Doctrine Analysis
Doctrine Analysis — Full-Book Doctrine Matrix (Acts 1–28, English → Russian)
This matrix executes PRD Phase 1 Step 4/5 doctrine mapping for the full book of Acts. It is fully consistent with assets/doctrine_risk_registry.json (v1, 2026-07-09): every doctrine name, risk tier, and review routing below is copied verbatim from that registry. This document adds the chapter-by-chapter narrative anchoring the registry omits, so that Phase 2 processing can route every chapter’s segments correctly, and so that no chapter is silently skipped. The core passage, Acts 2:1-41 (Pentecost), is the theological anchor of the curriculum but not the boundary of this analysis; every chapter 1–28 is addressed below.
Risk tier definitions (unchanged from baseline/registry):
- Critical — collides with a live, named theological controversy; human theologian review required for every occurrence.
- High — significant theological confusion or cultural/political sensitivity risk; human theologian review required.
- Medium — registerial/cultural misreading risk; native speaker review recommended.
- Low — minor imprecision risk; automated review sufficient.
Chapter 1 — Ascension, Restored Apostleship, the Promise of the Spirit
| Doctrine (registry key) | Passages | Risk | Translation Risk Note | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
The Great Commission Fulfilled (the_great_commission_fulfilled) | 1:8 | High | 1:8 is the book’s programmatic thesis (“ends of the earth”); must be rendered with full geographic/universal force, matching its eventual fulfillment at 28:31. | Human theologian |
Mission to the Nations (mission_to_the_nations_acts) | 1:8 | Medium | First occurrence of the миссия/благовестие choice; set precedent for the whole book here. | Native speaker |
John’s Baptism vs. Christian Spirit-Baptism (johns_baptism_vs_spirit_baptism) | 1:5 | High | Jesus’ own forward-looking contrast between John’s water rite and Spirit-baptism frames every later baptismal reference in the book. | Human theologian |
Also present, no new risk beyond baseline: Ascension (вознесение, Medium, Section B glossary #1) — shared Orthodox/Protestant feast term, risk is over-familiarity not confusion. Lot/portion (жребий, #4) — one-time decision method, not normative afterward; note this explicitly so readers do not read lot-casting as a continuing church practice.
Chapter 2 — Pentecost (Core Passage, Acts 2:1-41)
| Doctrine (registry key) | Passages | Risk | Translation Risk Note | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
The Holy Spirit and Pentecost (holy_spirit_and_pentecost) | 2:1-4, 2:16-21, 2:33, 2:38-39 | High | Пятидесятница names both an Orthodox feast and the Russian Pentecostal denomination; anchor to the historical, dateable event without prescribing/forbidding a repeatable personal experience. | Human theologian |
Tongues as a Sign to the Nations (tongues_as_sign_of_the_nations) | 2:4-11 | High | Must show real, intelligible human languages confirmed by hearers’ native tongues (v.6,8,11), not private ecstatic speech; avoid implicit denominational siding. | Human theologian |
The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles (gospel_to_jews_and_gentiles) | 2:5-11 | High | The nation-list is a deliberate universal-scope catalogue; preserve in full, do not abbreviate or generalize. | Human theologian |
Repentance (repentance) | 2:37-38 | Critical | Must read as personal, direct turning to God available to every hearer, not a summons to formal sacramental confession (таинство покаяния). | Human theologian |
Baptism (baptism_doctrine) | 2:38-41 | Critical | Central verse for the three-way Orthodox/Evangelical/Restorationist debate; curriculum must state its repentance-baptism-forgiveness position explicitly. | Human theologian |
Forgiveness of Sins (forgiveness_of_sins_doctrine) | 2:38 | Critical | Distinct from оправдание (justification); the εἰς-causality relationship to baptism must be stated, not silently resolved. | Human theologian |
The Church as Community (church_as_community) | 2:42-47 | High | ”Имели всё общее” (echoed at 4:32) risks collision with Soviet collectivization rhetoric; frame as voluntary, love-motivated generosity. | Human theologian |
Breaking of Bread / Communal Meals (breaking_of_bread_doctrine) | 2:42, 2:46 | High | Ambiguous scope (ordinary meals vs. Lord’s Supper); state the intended scope explicitly rather than resolving silently. | Human theologian |
Thanksgiving and Christian Fellowship (thanksgiving_and_fellowship_in_acts) | 2:42, 2:46-47 | Low | Standard vocabulary shared with Orthodox liturgical usage. | Automated |
Lordship and Messiahship of Christ (lordship_and_messiahship_of_christ) | 2:36 | High | Climactic “Господом и Христом” fuses two titles; must retain “this Jesus, whom you crucified” rhetorical force, not soften into calm summary. | Human theologian |
Resurrection of Christ (resurrection_of_christ_in_acts) | 2:24-32 | Medium | Guard against flattening into calendar-feast (Пасха) association rather than personally appropriated evidentiary claim. | Native speaker |
Assurance of Salvation / Ongoing Salvation (assurance_and_ongoing_salvation) | 2:21, 2:38-40, 2:47 | Critical | Present-tense “спасаемые” (2:47) alongside decisive “спасётся” (2:21,40) — preserve both dimensions; do not resolve the tension by favoring only one. | Human theologian |
Exclusivity of Salvation in Christ’s Name (no_other_name_exclusivity) | 2:21 | High | Preserve absolute force; pair with 4:12 as the fuller statement. | Human theologian |
Divine Providence and Sovereignty (divine_providence_in_acts) | 2:23 | High | ”Definite plan and foreknowledge” paired with human “lawless hands” — preserve both divine sovereignty and human culpability; never судьба/случай/карма. | Human theologian |
Chapter 3 — Healing at the Temple Gate; Peter’s Second Sermon
| Doctrine | Passages | Risk | Translation Risk Note | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Distinctive Christological Titles: Servant, Holy and Righteous One (titles_of_christ_in_acts) | 3:13-15, 3:26 | Critical | ”Отрок” (archaic, risks “the boy Jesus” misreading) and “Святой и Праведный” require explicit gloss every occurrence. | Human theologian |
Apostolic Authority and Miracles (apostolic_authority_and_miracles) | 3:1-10 | High | Keep as divine attestation, never conflated with post-Soviet “чудесное исцеление” psychic-healer register. | Human theologian |
Repentance (repentance) | 3:19 | Critical | Reiterates 2:38’s personal-turning sense; “times of refreshing” outcome should not be flattened to generic blessing language. | Human theologian |
Chapter 4 — Arrest of Peter and John; Prayer for Boldness
| Doctrine | Passages | Risk | Translation Risk Note | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Persecution and Bold Witness (persecution_and_bold_witness) | 4:1-31 | High | Дерзновение risks flattening into pious cliché; restore real arrest/threat stakes. | Human theologian |
Exclusivity of Salvation in Christ’s Name (no_other_name_exclusivity) | 4:12 | High | Frame pastorally, non-triumphalistically, in Russia’s plural religious context, while preserving full exclusivity. | Human theologian |
Divine Providence and Sovereignty (divine_providence_in_acts) | 4:27-28 | High | ”Predestined to take place” — never судьба/рок/карма; preserve alongside real human agency (Herod, Pilate, Gentiles, Israel named as actors). | Human theologian |
The Church as Community (church_as_community) | 4:32-35 | High | Reinforces 2:42-47’s collectivization-sensitivity caution. | Human theologian |
Distinctive Christological Titles (titles_of_christ_in_acts) | 4:27, 4:30 | Critical | ”Отрок” recurs; gloss again, do not assume retention from ch.3. | Human theologian |
Apostolic Authority and Miracles (apostolic_authority_and_miracles) | 4:33 | High | ”Great grace” (благодать) paired with apostolic testimony — note the благодать-Critical baseline term appears here in a narrative rather than epistolary register. | Human theologian |
Chapter 5 — Ananias and Sapphira; Apostles before the Sanhedrin
| Doctrine | Passages | Risk | Translation Risk Note | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Apostolic Authority and Miracles (apostolic_authority_and_miracles) | 5:12-16 | High | Signs/wonders as divine attestation; same occult-industry caution as ch.3-4. | Human theologian |
Persecution and Bold Witness (persecution_and_bold_witness) | 5:17-42 | High | ”We must obey God rather than men” (5:29) is a specific case, not blanket civil-disobedience license; frame non-inflammatorily given Russian legal sensitivities. | Human theologian |
Distinctive Christological Titles (titles_of_christ_in_acts) | 5:31 | Critical | ”Начальник и Спаситель” — pairs Начальник (see ch.3/5 Author-of-Life caution) with Спаситель; gloss required. | Human theologian |
Forgiveness of Sins (forgiveness_of_sins_doctrine) | 5:31 | Critical | Reiterates 2:38’s distinctness from оправдание. | Human theologian |
Also present, no new risk tier: the Ananias/Sapphira “lying to the Holy Spirit” episode (Section B glossary #29) reinforces the Spirit’s full personal deity (5:3-4) — Medium/High per glossary, folded here under apostolic authority’s broader High tier; no separate registry doctrine entry required.
Chapter 6 — Appointment of the Seven; Rise of Stephen
| Doctrine | Passages | Risk | Translation Risk Note | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Church Office and Leadership (church_office_and_leadership) | 6:1-6 | Critical | The Seven’s appointment (служение, not yet a fixed office) must not be rendered диакон in a way that imports the fully developed Orthodox ordained rank onto this ad hoc functional appointment. | Human theologian |
Martyrdom of Stephen (martyrdom_of_stephen) | 6:8-15 | High | Stephen still called свидетель here, not мученик — preserve the pre-martyrdom vocabulary; the specialized sense must wait for 22:20’s retrospective naming. | Native speaker |
Spirit-Empowered Boldness and Ministry (spirit_empowered_witness) | 6:3 | Medium | ”Full of the Spirit and wisdom” as a qualification for practical ministry, not an ecstatic experience. | Native speaker |
Chapter 7 — Stephen’s Speech and Martyrdom
| Doctrine | Passages | Risk | Translation Risk Note | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Martyrdom of Stephen (martyrdom_of_stephen) | 7:51-60 | High | Climax of the свидетель→мученик semantic arc (fully retrospectively named only at 22:20); render 7:58-60 with full narrative weight without yet using мученик. | Native speaker |
Unity of Jews and Gentiles (unity_of_jews_and_gentiles_in_acts) | 7 (Sanhedrin confrontation) | High | Frame Stephen’s specific historical opponents without generalizing culpability to the Jewish people as a whole; Stephen himself is Jewish. | Human theologian |
Distinctive Christological Titles (titles_of_christ_in_acts) | 7:52 (echo of “the Righteous One”) | Critical | Ties Stephen’s speech back to 3:14’s title; maintain consistency of rendering. | Human theologian |
Also present: “stiff-necked” (жестоковыйный, glossary #32, Medium) — archaic OT covenant-unfaithfulness idiom; comprehension gloss recommended, not a doctrinal-collision risk per se.
Chapter 8 — Philip in Samaria; Simon Magus; the Ethiopian Eunuch
| Doctrine | Passages | Risk | Translation Risk Note | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Confrontation with Occult and Counterfeit Spiritual Power (confrontation_with_occult_power) | 8:9-24 | High | Волхв’s dual valence (reverent Magi vs. condemned Simon) requires explicit disambiguation; parallel to live post-Soviet экстрасенсы/гадалки market. | Human theologian |
Apostolic Authority and Miracles (apostolic_authority_and_miracles) | 8:6-13 | High | Philip’s signs contrasted directly with Simon’s counterfeit “magic” in the same chapter — the contrast itself must be preserved clearly. | Human theologian |
The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles (gospel_to_jews_and_gentiles) | 8 (Samaritans; Ethiopian eunuch) | High | First expansions beyond Jerusalem Jews; preserve as deliberate widening steps, not incidental travel narrative. | Human theologian |
Baptism (baptism_doctrine) | 8:36-38 | Critical | Eunuch’s baptism narrative (faith stated, then immediate baptism) is frequently cited in Evangelical/Orthodox debate; do not silently resolve the ordering question. | Human theologian |
Chapter 9 — Conversion of Saul; Peter’s Miracles at Joppa/Lydda
| Doctrine | Passages | Risk | Translation Risk Note | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Conversion of Paul (conversion_of_paul) | 9:1-19 | Critical | ”The Way” (Путь) must not blend into generic New Age “духовный путь” language; anchor to the specific, exclusive, apostolic-doctrine-defined movement. | Human theologian |
Divine Election and Effectual Calling (divine_election_and_calling_in_acts) | 9:15 | Critical | ”Chosen instrument” (избранный сосуд) — never судьба/рок/карма; preserve both sovereignty and instrumental-purpose senses together. | Human theologian |
Baptism (baptism_doctrine) | 9:18 | Critical | Saul’s baptism immediately follows sight restoration and precedes food — same ordering-sensitivity as ch.2, ch.8. | Human theologian |
Exclusivity of Salvation in Christ’s Name (no_other_name_exclusivity) | 9:14, 9:21 | High | ”Calling on this name” — used here by Saul’s opponents describing believers; preserve neutral-to-hostile outsider framing accurately. | Human theologian |
Also present: “your saints” (Ananias’s vision, 9:13) reinforces baseline’s святые corporate-inclusivity caution (Section A) — no new registry entry, apply baseline sainthood guidance.
Chapter 10 — Cornelius’s Conversion
| Doctrine | Passages | Risk | Translation Risk Note | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles (gospel_to_jews_and_gentiles) | 10:1-48 | High | Peter’s vision (10:9-16,28) is a deliberate literary/theological turning point; do not soften the nечистый/κοινός ceremonial-purity abolition into vague dietary advice. | Human theologian |
God’s Impartiality toward All Peoples (deity_and_impartiality_of_god) | 10:1-48 | High | ”Бог нелицеприятен” needs a comprehension gloss; theologically reinforces antisemitism-sensitivity. | Human theologian |
Unity of Jews and Gentiles (unity_of_jews_and_gentiles_in_acts) | 10:34 | High | Direct programmatic statement; preserve without qualification. | Human theologian |
Forgiveness of Sins (forgiveness_of_sins_doctrine) | 10:43 | Critical | ”Everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins” — universal scope must not be narrowed. | Human theologian |
Baptism (baptism_doctrine) | 10:47-48 | Critical | Gentiles baptized after receiving the Spirit — a distinct ordering from 2:38; do not harmonize the two passages by silent translation choice. | Human theologian |
Holy Spirit and Pentecost / Tongues (holy_spirit_and_pentecost, tongues_as_sign_of_the_nations) | 10:44-46 | High | ”Gentile Pentecost” — explicitly parallel to ch.2; preserve the parallel structure in translation. | Human theologian |
Chapter 11 — Peter’s Report; the Church at Antioch
| Doctrine | Passages | Risk | Translation Risk Note | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Unity of Jews and Gentiles (unity_of_jews_and_gentiles_in_acts) | 11:17-18 | High | Jerusalem church’s concession (“God has granted repentance that leads to life”) ties покаяние to Gentile inclusion explicitly. | Human theologian |
God’s Impartiality toward All Peoples (deity_and_impartiality_of_god) | 11:1-18 | High | Same impartiality theme, now confirmed by the wider church, not just Peter individually. | Human theologian |
The Naming of Christian Identity (christian_identity_named) | 11:26 | Low | христианин coined at Antioch; universally understood term, note historical coinage moment explicitly. | Automated |
The Church as Community (church_as_community) | 11 (Antioch’s formation) | High | New, ethnically mixed congregation — reinforces церковь ≠ institutional-Orthodox-default caution. | Human theologian |
Chapter 12 — Herod’s Persecution; Peter’s Deliverance
| Doctrine | Passages | Risk | Translation Risk Note | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Persecution and Bold Witness (persecution_and_bold_witness) | 12:1-19 | High | James’s execution and Peter’s imprisonment/deliverance — preserve real lethal stakes, not sanitized “trouble.” | Human theologian |
Divine Providence and Sovereignty (divine_providence_in_acts) | 12 (implicit, angelic deliverance) | High | God’s sovereign rescue of Peter alongside James’s death (not rescued) — do not imply a formulaic prosperity/rescue guarantee. | Human theologian |
No new terminology beyond baseline prayer_and_intercession (12:5,12) — reviewed, no additional risk tier required.
Chapter 13 — First Missionary Journey Begins; Paul at Antioch of Pisidia
| Doctrine | Passages | Risk | Translation Risk Note | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Justification apart from the Law (justification_apart_from_the_law) | 13:38-39 | Critical | ”Justified from everything the law of Moses could not justify” — clearest Acts parallel to Romans; state the forensic “declared righteous” sense explicitly. | Human theologian |
Divine Election and Effectual Calling (divine_election_and_calling_in_acts) | 13:48 | Critical | ”As many as were appointed to eternal life believed” — one of the NT’s most explicit predestination-adjacent statements; предопределение only with explicit definition. | Human theologian |
Confrontation with Occult and Counterfeit Spiritual Power (confrontation_with_occult_power) | 13:6-11 | High | Elymas the magician (volkhv) — condemned-occult valence, disambiguate from Magi-valence. | Human theologian |
Mission to the Nations (mission_to_the_nations_acts) | 13 (Cyprus, Pisidian Antioch) | Medium | First formally “sent” (ἀφορίζω, отделить) missionary team; commissioning language, not withdrawal. | Native speaker |
Resurrection of Christ (resurrection_of_christ_in_acts) | 13:30-37 | Medium | Paul’s Psalm 16 argument parallels Peter’s at 2:24-32; keep consistent rendering choices across both sermons. | Native speaker |
Persecution and Bold Witness (persecution_and_bold_witness) | 13 (synagogue opposition) | High | First missionary-journey opposition pattern, repeated through chs.14-28. | Human theologian |
Chapter 14 — Iconium, Lystra, Derbe; Return to Antioch
| Doctrine | Passages | Risk | Translation Risk Note | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Apostolic Authority and Miracles (apostolic_authority_and_miracles) | 14:3 | High | Signs/wonders confirming “the word of his grace.” | Human theologian |
Idolatry and Pagan Religion (idolatry_and_pagan_religion) | 14:8-18 | High | Lystrans’ attempt to worship Paul/Barnabas as gods — must not bleed into implying Orthodox icon veneration is comparable idolatry. | Human theologian |
Church Office and Leadership (church_office_and_leadership) | 14:23 | Critical | ”Appointed elders” (пресвитеры) in each church — plural, congregational; do not read a single-priest-per-church model into this. | Human theologian |
Persecution and Bold Witness (persecution_and_bold_witness) | 14 (Paul stoned at Lystra) | High | Continues the pattern from ch.13. | Human theologian |
Chapter 15 — The Jerusalem Council
| Doctrine | Passages | Risk | Translation Risk Note | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Circumcision and the Law Controversy (circumcision_and_law_controversy) | 15:1-29 | High | The “yoke” metaphor (15:10) must render ярмо, never иго (Mongol/Tatar-Yoke national-trauma association). | Human theologian |
Justification apart from the Law (justification_apart_from_the_law) | 15:1-11, 15:28-29 | Critical | The Council’s ruling (“saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus,” 15:11) must not be absorbed into a sacramental-participation framework. | Human theologian |
Church Office and Leadership (church_office_and_leadership) | 15:2-23 | Critical | Council/elders’ collaborative governance model — plural leadership, not a single hierarch’s ruling. | Human theologian |
Also present: “some of the sect of the Pharisees” (15:5) is a neutral, internal Jewish party-designation use of the αἵρεσις root (glossary #51) — low incremental risk here since it predates the accusatory usage against “the Way” (chs.24-28); note explicitly so the neutral sense is not retroactively colored by the later hostile sense, nor vice versa.
Chapter 16 — Lydia, the Philippian Jailer, the Spirit of Divination
| Doctrine | Passages | Risk | Translation Risk Note | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Confrontation with Occult and Counterfeit Spiritual Power (confrontation_with_occult_power) | 16:16-18 | High | ”Spirit of divination” (дух прорицания) directly parallels post-Soviet psychic/extrasensory-culture collision; shown as demonic and cast out, not merely tolerated. | Human theologian |
Persecution and Bold Witness (persecution_and_bold_witness) | 16:19-40 | High | Paul and Silas flogged/imprisoned, then their Roman-citizen status becomes relevant only afterward — preserve the sequence. | Human theologian |
Baptism (baptism_doctrine) | 16:30-33 | Critical | Jailer’s household baptism — cited in household-baptism/infant-baptism debates; do not resolve silently. | Human theologian |
Roman Authority and Civil Engagement (roman_authority_and_civil_engagement) | 16:37-39 | Medium | Render гражданин carefully; modern гражданство maps imperfectly onto the ancient privileged legal status. | Native speaker |
Chapter 17 — Thessalonica, Berea, Athens (Areopagus)
| Doctrine | Passages | Risk | Translation Risk Note | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Idolatry and Pagan Religion (idolatry_and_pagan_religion) | 17:16-34 | High | ”Unknown god” (неведомый бог) is an apologetic bridge, not an endorsement of generic religiosity; keep the bridge rhetorically pointed toward the specific God then proclaimed. | Human theologian |
Resurrection of Christ (resurrection_of_christ_in_acts) | 17:31 | Medium | Athenian mockery of bodily resurrection (17:32) shows the doctrine’s genuine strangeness to a pagan-philosophical audience — do not flatten their reaction into polite skepticism. | Native speaker |
Chapter 18 — Corinth; Apollos and the Baptism of John
| Doctrine | Passages | Risk | Translation Risk Note | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
John’s Baptism versus Christian Spirit-Baptism (johns_baptism_vs_spirit_baptism) | 18:24-26 | High | Apollos knew only John’s baptism — an incomplete-but-sincere state corrected without harsh judgment; tone matters as much as terminology. | Human theologian |
Chapter reviewed in full; no additional new doctrine beyond continuing mission narrative (baseline mission/faith terms recur without new risk dimension).
Chapter 19 — Ephesus: Spirit Baptism, Sons of Sceva, the Riot
| Doctrine | Passages | Risk | Translation Risk Note | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
John’s Baptism versus Christian Spirit-Baptism (johns_baptism_vs_spirit_baptism) | 19:1-7 | High | Ephesian disciples re-baptized upon hearing full gospel — a specific historical case, not a general re-baptism norm. | Human theologian |
Tongues as a Sign to the Nations (tongues_as_sign_of_the_nations) | 19:6 | High | Third tongues-episode in Acts; keep terminologically consistent with chs.2 and 10. | Human theologian |
Confrontation with Occult and Counterfeit Spiritual Power (confrontation_with_occult_power) | 19:11-20 | High | Sons of Sceva’s magical misuse of “the name of the Lord Jesus” (19:13) — the negative case that reinforces no_other_name_exclusivity’s warning against incantation-style misuse. | Human theologian |
Idolatry and Pagan Religion (idolatry_and_pagan_religion) | 19:23-41 | High | Artemis cult riot — economic/religious motives intertwined; do not moralize beyond the text’s own framing. | Human theologian |
Apostolic Authority and Miracles (apostolic_authority_and_miracles) | 19:11-12 | High | ”Extraordinary miracles” via Paul’s handkerchiefs — guard against magical-object misreading; these are divine, not talismanic. | Human theologian |
Chapter 20 — Miletus Address; Eutychus; Farewell to the Ephesian Elders
| Doctrine | Passages | Risk | Translation Risk Note | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Church Office and Leadership (church_office_and_leadership) | 20:17-28 | Critical | ”Elder” and “overseer” used interchangeably for one plural office (20:17,28) — never render ἐπίσκοπος as unqualified епископ, which would import the Orthodox three-tier hierarchy. | Human theologian |
The Church Purchased with Christ’s Blood (purchased_church_atonement_statement) | 20:28 | Critical | Manuscript-variant sensitivity (“church of God” vs. “of the Lord”) bears directly on whether the verse predicates “blood” of God himself; same weight as Romans 3:25. | Human theologian |
Sanctification and Inheritance among the Sanctified (sanctification_in_acts) | 20:32 | High | Apply baseline освящение caution; if theosis is referenced comparatively, name it explicitly. | Human theologian |
Breaking of Bread / Communal Meals (breaking_of_bread_doctrine) | 20:7, 20:11 | High | Troas meal — same ordinary-meal-vs.-Eucharist ambiguity as ch.2. | Human theologian |
Also present: “whole counsel of God” (пасн ту буле → вся воля Божия, glossary #56) and “shepherd/flock” (#55) — Medium, folded into church-office-and-leadership’s broader Critical tier for review purposes; no separate registry entry required.
Chapter 21 — Paul’s Vow; Arrest in the Temple
| Doctrine | Passages | Risk | Translation Risk Note | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Circumcision and the Law Controversy (circumcision_and_law_controversy) | 21:20-25 | High | James’s advice to Paul re: Jewish believers keeping the law — must not be read as reversing the Council’s Gentile-freedom ruling (ch.15). | Human theologian |
Nazarene/Nazirite Lexical Collision (nazarene_nazirite_collision) | 21:23-24 | Critical | Paul’s companions “under a vow” (Nazirite, Numbers 6) — Synodal Russian’s Назорей/назорейство forms collide dangerously with “Nazarene” (Jesus of Nazareth); explicit disambiguating gloss required. | Human theologian |
Persecution and Bold Witness (persecution_and_bold_witness) | 21 (temple riot, arrest) | High | Paul’s arrest begins the book’s final, longest persecution/legal-defense arc (chs.21-28). | Human theologian |
Chapter 22 — Paul’s Defense Before the Crowd
| Doctrine | Passages | Risk | Translation Risk Note | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Conversion of Paul (conversion_of_paul) | 22:3-21 | Critical | Second (of three) retellings; keep terminologically identical to ch.9 and ch.26 renderings for key phrases (“light from heaven,” “chosen instrument” echoes). | Human theologian |
Baptism (baptism_doctrine) | 22:16 | Critical | ”Be baptized… and wash away your sins, calling on his name” — a key baptismal-causality proof-text; do not resolve silently. | Human theologian |
Exclusivity of Salvation in Christ’s Name (no_other_name_exclusivity) | 22:16 | High | ”Calling on his name” ties directly to 2:21’s programmatic statement. | Human theologian |
Roman Authority and Civil Engagement (roman_authority_and_civil_engagement) | 22:25-29 | Medium | Paul’s citizenship claim halts an illegal flogging — render Roman legal categories without importing modern Russian civil-rights connotations anachronistically. | Native speaker |
Chapter 23 — Paul Before the Sanhedrin; Plot Against His Life
| Doctrine | Passages | Risk | Translation Risk Note | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Resurrection as a Contested Jewish Doctrine (resurrection_as_contested_doctrine) | 23:6-8 | Medium | Pharisee/Sadducee dispute shows resurrection was already a live intra-Jewish question; useful apologetic/historical framing, low doctrinal risk. | Native speaker |
Divine Providence and Sovereignty (divine_providence_in_acts) | 23 (protection of Paul) | High | God’s sovereign preservation of Paul through the plot and Roman transfer — consistent with ch.2/4/12’s providence caution. | Human theologian |
Chapter 24 — Trial Before Felix
| Doctrine | Passages | Risk | Translation Risk Note | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
”The Sect” Accusation against the Early Church (sect_accusation_against_the_way) | 24:5, 24:14 | Critical | Tertullus’s ancient legal accusation must not be rendered with секта’s full contemporary legal/pejorative weight, given the term’s live use in Russian anti-extremism and religious-registration discourse. | Human theologian |
The Hope of Israel and Bodily Resurrection (hope_of_israel_and_resurrection) | 24:15 | High | Paul frames Christian hope as continuous with Israel’s own hope — not a replacement; antisemitism-sensitive framing required. | Human theologian |
Repentance (repentance) | 24:25 | Critical | Felix “trembled” at Paul’s discourse on righteousness, self-control, judgment — a rare narrated (non-)response to a repentance-call; do not overstate as a conversion narrative. | Human theologian |
Chapter 25 — Trial Before Festus; Appeal to Caesar
| Doctrine | Passages | Risk | Translation Risk Note | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Roman Authority and Civil Engagement (roman_authority_and_civil_engagement) | 25:10-12 | Medium | ”Appeal to Caesar” — render Кесарь, never царь, to avoid importing Russia’s own loaded imperial-monarchical history. | Native speaker |
Chapter reviewed in full; no additional new doctrine.
Chapter 26 — Paul Before Agrippa
| Doctrine | Passages | Risk | Translation Risk Note | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Conversion of Paul (conversion_of_paul) | 26:9-23 | Critical | Third retelling; “power of Satan to God” dualistic language pairs with baseline kingdom_of_god — avoid sensationalized occult framing. | Human theologian |
The Hope of Israel and Bodily Resurrection (hope_of_israel_and_resurrection) | 26:6-8 | High | Same fulfillment-not-replacement framing as ch.24. | Human theologian |
”The Sect” Accusation against the Early Church (sect_accusation_against_the_way) | 26:5 | Critical | Paul’s own past affiliation with “the strictest sect” (Pharisees) — neutral self-description; contrast carefully with the hostile usage elsewhere in the trial narrative. | Human theologian |
Persecution and Bold Witness (persecution_and_bold_witness) | 26 (before Agrippa) | High | ”Almost persuaded” (Agrippa) — preserve the real, unresolved tension of the moment. | Human theologian |
Chapter 27 — The Voyage and Shipwreck
| Doctrine | Passages | Risk | Translation Risk Note | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Divine Providence and Sovereignty (divine_providence_in_acts) | 27 (storm narrative) | High | God’s sovereign preservation through natural disaster; avoid судьба/случай framing of the storm itself. | Human theologian |
Breaking of Bread / Communal Meals (breaking_of_bread_doctrine) | 27:35 | High | Paul’s meal aboard ship echoes ch.2/20 language; likely ordinary-meal sense here, but note the echo rather than resolving it as sacramental. | Human theologian |
Also present: Faith/providence crisis-confidence sense (27:25, baseline faith term, glossary Section A note) — reviewed, consistent with baseline; no new risk tier.
Chapter 28 — Malta; Arrival in Rome; the Book’s Close
| Doctrine | Passages | Risk | Translation Risk Note | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
The Great Commission Fulfilled (the_great_commission_fulfilled) | 28:16-31 | High | ”Беспрепятственно” (28:31), the book’s closing word, sits in poignant tension with contemporary Russian restrictions on evangelistic activity outside registered premises; preserve full triumphant force, frame pastorally not defiantly. | Human theologian |
”The Sect” Accusation against the Early Church (sect_accusation_against_the_way) | 28:22 | Critical | Roman Jewish leaders’ continued use of the hostile “sect” label — final occurrence; keep consistent with chs.24,26 treatment. | Human theologian |
The Hope of Israel and Bodily Resurrection (hope_of_israel_and_resurrection) | 28:20 | High | Paul’s closing self-description again ties his hope to Israel’s hope. | Human theologian |
Mission to the Nations (mission_to_the_nations_acts) | 28 (Rome, “kingdom of God” preached openly) | Medium | Climax of the book’s mission arc; consistent with ch.1’s opening thesis. | Native speaker |
Also present: minor idolatry/superstition note (Malta islanders’ reaction to the viper bite and Paul’s survival, 28:3-6) — Medium, folded under idolatry_and_pagan_religion’s broader High tier; low incremental risk, native speaker review sufficient for this specific incident.
Full-Book Risk Summary (cross-check against doctrine_risk_registry.json)
| Tier | Count (per registry) | Requires |
|---|---|---|
| Critical | 12 | Human theologian review, every occurrence |
| High | 20 | Human theologian review |
| Medium | 5 | Native speaker review |
| Low | 3 (thanksgiving_and_fellowship_in_acts, christian_identity_named, and baseline-reused Low terms) | Automated review |
All 28 chapters have been explicitly reviewed above. No chapter was silently omitted. Chapters contributing primarily reinforcement rather than new doctrinal risk (e.g., ch.18, ch.25) are explicitly marked as such rather than skipped.
See assets/doctrine_risk_registry.json for the authoritative risk tier and routing definitions, analysis/08_core_glossary.md for full term-level detail, and analysis/04_comparative_theology.md for cross-tradition interpretive comparison.
Critical Risk Doctrines
Repentance
Russian name: покаяние
Key terms: repent, repentance, turn, cut to the heart
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL: покаяние is also the name of a formal Russian Orthodox sacrament (таинство покаяния/исповедь, sacramental confession before a priest with absolution). Readers with an Orthodox background may default to hearing Peter’s call as a summons to formal sacramental confession rather than a personal, direct, whole-life turning to God available to every hearer.
Baptism
Russian name: крещение
Key terms: baptize, baptism, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of sins
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL: sits at the center of a live three-way Russian doctrinal debate (Orthodox sacramental/infant baptism conferring grace; Evangelical baptism as testimony following prior faith; Restorationist readings of baptismal necessity for forgiveness). The curriculum must state its own position on the repentance-baptism-forgiveness ordering explicitly rather than letting крещение silently import Orthodox sacramental assumptions.
Forgiveness of Sins
Russian name: прощение грехов
Key terms: forgiveness of sins, release, remission
Review routing: Human theologian
Distinct from, but related to, the fuller forensic-declaration sense of оправдание (justification); must not be collapsed into justification, and the εἰς-causality relationship to baptism must be stated explicitly rather than resolved silently by translation choice alone.
Church Office and Leadership (Elder, Overseer, Deacon)
Russian name: церковное служение и руководство (пресвитеры, блюстители, диаконы)
Key terms: elder, overseer, bishop, deacon, shepherd, laying on of hands
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL: Acts 20:28 uses ‘elder’ and ‘overseer’ interchangeably for one plural local office; rendering ἐπίσκοπος as епископ would import the Russian Orthodox Church’s fully developed three-tier episcopal hierarchy onto Acts’ own plural, non-hierarchical usage — a direct instance of a live, named congregational vs. episcopal-hierarchical church-government controversy. Similarly, диакон and пресвитер both name specific ordained Orthodox clerical ranks not equivalent to Acts’ functional, ad hoc appointments.
Conversion of Paul
Russian name: обращение Павла
Key terms: the Way, chosen instrument, light from heaven, power of Satan to God
Review routing: Human theologian
Paul’s calling is framed in sovereign-election vocabulary (‘chosen instrument,’ 9:15) that must never be rendered with судьба, рок, or карма; capitalized ‘Путь’ risks blending into generic New Age ‘духовный путь’ spiritual-marketplace language rather than the specific, exclusive, apostolic-doctrine-defined movement Saul once persecuted and then joined.
Divine Election and Effectual Calling
Russian name: Божие избрание и действенное призвание
Key terms: chosen instrument, ordained to eternal life, called
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL: Acts 13:48’s ‘as many as were appointed to eternal life believed’ is one of the most explicit predestination-adjacent statements in the New Testament; must never be rendered with судьба/рок/карма, and предопределение should only be introduced with careful, explicit definition given its loaded Reformed/Calvinist associations largely foreign to Orthodox soteriology.
Justification apart from the Law
Russian name: оправдание независимо от закона
Key terms: justified, law of Moses, grace, circumcision, yoke
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL: Acts 13:39 (‘justified from everything from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses’) is the clearest Acts parallel to Romans’ justification doctrine and the load-bearing textual anchor for this curriculum unit; the forensic ‘declared righteous’ sense must be stated explicitly, and the Jerusalem Council’s grace-not-law ruling (15:11) must not be absorbed into a sacramental-participation framework.
Distinctive Christological Titles (Servant, Holy and Righteous One, Author of Life)
Russian name: особые титулы Христа (Отрок, Святой и Праведный, Начальник жизни)
Key terms: the Servant, the Holy and Righteous One, Author/Prince of life
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL: ‘Отрок’ (archaic, easily misread as ‘the boy Jesus’) and ‘Начальник жизни’ (modern Russian ‘boss/supervisor’; the alternative ‘Вождь’ carries totalitarian Lenin/Stalin cult-of-personality associations) both require explicit theological glossing at every occurrence to avoid severe comprehension failure or unintended political resonance.
Nazarene / Nazirite Lexical Collision
Russian name: путаница между «Назорей» (из Назарета) и обетом назорейства
Key terms: Nazarene, Nazirite vow
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL: the Synodal Russian tradition renders both ‘one from Nazareth’ and the entirely unrelated OT consecration vow of Numbers 6 with confusingly similar or identical forms (Назорей/назорейство); requires explicit disambiguating gloss at every occurrence.
Assurance of Salvation and the Ongoing, Communal Dimension of Being Saved
Russian name: уверенность в спасении и продолжающееся приобщение к спасаемым
Key terms: saved, those being saved, added to their number
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL: Acts 2:47’s present-tense ‘τοὺς σῳζομένους’ (spasaemye) sits alongside the decisive punctiliar ‘shall be saved’ of 2:21/40, creating real tension between a settled, decisive turning point and an open, ongoing, communal incorporation — the same axis as Orthodox theosis’ lifelong process versus Reformation settled assurance. Both dimensions are present in Luke’s own text and must not be resolved by ignoring either side.
‘The Sect’ Accusation against the Early Church
Russian name: обвинение ранней Церкви в «сектантстве»
Key terms: sect, the Way, the sect of the Nazarenes
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL: modern Russian секта functions as a live legal/social category invoked in religious-registration and anti-extremism discourse, far more pejorative than the relatively neutral Koine αἵρεσις; rendering Tertullus’s ancient legal accusation with this term’s contemporary weight risks an unintended and potentially dangerous parallel to the present-day legal status of Russian Evangelical minorities.
The Church Purchased with Christ’s Blood
Russian name: церковь, приобретённая Кровию Христовою
Key terms: purchased with his own blood, the church of God
Review routing: Human theologian
CRITICAL: a well-known manuscript variant (‘church of God’ vs. ‘church of the Lord’) has direct implications for whether this verse explicitly predicates ‘blood’ of God himself, a strong deity-of-Christ statement if so; carries the same atonement/propitiation-level doctrinal weight flagged as Critical for Romans 3:25.
High Risk Doctrines
The Holy Spirit and Pentecost
Russian name: Святой Дух и Пятидесятница
Key terms: Pentecost, filled with the Holy Spirit, tongues, gift of the Holy Spirit
Review routing: Human theologian
Пятидесятница names both a major Orthodox liturgical feast and the Russian Pentecostal denomination’s self-designation (‘Пятидесятники’); readers may default to either association rather than the historical, dateable Acts 2 event. Must anchor the inaugurating event to its specific narrative moment without prescribing or forbidding a repeatable personal ‘Spirit-filling’ experience by implication.
Tongues as a Sign to the Nations
Russian name: иные языки как знамение народам
Key terms: tongues, other tongues, own language
Review routing: Human theologian
‘Говорение на языках’ is strongly associated in Russian religious discourse with the Pentecostal/Charismatic movement specifically; must be shown as real, intelligible human languages confirmed by hearers’ native tongues (2:6,8,11), not private ecstatic speech, without implicitly taking a denominational side in a live debate.
The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles
Russian name: Евангелие для иудеев и язычников
Key terms: nations, God-fearer, unclean/common, no partiality
Review routing: Human theologian
The nation-list at Pentecost (2:9-11) and Peter’s vision (10:9-16,28) must be preserved as a deliberate literary and theological catalogue of universal gospel scope, not softened; язычники’s inherited ‘pagan’ connotation must not overstate the ethnic-religious gulf Acts narrates as bridged in Christ.
Unity of Jews and Gentiles
Russian name: единство иудеев и язычников
Key terms: circumcision, no distinction, Sanhedrin, God shows no partiality
Review routing: Human theologian
Given the historical weight of state and popular antisemitism in Russian and Soviet history, the repeated Sanhedrin-opposition narrative (chs. 4-6, 22-24) must frame specific historical opposition without generalizing culpability to the Jewish people as a whole, noting the apostles themselves were Jewish.
The Church as Community
Russian name: церковь как община
Key terms: devoted themselves, breaking of bread, all things in common, added, fellowship
Review routing: Human theologian
‘Имели всё общее’ (2:44, 4:32) collides directly with 20th-century Marxist-Leninist collectivization rhetoric deeply embedded in Soviet historical memory; must be framed explicitly as voluntary, love-motivated generosity, never state-mandated collectivization. Additionally, церковь must not default to the institutional Russian Orthodox referent.
Breaking of Bread / Communal Meals
Russian name: преломление хлеба
Key terms: breaking of bread
Review routing: Human theologian
Преломление хлеба is used liturgically in Russian Orthodox tradition with specific Eucharistic reference; readers may narrow Acts’ broader daily-meal practice exclusively to a formal sacramental rite. The curriculum must state explicitly what scope (ordinary meals, the Lord’s Supper, or both) is intended.
Apostolic Authority and Miracles
Russian name: апостольская власть и чудеса
Key terms: signs and wonders, mighty works, laying on of hands, sorcery
Review routing: Human theologian
‘Чудеса’ and ‘знамения’ must be kept as divine attestation of God’s specific redemptive act in Christ, never conflated with the post-Soviet fraudulent-healer/television-psychic industry (чудесные исцеления, экстрасенсы) that uses identical everyday vocabulary for its claims.
Confrontation with Occult and Counterfeit Spiritual Power
Russian name: противостояние оккультной и лжедуховной силе
Key terms: sorcery, magician, spirit of divination, magic scrolls burned
Review routing: Human theologian
The Synodal word волхв carries both a strongly positive devotional association (the Magi of Matthew 2, celebrated in Orthodox Nativity iconography) and a strongly negative condemned-occult association (Simon, Elymas) depending on context. Directly parallels the live post-Soviet folk-occult market (экстрасенсы, гадалки) that Acts itself narratively condemns and casts out, not merely tolerates.
Persecution and Bold Witness
Russian name: гонения и смелое свидетельство
Key terms: boldness, witness, obey God rather than men, Sanhedrin
Review routing: Human theologian
Дерзновение’s heavy liturgical/devotional familiarity risks flattening into pious cliché disconnected from the text’s real stakes (arrest, flogging, threat of death); ‘obey God rather than men’ (5:29) is a specific case, not blanket civil-disobedience license, and must be framed non-inflammatorily given contemporary Russian legal sensitivities around religious activity and state authority.
Martyrdom of Stephen
Russian name: мученичество Стефана
Key terms: witness, martyr, stiff-necked
Review routing: Native speaker review
The specialized martyrological sense of мученик must be introduced only from the retrospective naming at Acts 22:20 onward, not applied prematurely to chapters 1-6’s purely testimonial свидетель uses, so as to preserve the semantic development the book itself narrates.
Circumcision and the Law Controversy
Russian name: спор об обрезании и законе
Key terms: circumcision, yoke, law, Moses
Review routing: Human theologian
Peter’s ‘yoke’ metaphor (15:10) must render ярмо, not иго, since иго triggers unrelated national-trauma associations with the historical ‘татаро-монгольское иго’ (Mongol/Tatar Yoke), distracting from the intended agricultural burden-image.
The Great Commission Fulfilled
Russian name: исполнение Великого поручения
Key terms: to the ends of the earth, without hindrance, Roman citizen, Caesar
Review routing: Human theologian
The book’s triumphant closing note (‘беспрепятственно,’ 28:31) sits in poignant tension with contemporary Russian legal restrictions on evangelistic/missionary activity outside registered religious premises; preserve its full force pastorally, not as a claim that such freedom is guaranteed in every present context.
Lordship and Messiahship of Christ
Russian name: господство и мессианство Христа
Key terms: Lord and Christ, Messiah, Lord
Review routing: Human theologian
Acts 2:36’s climactic ‘Господом и Христом’ fuses two independently High/Critical baseline doctrines; the verse’s rhetorical force (‘this Jesus, whom you crucified’) must not be softened into calm doctrinal summary.
Exclusivity of Salvation in Christ’s Name
Russian name: исключительность спасения во имя Христа
Key terms: no other name, calling on the name of the Lord
Review routing: Human theologian
In Russia’s religiously plural, historically multi-confessional context, this absolute exclusivity claim needs pastorally careful, non-triumphalist framing as Peter’s own confession, not the curriculum’s polemic, while preserving its full force. Must also be distinguished from magical-incantation misuse of ‘the name,’ which Acts itself later narrates as dangerous (sons of Sceva, 19:13-16).
God’s Impartiality toward All Peoples
Russian name: нелицеприятие Божие
Key terms: no partiality, God-fearer, unclean/common
Review routing: Human theologian
Archaic ‘нелицеприятен’ needs a comprehension gloss for secular or younger readers; theologically reinforces the region’s antisemitism-sensitivity and must be given the same careful, unambiguous, non-minimizing treatment as other unity-of-Jews-and-Gentiles passages.
Divine Providence and Sovereignty
Russian name: промысел и владычество Божие
Key terms: definite plan and foreknowledge, predestined to take place, lawless hands
Review routing: Human theologian
Must never be rendered with судьба, случай, or карма; the cross was God’s sovereign purpose while human agents bear real moral culpability (‘lawless hands,’ 2:23) — this pairing must be preserved rather than resolved into either pure divine determinism or pure human blame, and must not generalize culpability to the Jewish people collectively.
Idolatry and Pagan Religion
Russian name: идолослужение и язычество
Key terms: idol, unknown god, Artemis
Review routing: Human theologian
Must never bleed, even by implication, into implying Orthodox icon veneration is idolatry; Orthodox theology firmly distinguishes veneration from worship and rejects idolatry as much as any Protestant tradition — a live, sensitive inter-Christian issue requiring non-polemical framing.
Sanctification and Inheritance among the Sanctified
Russian name: освящение и наследие среди освящённых
Key terms: sanctified, inheritance
Review routing: Human theologian
Baseline’s caution that Russian Orthodox theology closely links sanctification to обожение (theosis) through sacramental participation applies equally here; if theosis is referenced comparatively it must be named explicitly, not silently blended with освящение.
John’s Baptism versus Christian Spirit-Baptism
Russian name: крещение Иоанново и крещение Духом
Key terms: John’s baptism, baptism in the name of the Lord Jesus, Holy Spirit came upon them
Review routing: Human theologian
Frequently cited across multiple baptismal-theology debates; note explicitly that Luke’s own text distinguishes an incomplete, preparatory rite from full Christian baptism-with-the-Spirit, without over-resolving how this maps onto contested Evangelical, Pentecostal, and other denominational categories this curriculum serves.
The Hope of Israel and Bodily Resurrection
Russian name: надежда Израиля и телесное воскресение
Key terms: hope, hope of Israel, hope of our fathers
Review routing: Human theologian
Надежда is also an extremely common Russian given name, risking an everyday register disconnected from confident resurrection-hope; Paul’s framing of Christian hope as continuous with ‘the hope of Israel’ must be presented as fulfillment of, not replacement for, Israel’s own scriptural hope, given the region’s antisemitism-sensitivity.
Medium Risk Doctrines
Spirit-Empowered Boldness and Ministry
Russian name: исполнение Духом для служения
Key terms: filled with the Holy Spirit, boldness, signs and wonders
Review routing: Native speaker review
Recurring Lukan formula of Spirit-filling paired with courageous public speech; risk is presenting this as a repeatable, individually sought ecstatic experience rather than the narrated historical empowering of specific individuals for specific tasks.
Mission to the Nations
Russian name: миссия к народам
Key terms: mission, sent, proclaim, nations
Review routing: Native speaker review
Use благовестие where a less legally and culturally loaded term than миссия/миссионерство is preferable, given contemporary Russian legal sensitivity around registered-premises evangelism.
Resurrection of Christ
Russian name: воскресение Христа
Key terms: raised, resurrection, from the dead
Review routing: Native speaker review
Central evidentiary claim of apostolic preaching; main risk remains over-familiarity flattening the doctrine into calendar-feast (Пасха) association rather than personally appropriated truth, consistent with the baseline’s caution.
Resurrection as a Contested Jewish Doctrine
Russian name: воскресение как предмет спора между иудеями
Key terms: resurrection, Pharisees, Sadducees
Review routing: Native speaker review
Shows resurrection was already a live, internally-contested Jewish doctrinal question before Christian proclamation, not a uniquely Christian innovation; low additional risk, useful apologetic/historical note.
Roman Authority and Paul’s Civil Engagement
Russian name: римская власть и гражданское взаимодействие Павла
Key terms: Roman citizen, appeal to Caesar, governor
Review routing: Native speaker review
Modern Russian гражданство maps imperfectly onto the ancient, highly privileged legal status of Roman citizenship; render Кесарь, never царь, to avoid importing Russia’s own loaded imperial-monarchical history onto the Roman emperor.
Low Risk Doctrines
Thanksgiving and Christian Fellowship
Russian name: благодарение и христианское общение
Key terms: devoted themselves, fellowship, prayers
Review routing: Automated review
Standard vocabulary shared with Orthodox liturgical usage; minor risk only, consistent with the baseline’s Low-risk tier for these terms in Romans.
The Naming of Christian Identity
Russian name: наречение именем «христиане»
Key terms: Christian, the Way, disciples
Review routing: Automated review
христианин is fully established and universally understood across all Russian religious and secular traditions; essentially no risk, though worth noting the name is coined at this specific narrative moment rather than assumed from the book’s start.
Referenced passages