Core Glossary
Core Glossary — Colossians (English → Russian)
This glossary consolidates every load-bearing term identified in 07_semantic_analysis.md, organized by chapter of first occurrence. Terms marked [TM] reuse the baseline Romans translation_memory.json rendering exactly, per the hard rule that established term renderings must be reused without substitution. Terms marked [NEW] are proposed additions to the translation memory for the Colossians curriculum and require entry into an updated translation_memory.json / bible_term_registry.json / doctrine_risk_registry.json in a later Phase 1 step.
Legend
- Risk: Critical / High / Medium / Low (per baseline
doctrine_risk_registry.jsondefinitions) - Status: [TM] = reuse baseline exactly; [NEW] = new term proposed in this glossary
Core Passage: Colossians 1:15–20
| English Term | Greek / Translit. | Russian Rendering | Status | Risk | Doctrine | Key Risk Notes / Rejected Alternatives |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| image | εἰκών / eikōn | образ | NEW | High | Supremacy of Christ / Deity of Christ | Icon-theology asset + risk of object-centered (icon-as-object) misreading instead of Christological reading |
| firstborn (of creation) | πρωτότοκος πάσης κτίσεως | рождённый прежде всякой твари | NEW | Critical | Supremacy of Christ over Creation | Never read as “first created being” (Arian/JW error); rejected: буквальное “первенец всякой твари” |
| firstborn (from the dead) | πρωτότοκος ἐκ τῶν νεκρῶν | первенец из мёртвых | NEW | Medium | Resurrection / Supremacy of Christ | Deliberately distinct Synodal rendering from the v.15 use of the same Greek root — must be explained, not merged |
| creation/creature | κτίσις / ktisis | тварь (Scripture register) / творение (teaching register) | NEW | High | Supremacy of Christ over Creation | тварь is a common modern insult in colloquial Russian; gloss required |
| invisible | ἀόρατος / aoratos | невидимый | NEW | Low | Deity of Christ | — |
| thrones/dominions/rulers/authorities | θρόνοι, κυριότητες, ἀρχαί, ἐξουσίαι | престолы, господства, начальства, власти | NEW | High | Supremacy of Christ over Creation | ”власти” overlaps with civil-government sense (cf. Romans 13); must disambiguate cosmic vs. civil |
| hold together | συνίστημι / synistēmi | [всё Им] стоит / держится | NEW | Medium | Supremacy of Christ over Creation | Guard against a passive-sounding rendering; gloss as “continually sustained” |
| head | κεφαλή / kephalē | глава | NEW | High | Christ as Head of the Church | Overlaps with administrative “head/chief”; must retain organic, life-giving headship sense |
| body (church) | σῶμα / sōma | тело | NEW | High | Christ as Head of the Church | Inherits церковь’s High risk (baseline) — corporate sense must be actively taught |
| beginning/firstfruits | ἀρχή / archē | начаток | NEW | Medium | Supremacy of Christ / Resurrection | Synodal deliberately avoids “начало” (mere temporal start) |
| preeminence | πρωτεύω / prōteuō | [иметь во всём] первенство | NEW | Medium | Supremacy of Christ | Must be tied to full scope: creation + church, not church alone |
| well-pleased | εὐδοκέω / eudokeō | благоугодно было | NEW | Low | Fullness of Deity in Christ | — |
| fullness | πλήρωμα / plērōma | полнота (always with “вся/всё”) | NEW | Critical | Fullness of Deity in Christ Bodily | Must always be qualified as total/exclusive; likely a term the Colossian false teachers used technically |
| dwell | κατοικέω / katoikeō | обитать | NEW | Medium | Incarnation / Fullness of Deity | Distinguish permanent indwelling from temporary visitation (vs. παροικέω) |
| reconcile | ἀποκαταλλάσσω, καταλλάσσω | примирить / примирение | NEW | Critical | Reconciliation through the Cross | East-West tension: completed forensic-relational act vs. ongoing synergistic process; frame pastorally |
| make peace | εἰρηνοποιέω / eirēnopoieō | умиротворив | NEW | Medium | Reconciliation through the Cross | Distinguish from мир’s “world/political peace” senses (baseline peace_with_god note) |
| blood of the cross | αἷμα τοῦ σταυροῦ | Кровь Креста Его | NEW | High | Reconciliation through the Cross | Atonement-adjacent; route as baseline routes Romans 3:25 propitiation language |
Chapter 1 (remainder)
| English Term | Greek / Translit. | Russian Rendering | Status | Risk | Doctrine | Key Risk Notes / Rejected Alternatives |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| apostle | ἀπόστολος | апостол | [TM] | Medium | Apostleship | Reuse baseline exactly |
| saints | ἅγιοι | святые | [TM] | High | Sainthood | Reuse baseline exactly; corporate, not venerated-elite, sense |
| faith / faithful | πίστις / πιστός | вера / верный | [TM] | High | Faith | Reuse baseline exactly |
| grace and peace | χάρις καὶ εἰρήνη | благодать и мир | [TM] | Critical/Medium | Grace / Peace with God | Reuse baseline exactly |
| thanksgiving | εὐχαριστία | благодарение | [TM] | Low | Thanksgiving | Reuse baseline exactly |
| love | ἀγάπη / agapē | любовь | NEW | Medium | Union with Christ (fruit) | Russian collapses agape/eros/philia into one word; distinguish self-giving sense from romantic connotation |
| hope | ἐλπίς / elpis | надежда | NEW | Medium | Union with Christ | Distinguish certain, promise-grounded hope from vague secular optimism |
| gospel | εὐαγγέλιον | Евангелие | [TM] | Medium | Gospel | Reuse baseline exactly |
| bear fruit | καρποφορέω | приносить плод | NEW | Low | Gospel growth | — |
| knowledge (full) | ἐπίγνωσις / epignōsis | познание | NEW | Medium | Warning Against False Teaching | No lexical distinction from γνῶσις in Russian; contrast with false “knowledge” must be supplied by context |
| wisdom | σοφία / sophia | премудрость / мудрость | NEW | Medium | Warning Against False Teaching | Must be distinguished from φιλοσοφία (Ch. 2) as rival wisdom |
| understanding | σύνεσις / synesis | разумение | NEW | Low | — | — |
| walk worthily | περιπατέω ἀξίως | поступать/жить достойно | NEW | Low | Ethics | Non-literal; do not render περιπατέω as “ходить” |
| rescue/deliver | ῥύομαι / rhyomai | избавил | NEW | Low | Redemption | — |
| domain/authority of darkness | ἐξουσία τοῦ σκότους | власть тьмы | NEW | High | Redemption | Coincides with Tolstoy’s drama title “Власть тьмы” — cultural/literary collision risk |
| kingdom of the Son | βασιλεία τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ | Царство Сына Его | NEW | Medium | Kingdom Mission | Extends TM Царство Божие pattern; same political-resonance caution |
| redemption | ἀπολύτρωσις / apolytrōsis | искупление | NEW | High | Reconciliation / Redemption | Retain “ransom/purchase” imagery explicitly |
| forgiveness of sins | ἄφεσις τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν | прощение грехов | NEW | Medium | Redemption | Legitimate direct sense here (contrast baseline’s justification caution, which does not apply to this Greek term) |
| alienated | ἀπαλλοτριόω | отчуждённые | NEW | Low | Reconciliation | — |
| hostile in mind | ἐχθρός τῇ διανοίᾳ | враги по расположению | NEW | Low | Reconciliation | — |
| blameless/irreproachable | ἄμωμος καὶ ἀνέγκλητος | непорочные и безупречные | NEW | Low | Reconciliation | — |
| mystery | μυστήριον / mystērion | тайна | NEW | Critical | Warning Against False Teaching / Union with Christ | Same root as Orthodox Таинства (Sacraments); clarify Paul’s sense = previously hidden, now openly disclosed truth, not a sacramental rite |
| minister/servant | διάκονος / diakonos | служитель | NEW | Medium | Apostleship | Not диакон (ordained office) |
| struggle/strive | ἀγωνίζομαι / agōnizomai | подвизаться / бороться | NEW | Medium | Christ-Centered Ministry | Resonance with Orthodox ascetic “подвиг/подвижники” — asset and risk |
Chapter 2
| English Term | Greek / Translit. | Russian Rendering | Status | Risk | Doctrine | Key Risk Notes / Rejected Alternatives |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| philosophy | φιλοσοφία | философия | NEW | High | Warning Against False Teaching and Syncretism | Prestigious term in Russian intellectual culture; must target the specific Colossian syncretism, not reasoned inquiry generally |
| tradition of men | παράδοσις τῶν ἀνθρώπων | человеческое предание | NEW | Critical | Warning Against False Teaching and Syncretism | Direct lexical collision with Orthodox Священное Предание (Holy Tradition); mandatory theologian review |
| elemental spirits / elements of the world | στοιχεῖα τοῦ κόσμου | стихии мира | NEW | High | Warning Against False Teaching and Syncretism | Overlaps with New-Age/pop-esoteric “elements” concepts |
| Deity/Godhead | θεότης / theotēs | Божество | NEW | Critical | Fullness of Deity in Christ Bodily | Distinct from Бог (Person); always paired with “whole fullness” qualifier |
| bodily | σωματικῶς / sōmatikōs | телесно | NEW | High | Fullness of Deity in Christ Bodily | Icon-theology asset; guard against spiritualizing drift |
| circumcision/uncircumcision | περιτομή / ἀκροβυστία | обрезание / необрезание | NEW | Medium | Union with Christ | Requires OT covenant background; political sensitivity re: Israel (baseline note) |
| not made with hands | ἀχειροποίητος | нерукотворный | NEW | High | Union with Christ | Identical to “Спас Нерукотворный” icon designation — likely an asset, note explicitly |
| buried with / raised with | συνθάπτω / συνεγείρω | сопогребены / совоскрешены (со Христом) | NEW | Critical | Union with Christ (Died and Raised With Him) | Retain “through faith” qualifier; safer intersection with Orthodox sacramental theology than justification, but still requires explicit faith-qualifier |
| certificate of debt | χειρόγραφον | рукописание / долговая запись | NEW | Medium | Reconciliation through the Cross | Modern gloss recommended alongside archaic Synodal term |
| decrees/regulations | δόγμα / δόγματα | предписания / постановления | NEW | Critical | Reconciliation through the Cross | FORBIDDEN SUBSTITUTION: never render as догматы (Church dogmas) |
| triumph over | θριαμβεύω | восторжествовал (над ними) | NEW | Low-Medium | Reconciliation through the Cross | Roman triumphal-procession imagery needs brief historical gloss |
| shadow / substance | σκιά / σῶμα | тень / тело (сущность) | NEW | Medium | Warning Against False Teaching | Distinct σῶμα sense from 1:18’s ecclesiological “body” — flag the ambiguity |
| humility (positive/false) | ταπεινοφροσύνη | смиренномудрие | NEW | Critical | Warning Against False Teaching / Putting On the New | Same word, positive (3:12) and negative (2:18, 2:23) senses; must not read as critique of Orthodox ascetic virtue generally |
| worship of angels | θρησκεία τῶν ἀγγέλων | служение/почитание Ангелам | NEW | Critical | Warning Against False Teaching and Syncretism | Direct collision with Orthodox angel veneration; distinguish displacing-Christ worship from acknowledgment/veneration practice |
| self-made religion | ἐθελοθρησκία | самовольное благочестие | NEW | Medium | Warning Against False Teaching | Negative “self-willed” sense must be clear |
| severity to the body | ἀφειδία σώματος | немилосердие к телу / изнурение тела | NEW | High | Warning Against False Teaching | Collides with Orthodox ascetic/fasting prestige; not a blanket anti-fasting proof-text |
Chapter 3
| English Term | Greek / Translit. | Russian Rendering | Status | Risk | Doctrine | Key Risk Notes / Rejected Alternatives |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| things above / things on earth | τὰ ἄνω / τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς | горнее / земное | NEW | Medium | Union with Christ | Elevated register; may need modern gloss |
| old self | παλαιὸς ἄνθρωπος | ветхий человек | NEW | Critical | Putting Off the Old Self | Same root as Ветхий Завет (asset); must teach as decisively superseded, already-accomplished status |
| new self | νέος/καινός ἄνθρωπος | новый человек | NEW | Critical | Putting On the New Self | Same root as Новый Завет (asset); East-West tension re: decisive vs. gradual renewal (cf. baseline sanctification/assurance entries) |
| take off / put on | ἀπεκδύομαι / ἐνδύομαι | снять / облечься | NEW | Medium | Putting Off/On | Retain clothing imagery; do not abstract |
| being renewed | ἀνακαινοῦμαι | обновляется | NEW | High | Putting On the New Self | Cross-references εἰκών (1:15); believer renewed “after the image of the Creator” |
| social/ethnic unity list | Ἕλλην/Ἰουδαῖος, περιτομή/ἀκροβυστία, βάρβαρος/Σκύθης, δοῦλος/ἐλεύθερος | Еллин/Иудей, обрезание/необрезание, варвар, скиф, раб/свободный | NEW | High | Unity in Christ | Скиф needs historical gloss; раб sets up household code below |
| bowels of mercy | σπλάγχνα οἰκτιρμοῦ | милосердие / сострадание | NEW | Low | Putting On the New Self | Idiomatic, not literal |
| kindness, meekness, patience | χρηστότης, πραΰτης, μακροθυμία | благость, кротость, долготерпение | NEW | Low | Putting On the New Self | Shared with Galatians 5 established vocabulary |
| forgive graciously | χαρίζομαι | прощать | NEW | Medium | Putting On the New Self | Etymological link to χάρις (grace) worth noting in teaching text |
| bond of perfection | σύνδεσμος τῆς τελειότητος | союз совершенства | NEW | Medium | Putting On the New Self | Archaic Synodal phrasing; modern gloss recommended |
| let [peace] rule | βραβεύω | пусть [мир Христов] владычествует | NEW | Low | Peace with God | Athletic-umpire imagery |
| word of Christ | λόγος τοῦ Χριστοῦ | слово Христово | NEW | Medium | Mutual Edification | Not the Johannine Λόγος title — note distinction |
| psalms, hymns, spiritual songs | ψαλμοί, ὕμνοι, ᾠδαὶ πνευματικαί | псалмы, гимны, духовные песнопения | NEW | Low | Worship | Asset given Orthodox hymnody tradition |
| wives submit / husbands love | γυναῖκες ὑποτάσσεσθε / ἄνδρες ἀγαπᾶτε | жёны, повинуйтесь мужьям / мужья, любите жён | NEW | Critical | Household Codes | Must always teach both clauses together; supply Ephesians 5’s fuller Christological framework |
| children obey / fathers do not provoke | τέκνα ὑπακούετε / πατέρες μὴ ἐρεθίζετε | дети, повинуйтесь родителям / отцы, не раздражайте детей | NEW | Medium | Household Codes | Corrective clause to fathers needs equal weight |
| slaves obey / masters | δοῦλοι ὑπακούετε / κύριοι | рабы, повинуйтесь господам по плоти / господа | NEW | Critical | Household Codes | Requires full historical framing; sensitive re: Russian serfdom memory; never a timeless endorsement |
| favoritism | προσωπολημψία | лицеприятие | NEW | Low | Household Codes | — |
Chapter 4
| English Term | Greek / Translit. | Russian Rendering | Status | Risk | Doctrine | Key Risk Notes / Rejected Alternatives |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| justice and fairness | τὸ δίκαιον καὶ τὴν ἰσότητα | справедливость и равенство | NEW | Medium | Household Codes | справедливость is correct HERE (non-forensic context) — do not over-apply baseline’s Romans-specific caution |
| door for the word | θύρα τοῦ λόγου | дверь для слова | NEW | Medium | Evangelism | Cross-reference baseline “evangelism” doctrine (legal sensitivity) |
| those outside | τοὺς ἔξω | внешние | NEW | Low | Church boundary language | — |
| speech seasoned with salt / gracious speech | ἅλας / χάρις (non-technical) | соль / приятность (речи) | NEW | High | — | χάρις here is NOT благодать (soteriological grace); recommend приятность/любезность with translator note |
| fellow slave/servant | σύνδουλος | сотрудник / сослужитель | NEW | Medium | Christ-Centered Ministry | Literal “fellow-slave” image reapplied honorifically to ministry partnership |
| fully assured / mature | πεπληρωμένοι / πληροφορηθῆτε / τέλειοι | зрелые (совершенные) и уверенные (исполненные) | NEW | Medium | Fullness / Assurance | Echoes πλήρωμα/τελειότης motif; closing bookend to the letter |
| chains/bonds | δεσμά | узы | NEW | Low | Christ-Centered Ministry | — |
| proper names (Tychicus, Onesimus, Aristarchus, Mark, Justus, Epaphras, Luke, Demas, Nympha) | Τυχικός, Ὀνήσιμος, Ἀρίσταρχος, Μᾶρκος, Ἰοῦστος, Ἐπαφρᾶς, Λουκᾶς, Δημᾶς, Νύμφα | Тихик, Онисим, Аристарх, Марк, Иуст, Епафрас, Лука, Димас, Нимфа/Нимфан | NEW | Low | — | Standard Synodal transliterations; Onesimus (Philemon’s slave) has notable teaching value for Household Codes |
Cross-References to Baseline Romans Terms Reused Without Modification
The following terms occur in Colossians and MUST use the baseline Romans translation_memory.json rendering exactly, with no deviation: апостол (apostle), святые (saints), вера/верный (faith/faithful), благодать (grace, technical sense only — see Ch. 4 χάρις exception above), мир (peace), Евангелие (gospel), благодарение (thanksgiving), церковь (church), грех (sin, implied in 3:5-9 vice list), Бог (God), Господь (Lord), Христос (Christ), Иисус (Jesus — never Исус), Святой Дух (Holy Spirit, implied in the letter’s Trinitarian framing though the term itself is not frequent in Colossians), Царство Божие (kingdom of God, extended to “Царство Сына”), избранные/избрание (election/elect, Col 3:12 ἐκλεκτοί — reuse избрание root), слава (glory, Col 1:27, 3:4).
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, field values unchanged. IMPORTANT COLOSSIANS EXCEPTION: at Col 4:6, χάρις is used non-technically (‘gracious/pleasant speech’) and must NOT be rendered благодать — see gracious_speech_non_technical below. All other Colossians occurrences (1:2, 1:6, 3:16, 4:18) use the technical soteriological sense and follow this entry exactly.
Firstborn Of Creation
Approved rendering: рождённый прежде всякой твари
Transliteration: rozhdyonnyy prezhde vsyakoy tvari
Doctrine: Supremacy of Christ over Creation
Rejected alternatives: первенец всякой твари (a literal ‘firstborn of’ construction inviting the reading that Christ is included within creation as its first product)
Original: πρωτότοκος πάσης κτίσεως
Category: Christology
Col 1:15. Must never be taught as ‘the first created being’ — the identical claim advanced historically by Arius and today by a live, recognizable Russian religious minority, Свидетели Иеговы (Jehovah’s Witnesses). Mandatory human theologian review for every occurrence.
Fullness Pleroma
Approved rendering: полнота (always paired with «вся/всё»)
Transliteration: polnota
Doctrine: Fullness of Deity in Christ Bodily
Rejected alternatives: плерома (obscure academic transliteration; would re-import the very esoteric-jargon problem the plain word helps defuse)
Original: πλήρωμα
Category: Christology
Col 1:19; 2:9-10. Likely the false teachers’ own technical term for a divided sum of divine emanations. Must always occur with the ‘all/entire’ (πᾶν) qualifier rendered explicitly (вся полнота), never simply «полнота» unqualified. Mandatory theologian review every occurrence.
Reconciliation
Approved rendering: примирить / примирение
Transliteration: primirit’ / primireniye
Doctrine: Reconciliation through the Cross
Original: ἀποκαταλλάσσω / καταλλάσσω
Category: Salvation
Col 1:20-22. Sits on the same East-West fault line as justification in the Romans baseline: a completed, once-for-all forensic-relational act (aorist ἀποκαταλλάξαι) versus an ongoing synergistic process. State the ‘finished, decisive act’ sense explicitly; frame pastorally, not polemically. Applies at cosmic scope (‘all things’, 1:20), raising the stakes further than Romans’ individual-scope justification material.
Mystery Of Christ
Approved rendering: тайна
Transliteration: tayna
Doctrine: The Mystery of Christ Revealed to All
Rejected alternatives: секрет (too casual/trivial register for a divine plan)
Original: μυστήριον
Category: Salvation
Col 1:26-27; 2:2; 4:3. Shares its root with Таинство/Таинства, the Orthodox technical term for the Sacraments (Baptism, Eucharist, Chrismation). Must be explicitly clarified on first occurrence as a previously hidden divine plan now openly and publicly disclosed to all — the opposite of an esoteric secret reserved for initiates. Frame pastorally, not as a claim about the sacraments. Recurs as a structural keyword across the letter; consistent handling is required at every occurrence.
Philosophy And Tradition
Approved rendering: философия / человеческое предание
Transliteration: filosofiya / chelovecheskoye predaniye
Doctrine: Warning against False Teaching: Philosophy and Human Tradition
Original: φιλοσοφία καὶ παράδοσις τῶν ἀνθρώπων
Category: False Teaching
Col 2:4, 2:8. «Предание» is the precise Russian term for Священное Предание (Holy/Sacred Tradition), the authoritative body of apostolic and patristic teaching in Orthodox theology. Must state unambiguously that Paul condemns THIS specific, human-devised syncretism at Colossae, not the category of received tradition or reasoned inquiry as such. «Философия» is additionally prestigious in Russian intellectual culture (Solovyov, Berdyaev); guard against an anti-intellectualist misreading. Single highest-density lexical collision in the book. Mandatory human theologian review every occurrence.
Deity Theotes
Approved rendering: Божество
Transliteration: Bozhestvo
Doctrine: Fullness of Deity in Christ Bodily
Rejected alternatives: Бог (would collapse the abstract-nature term into the Person)
Original: θεότης
Category: Christology
Col 2:9. Must remain lexically distinct from «Бог» (the Person) and always paired with the ‘whole fullness’ qualifier, consistent with the fullness_pleroma entry. Deity of Christ itself is shared, settled Nicene ground with Russian Orthodoxy and should be taught as a doctrinal asset, not a controversy. Mandatory theologian review for precision, not for defense against a rival framework.
Buried And Raised With Christ
Approved rendering: сопогребены (со Христом) / совоскрешены (с Ним)
Transliteration: sopogrebeny (so Khristom) / sovoskresheny (s Nim)
Doctrine: Union with Christ (Died and Raised With Him)
Original: συνθάπτω / συνεγείρω
Category: Salvation
Col 2:12-13, paralleling Romans 6:4-5. A genuinely safer intersection with Orthodox theology than justification (baptismal union with Christ’s death/resurrection is shared, developed ground in Orthodox sacramental theology) — but the qualifying phrase ‘through faith’ (διὰ τῆς πίστεως, 2:12) must always be retained explicitly so the passage is not read as the rite mechanically effecting union apart from faith.
Decrees Regulations
Approved rendering: предписания / постановления
Transliteration: predpisaniya / postanovleniya
Doctrine: Reconciliation through the Cross
Rejected alternatives: догматы (FORBIDDEN — would produce the doctrinally backwards and inflammatory claim that Christian dogmas were cancelled at the cross)
Original: δόγμα / δόγματα
Category: Salvation
Col 2:14. δόγματα must NEVER be rendered «догматы», the modern Russian loanword for the Church’s settled, authoritative core doctrines (e.g. догматы о Троице). This is a mandatory forbidden-substitution rule, not merely a stylistic preference.
Humility Tapeinophrosyne
Approved rendering: смиренномудрие
Transliteration: smirennomudriye
Doctrine: False Asceticism and Self-Made Humility
Original: ταπεινοφροσύνη
Category: False Teaching
Col 2:18, 2:23 (negative sense) and 3:12 (positive, commended virtue) — the SAME Greek word used in both senses. Intersects directly with Russian Orthodox monastic/ascetic spirituality’s supreme virtue смирение. If the negative usage is not carefully distinguished from the positive by context every time, teaching materials risk appearing to critique the entire Orthodox ascetic-monastic tradition rather than the specific, self-devised, angel-directed asceticism Paul actually condemns at Colossae. Mandatory human theologian review every occurrence.
Worship Of Angels
Approved rendering: служение / почитание Ангелам
Transliteration: sluzheniye / pochitaniye Angelam
Doctrine: Worship of Angels and Cosmic Powers
Original: θρησκεία τῶν ἀγγέλων
Category: False Teaching
Col 2:18. Direct collision with the Russian Orthodox devotional tradition of venerating archangels (Michael, Gabriel) and invoking guardian angels in prayer. Must draw a precise line: Paul condemns worship that displaces or rivals Christ’s unique mediatorial sufficiency, not mere acknowledgment of angels’ existence or ministry — the same pastoral care the baseline applies to заступничество/intercession of the saints. Mandatory human theologian review.
Old Self
Approved rendering: ветхий человек
Transliteration: vetkhiy chelovek
Doctrine: Putting Off the Old Self and Putting On the New
Original: παλαιὸς ἄνθρωπος
Category: Sanctification
Col 3:9. Shares its root with Ветхий Завет — a genuine doctrinal asset reinforcing that the old self belongs to a superseded order. Must be taught as a decisive, already-accomplished break (aorist ‘have put off’, 3:9), not an open-ended process, per the same East-West tension flagged Critical for sanctification/assurance in the Romans baseline.
New Self
Approved rendering: новый человек
Transliteration: novyy chelovek
Doctrine: Putting Off the Old Self and Putting On the New
Original: νέος / καινός ἄνθρωπος
Category: Sanctification
Col 3:10. Shares its root with Новый Завет — an asset. Same East-West tension as old_self: teach as a settled fact worked out progressively, not an uncertain synergistic process. Also cross-references εἰκών/образ (1:15) — believers are renewed ‘after the image of the Creator’ — see being_renewed below.
Household Wives Husbands
Approved rendering: жёны, повинуйтесь мужьям … мужья, любите жён (и не будьте к ним суровы)
Transliteration: zhyony, povinuytes’ muzh’yam … muzh’ya, lyubite zhyon (i ne bud’te k nim surovy)
Doctrine: Household Codes: Wives and Husbands
Original: γυναῖκες ὑποτάσσεσθε τοῖς ἀνδράσιν / ἄνδρες ἀγαπᾶτε τὰς γυναῖκας
Category: Household Codes
Col 3:18-19. Must always be taught together as a single, mutually-qualifying unit — the wife’s submission clause (3:18) never in isolation from the husband’s love-and-non-harshness clause (3:19, μὴ πικραίνεσθε). Colossians’ code is terser than Ephesians 5’s parallel; supply that fuller Christological framework explicitly rather than let the bare Colossians form stand unqualified, given contemporary Russian sensitivity to any teaching that could be read as sanctioning domestic authority abuse. Mandatory human theologian review.
Household Slaves Masters
Approved rendering: рабы, повинуйтесь господам по плоти … господа
Transliteration: raby, povinuytes’ gospodam po ploti … gospoda
Doctrine: Household Codes: Masters and Slaves
Original: δοῦλοι ὑπακούετε … τοῖς κατὰ σάρκα κυρίοις / κύριοι
Category: Household Codes
Col 3:22-4:1. First-century household slavery differed substantially from later chattel slavery, but this does not remove the passage’s real pastoral difficulty. May evoke, by cultural association, the historical memory of Russian serfdom (крепостное право, abolished 1861), a significant point of national historical trauma. Teaching text must supply full historical framing, note the passage’s own trajectory toward mutuality (masters too have ‘a Master in heaven,’ 4:1), and never present this as endorsement of any slavery/serfdom system. The capitalization distinction «господа» (masters) vs. «Господь» (the Lord) must be preserved without exception throughout the passage. Mandatory human theologian review.
High Risk Terms
Faith
Approved rendering: вера
Transliteration: vera
Doctrine: Faith
Rejected alternatives: доверие, убеждение
Original: πίστις
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package, field values unchanged. Colossians occurrences: 1:4, 2:5, 2:7, 2:12 (paired explicitly with ‘through faith’ qualifying union with Christ).
Saints
Approved rendering: святые
Transliteration: svyatyye
Doctrine: Sainthood
Rejected alternatives: праведники
Original: ἅγιοι
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package, field values unchanged. Colossians repeats this corporate address more times per chapter than most Pauline letters (1:2, 1:4, 1:12, 1:22, 1:26, 3:12); consistent, explicit corporate framing is especially important here.
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, field values unchanged. Colossians-specific requirement: in the household codes (3:17, 3:22-24, 4:1), maintain the capitalization distinction between «Господь» (the Lord Christ) and «господа» (human masters) with absolute consistency — see household_slaves_masters below.
Church
Approved rendering: церковь
Transliteration: tserkov’
Doctrine: Church as God’s People
Rejected alternatives: храм, собрание (acceptable for local congregation emphasis)
Original: ἐκκλησία
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package, field values unchanged. Colossians relies structurally on the body-of-Christ image (1:18, 1:24, 3:15) more than Romans does; readers must be given the corporate ‘gathered people of God’ frame every time, not the Orthodox institution/building by default.
Sin
Approved rendering: грех
Transliteration: grekh
Doctrine: Universal Human Accountability
Rejected alternatives: ошибка, проступок
Original: ἁμαρτία / παράπτωμα
Category: Sin
Inherited from Romans package, field values unchanged. Col 1:14, 2:11, 2:13 (category); 3:5-9 (concrete vice list) — the weight of the vice list as serious transgression before a personal God must be restored explicitly given post-Soviet flattening of грех into folk-moral register.
Messiah
Approved rendering: Мессия
Transliteration: Messiya
Doctrine: Messianic Promise
Rejected alternatives: спаситель мира (as a stand-alone substitute)
Inherited from Romans package, field values unchanged. Retained for OT covenant-promise background relevant to Col 1:26-27’s fulfillment argument; see messiah_christ below for Colossians’ actual on-page usage (Христос as effective name/title).
Election
Approved rendering: избрание / избранные
Transliteration: izbraniye / izbrannyye
Doctrine: Election
Rejected alternatives: судьба, рок, предопределение (use only with careful qualification)
Original: ἐκλεκτοί
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package, field values unchanged. Col 3:12, ‘God’s chosen ones’ (ἐκλεκτοί). судьба/рок/карма must never substitute.
Image
Approved rendering: образ
Transliteration: obraz
Doctrine: Supremacy of Christ over Creation
Rejected alternatives: икона (avoid limiting the referent to the physical icon object)
Original: εἰκών
Category: Christology
Col 1:15. Established Synodal «образ». Russian Orthodox icon theology grounds icon veneration precisely in this verse — a genuine doctrinal asset — but teaching text must keep the referent personal and Christological (Christ himself as God’s self-disclosure), not the physical icon object. Also connects forward to 3:10 (being_renewed), where believers are remade ‘after the image of the Creator’ — flag this cross-reference explicitly.
Creation Ktisis
Approved rendering: тварь (Scripture register) / творение (teaching register)
Transliteration: tvar’ / tvoreniye
Doctrine: Supremacy of Christ over Creation
Original: κτίσις
Category: Creation
Col 1:15-17, 1:23. Synodal Scripture register uses «тварь», now a very common colloquial insult in modern spoken Russian (‘ты тварь!’). Expository/teaching text should prefer «творение» and gloss «тварь» on first Scripture-quotation occurrence per document.
Cosmic Powers
Approved rendering: престолы, господства, начальства, власти
Transliteration: prestoly, gospodstva, nachal’stva, vlasti
Doctrine: Supremacy of Christ over Creation
Original: θρόνοι, κυριότητες, ἀρχαί, ἐξουσίαι
Category: Creation
Col 1:16, 2:10, 2:15. «Власти» is identical to the word for civil/governmental authority (cf. Romans 13:1 baseline caution). Must disambiguate cosmic/spiritual powers from civil government explicitly every occurrence in Colossians, since these are entirely different arguments from Romans 13.
Head Of The Church
Approved rendering: глава
Transliteration: glava
Doctrine: Christ as Head of the Church
Rejected alternatives: начальник (too flatly administrative)
Original: κεφαλή
Category: Church
Col 1:18a, 2:19. «Глава» defaults in ordinary Russian to an institutional/administrative chief sense (‘глава администрации’); must recover the organic, life-giving headship sense — the body grows FROM the Head (2:19) — not merely a chain-of-command sense.
Body Of Christ
Approved rendering: тело
Transliteration: telo
Doctrine: Church as the Body of Christ
Original: σῶμα
Category: Church
Col 1:18, 1:24, 3:15. Inherits церковь’s High-risk institutional/building default; the corporate, organic membership sense must be actively taught. Note: distinct from the σῶμα sense at 2:17 (shadow_and_substance) — see that entry.
Blood Of The Cross
Approved rendering: Кровь Креста Его
Transliteration: Krov’ Kresta Ego
Doctrine: Reconciliation through the Cross
Original: αἷμα τοῦ σταυροῦ
Category: Salvation
Col 1:20. Atonement-adjacent language; route as the baseline routes Romans 3:25 propitiation language — mandatory human theologian review for every occurrence.
Domain Of Darkness
Approved rendering: власть тьмы
Transliteration: vlast’ t’my
Doctrine: Deliverance from the Domain of Darkness
Original: ἐξουσία τοῦ σκότους
Category: Salvation
Col 1:13. This exact Russian phrase is also the title of Leo Tolstoy’s famous 1886 drama about peasant moral depravity; literate readers may recognize the literary title before the biblical sense. Anchor the phrase firmly to Satan’s spiritual dominion to prevent unintended literary drift.
Redemption Apolytrosis
Approved rendering: искупление
Transliteration: iskupleniye
Doctrine: Redemption and Forgiveness of Sins
Original: ἀπολύτρωσις
Category: Salvation
Col 1:14. Must retain the ransom/purchase imagery explicitly, not flatten into a vague synonym for forgiveness; connects forward to the χειρόγραφον/debt-cancellation imagery of 2:14 (certificate_of_debt).
Elemental Spirits
Approved rendering: стихии мира
Transliteration: stikhii mira
Doctrine: Warning against False Teaching: Philosophy and Human Tradition
Original: στοιχεῖα τοῦ κόσμου
Category: False Teaching
Col 2:8, 2:20. Overlaps with New-Age/pop-esoteric ‘elements’ concepts in contemporary Russian; must be clarified as the specific religious-cosmic bondage Christ has freed believers from, not general ‘elements of nature’ or occult-elemental concepts.
Bodily Somatikos
Approved rendering: телесно
Transliteration: telesno
Doctrine: Fullness of Deity in Christ Bodily
Original: σωματικῶς
Category: Christology
Col 2:9. Icon-theology asset given Orthodoxy’s investment in Christ’s real, physical embodiment; guard against drift toward a vague ‘spiritualized’ reading that would blunt the verse’s emphatic bodily claim.
Not Made With Hands
Approved rendering: нерукотворный
Transliteration: nerukotvornyy
Doctrine: Union with Christ (Died and Raised With Him)
Original: ἀχειροποίητος
Category: Christology
Col 2:11. Standard designation of «Спас Нерукотворный» (Christ Not-Made-by-Hands), one of Russian Orthodoxy’s most venerated icon types. Likely an asset — readers already associate ‘нерукотворный’ with something authentically divine; name the icon association explicitly so it functions as illustration, not unconscious conflation.
Severity To The Body
Approved rendering: немилосердие к телу / изнурение тела
Transliteration: nemiloserdiye k telu / iznureniye tela
Doctrine: False Asceticism and Self-Made Humility
Original: ἀφειδία σώματος
Category: False Teaching
Col 2:23. Collides with the prestige of fasting and bodily discipline in Russian Orthodox monastic tradition. Paul critiques this specific, self-devised, angel-directed asceticism’s ultimate ineffectiveness against fleshly indulgence, not bodily discipline or fasting as such; must not be used as a blanket anti-fasting proof-text.
Being Renewed
Approved rendering: обновляется
Transliteration: obnovlyaetsya
Doctrine: Putting Off the Old Self and Putting On the New
Original: ἀνακαινοῦμαι
Category: Sanctification
Col 3:10. Important cross-reference: the same ‘image’ (образ) vocabulary structures both Christ’s identity (1:15, image of the invisible God) and the believer’s renewal (3:10, renewed after the image of the Creator); losing this connection weakens the letter’s coherence — flag explicitly in teaching materials.
Ethnic Social Unity
Approved rendering: Еллин и Иудей, обрезание и необрезание, варвар, скиф, раб и свободный
Transliteration: Yellin i Iudey, obrezaniye i neobrezaniye, varvar, skif, rab i svobodnyy
Doctrine: Unity of Diverse Peoples in Christ
Original: Ἕλλην/Ἰουδαῖος, περιτομή/ἀκροβυστία, βάρβαρος/Σκύθης, δοῦλος/ἐλεύθερος
Category: Covenant
Col 3:11. Extends the baseline’s unity_of_jews_and_gentiles doctrine (antisemitism-sensitivity) to the fuller Colossians social list. «Скиф» needs a brief historical gloss (a proverbially ‘barbarous’ frontier people, cf. Scythian steppe archaeology in modern Russian awareness). «Раб» must not be softened, since Paul explicitly includes the enslaved, setting up the household code.
Gracious Speech Non Technical
Approved rendering: соль / приятность (речи)
Transliteration: sol’ / priyatnost’ (rechi)
Doctrine: Evangelism and Speech toward Outsiders
Rejected alternatives: благодать (FORBIDDEN here — would dilute the Critical soteriological grace term’s weight throughout the rest of the curriculum)
Original: χάρις (non-technical) / ἅλας
Category: Ethics
Col 4:6. χάρις here is ordinary, non-technical (‘charm/pleasantness of speech’), NOT the soteriological grace locked to благодать elsewhere. Recommend приятность or любезность, with a mandatory translator note explaining the deliberate departure from the default благодать rendering for this one occurrence.
Messiah Christ
Approved rendering: Христос
Transliteration: Khristos
Doctrine: Messianic Promise
Original: Χριστός
Category: Christology
Used throughout Colossians as Christ’s effective title/name. As in Romans, note for readers that Христос carries the messianic-fulfillment meaning (‘Anointed One’), since ordinary usage has worn that meaning smooth. Distinct on-page usage from the baseline’s ‘messiah’ entry (Мессия), which is retained for OT covenant-promise background.
Medium Risk Terms
Gospel
Approved rendering: Евангелие
Transliteration: Yevangeliye
Doctrine: Gospel
Rejected alternatives: благая весть (informal gloss only), хорошая новость
Original: εὐαγγέλιον
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package, field values unchanged. Colossians extends this term’s use with a distinct emphasis: the gospel’s ongoing, worldwide fruit-bearing and growth (Col 1:5-6, 1:10, 1:23), not only proclamation. Guard against Евангелие defaulting to ‘the book’ rather than a living, spreading announcement.
Apostle
Approved rendering: апостол
Transliteration: apostol
Doctrine: Apostleship
Rejected alternatives: посланник, проповедник
Original: ἀπόστολος
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package, field values unchanged. Col 1:1.
Holy
Approved rendering: святой
Transliteration: svyatoy
Doctrine: Sanctification
Rejected alternatives: чистый, непорочный
Original: ἅγιος
Category: Sanctification
Inherited from Romans package, field values unchanged. Col 1:2, 1:22, 3:12.
Resurrection
Approved rendering: воскресение
Transliteration: voskreseniye
Doctrine: Resurrection of Christ
Rejected alternatives: оживление, реинкарнация
Original: ἀνάστασις / ἐγείρω
Category: Eschatology
Inherited from Romans package, field values unchanged. Col 1:18, 2:12, 3:1. Directly connects to firstborn_from_the_dead and buried_and_raised_with_christ entries below.
Son Of God
Approved rendering: Сын Божий
Transliteration: Syn Bozhiy
Doctrine: Sonship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: божественный посланник
Original: υἱὸς αὐτοῦ (ὁ ἀγαπητός)
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package, field values unchanged. Col 1:13 names Christ directly as ‘His beloved Son’; implied throughout the hymn of 1:15-20.
Peace
Approved rendering: мир
Transliteration: mir
Doctrine: Peace with God
Rejected alternatives: спокойствие, покой
Original: εἰρήνη
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package, field values unchanged. Col 1:2, 1:20, 3:15. See also make_peace (εἰρηνοποιέω) below for the related verb form in 1:20.
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, field values unchanged. Col 4:11. Cross-reference kingdom_of_the_son below for Col 1:13’s distinct phrasing.
Glory
Approved rendering: слава
Transliteration: slava
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: почёт, величие
Original: δόξα
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package, field values unchanged. Col 1:11, 1:27, 3:4.
Power Of God
Approved rendering: сила Божия
Transliteration: sila Bozhiya
Doctrine: Power of God for Salvation
Rejected alternatives: энергия
Original: δύναμις
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package, field values unchanged. Col 1:11, 1:29. энергия must not be substituted, avoiding the specialized Palamite ‘uncreated energies’ debate.
Father
Approved rendering: Отец
Transliteration: Otets
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
Rejected alternatives: батюшка (reserve exclusively for addressing an Orthodox priest)
Original: πατήρ
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package, field values unchanged. Col 1:2, 1:3, 1:12, 3:17.
Jesus
Approved rendering: Иисус
Transliteration: Iisus
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: Исус (Old Believer spelling, avoid)
Original: Ἰησοῦς
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package, field values unchanged. Never the Old Believer spelling Исус. Col 1:1, 3:17, 4:11.
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, field values unchanged. Occurs throughout Colossians.
Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: Святой Дух
Transliteration: Svyatoy Dukh
Doctrine: Sanctification
Rejected alternatives: дух (never use alone), энергия
Original: πνεῦμα
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package, field values unchanged. Col 1:8 (sphere of the Colossians’ love).
Mission
Approved rendering: миссия / благовестие
Transliteration: missiya / blagovestiye
Doctrine: Mission to the Nations
Rejected alternatives: пропаганда (never use)
Inherited from Romans package, field values unchanged. Col 4:3-4 (Paul’s request for an open door for проповедь even from prison). благовестие is preferable to миссионерство given legal sensitivity around registered-premises evangelism in contemporary Russia.
Covenant
Approved rendering: завет
Transliteration: zavet
Doctrine: Davidic Covenant
Rejected alternatives: договор, соглашение
Inherited from Romans package, field values unchanged. Retained for OT covenant-sign background needed to teach circumcision_uncircumcision below (Col 2:11, 2:13, 3:11); not itself a frequent lexical item in Colossians but necessary background vocabulary.
Firstborn From The Dead
Approved rendering: первенец из мёртвых
Transliteration: pervenets iz myortvykh
Doctrine: Resurrection of Christ
Rejected alternatives: рождённый прежде мёртвых (would wrongly merge with the deliberately distinct v.15 rendering)
Original: πρωτότοκος ἐκ τῶν νεκρῶν
Category: Christology
Col 1:18. Deliberately distinct Synodal rendering from v.15’s use of the same Greek root (πρωτότοκος); teaching material must explain why the ‘same’ Greek word receives two different Russian renderings within the same passage.
Hold Together
Approved rendering: [всё] Им стоит / держится
Transliteration: [vsyo] Im stoit / derzhitsya
Doctrine: Supremacy of Christ over Creation
Original: συνίστημι
Category: Christology
Col 1:17. «Стоит» can sound passive/static in modern Russian; gloss as ‘continually held together and sustained by him,’ not a one-time act followed by divine withdrawal.
Beginning Arche
Approved rendering: начаток
Transliteration: nachatok
Doctrine: Supremacy of Christ over Creation
Rejected alternatives: начало (mere temporal start — rejected by established Synodal precedent)
Col 1:18. Synodal deliberately renders as ‘начаток’ (firstfruits/originator), not the more literal ‘начало’; explain this deliberate choice in teaching material.
Preeminence
Approved rendering: [иметь во всём] первенство
Transliteration: [imet’ vo vsyom] pervenstvo
Doctrine: Supremacy of Christ over Creation
Original: πρωτεύω
Category: Christology
Col 1:18b. Must be tied explicitly back to both creation (1:15-17) and church (1:18a) so ‘in everything’ reads as truly comprehensive, not limited to ecclesial matters.
Dwell Katoikeo
Approved rendering: обитать
Transliteration: obitat’
Doctrine: Fullness of Deity in Christ Bodily
Original: κατοικέω
Category: Christology
Col 1:19; 2:9. Note the ‘permanent residence vs. temporary visiting’ contrast (κατοικέω vs. παροικέω) explicitly in teaching material; обитать alone does not automatically convey it.
Make Peace
Approved rendering: умиротворив
Transliteration: umirotvoriv
Doctrine: Peace of Christ Ruling the Heart
Original: εἰρηνοποιέω
Category: Salvation
Col 1:20. Related to baseline’s Medium-risk мир entry; this verse’s judicial/sacrificial peace secured by the cross must not be read as merely political peace, given мир’s dual ‘world/political peace’ senses and 20th-century war-memory associations.
Love Agape
Approved rendering: любовь
Transliteration: lyubov’
Doctrine: Love as the Bond of Unity
Original: ἀγάπη
Category: Faith
Col 1:4, 1:8, 3:14. Russian любовь is the single word covering agape/eros/philia; teaching text must actively distinguish self-giving, others-directed Christian love from the word’s broad secular/romantic connotations, especially as the culminating ‘bond of perfection’ (3:14).
Hope Elpis
Approved rendering: надежда
Transliteration: nadezhda
Doctrine: Christian Hope
Original: ἐλπίς
Category: Faith
Col 1:5, 1:23, 1:27. Надежда is common secular vocabulary for uncertain wishing (‘надеюсь, что…’); the certain, promise-grounded biblical sense — including ‘Christ in you, the hope of glory’ (1:27) — must be distinguished from vague optimism.
Knowledge Epignosis
Approved rendering: познание
Transliteration: poznaniye
Doctrine: Wisdom and Knowledge in Christ
Original: ἐπίγνωσις
Category: Faith
Col 1:9-10; cf. 2:3, 2:8. Russian does not lexically distinguish ἐπίγνωσις from γνῶσις (both render as знание/познание); the contrast with the false teachers’ claimed ‘knowledge’ must be supplied by context, not word choice alone.
Wisdom Sophia
Approved rendering: премудрость (divine) / мудрость (general)
Transliteration: premudrost’ / mudrost’
Doctrine: Wisdom and Knowledge in Christ
Original: σοφία
Category: Faith
Col 1:9, 1:28, 2:3, 4:5. Must be distinguished from the prestigious secular «философия» of Ch. 2 as a rival, speculative wisdom system; true wisdom is ‘in Christ,’ not a competing intellectual tradition.
Kingdom Of The Son
Approved rendering: Царство Сына Его
Transliteration: Tsarstvo Syna Ego
Doctrine: Kingdom of the Son
Rejected alternatives: государство Сына Его
Original: βασιλεία τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ
Category: Kingdom
Col 1:13. Extends baseline’s Царство Божие pattern; retains the same political-resonance caution given Russia’s imperial ‘tsardom’ history and Soviet state-power framing.
Forgiveness Of Sins
Approved rendering: прощение грехов
Transliteration: proshcheniye grekhov
Doctrine: Redemption and Forgiveness of Sins
Original: ἄφεσις τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν
Category: Salvation
Col 1:14. Legitimate direct sense here; unlike the baseline’s caution that оправдание must not collapse into прощение грехов, no conflict exists — ἄφεσις is a different Greek term in a different argument.
Minister Diakonos
Approved rendering: служитель
Transliteration: sluzhitel’
Doctrine: Apostleship and Ministry
Rejected alternatives: диакон (specific ordained office of deacon — do not use for this general sense)
Original: διάκονος
Category: Church
Col 1:7, 1:23, 1:25, 4:7. Must not be read as the ordained office диакон; general ‘servant of the gospel/church’ sense.
Struggle Agonizomai
Approved rendering: подвизаться / бороться
Transliteration: podvizat’sya / borot’sya
Doctrine: Suffering for the Sake of the Church
Original: ἀγωνίζομαι
Category: Church
Col 1:29; 4:12. Resonance with Orthodox ascetic ‘подвиг/подвижники’ vocabulary — a cultural asset, but risks importing specifically monastic overtones into Paul’s/Epaphras’s apostolic ministry and prayer; use with a contextual note.
Circumcision Uncircumcision
Approved rendering: обрезание / необрезание
Transliteration: obrezaniye / neobrezaniye
Doctrine: Union with Christ (Died and Raised With Him)
Original: περιτομή / ἀκροβυστία
Category: Covenant
Col 2:11, 2:13, 3:11. Requires OT covenant background explanation given generally low sustained OT narrative literacy; intersects with political sensitivity around the proper name Israel, though the referent here is entirely the OT covenant sign, reapplied spiritually.
Certificate Of Debt
Approved rendering: рукописание / долговая запись
Transliteration: rukopisaniye / dolgovaya zapis’
Doctrine: Reconciliation through the Cross
Original: χειρόγραφον
Category: Salvation
Col 2:14. Archaic Synodal рукописание should be paired with the modern gloss долговая запись for clarity; vivid legal-financial imagery reinforcing reconciliation through the cross.
Triumph Over
Approved rendering: восторжествовал (над ними)
Transliteration: vostorzhestvoval (nad nimi)
Doctrine: Reconciliation through the Cross
Original: θριαμβεύω
Category: Salvation
Col 2:15. The Roman military-triumphal-procession custom is unfamiliar to most Russian readers and needs a brief historical explanation for the imagery to land with its full force; the risk here is explanatory, not doctrinal.
Shadow And Substance
Approved rendering: тень … тело (сущность)
Transliteration: ten’ … telo (sushchnost’)
Doctrine: Ceremonial Regulations Fulfilled in Christ
Original: σκιά / σῶμα
Category: False Teaching
Col 2:17. A distinct sense of σῶμα from the ecclesiological ‘body’ of 1:18 (body_of_christ); flag this same-word-different-sense ambiguity explicitly in teaching notes, parallel to the letter’s own deliberate distinct handling of πρωτότοκος (1:15 vs. 1:18).
Self Made Religion
Approved rendering: самовольное благочестие
Transliteration: samovol’noye blagochestiye
Doctrine: False Asceticism and Self-Made Humility
Rejected alternatives: добровольное благочестие (could sound like a positive ‘voluntary devotion’ rather than the negative ‘self-willed, uncommanded’ sense)
Original: ἐθελοθρησκία
Category: False Teaching
Col 2:23. The negative sense — religion devised by human will rather than divine command — must be unmistakable.
Things Above And On Earth
Approved rendering: горнее / земное
Transliteration: gornee / zemnoye
Doctrine: Union with Christ (Died and Raised With Him)
Original: τὰ ἄνω / τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς
Category: Sanctification
Col 3:1-2. «Горнее» is an elevated, somewhat archaic register word; may need a brief modern gloss (‘небесное/духовное’) for readers with lower biblical-literary vocabulary.
Take Off Put On
Approved rendering: снять (как одежду) / облечься (в…)
Transliteration: snyat’ (kak odezhdu) / oblech’sya (v…)
Doctrine: Putting Off the Old Self and Putting On the New
Rejected alternatives: отказаться от / принять (too abstract, loses the vivid clothing imagery)
Original: ἀπεκδύομαι / ἐνδύομαι
Category: Sanctification
Col 3:8-14. Retain the clothing metaphor structuring the entire ethical section; do not abstract into generic ‘abandon/adopt’.
Forgive Graciously
Approved rendering: прощать
Transliteration: proshchat’
Doctrine: Christian Ethics: Vice and Virtue
Original: χαρίζομαι
Category: Sanctification
Col 3:13. Shares the root χάρις/благодать; worth noting the etymological grace-connection explicitly in teaching text (forgiveness modeled on grace received), though this does not require repeating благодать itself each time.
Bond Of Perfection
Approved rendering: союз совершенства
Transliteration: soyuz sovershenstva
Doctrine: Love as the Bond of Unity
Original: σύνδεσμος τῆς τελειότητος
Category: Sanctification
Col 3:14. Archaic Synodal phrasing (‘совокупность совершенства’); modern-register gloss recommended: ‘любовь, которая связывает всё в одно совершенное целое.‘
Word Of Christ
Approved rendering: слово Христово
Transliteration: slovo Khristovo
Doctrine: Wisdom and Knowledge in Christ
Original: λόγος τοῦ Χριστοῦ
Category: Sanctification
Col 3:16. Not the Christological title ‘the Word’ (ὁ Λόγος, John 1:1); make this distinction explicit if cross-referenced with a Johannine study elsewhere in the curriculum.
Household Children Fathers
Approved rendering: дети, повинуйтесь родителям … отцы, не раздражайте детей
Transliteration: deti, povinuytes’ roditelyam … ottsy, ne razdrazhayte detey
Doctrine: Household Codes: Children and Fathers
Original: τέκνα ὑπακούετε τοῖς γονεῦσιν / πατέρες μὴ ἐρεθίζετε
Category: Household Codes
Col 3:20-21. The corrective clause to fathers (‘do not provoke/embitter’) must be given equal teaching weight, not treated as a minor addendum to the children’s obedience clause.
Justice And Fairness
Approved rendering: справедливость и равенство
Transliteration: spravedlivost’ i ravenstvo
Doctrine: Household Codes: Masters and Slaves
Original: τὸ δίκαιον καὶ τὴν ἰσότητα
Category: Household Codes
Col 4:1. Unlike δικαιοσύνη (Romans), where the baseline forbids справедливость as a false friend for праведность, here δίκαιον/ἰσότης are genuinely ordinary ethical-fairness terms in a non-forensic context, so справедливость is the CORRECT choice — do not over-apply the Romans-specific caution in this household-ethics context.
Door For The Word
Approved rendering: дверь для слова
Transliteration: dver’ dlya slova
Doctrine: Evangelism and Speech toward Outsiders
Original: θύρα τοῦ λόγου
Category: Mission
Col 4:3. Connects to the baseline’s evangelism doctrine entry (legal restrictions on missionary/evangelistic activity outside registered religious premises in contemporary Russia).
Fellow Slave Minister
Approved rendering: сотрудник / сослужитель
Transliteration: sotrudnik / sosluzhitel’
Doctrine: Apostleship and Ministry
Rejected alternatives: товарищ по рабству (overly literal, obscures the honorific ministry-partnership sense Paul intends)
Original: σύνδουλος
Category: Church
Col 4:7, 4:10. The underlying image is literally ‘fellow-slave’, the same social term flagged Critical in household_slaves_masters; this deliberate, honorific reapplication of slave-language to ministry partnership is worth surfacing in teaching material, though the rendering itself should use the ministry-partnership sense.
Fully Assured Mature
Approved rendering: зрелые (совершенные) и уверенные (исполненные)
Transliteration: zrelyye (sovershennyye) i uverennyye (ispolnennyye)
Doctrine: Assurance and Maturity in Christ
Original: πεπληρωμένοι / πληροφορηθῆτε / τέλειοι
Category: Sanctification
Col 4:12. Shares the πλήρωμα/τελειότης word family already flagged Critical (1:19, 3:14); the letter’s closing echo of its opening ‘fullness’ theme.
Low Risk Terms
Thanksgiving
Approved rendering: благодарение
Transliteration: blagodareniye
Doctrine: Thanksgiving
Original: εὐχαριστία / εὐχαριστέω
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package, field values unchanged. Col 1:3, 1:12, 2:7, 3:15, 3:17, 4:2.
Exhort
Approved rendering: увещевать / вразумлять
Transliteration: uveshchevat’ / vrazumlyat’
Doctrine: Mutual Edification
Inherited from Romans package, field values unchanged (extended to вразумлять for νουθετέω). Col 1:28, 3:16.
Invisible
Approved rendering: невидимый
Transliteration: nevidimyy
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Original: ἀόρατος
Category: Christology
Col 1:15, 1:16. Standard, unambiguous.
Well Pleased
Approved rendering: благоугодно было
Transliteration: blagougodno bylo
Doctrine: Fullness of Deity in Christ Bodily
Original: εὐδοκέω
Category: God
Col 1:19. Established Synodal rendering; the Father’s sovereign, gracious resolve.
Bear Fruit
Approved rendering: приносить плод
Transliteration: prinosit’ plod
Doctrine: Gospel Growth and Fruitfulness
Original: καρποφορέω
Category: Faith
Col 1:6, 1:10.
Understanding Synesis
Approved rendering: разумение
Transliteration: razumeniye
Doctrine: Wisdom and Knowledge in Christ
Original: σύνεσις
Category: Faith
Col 1:9, 2:2.
Walk Worthily
Approved rendering: поступать / жить достойно
Transliteration: postupat’ / zhit’ dostoyno
Doctrine: Christian Ethics: Vice and Virtue
Rejected alternatives: ходить (overly literal rendering of περιπατέω in ethical contexts)
Original: περιπατέω ἀξίως
Category: Ethics
Col 1:10. Non-literal idiom for conduct/lifestyle; do not render περιπατέω literally as ‘ходить’.
Alienated
Approved rendering: отчуждённые
Transliteration: otchuzhdyonnyye
Doctrine: Reconciliation through the Cross
Original: ἀπαλλοτριόω
Category: Salvation
Col 1:21.
Virtue And Compassion List
Approved rendering: милосердие, благость, кротость, долготерпение
Transliteration: miloserdiye, blagost’, krotost’, dolgoterpeniye
Doctrine: Christian Ethics: Vice and Virtue
Original: σπλάγχνα οἰκτιρμοῦ, χρηστότης, πραΰτης, μακροθυμία
Category: Sanctification
Col 3:12. Idiomatic Hebraic ‘bowels of mercy’ rendered non-literally; established terms shared with the Galatians 5 fruit-of-the-Spirit list.
Let Peace Rule
Approved rendering: пусть [мир Христов] владычествует
Transliteration: pust’ [mir Khristov] vladychestvuyet
Doctrine: Peace of Christ Ruling the Heart
Original: βραβεύω
Category: Sanctification
Col 3:15. Athletic-umpire imagery (βραβεύω); a brief note on this imagery aids comprehension.
Psalms Hymns Songs
Approved rendering: псалмы, гимны, духовные песнопения
Transliteration: psalmy, gimny, dukhovnyye pesnopeniya
Doctrine: Wisdom and Knowledge in Christ
Original: ψαλμοί, ὕμνοι, ᾠδαὶ πνευματικαί
Category: Sanctification
Col 3:16. An asset given Russia’s rich Orthodox liturgical hymnody tradition.
Favoritism
Approved rendering: лицеприятие
Transliteration: litsepriyatiye
Doctrine: Household Codes: Masters and Slaves
Original: προσωπολημψία
Category: Household Codes
Col 3:25.
Those Outside
Approved rendering: внешние
Transliteration: vneshniye
Doctrine: Evangelism and Speech toward Outsiders
Original: τοὺς ἔξω
Category: Mission
Col 4:5.
Referenced passages