transliteration: mif / basnya
Doctrine: Reliability and Inspiration of Scripture
Rejected alternatives: легенда (too neutral)
Original: σεσοφισμένοι μῦθοι
Category: Scripture
σεσοφισμένοι μῦθοι (1:16), fabricated, cleverly-devised stories contrasted with verified eyewitness testimony. Modern «миф» risks being heard as a neutral literary genre-word or a synonym for ‘misconception’ rather than ‘fabricated deception’; gloss required on first use. The archaic Synodal «хитросплетённые басни» remains the recognized Scripture-quotation form.
Parousia
Approved rendering: пришествие
Transliteration: prishestviye
Doctrine: The Certainty of Christ’s Return
Rejected alternatives: появление (too weak, lacks official/royal-visitation nuance), парусия (opaque academic transliteration, rejected for curriculum use)
Original: παρουσία
Category: Eschatology
παρουσία — Christ’s official, glorious arrival/return (1:16, 3:4). Settled Synodal/Creedal term, a shared Orthodox-Protestant confessional asset, but risks sounding like a recited creed line rather than a living, currently mocked (3:3-4) expectation; expository text should restore its force as the real future event scoffers explicitly deny.
Majesty
Approved rendering: величие
Transliteration: velichiye
Doctrine: Apostolic Eyewitness Testimony
Rejected alternatives: слава (rejected as substitute — must stay distinct from δόξα)
Original: μεγαλειότης
Category: Eschatology
μεγαλειότης (1:16), grandeur/splendor especially of a ruler or deity — the Transfiguration’s visible display of Christ’s divine glory. Keep lexically distinct from слава so the two related-but-distinct nouns of 1:16-17 are not flattened together.
Majestic Glory
Approved rendering: велелепная слава (цитата) / величественная слава (экспозиция)
Transliteration: velelepnaya slava / velichestvennaya slava
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Original: μεγαλοπρεπὴς δόξα
Category: God
μεγαλοπρεπὴς δόξα (1:17), a reverent periphrasis identifying the voice’s divine source without direct address. Archaic Synodal «велелепная слава» is instantly recognizable in Scripture-quotation register but opaque to modern readers outside it; retain for direct Scripture citation, gloss as «величественная слава» in expository text.
Scripture
Approved rendering: Писание
Transliteration: Pisaniye
Doctrine: Reliability and Inspiration of Scripture
Original: γραφή
Category: Scripture
γραφή, the sacred canonical written text, including both OT prophecy (1:20) and, at 3:16, Paul’s own letters. Ties to Orthodox Holy Tradition (Предание) framing, which locates scriptural authority within the Church’s conciliar/patristic reception alongside the text itself; this curriculum’s implicit sola-scriptura-adjacent stance should be stated explicitly rather than assumed as shared common ground.
Private Interpretation
Approved rendering: собственное толкование
Transliteration: sobstvennoye tolkovaniye
Doctrine: Reliability and Inspiration of Scripture
Original: ἰδία ἐπίλυσις
Category: Scripture
ἰδία ἐπίλυσις (1:20). Genuinely ambiguous in Greek between ‘the prophet’s own private origination’ and ‘a reader’s private interpretive imposition.’ Flag for native-speaker/theologian review; record alternatives_considered; recommend the origination-reading (favored by v.21’s own explanation) as primary while preserving the alternative in commentary.
False Prophet
Approved rendering: лжепророк
Transliteration: lzheprorok
Doctrine: False Teachers and Their Judgment
Original: ψευδοπροφήτης
Category: False Teaching
ψευδοπροφήτης (2:1). Standard, well-attested compound; low risk of confusion, reinforces the лже- word family used throughout this doctrine cluster.
Destruction Perdition
Approved rendering: погибель
Transliteration: pogibel’
Doctrine: False Teachers and Their Judgment / Day of the Lord
Original: ἀπώλεια
Category: Eschatology
ἀπώλεια (2:1, 2:3, 3:7, 3:16). Standard Synodal antonym-pairing with the baseline salvation term (спасение); must retain full eschatological weight, never soften to ‘trouble’ or ‘loss.‘
Judgment
Approved rendering: суд
Transliteration: sud
Doctrine: The Day of the Lord and Final Judgment
Original: κρίσις / κρίμα
Category: Eschatology
κρίσις/κρίμα (2:3, 2:4, 2:9, 3:7). Positive convergence with the vivid Orthodox iconographic/liturgical «Страшный Суд» (Dread/Last Judgment) tradition; ensure the passage’s specific NT content (certainty, timing tied to Christ’s return, historical precedent) is not left to default entirely to traditional imagery alone.
Ungodliness
Approved rendering: нечестие / нечестивый
Transliteration: nechestiye / nechestivyy
Doctrine: False Teachers and Their Judgment
Original: ἀσέβεια / ἀσεβής
Category: False Teaching
ἀσέβεια/ἀσεβής (2:5, 2:6, 3:7). Direct antonym of εὐσέβεια/благочестие; must retain full moral-religious weight, not flatten to mere ‘bad behavior.‘
Sensuality
Approved rendering: распутство / нечистота
Transliteration: rasputstvo / nechistota
Doctrine: Moral Corruption and False Freedom
Original: ἀσέλγεια
Category: False Teaching
ἀσέλγεια (2:2, 2:7, 2:18). Unrestrained, shameless sexual/moral indulgence modeled and spread by the false teachers. Needs a serious, morally weighty register that is neither clinical nor sensationalized.
Greed
Approved rendering: любостяжание / корыстолюбие
Transliteration: lyubostyazhaniye / korystolyubiye
Doctrine: Moral Corruption and False Freedom
Original: πλεονεξία
Category: False Teaching
πλεονεξία (2:3, 2:14). Archaic-literary Synodal term with positive convergence to the Orthodox ascetic tradition’s classic list of the ‘passions’ (страсти) — an asset for framing, provided it stays concrete to Peter’s critique of financially exploitative teachers rather than drifting into abstract ascetic theory.
Freedom
Approved rendering: свобода
Transliteration: svoboda
Doctrine: Moral Corruption and False Freedom
Original: ἐλευθερία
Category: False Teaching
ἐλευθερία (2:19), the false teachers’ hollow promise of liberty while they themselves remain enslaved. Risk of resonating with modern Russian political-liberty discourse (post-Soviet ‘свобода слова,’ etc.) rather than the moral-spiritual bondage/freedom-from-corruption Peter has in view; context must anchor the term to slavery to sin, not civic liberty.
Slave Bondservant
Approved rendering: раб
Transliteration: rab
Doctrine: Apostleship / False Teachers and Their Judgment
Original: δοῦλος
Category: Apostleship
δοῦλος. At 1:1, Peter’s honorific self-designation as Christ’s owned possession, alongside apostle. At 2:19, an ironic negative description of the false teachers’ own enslavement to corruption despite promising others freedom. Modern secular Russian «раб» carries strong negative connotations (slavery, Soviet-era ‘рабский труд’); explicit opposite-polarity glosses are required at each occurrence.
Scoffer
Approved rendering: ругатель / насмешник
Transliteration: rugatel’ / nasmeshnik
Doctrine: The Certainty of Christ’s Return
Original: ἐμπαίκτης
Category: Eschatology
ἐμπαίκτης (3:3). Those who deny the certainty of Christ’s return in the last days, mocking with derisive intent. Vivid, appropriately strong register; low ambiguity.
New Heavens And New Earth
Approved rendering: новое небо и новая земля
Transliteration: novoye nebo i novaya zemlya
Doctrine: Eschatological New Creation Hope
Original: καινοὺς οὐρανοὺς καὶ γῆν καινήν
Category: Eschatology
καινοὺς οὐρανοὺς καὶ γῆν καινήν (3:13). A renewed created order, qualitatively new, not annihilation-then-ex-nihilo re-creation. Established biblical-register phrase shared with Isaiah 65:17/Revelation 21:1; must retain concrete future-historical hope, not drift into vague utopian metaphor.
Promise
Approved rendering: обетование
Transliteration: obetovaniye
Doctrine: The Certainty of Christ’s Return / Divine Nature and Escaping Corruption
Rejected alternatives: обещание (too weak/casual)
Original: ἐπάγγελμα / ἐπαγγελία
Category: Eschatology
ἐπάγγελμα/ἐπαγγελία (1:4; 3:4, 3:9, 3:13). A formal, binding divine pledge, not a casual assurance. Established biblical-register term distinct from ordinary «обещание»; should be used consistently, especially in chapter 3’s dispute over the ‘promise of his coming’ and in 1:4’s promises grounding participation in the divine nature.
Equal Standing Faith
Approved rendering: равноценная вера
Transliteration: ravnotsennaya vera
Doctrine: Faith
Original: ἰσότιμος πίστις
Category: Faith
ἰσότιμος πίστις (1:1). A faith of identical worth/standing to the apostles’ own faith, not a lesser derivative faith. New compound; must not be heard as implying uniform spiritual maturity rather than uniform worth/standing of the faith itself — all believers, not only apostles, share the very same precious faith.
Cleansing From Sins
Approved rendering: очищение от грехов
Transliteration: ochishcheniye ot grekhov
Doctrine: Cleansing from Past Sins
Original: καθαρισμὸς τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν
Category: Virtue
καθαρισμὸς τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν (1:9). Ritual/moral purification from the guilt of past sin, granted once for all. Risk of «очищение» being heard as an ongoing ritual/ascetic purification practice (sacramental confession, fasting) rather than the once-for-all cleansing already accomplished, whose forgetting produces spiritual blindness and fruitlessness.
Low Risk Terms
Prophet
Approved rendering: пророк
Transliteration: prorok
Doctrine: Inspiration of Scripture
Rejected alternatives: предсказатель, экстрасенс
Original: προφήτης
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. Standard, well understood via OT canon and literary culture; экстрасенс/предсказатель must not be used given post-Soviet folk-psychic culture. 2 Peter extension: 2:1’s ψευδοπροφήτης (лжепророк) is a direct compound built on this root, contrasting true prophets with false ones as OT precedent for false teachers now arising.
Prophecy
Approved rendering: пророчество
Transliteration: prorochestvo
Doctrine: Reliability and Inspiration of Scripture
Rejected alternatives: предсказание, гороскоп
Original: προφητεία
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. Distinguish from horoscope/astrology-style prediction. 2 Peter extension: elevated in load-bearing importance (though risk tier stays Low per registry) as the direct subject of the core passage’s argument (1:19-21) that the prophetic word did not originate in human will but was spoken by men moved by the Holy Spirit; also recurs at 2:16 and 3:2.
Brotherly Love
Approved rendering: братолюбие
Transliteration: bratolyubiye
Doctrine: Growing in Christian Virtue
Original: φιλαδελφία
Category: Virtue
φιλαδελφία (1:7), sixth link in the virtue chain. Standard, low ambiguity.
Love
Approved rendering: любовь
Transliteration: lyubov’
Doctrine: Growing in Christian Virtue
Original: ἀγάπη
Category: Virtue
ἀγάπη (1:7), the climactic capstone virtue crowning the 1:5-7 chain. Standard, low risk.
Eyewitness
Approved rendering: очевидец
Transliteration: ochevidets
Doctrine: Apostolic Eyewitness Testimony
Rejected alternatives: свидетель (acceptable synonym, slightly more legal/generic)
Original: ἐπόπτης
Category: Scripture
ἐπόπτης (1:16), one who has personally, sensorily observed an event. Standard, unambiguous, establishes apostolic authority as first-hand testimony rather than secondhand legend.
Good Pleasure
Approved rendering: благоволение
Transliteration: blagovoleniye
Doctrine: Sonship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: удовольствие (too weak/secular)
Original: εὐδοκία / εὐδόκησα
Category: Christology
εὐδοκία/εὐδόκησα (1:17), the Father’s settled, prior delighted approval of the Son. Established Synodal Gospel-parallel wording (Matt 3:17/17:5); must be kept consistent with however the curriculum renders those parallel passages elsewhere.
Lamp
Approved rendering: светильник
Transliteration: svetil’nik
Doctrine: Reliability and Inspiration of Scripture
Rejected alternatives: лампада (rejected — the specific Orthodox icon-lamp object, not the biblical image)
Original: λύχνος
Category: Scripture
λύχνος (1:19), a small household oil lamp providing sufficient light in darkness — Scripture as sufficient, God-given guidance for the present dark age. Keep distinct from лампада; «светильник» is the correct, distinct standard biblical-register word.
Flood
Approved rendering: потоп
Transliteration: potop
Doctrine: Judgment of the Ungodly: Historical Precedent
Original: κατακλυσμός
Category: False Teaching
κατακλυσμός (2:5). Noah’s Flood specifically; standard, universally known via Genesis, a strong shared cultural/OT-narrative asset.
Creation
Approved rendering: творение
Transliteration: tvoreniye
Doctrine: The Day of the Lord and Final Judgment
Original: κτίσις
Category: Eschatology
κτίσις (3:4), the created order as a whole — the scoffers’ faulty argument from apparent cosmic stability against the possibility of judgment. Standard term, low ambiguity.
Elements
Approved rendering: стихии
Transliteration: stikhii
Doctrine: The Day of the Lord and Final Judgment
Original: στοιχεῖα
Category: Eschatology
στοιχεῖα (3:10, 3:12), the fundamental constituent substances of the physical cosmos, dissolved at the Day of the Lord. Modern Russian retains this exact sense; good semantic match.
Grow In Grace And Knowledge
Approved rendering: возрастать
Transliteration: vozrastat’
Doctrine: Growing in Christian Virtue
Original: αὐξάνω
Category: Virtue
αὐξάνω (1:8, 3:18). Ongoing, cultivated increase, not a one-time event; bookends the letter’s opening greeting (1:2) and the virtue chain (1:5-7). Low risk on its own, but co-occurs at 3:18 with the Critical/High terms благодать and познание, making the surrounding clause load-bearing even though the verb itself is simple.
Balaam
Approved rendering: Валаам
Transliteration: Valaam
Doctrine: Judgment of the Ungodly: Historical Precedent
Original: Βαλαάμ
Category: False Teaching
Βαλαάμ (2:15-16). OT prophet-for-hire who loved the ‘wages of unrighteousness,’ a historical type of a corrupt, mercenary false prophet. The identical modern Russian place-name «Валаам» (a famous Orthodox monastery island in Lake Onega) is a homograph but not a genuine confusion risk given clear OT narrative framing.
Departure
Approved rendering: отшествие / исход
Transliteration: otshestviye / iskhod
Doctrine: Testamentary Witness and Peter’s Approaching Death
Original: ἔξοδος
Category: Scripture
ἔξοδος (1:15), a euphemism for death echoing the Exodus narrative and Christ’s own ‘exodus’ (Luke 9:31). The resonance with «Исход» is a mild asset for readers with OT literacy but should not be over-pressed as a technical link if it obscures the plain ‘my death’ sense; frames the letter as a testamentary document.
Proverb
Approved rendering: притча / пословица
Transliteration: pritcha / poslovitsa
Doctrine: False Teachers and Their Judgment
Original: παροιμία
Category: False Teaching
παροιμία (2:22). A traditional, pithy saying; the framing device for the closing dog/sow proverb illustrating apostasy.
Referenced passages