Core Glossary
Core Glossary — Ephesians (English → Russian)
This glossary extends translation_memory.json and bible_term_registry.json from the baseline Romans Language Package. Terms marked [REUSE] carry an established Russian rendering from the baseline and MUST be used exactly as recorded there; no alternative rendering is permitted regardless of context within Ephesians. Terms marked [NEW] are introduced by this curriculum and require new risk-tier assignment, review routing, and (where noted) explicit forbidden-substitution rules to be added to translation memory before Phase 2 begins.
Risk tier definitions follow doctrine_risk_registry.json exactly (Critical/High/Medium/Low; review routing: human theologian / native speaker / automated).
Glossary Table
| # | English Term | Greek / Transliteration | Russian Rendering | Status | Doctrine Risk | Curriculum Doctrine | Primary Passages | Review Routing | Risk Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Grace | χάρις / charis | благодать | REUSE | Critical | Salvation by Grace through Faith | 1:2,6-7; 2:5,7-8; 4:7 | Human theologian | Baseline caution applies in full; do not let благодать default into uncreated-energies/theosis framework. |
| 2 | Faith | πίστις / pistis | вера | REUSE | High | Salvation by Grace through Faith | 1:15; 2:8; 3:12,17; 4:5,13; 6:16 | Human theologian | Baseline caution: distinguish personal Christ-directed trust from “being Orthodox.” |
| 3 | Salvation / Saved | σωτηρία, σῴζω / sōtēria, sōzō | спасение / спасены | REUSE | Critical | Salvation by Grace through Faith | 1:13; 2:5,8; 6:17 | Human theologian | Anchor to a decisive, completed act (2:5,8 perfect tense), not open-ended theosis process. |
| 4 | Works | ἔργα / erga | дела | NEW | Critical | Salvation by Grace through Faith | 2:9-10 | Human theologian | Sharpest single Reformation/Orthodox-synergism collision point; must state ground-vs-fruit distinction explicitly (excluded as ground in 2:9, affirmed as fruit in 2:10). |
| 5 | Gift | δῶρον, δωρεά / dōron, dōrea | дар | NEW | High | Salvation by Grace through Faith | 2:8; 4:7 | Human theologian | Must denote a complete, fully-received gift, not “starting capital” for further meritorious cooperation. |
| 6 | Boast | καυχάομαι / kauchaomai | хвалиться | NEW | Medium | Salvation by Grace through Faith | 2:9 | Native speaker | Standard; low ambiguity. |
| 7 | Dead (spiritually) | νεκρός / nekros | мёртвый | NEW | Medium | Salvation by Grace through Faith | 2:1,5 | Native speaker | Secular idiom risks flattening total spiritual incapacity into a figure of speech. |
| 8 | Trespass | παράπτωμα / paraptōma | преступление | NEW | High | Salvation by Grace through Faith / Universal Human Accountability | 2:1,5 | Human theologian | преступление’s ordinary “crime” sense risks a narrow legalistic reading vs. Paul’s broader moral-theological sense. |
| 9 | Mercy | ἔλεος / eleos | милость | NEW | Medium | Salvation by Grace through Faith | 2:4 | Native speaker | Baseline rejected милость as a substitute for grace; here it correctly renders a distinct Greek word and must not be silently merged with благодать. |
| 10 | Workmanship | ποίημα / poiēma | творение | NEW | Medium | Salvation by Grace through Faith / Walking in Newness of Life | 2:10 | Native speaker | творение evokes general creation doctrine; clarify the specific individual re-creation sense. |
| 11 | Election / Chose | ἐκλογή, ἐκλέγομαι / eklogē, eklegomai | избрание / избрал | REUSE | High | Election and Predestination in Christ | 1:4,11 | Human theologian | Baseline caution: never судьба/рок/карма. |
| 12 | Predestined | προορίζω / proorizō | предопределил | NEW | Critical | Election and Predestination in Christ | 1:5,11 | Human theologian | Highest-priority new term: explicit, unavoidable predestination language largely foreign to Orthodox soteriology’s developed categories; requires careful pastoral framing distinguishing sovereign personal choice from impersonal fate. |
| 13 | Foreknown / Prepared beforehand | προγινώσκω, προετοιμάζω / proginōskō, proetoimazō | предузнал / предназначил заранее | NEW | High | Election and Predestination in Christ | 1:5,11; 2:10 | Human theologian | Shares προορίζω’s sensitivity; extend even to believer’s good works (2:10). |
| 14 | Calling | κλῆσις, κλητός / klēsis, klētos | призвание / призванный | REUSE | Medium-High | Election and Predestination in Christ | 1:18; 4:1,4 | Native speaker | Baseline caution: distinguish from судьба/предназначение (fatalism). |
| 15 | Church | ἐκκλησία / ekklēsia | церковь | REUSE | High | The Church as the Body of Christ | 1:22; 3:10,21; 5:23-32 | Human theologian | Baseline caution: default Orthodox-institution/building reading must be explicitly countered. |
| 16 | Body (of Christ, ecclesial) | σῶμα / sōma | тело | NEW | High | The Church as the Body of Christ | 1:23; 2:16; 4:4,12,16,25; 5:23,30 | Human theologian | Distinct new collision beyond церковь: risk of conflation with the Eucharistic “Тело Христово.” Keep ecclesial/corporate sense distinct from sacramental referent. |
| 17 | Fullness | πλήρωμα / plērōma | полнота | NEW | Medium | The Church as the Body of Christ | 1:23; 3:19; 4:13 | Native speaker | Abstract; requires unpacking, not assumed intuitive. |
| 18 | Temple | ναός / naos | храм | NEW | High | The Church as the Body of Christ | 2:21 | Human theologian | храм is the everyday word for a physical Orthodox church building; risk of undercutting the very “not a building” point being made. |
| 19 | Foundation / Cornerstone | θεμέλιος, ἀκρογωνιαῖος λίθος / themelios, akrogōniaios lithos | основание / краеугольный камень | NEW | Low | The Church as the Body of Christ | 2:20 | Automated | Well-established, standard Christian metaphor. |
| 20 | Head | κεφαλή / kephalē | глава | NEW | High | The Church as the Body of Christ / Household Codes | 1:22; 4:15; 5:23 | Human theologian | Must be read through the passage’s own self-giving-love analogy, not generic cultural headship. |
| 21 | Dividing Wall (of Hostility) | τὸ μεσότοιχον τοῦ φραγμοῦ / to mesotoichon tou phragmou | разделяющая стена / преграда | NEW | High | Unity of Jews and Gentiles in One New Humanity | 2:14 | Human theologian | Central image of the doctrine; inherits baseline’s antisemitism-history caution in full. |
| 22 | Hostility / Enmity | ἔχθρα / echthra | вражда | NEW | High | Unity of Jews and Gentiles in One New Humanity | 2:14,16 | Human theologian | Same antisemitism-history caution as baseline’s Jew-Gentile unity entry. |
| 23 | One New Man / New Humanity | καινὸς ἄνθρωπος (corporate) / kainos anthrōpos | новый человек (corporate sense) | NEW | High | Unity of Jews and Gentiles in One New Humanity | 2:15 | Human theologian | Must be read corporately (a genuinely new third entity) and kept distinct from 4:24’s individual sense of the identical phrase. |
| 24 | Reconcile | ἀποκαταλλάσσω / apokatallassō | примирить | NEW | High | Unity of Jews and Gentiles / Peace with God | 2:16 | Human theologian | Double reconciliation (vertical + horizontal) must not be reduced to only one dimension. |
| 25 | Fellow heirs / fellow members / fellow partakers | συγκληρονόμος, σύσσωμος, συμμέτοχος | сонаследники / сотелесники / сопричастники | NEW | High | Unity of Jews and Gentiles in One New Humanity | 3:6 | Human theologian | Tightest single-verse summary of full, equal, undivided sharing; ties to усыновление/наследие. |
| 26 | Circumcision / Uncircumcision | περιτομή / ἀκροβυστία | обрезание / необрезание | NEW | Low | Unity of Jews and Gentiles in One New Humanity | 2:11 | Automated | Standard established Bible terms; needs OT background, not term-level risk. |
| 27 | Covenant | διαθήκη / diathēkē | завет | REUSE | Medium | Unity of Jews and Gentiles in One New Humanity | 2:12 | Native speaker | — |
| 28 | Access | πρόσαγωγή / prosagōgē | доступ | NEW | Low | Unity of Jews and Gentiles / The Mystery of Christ Revealed | 2:18; 3:12 | Automated | Standard. |
| 29 | Fellow citizens / Household of God | συμπολίτης, οἰκεῖος τοῦ θεοῦ | сограждане / свои Богу | NEW | Medium | Unity of Jews and Gentiles in One New Humanity | 2:19 | Native speaker | Standard family/belonging vocabulary. |
| 30 | Mystery | μυστήριον / mystērion | тайна | NEW | Critical | The Mystery of Christ Revealed | 1:9; 3:3-9; 5:32; 6:19 | Human theologian | Highest-priority new term: direct root-collision with Таинство (Sacrament). Must be explicitly distinguished from sacramental theology every occurrence. |
| 31 | Stewardship / Dispensation | οἰκονομία / oikonomia | домостроительство | NEW | Medium | The Mystery of Christ Revealed | 1:10; 3:2,9 | Native speaker | Genuine positive overlap with Orthodox “Divine Economy” category; keep Paul’s specific sense from diluting into broader usage. |
| 32 | Revelation | ἀποκάλυψις / apokalypsis | откровение | NEW | Low-Medium | The Mystery of Christ Revealed | 1:17; 3:3,5 | Native speaker | Standard; shares title with book of Revelation, a mild asset. |
| 33 | Wisdom | σοφία / sophia | премудрость / мудрость | NEW | High | The Mystery of Christ Revealed | 1:8,17; 3:10 | Human theologian | Russia-specific risk: collision with Софиология (Sophiology), a controversial Russian religious-philosophical treatment of divine Wisdom as quasi-hypostatic. |
| 34 | Redemption | ἀπολύτρωσις / apolytrōsis | искупление | NEW | High | Salvation by Grace / The Mystery of Christ Revealed | 1:7 | Human theologian | Standard term but Orthodox patristic “ransom” framing differs from strict penal-substitution sense; state the specific sense (through his blood, tied to forgiveness) explicitly. |
| 35 | Forgiveness (of sins) | ἄφεσις [ἁμαρτιῶν] / aphesis | прощение [грехов] | NEW | Medium | Salvation by Grace / The Mystery of Christ Revealed | 1:7 | Native speaker | Correct for its own referent; must not absorb оправдание’s forensic sense when used nearby. |
| 36 | Sealed (with the Spirit) | σφραγίζω / sphragizō | запечатление / запечатлеть | NEW | Critical | The Mystery of Christ Revealed / Assurance | 1:13; 4:30 | Human theologian | Highest-priority new term: near-verbatim collision with Chrismation’s liturgical “seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Clarify mechanism (gospel-faith moment, 1:13) vs. sacramental rite. |
| 37 | Guarantee / Pledge | ἀρραβών / arrabōn | залог | NEW | Medium | The Mystery of Christ Revealed / Assurance | 1:14 | Native speaker | Standard financial/legal term; low ambiguity. |
| 38 | Inheritance | κληρονομία / klēronomia | наследие / наследство | NEW | High | Election / Adoption / Mystery of Christ | 1:11,14,18; 3:6; 5:5 | Human theologian | Extends baseline’s усыновление caution (Soviet orphanage-culture sensitivity); stress full, secure inheritance. |
| 39 | Boldness / Confidence | παρρησία / parrēsia | дерзновение | NEW | Low-Medium | The Mystery of Christ Revealed | 3:12 | Native speaker | Positive asset: established Orthodox devotional term for confident prayer-access. |
| 40 | Power / Working (energeia) | δύναμις / ἐνέργεια / dynamis / energeia | сила / действие — NEVER энергия | NEW | Critical | (cross-cutting: Salvation, Mystery, Spiritual Warfare) | 1:19; 3:7,20; 4:16 | Human theologian | Highest-priority new forbidden-substitution rule: ἐνέργεια must never render as энергия, which names uncreated divine energies in Orthodox Palamite theology; use действие/действующая сила. |
| 41 | Authorities / Rulers (spiritual) | ἀρχή, ἐξουσία / archē, exousia | начала и власти | NEW | Medium-High | Spiritual Warfare and the Armor of God | 1:21; 3:10; 6:12 | Native speaker | Personal, organized spiritual-authority language; keep distinct from folk-occult categories. |
| 42 | Struggle / Wrestling | πάλη / palē | борьба | NEW | Medium | Spiritual Warfare and the Armor of God | 6:12 | Native speaker | Close-combat nuance may be lost in generic rendering; note in exposition. |
| 43 | Full Armor of God | πανοπλία / panoplia | всеоружие [Божие] | NEW | Medium-High | Spiritual Warfare and the Armor of God | 6:11,13 | Native speaker | Military imagery resonates strongly with Russian WWII memory; keep metaphor spiritual/defensive, avoid nationalist-militarist co-optation. |
| 44 | Cosmic Powers / World Rulers | κοσμοκράτωρ / kosmokratōr | мироправители [тьмы века сего] | NEW | High | Spiritual Warfare and the Armor of God | 6:12 | Human theologian | Must be distinguished from live post-Soviet folk-occult categories (порча, сглаз, экстрасенсы); extends baseline’s spiritual-gifts caution. |
| 45 | Schemes / Wiles | μεθοδεία / methodeia | козни [диавольские] | NEW | Low-Medium | Spiritual Warfare and the Armor of God | 6:11 | Automated | Standard established phrase. |
| 46 | Armor components (belt, breastplate, shield, helmet, sword) | ζώνη, θώραξ, θυρεός, περικεφαλαία, μάχαιρα | пояс истины, броня праведности, щит веры, шлем спасения, меч духовный | NEW | Medium | Spiritual Warfare and the Armor of God | 6:14-17 | Native speaker | Each component reuses already-Critical/High baseline terms (праведность, вера, спасение); ensure not read as self-generated combat tools apart from grace. |
| 47 | Ambassador | πρεσβεύω / presbeuō | посол | NEW | Low-Medium | Spiritual Warfare and the Armor of God (closing) | 6:20 | Automated | Standard; reinforces apostolic authority under real imprisonment. |
| 48 | Submit / Be Subject To | ὑποτάσσω / hypotassō | повиноваться / подчиняться / покоряться | NEW | High | Household Codes and Christ-Centered Relationships | 5:21-22,24 | Human theologian | Mutual submission (5:21) must not be lost before the specific wife/husband instruction; culturally sensitive gender-relations term. |
| 49 | Head (of wife/household) | κεφαλή / kephalē | глава | NEW | High | Household Codes and Christ-Centered Relationships | 5:23 | Human theologian | See entry #20; must be read through Christ’s self-sacrificial love analogy (5:25-29), not generic authority. |
| 49b | Savior | σωτήρ / sōtēr | Спаситель | NEW | Medium | Household Codes / Salvation | 5:23 | Native speaker | Standard, tied to established спасение family. |
| 50 | Slave / Bondservant | δοῦλος / doulos | раб | NEW | High (sense-dependent) | Household Codes and Christ-Centered Relationships | 6:5-9 (literal); cf. 1:1-type usage (devotional) | Human theologian | Devotional sense (“раб Божий”) is an established cultural asset; literal socioeconomic sense in 6:5-9 carries heavy serfdom/Gulag historical resonance requiring explicit framing. |
| 51 | Obey | ὑπακούω / hypakouō | повиноваться | NEW | Medium | Household Codes and Christ-Centered Relationships | 6:1,5 | Native speaker | Distinguish stylistically from ὑποτάσσω without over-pressing the distinction in Russian. |
| 52 | Honor | τιμάω / timaō | почитать | NEW | Low | Household Codes and Christ-Centered Relationships | 6:2 | Automated | Standard, established from Decalogue rendering. |
| 53 | Promise | ἐπαγγελία / epangelia | обетование | NEW | Low-Medium | Household Codes and Christ-Centered Relationships | 6:2 | Native speaker | Standard biblical-register term. |
| 54 | Discipline and Instruction of the Lord | παιδεία καὶ νουθεσία κυρίου | учение и наставление Господне | NEW | Low-Medium | Household Codes and Christ-Centered Relationships | 6:4 | Native speaker | Standard, established Synodal phrase. |
| 55 | Partiality / Favoritism | προσωπολημψία / prosōpolēmpsia | лицеприятие | NEW | Low-Medium | Household Codes and Christ-Centered Relationships | 6:9 | Native speaker | Standard theological term. |
| 56 | Spiritual Gifts / Grace-Gift | χάρισμα, δωρεά / charisma, dōrea | духовные дары / дар | REUSE | Medium | Gifts for Building Up the Church | 4:7-8,11 | Native speaker | Baseline caution: never экстрасенсорные способности. |
| 57 | Apostle | ἀπόστολος / apostolos | апостол | REUSE | Medium | Gifts for Building Up the Church | 2:20; 3:5; 4:11 | Native speaker | — |
| 58 | Prophet | προφήτης / prophētēs | пророк | REUSE | Low | Gifts for Building Up the Church | 2:20; 3:5; 4:11 | Automated | — |
| 59 | Evangelist | εὐαγγελιστής / euangelistēs | евангелист | NEW | High | Gifts for Building Up the Church | 4:11 | Human theologian | Collision with the traditional, closed set of the four canonical Gospel-authors (“Евангелисты Матфей, Марк, Лука, Иоанн”); this NT ministry-office sense must be explicitly distinguished. |
| 60 | Pastor / Shepherd | ποιμήν / poimēn | пастор (office) / пастырь (general shepherding sense) | NEW | High | Gifts for Building Up the Church | 4:11 | Human theologian | Choice between Orthodox-flavored пастырь and Protestant-loanword пастор carries real institutional-signal risk either direction; recommend пастор for this specific office to avoid implying Orthodox ordination. |
| 61 | Teacher | διδάσκαλος / didaskalos | учитель | NEW | Low | Gifts for Building Up the Church | 4:11 | Automated | Standard. |
| 62 | Minister / Servant (of the gospel) | διάκονος / diakonos | служитель — avoid диакон here | NEW | Medium-High | Gifts for Building Up the Church | 3:7 | Native speaker | диакон implies formal ordained clerical office; use служитель for Paul’s general gospel-service sense. |
| 63 | Equipping | καταρτισμός / katartismos | для совершенствования / приготовления | NEW | Medium | Gifts for Building Up the Church | 4:12 | Native speaker | Standard; ensure active-equipping-for-service sense, not passive perfection. |
| 64 | Building Up / Edification | οἰκοδομή / oikodomē | назидание / созидание | NEW | Medium | Gifts for Building Up the Church | 4:12,16,29 | Native speaker | Standard theological vocabulary. |
| 65 | Mature / Perfect | τέλειος / teleios | зрелый (preferred) / совершенный (flag) | NEW | Medium | Gifts for Building Up the Church | 4:13 | Native speaker | совершенный defaults to absolute moral perfection in ordinary usage; prefer зрелый to convey developmental maturity. |
| 66 | Unity | ἑνότης / henotēs | единство | NEW | Medium-High | Unity of Jews and Gentiles / Church as Body of Christ | 4:3,13 | Native speaker | Risk of being heard through the lens of institutional экуменизм (ecumenism), viewed with suspicion in official Russian Orthodox discourse; frame as Spirit-given organic unity to be maintained, not negotiated interconfessional merger. |
| 67 | One Baptism | βάπτισμα / baptisma | крещение | NEW | High | Gifts for Building Up the Church / cross-cutting sacramental theology | 4:5 | Human theologian | Live East-West and intra-Protestant sacramental fault line (baptismal regeneration vs. symbolic/confessional baptism); curriculum’s position must be stated explicitly. |
| 68 | Old Self / New Self | παλαιὸς ἄνθρωπος / καινὸς (νέος) ἄνθρωπος | ветхий человек / новый человек | NEW | High | Walking in Newness of Life | 4:22-24 | Human theologian | Must be explicitly linked to Рим. 6:4-6’s established “обновление жизни” phrase, and distinguished from 2:15’s corporate “one new man” sense. |
| 69 | Renewed | ἀνακαινόω / anakainoō | обновляться | NEW | Medium | Walking in Newness of Life | 4:23 | Native speaker | Reuses Рим. 6:4 root; reinforces cross-curriculum doctrinal consistency. |
| 70 | Walk / Conduct Oneself | περιπατέω / peripateō | поступать / ходить (context-sensitive) | NEW | Medium-High | Walking in Newness of Life (structural motif) | 2:2,10; 4:1,17; 5:2,8,15 | Native speaker | Recurring structural verb across the whole letter contrasting old and new “walk”; consistency of recognition (not necessarily identical word choice) across all occurrences is required. |
| 71 | Grieve the Spirit | λυπέω τὸ Πνεῦμα / lypeō to Pneuma | не оскорбляйте Святого Духа | NEW | Medium | Walking in Newness of Life / Holy Spirit’s Personhood | 4:30 | Native speaker | Reinforces the Spirit’s full, relational personhood against any impersonal-force reading (baseline Holy Spirit caution). |
| 72 | Children of Light / Darkness | τέκνα φωτός / σκότους | чада света / дети тьмы | NEW | Low-Medium | Walking in Newness of Life | 5:8 | Native speaker | No competing native dualistic cosmology risk; standard moral-spiritual metaphor. |
| 73 | Filled with the Spirit | πληρόω ἐν Πνεύματι / plēroō en Pneumati | исполняйтесь Духом | NEW | Medium | Walking in Newness of Life | 5:18 | Native speaker | Retain contrast with drunkenness (loss of control) vs. Spirit-given ordered worship. |
| 74 | Heavenly Places | ἐπουράνιος / epouranios | на небесах / в небесных обителях | NEW | Medium | (cross-cutting: Church as Body / Spiritual Warfare) | 1:3,20; 2:6; 3:10; 6:12 | Native speaker | Present spiritual-dimension referent, not only future eschatological “heaven.” |
| 75 | Wrath (divine vs. human) | ὀργή / orgē | гнев | NEW | Medium | Universal Human Accountability / Walking in Newness of Life | 2:3 (divine); 4:26,31 (human) | Native speaker | Same Russian word renders two distinct referents within the letter; must be disambiguated in teaching text every time. |
| 76 | Flesh | σάρξ / sarx | плоть | NEW | Medium | Universal Human Accountability | 2:3 | Native speaker | Risk of ascetic/monastic-mortification reading rather than Paul’s “corrupted disposition” sense. |
| 77 | Peace | εἰρήνη / eirēnē | мир | REUSE | Medium | Peace with God (cross-referenced) | 2:14-17 | Native speaker | Baseline caution: disambiguate from “the world” and from political/military peace. |
| 78 | Holy Spirit | πνεῦμα ἅγιον / pneuma hagion | Святой Дух | REUSE | Critical | Sanctification / Walking in Newness of Life | 1:13; 2:18,22; 3:16; 4:3,30; 5:18; 6:17-18 | Human theologian | Baseline caution: never дух alone; never an impersonal-energy or life-force reading (reinforced by энергия caution above). |
| 79 | Glory | δόξα / doxa | слава | REUSE | Medium | Election and Predestination in Christ | 1:6,12,14,17-18; 3:13,16,21 | Native speaker | Baseline caution: restore weighty theological sense against casual-exclamation flattening. |
| 80 | Gospel | εὐαγγέλιον / euangelion | Евангелие | REUSE | Medium-High | The Mystery of Christ Revealed | 1:13; 3:6-7; 6:15,19 | Human theologian | Baseline caution: restore living-proclamation force, not merely “the book.” |
Notes on Glossary Governance
- Every NEW term above must be added to
translation_memory.json(with version increment) before Phase 2 segment translation of Ephesians begins, per the baseline’s Translation Memory Load and Enforcement Instructions. - Every Critical-risk NEW term (#4 дела, #12 предопределил, #16 тело, #30 тайна, #36 запечатление, #40 действие/never энергия) requires human theologian review for every occurrence, and should be added to the baseline’s “ESCALATION RULES FOR HUMAN REVIEW” list in the AI Translation Requirements document for this curriculum.
- The following forbidden substitutions, specific to Ephesians and additional to the baseline’s existing list, must be enforced at validation:
- Mystery: NEVER let тайна silently resolve into a claim about the sacramental Таинства without explicit clarification.
- Power/Working: NEVER render ἐνέργεια as энергия.
- Sealed: NEVER let запечатление stand without clarifying the gospel-faith moment (1:13) as the described mechanism, rather than assuming a specific sacramental rite.
- Minister (3:7): NEVER use диакон for Paul’s general self-designation; reserve диакон for the formal ordained office only.
- Evangelist (4:11): NEVER leave евангелист unglossed; always distinguish from the four canonical Gospel-writers.
- Works: NEVER let дела (2:9) be softened to “not by works alone” if the source intends unqualified exclusion as ground of salvation.
- Chapter coverage confirmation: all six chapters of Ephesians (1-6) contributed new load-bearing theological vocabulary; no chapter is a “no new terms” chapter in this letter, consistent with Ephesians’ density of distinct doctrinal vocabulary relative to Romans.
Critical Risk Terms
Grace
Approved rendering: благодать
Transliteration: blagodat’
Doctrine: Salvation by Grace through Faith
Rejected alternatives: милость, дар (reserve for δῶρον/δωρεά), везение, удача
Original: χάρις
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Ephesians 2:5,7-8 and 4:7 sharpen the baseline caution: the ‘apart from works’ contrast (2:9) must be stated explicitly every occurrence, not left to default into the Orthodox uncreated-energies/theosis framework.
Salvation
Approved rendering: спасение
Transliteration: spaseniye
Doctrine: Salvation by Grace through Faith
Rejected alternatives: избавление (narrow ‘deliverance’ only), освобождение
Original: σωτηρία / σῴζω
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Еф. 2:5,8’s perfect-passive construction (‘вы спасены’) is grammatically emphatic: a completed act with continuing results. Anchor to this decisive sense; do not let it default into an open-ended theosis process.
Lord
Approved rendering: Господь
Transliteration: Gospod’
Doctrine: The Church as the Body of Christ
Rejected alternatives: хозяин, владыка (liturgical/poetic register only)
Original: κύριος
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. Christ’s exclusive lordship over the church and all things (Еф. 1:2-3,17; 4:1,5; 5:20; 6:1,4).
Jesus
Approved rendering: Иисус
Transliteration: Iisus
Doctrine: The Mystery of Christ Revealed
Rejected alternatives: Исус (Old Believer spelling, avoid)
Original: Ἰησοῦς
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. Never Исус.
God
Approved rendering: Бог
Transliteration: Bog
Doctrine: God as source of every spiritual blessing
Rejected alternatives: Всевышний (poetic synonym only)
Original: θεός
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Еф. 1:3,17; 4:6.
Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: Святой Дух
Transliteration: Svyatoy Dukh
Doctrine: Sealing and Assurance by the Holy Spirit
Rejected alternatives: дух (never use alone), энергия
Original: πνεῦμα ἅγιον
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Еф. 1:13; 2:18,22; 3:16; 4:3,30; 5:18; 6:17-18. Never дух alone; reinforced by the energeia caution below against any impersonal-force reading.
Works
Approved rendering: дела
Transliteration: dela
Doctrine: Salvation by Grace through Faith
Rejected alternatives: заслуженная праведность (never), поступки (too weak/neutral)
Original: ἔργα
Category: Salvation
NEW. Еф. 2:9-10, the core passage’s sharpest single point of collision with Orthodox synergistic soteriology. NEVER soften v.9’s negation to ‘не только делами’ (‘not by works alone’); the ground (v.9, excluded) vs. fruit (v.10, affirmed) distinction must be stated explicitly every occurrence.
Predestination
Approved rendering: предопределил / предопределение
Transliteration: predopredelil / predopredeleniye
Doctrine: Election and Predestination in Christ
Rejected alternatives: судьба (never), рок (never), карма (never)
Original: προορίζω
Category: Election
NEW, highest-priority new Critical term in the curriculum. Еф. 1:5,11. The baseline flags предопределение as legitimate but ‘loaded with Reformed/Calvinist debate largely foreign to Orthodox soteriology, to be used only with careful qualification’; Ephesians 1 makes this exact verb unavoidable and explicit — a genuine conceptual-category gap, not a vocabulary gap. Every occurrence requires explicit doctrinal framing distinguishing sovereign, personal, loving choice from судьба/рок (impersonal fate). Human theologian review mandatory.
Sealed
Approved rendering: запечатление / запечатлеть
Transliteration: zapechatleniye / zapechatlet’
Doctrine: Sealing and Assurance by the Holy Spirit
Original: σφραγίζω
Category: Election
NEW, highest-priority new Critical term. Еф. 1:13; 4:30. The Russian Orthodox Chrismation rite is liturgically prayed as conferring ‘печать дара Духа Святаго’ (‘the seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit’) — a near-verbatim collision. Must clarify the mechanism every occurrence: Ephesians presents sealing as coextensive with believing the gospel (1:13, ‘when you believed, you were sealed’), not a specific sacramental rite. Human theologian review mandatory.
Mystery
Approved rendering: тайна
Transliteration: tayna
Doctrine: The Mystery of Christ Revealed
Original: μυστήριον
Category: The Mystery of Christ
NEW, highest-priority new Critical term. Еф. 1:9; 3:3-9; 5:32; 6:19. тайна is the direct root of Таинство, the standard Orthodox term for the seven Sacraments (including marriage — directly colliding with 5:32). Orthodox-formed readers are highly likely to hear ‘тайна Христова’ as pointing toward sacramental mystery rather than Paul’s sense: a previously hidden truth now publicly disclosed in the gospel. Must be explained explicitly at every occurrence; human theologian review mandatory.
Power Working Energeia
Approved rendering: сила / действие
Transliteration: sila / deystviye
Doctrine: The Power of God at Work in Believers
Rejected alternatives: энергия (NEVER — Palamite uncreated-energies collision)
Original: δύναμις / ἐνέργεια
Category: The Mystery of Christ
NEW, highest-priority new Critical forbidden-substitution rule. Еф. 1:19; 3:7,16,20; 4:16. Ephesians repeatedly pairs δύναμις with the Greek cognate of ‘energy’ (ἐνέργεια) far more prominently than Romans. Russian энергия names uncreated divine energies in Orthodox Palamite theology, distinct from God’s unknowable essence. ἐνέργεια must NEVER be rendered энергия; always действие / действующая сила. Human theologian review mandatory for every occurrence.
High Risk Terms
Gospel
Approved rendering: Евангелие
Transliteration: Yevangeliye
Doctrine: The Mystery of Christ Revealed / Gospel Proclamation
Rejected alternatives: благая весть (informal gloss only), хорошая новость
Original: εὐαγγέλιον
Category: The Mystery of Christ
Inherited from Romans package. In Ephesians, tied directly to the mystery-disclosure theme (Еф. 1:13; 3:6-7; 6:15,19); restore living-proclamation force, not merely ‘the book.‘
Faith
Approved rendering: вера
Transliteration: vera
Doctrine: Salvation by Grace through Faith
Rejected alternatives: доверие, убеждение
Original: πίστις
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Еф. 2:8’s ‘through faith’ must be anchored to personal trust in Christ as the receiving instrument, not identification as Orthodox or sacramental participation.
Righteousness
Approved rendering: праведность
Transliteration: pravednost’
Doctrine: Salvation by Grace through Faith / Spiritual Warfare and the Armor of God
Rejected alternatives: справедливость, честность
Inherited from Romans package. Recurs in the armor metaphor (‘броня праведности,’ breastplate of righteousness, Еф. 6:14); ensure the martial image does not suggest righteousness is self-generated rather than received by grace.
Calling
Approved rendering: призвание
Transliteration: prizvaniye
Doctrine: Election and Predestination in Christ
Rejected alternatives: предназначение
Original: κλῆσις / κλητός
Category: Election
Inherited from Romans package, risk raised to High in this curriculum given the letter’s dense predestination cluster (Еф. 1:18; 4:1,4). Never судьба/предназначение (fatalism).
Saints
Approved rendering: святые
Transliteration: svyatyye
Doctrine: Adoption and Inheritance in God’s Family / Church
Rejected alternatives: праведники
Inherited from Romans package. Еф. 1:1 ‘to the saints who are in Ephesus’ must be rendered as unmistakably corporate, addressing all believers, not a canonized elite.
Adoption
Approved rendering: усыновление
Transliteration: usynovleniye
Doctrine: Election and Predestination in Christ / Adoption and Inheritance in God’s Family
Rejected alternatives: принятие в семью
Original: υἱοθεσία
Category: Election
Inherited from Romans package. Еф. 1:5 directly ties adoption to predestination (‘predestined us for adoption’), doubling the sensitivity in a single verse; stress full inheritance rights against Soviet/post-Soviet orphanage-culture associations.
Church
Approved rendering: церковь
Transliteration: tserkov’
Doctrine: The Church as the Body of Christ
Rejected alternatives: храм (reserve for ναός contexts only, itself flagged High), собрание
Original: ἐκκλησία
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Еф. 1:22; 3:10,21; 5:23-32. церковь overwhelmingly denotes the Orthodox institution or a building; must be explicitly reframed as the gathered people of God.
Sin
Approved rendering: грех
Transliteration: grekh
Doctrine: Spiritual Deadness and Total Depravity
Rejected alternatives: ошибка, проступок
Original: ἁμαρτία
Category: Sin
Inherited from Romans package. Paired with преступление in Еф. 2:1,5 (‘преступления и грехи’); retain the established pair, do not reduce to one word.
Messiah
Approved rendering: Мессия
Transliteration: Messiya
Doctrine: The Mystery of Christ Revealed
Rejected alternatives: спаситель мира (as stand-alone substitute)
Inherited from Romans package. Used alongside Христос throughout Ephesians as Christ’s title-become-name.
Election
Approved rendering: избрание
Transliteration: izbraniye
Doctrine: Election and Predestination in Christ
Rejected alternatives: судьба, рок, предопределение (reserve for προορίζω specifically)
Original: ἐκλογή / ἐκλέγομαι
Category: Election
Inherited from Romans package. Еф. 1:4 ‘he chose us in him before the foundation of the world.’ Never судьба/рок/карма.
Gift
Approved rendering: дар
Transliteration: dar
Doctrine: Salvation by Grace through Faith
Rejected alternatives: подарок (too casual), начальный капитал (never imply)
Original: δῶρον / δωρεά
Category: Salvation
NEW. Еф. 2:8; 4:7. Must denote a gift given complete and fully received, not ‘starting capital’ requiring further meritorious cooperation to be completed.
Trespass
Approved rendering: преступление
Transliteration: prestupleniye
Doctrine: Spiritual Deadness and Total Depravity
Rejected alternatives: проступок (too weak), ошибка
Original: παράπτωμα
Category: Sin
NEW. Еф. 2:1,5, paired with грех. Ordinary Russian legal/criminal-code sense of преступление (‘crime’) risks a narrow legalistic reading rather than Paul’s broader moral-theological sense; must be glossed.
Redemption
Approved rendering: искупление
Transliteration: iskupleniye
Doctrine: Redemption and Forgiveness of Sins
Original: ἀπολύτρωσις
Category: Salvation
NEW. Еф. 1:7. Standard, shared with Orthodox usage, but Orthodox patristic tradition sometimes frames redemption within a ‘ransom from death/the devil’ model distinct from strict penal substitution; state the specific sense (through his blood, tied to forgiveness) explicitly.
Foreknown Prepared Beforehand
Approved rendering: предузнал / предназначил заранее
Transliteration: preduznal / prednaznachil zaraneye
Doctrine: Election and Predestination in Christ
Original: προγινώσκω / προετοιμάζω
Category: Election
NEW. Еф. 1:5,11; 2:10. Shares предопределил’s sensitivity; extends even to the believer’s good works (2:10), tying Election directly to Salvation by Grace. Frame pastorally as assurance, not unsettling determinism.
Inheritance
Approved rendering: наследие / наследство
Transliteration: naslediye / nasledstvo
Doctrine: Adoption and Inheritance in God’s Family
Original: κληρονομία
Category: Election
NEW. Еф. 1:11,14,18; 3:6; 5:5. Extends the baseline’s усыновление caution regarding Soviet/post-Soviet orphanage-culture associations; stress full, secure, permanent possession, not provisional or partial.
Body Of Christ
Approved rendering: тело
Transliteration: telo
Doctrine: The Church as the Body of Christ
Original: σῶμα
Category: Church
NEW. Еф. 1:23; 2:16; 4:4,12,16,25; 5:23,30. ‘Тело Христово’ is the standard liturgical name for the consecrated Eucharistic elements in Orthodox and Catholic usage. Ephesians’ ecclesial, corporate-unity sense must be kept explicitly distinct from the sacramental referent every occurrence.
Temple
Approved rendering: храм
Transliteration: khram
Doctrine: The Church as God’s Temple
Original: ναός
Category: Church
NEW. Еф. 2:21-22. храм is the everyday Russian word for a physical Orthodox church building; describing the corporate church as храм risks readers hearing exactly the physical-building claim Paul is arguing against. Requires explicit ‘not a building’ framing every occurrence.
Head
Approved rendering: глава
Transliteration: glava
Doctrine: The Church as the Body of Christ / Household Codes: Christ-Centered Marriage
Original: κεφαλή
Category: Church
NEW. Еф. 1:22; 4:15 (ecclesial); 5:23 (marital). Must be read through the passage’s own self-giving-love analogy (5:25-29), not generic cultural authority-headship assumptions, given post-Soviet patriarchal household-norm sensitivity.
Unity
Approved rendering: единство
Transliteration: yedinstvo
Doctrine: Unity of the Faith and One Baptism
Original: ἑνότης
Category: Church
NEW. Еф. 4:3,13. Risks being heard through the lens of institutional экуменизм (ecumenism), viewed with suspicion in official Russian Orthodox discourse; frame as already-given, organic Spirit-unity to be maintained, not negotiated interconfessional merger.
One Baptism
Approved rendering: крещение
Transliteration: kreshcheniye
Doctrine: Unity of the Faith and One Baptism
Original: βάπτισμα
Category: Church
NEW. Еф. 4:5. Live East-West and intra-Protestant sacramental fault line (baptismal regeneration vs. symbolic/confessional baptism); ‘one baptism’ does not itself resolve this — the curriculum’s own doctrinal position must be stated explicitly.
Dividing Wall
Approved rendering: разделяющая стена / преграда
Transliteration: razdelyayushchaya stena / pregrada
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles in One New Humanity
Original: τὸ μεσότοιχον τοῦ φραγμοῦ
Category: Unity of Jews and Gentiles
NEW. Еф. 2:14. The letter’s central image for this doctrine; inherits in full the baseline’s antisemitism-history caution given the historical weight of state and popular antisemitism in the Russian Empire and Soviet Union. Render without vague or minimizing paraphrase.
Hostility
Approved rendering: вражда
Transliteration: vrazhda
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles in One New Humanity
Original: ἔχθρα
Category: Unity of Jews and Gentiles
NEW. Еф. 2:14,16. Same antisemitism-history caution as dividing_wall; handle with the explicitness the baseline mandates for Romans 9-11.
One New Man
Approved rendering: новый человек (в собирательном смысле)
Transliteration: novyy chelovek (v sobiratel’nom smysle)
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles in One New Humanity
Original: καινὸς ἄνθρωπος (corporate)
Category: Unity of Jews and Gentiles
NEW. Еф. 2:15. Must be read corporately (a genuinely new third entity, neither Jew-as-was nor Gentile-as-was). The identical Greek phrase recurs individually at 4:24 (‘put on the new self’); teaching text must state explicitly, at each occurrence, which sense is active so the corporate and individual senses are never silently merged.
Reconcile
Approved rendering: примирить
Transliteration: primirit’
Doctrine: Reconciliation with God and with One Another
Original: ἀποκαταλλάσσω
Category: Unity of Jews and Gentiles
NEW. Еф. 2:16. Double reconciliation (vertical, with God; horizontal, Jew and Gentile with each other) accomplished simultaneously through the cross; must not be reduced to only one dimension.
Fellow Heirs
Approved rendering: сонаследники / сотелесники / сопричастники
Transliteration: sonasledniki / sotelesniki / soprichastniki
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles in One New Humanity
Original: συγκληρονόμος / σύσσωμος / συμμέτοχος
Category: Unity of Jews and Gentiles
NEW. Еф. 3:6, the tightest single-verse summary of full, equal, undivided sharing between Jew and Gentile. These triple compounds are markedly less common than their English equivalents; require a first-use gloss so their force is not diluted into a vaguer ‘also included.‘
Wisdom
Approved rendering: премудрость / мудрость
Transliteration: premudrost’ / mudrost’
Doctrine: The Manifold Wisdom of God
Original: σοφία
Category: The Mystery of Christ
NEW. Еф. 1:8,17; 3:10. Distinctively Russian risk absent from the Romans baseline: Софиология (Соловьёв, Флоренский, Булгаков) treats divine Wisdom/Премудрость as a controversial, quasi-hypostatic reality, censured in some formulations within Russian Orthodoxy itself. Keep to Paul’s restrained sense (God’s wise redemptive plan displayed through the church); do not invite speculative theological association. Human theologian review required.
Authorities Rulers
Approved rendering: начала и власти
Transliteration: nachala i vlasti
Doctrine: Cosmic Spiritual Authorities and Powers
Original: ἀρχή / ἐξουσία
Category: Spiritual Warfare
NEW. Еф. 1:21; 2:2; 3:10; 6:12. Personal, organized spiritual-authority language must be kept distinct from live post-Soviet folk-occult categories (порча, сглаз, экстрасенсы).
Full Armor
Approved rendering: всеоружие [Божие]
Transliteration: vseoruzhiye [Bozhiye]
Doctrine: Spiritual Warfare and the Armor of God
Original: πανοπλία
Category: Spiritual Warfare
NEW. Еф. 6:11,13. Military-armor imagery resonates strongly with Great Patriotic War memory — a double-edged asset (vivid) and risk (nationalist-militarist conflation); keep the metaphor spiritual and defensive only.
Cosmic Powers
Approved rendering: мироправители [тьмы века сего]
Transliteration: miropraviteli [t’my veka sego]
Doctrine: Cosmic Spiritual Authorities and Powers
Rejected alternatives: космократор (never — unintelligible pseudo-scientific register)
Original: κοσμοκράτωρ
Category: Spiritual Warfare
NEW. Еф. 6:12. Must be clearly distinguished from live post-Soviet folk-occult categories (порча, сглаз, экстрасенсы); Ephesians’ warfare is corporate, gospel-centered, and prayer-and-truth-based, not folk-magical.
Submit
Approved rendering: повиноваться / подчиняться / покоряться
Transliteration: povinovat’sya / podchinyat’sya / pokoryat’sya
Doctrine: Household Codes: Christ-Centered Marriage
Original: ὑποτάσσω
Category: Household Codes
NEW. Еф. 5:21-22,24. Culturally sensitive gender-relations term. (1) Mutual submission (5:21) must not be lost before the wife-specific instruction; (2) the husband’s far more demanding self-sacrificial-love standard (5:25) must be given equal or greater weight in teaching text, not a lesser addendum, given strong patriarchal household norms in many post-Soviet Russian communities. Human theologian review required.
Slave Bondservant
Approved rendering: раб
Transliteration: rab
Doctrine: Household Codes: Masters and Bondservants
Original: δοῦλος
Category: Household Codes
NEW, sense-dependent risk. Literal socioeconomic sense (Еф. 6:5-9) carries heavy historical resonance in Russian collective memory — крепостное право (serfdom, abolished 1861) and Soviet ГУЛАГ forced labor. Teaching text must state explicitly that the passage neither endorses ancient slavery nor speaks to Russia’s own serfdom/Gulag history. The distinct devotional sense (‘раб Божий,’ ‘раб Христов’) is an established, positively-received Orthodox self-designation and is NOT flagged here. Human theologian review required for 6:5-9.
Evangelist
Approved rendering: евангелист
Transliteration: yevangelist
Doctrine: Gifts for Building Up the Church
Original: εὐαγγελιστής
Category: Gifts for Building Up the Church
NEW. Еф. 4:11. In Russian religious and iconographic usage, ‘евангелист’ overwhelmingly refers to the four traditional Gospel-authors (Матфей, Марк, Лука, Иоанн), a closed historical set. Must be explicitly distinguished from Paul’s distinct sense: an ongoing NT ministry gift/office of gospel-proclamation, not the closed historical set of Gospel-writers.
Pastor Shepherd
Approved rendering: пастор / пастырь
Transliteration: pastor / pastyr’
Doctrine: Gifts for Building Up the Church
Original: ποιμήν
Category: Gifts for Building Up the Church
NEW. Еф. 4:11. пастырь carries strong institutional-Orthodox coloring (traditionally applied to Orthodox priests); пастор is the modern Protestant/Evangelical loanword, sometimes viewed with ‘foreign import’ suspicion. Recommend пастор for this specific NT ministry-gift office, reserving пастырь for the more general shepherding sense (e.g. applied to Christ, John 10).
Minister Servant
Approved rendering: служитель
Transliteration: sluzhitel’
Doctrine: Gifts for Building Up the Church
Rejected alternatives: диакон (never for this general self-designation)
Original: διάκονος
Category: Gifts for Building Up the Church
NEW. Еф. 3:7, Paul’s self-description. NEVER диакон, which in Orthodox and many Protestant traditions names a specific ordained clerical office/rank; use служитель for Paul’s general gospel-service sense, reserving диакон for contexts explicitly discussing the ordained office.
Old New Self
Approved rendering: ветхий человек / новый человек
Transliteration: vetkhiy chelovek / novyy chelovek
Doctrine: Putting Off the Old Self and Putting On the New Self
Original: παλαιὸς ἄνθρωπος / καινὸς ἄνθρωπος (individual)
Category: Walking in Newness of Life
NEW. Еф. 4:22-24, the individual counterpart to 2:15’s corporate ‘one new man.’ Must be explicitly linked to Рим. 6:6’s established phrase and to Рим. 6:4’s ‘обновление жизни,’ and clearly distinguished from Еф. 2:15’s corporate sense using the identical Greek phrase.
Walk Conduct
Approved rendering: поступать / ходить (context-sensitive)
Transliteration: postupat’ / khodit’ (context-sensitive)
Doctrine: Walking in Newness of Life
Original: περιπατέω
Category: Walking in Newness of Life
NEW, recurring structural motif. Еф. 2:2,10; 4:1,17; 5:2,8,15. No single Russian word carries the motif’s recurrence automatically; require consistent recognition (not necessarily identical word choice) across all six occurrences so the old-walk/new-walk contrast remains visible to learners.
Medium Risk Terms
Apostle
Approved rendering: апостол
Transliteration: apostol
Doctrine: Gifts for Building Up the Church
Rejected alternatives: посланник, проповедник
Original: ἀπόστολος
Category: Gifts for Building Up the Church
Inherited from Romans package. Listed among the fivefold ministries (Еф. 2:20; 3:5; 4:11) alongside prophet, evangelist, pastor, teacher.
Called
Approved rendering: призванный
Transliteration: prizvannyy
Doctrine: Election and Predestination in Christ
Rejected alternatives: приглашённый
Inherited from Romans package. Context-sensitive across Еф. 4:1,4.
Holy
Approved rendering: святой
Transliteration: svyatoy
Doctrine: Spiritual Deadness and Total Depravity / Sainthood
Rejected alternatives: чистый, непорочный
Inherited from Romans package. Еф. 1:4 ‘holy and blameless before him.‘
Resurrection
Approved rendering: воскресение
Transliteration: voskreseniye
Doctrine: Walking in Newness of Life
Rejected alternatives: оживление, реинкарнация
Inherited from Romans package. Reused for the believer’s present, positional participation in Christ’s resurrection (Еф. 2:6, ‘raised with him’), distinct from Christ’s own historical bodily resurrection; teaching text must distinguish these two senses.
Peace
Approved rendering: мир
Transliteration: mir
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles in One New Humanity
Rejected alternatives: спокойствие, покой
Original: εἰρήνη
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Еф. 2:14-17’s relational, judicial peace (both with God and between Jew and Gentile) must be disambiguated from мир’s ‘the world’ and political/military senses.
Spiritual Gifts
Approved rendering: духовные дары
Transliteration: dukhovnyye dary
Doctrine: Gifts for Building Up the Church
Rejected alternatives: экстрасенсорные способности (never use), таланты
Original: χάρισμα / δωρεά
Category: Gifts for Building Up the Church
Inherited from Romans package. Еф. 4:7-8,11. Never экстрасенсорные способности, a live post-Soviet folk-psychic category.
Kingdom Of God
Approved rendering: Царство Божие / Царство Христа и Бога
Transliteration: Tsarstvo Bozhiye / Tsarstvo Khrista i Boga
Doctrine: The Church as the Body of Christ
Rejected alternatives: государство Божие
Inherited from Romans package, extended for Еф. 5:5’s ‘kingdom of Christ and God.’ Guard against imperial/tsardom political resonance.
Law
Approved rendering: закон
Transliteration: zakon
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles in One New Humanity
Rejected alternatives: правило, заповедь (individual commandments)
Inherited from Romans package. Еф. 2:15 ‘the law of commandments and ordinances’ — object is the law’s ethnic-dividing ceremonial function, not the moral law generally; must not imply the moral law is abolished.
Gentiles
Approved rendering: язычники
Transliteration: yazychniki
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles in One New Humanity
Rejected alternatives: иноземцы, неевреи
Inherited from Romans package. Central to Еф. 2:11-3:6.
Glory
Approved rendering: слава
Transliteration: slava
Doctrine: The Glory and Praise of God
Rejected alternatives: почёт, величие
Original: δόξα
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Recurs as the stated goal of election and redemption throughout Еф. 1 (1:6,12,14,17-18) and doxologically at 3:13,16,21; restore weighty sense against casual-exclamation flattening (‘слава Богу’).
Power Of God
Approved rendering: сила Божия
Transliteration: sila Bozhiya
Doctrine: The Power of God at Work in Believers
Rejected alternatives: энергия (never use)
Inherited from Romans package. Ephesians pairs δύναμις with ἐνέργεια far more prominently than Romans (1:19; 3:7,20; 4:16); see the NEW term power_working_energeia below for the specific forbidden-substitution rule this raises to Critical.
Covenant
Approved rendering: завет
Transliteration: zavet
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles in One New Humanity
Rejected alternatives: договор, соглашение
Original: διαθήκη
Category: Unity of Jews and Gentiles
Inherited from Romans package. Еф. 2:12 ‘strangers to the covenants of promise.‘
Mission
Approved rendering: миссия / благовестие
Transliteration: missiya / blagovestiye
Doctrine: Gospel Proclamation
Rejected alternatives: пропаганда (never use)
Inherited from Romans package. Relevant to Paul’s self-description as ambassador (Еф. 6:19-20) and his stewardship of gospel disclosure (Еф. 3:2-9).
Father
Approved rendering: Отец
Transliteration: Otets
Doctrine: Adoption and Inheritance in God’s Family
Rejected alternatives: батюшка (reserve exclusively for addressing an Orthodox priest)
Original: πατήρ
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Еф. 2:18; 3:14-15; 4:6.
Boast
Approved rendering: хвалиться
Transliteration: khvalit’sya
Doctrine: Salvation by Grace through Faith
Original: καυχάομαι
Category: Salvation
NEW. Еф. 2:9. Standard, low ambiguity.
Dead Spiritually
Approved rendering: мёртвый
Transliteration: myortvyy
Doctrine: Spiritual Deadness and Total Depravity
Rejected alternatives: больной/слабый (never — implies residual capacity)
Original: νεκρός
Category: Salvation
NEW. Еф. 2:1,5. Secular idiom (‘умираю от скуки’) risks flattening literal spiritual death into figure of speech; restore totalizing sense of no residual capacity, in tension with Orthodox synergism’s assumed pre-grace cooperating capacity.
Mercy
Approved rendering: милость
Transliteration: milost’
Doctrine: Salvation by Grace through Faith
Original: ἔλεος
Category: Salvation
NEW. Еф. 2:4, translates ἔλεος (distinct from χάρις/grace). The baseline rejected милость as a substitute FOR благодать; here it correctly renders a different Greek word and must not be merged back into благодать — the two are complementary, distinct divine attributes.
Workmanship
Approved rendering: творение
Transliteration: tvoreniye
Doctrine: Salvation by Grace through Faith / Walking in Newness of Life
Original: ποίημα
Category: Salvation
NEW. Еф. 2:10 ποίημα. творение most readily evokes the general doctrine of the original creation (мир — Божие творение); clarify the specific individual re-creation sense intended (‘his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus’).
Forgiveness
Approved rendering: прощение [грехов]
Transliteration: proshcheniye [grekhov]
Doctrine: Redemption and Forgiveness of Sins
Original: ἄφεσις [ἁμαρτιῶν]
Category: Salvation
NEW. Еф. 1:7; 4:32. Correct for its own referent (ἄφεσις) but must not absorb оправдание’s forensic-declaration sense (justification) if both terms occur near each other in teaching text.
Savior
Approved rendering: Спаситель
Transliteration: Spasitel’
Doctrine: Household Codes: Christ-Centered Marriage
Original: σωτήρ
Category: Salvation
NEW. Еф. 5:23 ‘Christ is the head of the church… and is himself its Savior.’ Tied to already-Critical спасение family; no new risk beyond baseline salvation vocabulary.
Wrath
Approved rendering: гнев
Transliteration: gnev
Doctrine: Spiritual Deadness and Total Depravity
Original: ὀργή
Category: Sin
NEW (recurring lexeme). Еф. 2:3 (God’s righteous judicial wrath, ‘children of wrath’) vs. Еф. 4:26,31 (sinful human anger) — same Russian word renders two distinct referents; teaching text must distinguish ‘гнев Божий’ from human ‘гнев’ explicitly every time.
Flesh
Approved rendering: плоть
Transliteration: plot’
Doctrine: Spiritual Deadness and Total Depravity
Original: σάρξ
Category: Sin
NEW. Еф. 2:3. Russian Orthodox ascetic/monastic tradition (‘умерщвление плоти,’ mortification of the flesh) risks an ascetic-practice reading rather than Paul’s sense: a corrupted disposition governing the whole person, not primarily the physical body to be subdued.
Guarantee Pledge
Approved rendering: залог
Transliteration: zalog
Doctrine: Sealing and Assurance by the Holy Spirit
Original: ἀρραβών
Category: Election
NEW. Еф. 1:14. Standard modern Russian financial/legal term for a deposit/pledge; low ambiguity.
Fullness
Approved rendering: полнота
Transliteration: polnota
Doctrine: The Church as the Body of Christ
Original: πλήρωμα
Category: Church
NEW. Еф. 1:23; 3:19; 4:13. Abstract, low native intuitiveness; requires unpacking in teaching text, not assumed comprehension.
Fellow Citizens
Approved rendering: сограждане / свои Богу
Transliteration: sograzhdane / svoi Bogu
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles in One New Humanity
Original: συμπολίτης / οἰκεῖος τοῦ θεοῦ
Category: Unity of Jews and Gentiles
NEW. Еф. 2:19. Standard belonging vocabulary; connects to the family/inheritance/adoption cluster already High risk.
Stewardship
Approved rendering: домостроительство
Transliteration: domostroitel’stvo
Doctrine: The Mystery of Christ Revealed
Original: οἰκονομία
Category: The Mystery of Christ
NEW. Еф. 1:10; 3:2,9. Genuine positive overlap with Orthodox ‘Божественное домостроительство’ (Divine Economy); keep Paul’s specific, personal-commission sense (entrusted to him) from diluting into the broader, more diffuse Orthodox usage.
Revelation
Approved rendering: откровение
Transliteration: otkroveniye
Doctrine: The Mystery of Christ Revealed
Original: ἀποκάλυψις
Category: The Mystery of Christ
NEW. Еф. 1:17; 3:3,5. Standard; shares its name with the book of Revelation (Откровение), a mild positive association.
Boldness
Approved rendering: дерзновение
Transliteration: derznoveniye
Doctrine: The Mystery of Christ Revealed
Original: παρρησία
Category: The Mystery of Christ
NEW. Еф. 3:12. дерзновение is itself an established Orthodox devotional term for confident prayer-access — a genuine shared positive asset, not primarily a hazard.
Struggle Wrestling
Approved rendering: борьба
Transliteration: bor’ba
Doctrine: Spiritual Warfare and the Armor of God
Original: πάλη
Category: Spiritual Warfare
NEW. Еф. 6:12. The specific close-combat/wrestling nuance of πάλη may be lost in a generic rendering; note the intimacy of the struggle in exposition.
Schemes
Approved rendering: козни [диавольские]
Transliteration: kozni [diavol’skiye]
Doctrine: Spiritual Warfare and the Armor of God
Original: μεθοδεία
Category: Spiritual Warfare
NEW. Еф. 6:11. Standard, established Synodal phrase; low ambiguity.
Armor Components
Approved rendering: пояс истины, броня праведности, щит веры, шлем спасения, меч духовный
Transliteration: poyas istiny, bronya pravednosti, shchit very, shlem spaseniya, mech dukhovnyy
Doctrine: Spiritual Warfare and the Armor of God
Original: ζώνη, θώραξ, θυρεός, περικεφαλαία, μάχαιρα
Category: Spiritual Warfare
NEW. Еф. 6:14-17. Established Synodal phrasing throughout; each component reuses already-Critical/High baseline terms (праведность, вера, спасение) mapped onto military equipment. Ensure this does not suggest these virtues are self-generated combat tools rather than gifts received by grace.
Ambassador
Approved rendering: посол
Transliteration: posol
Doctrine: Spiritual Warfare and the Armor of God
Original: πρεσβεύω
Category: Spiritual Warfare
NEW. Еф. 6:20. Reinforces the apostleship theme under real imprisonment; the ‘in chains’ detail should not be lost.
Obey
Approved rendering: повиноваться
Transliteration: povinovat’sya
Doctrine: Household Codes: Parents and Children
Original: ὑπακούω
Category: Household Codes
NEW. Еф. 6:1,5. Distinguish stylistically from ὑποτάσσω without over-pressing the distinction in Russian.
Promise
Approved rendering: обетование
Transliteration: obetovaniye
Doctrine: Household Codes: Parents and Children
Original: ἐπαγγελία
Category: Household Codes
NEW. Еф. 6:2. Standard biblical-register term; ties to the завет/covenant cluster.
Discipline Instruction
Approved rendering: учение и наставление Господне
Transliteration: ucheniye i nastavleniye Gospodne
Doctrine: Household Codes: Parents and Children
Original: παιδεία καὶ νουθεσία κυρίου
Category: Household Codes
NEW. Еф. 6:4. Established Synodal phrase; standard vocabulary.
Partiality
Approved rendering: лицеприятие
Transliteration: litsepriyatiye
Doctrine: Household Codes: Masters and Bondservants
Original: προσωπολημψία
Category: Household Codes
NEW. Еф. 6:9. Standard theological term.
Equipping
Approved rendering: для совершенствования / приготовления
Transliteration: dlya sovershenstvovaniya / prigotovleniya
Doctrine: Gifts for Building Up the Church
Original: καταρτισμός
Category: Gifts for Building Up the Church
NEW. Еф. 4:12. Ensure active-equipping-for-service sense, not passive moral perfection.
Building Up
Approved rendering: назидание / созидание
Transliteration: nazidaniye / sozidaniye
Doctrine: Gifts for Building Up the Church
Original: οἰκοδομή
Category: Gifts for Building Up the Church
NEW. Еф. 4:12,16,29. Standard theological vocabulary; pair with the тело/body caution when adjacent.
Mature Perfect
Approved rendering: зрелый (preferred) / совершенный (flag)
Transliteration: zrelyy (preferred) / sovershennyy (flag)
Doctrine: Gifts for Building Up the Church
Original: τέλειος
Category: Gifts for Building Up the Church
NEW. Еф. 4:13. совершенный defaults to absolute moral perfection in ordinary and devotional Russian usage, creating a false expectation of sinless perfection; prefer зрелый (‘mature’) to convey developmental maturity.
Renewed
Approved rendering: обновляться
Transliteration: obnovlyat’sya
Doctrine: Putting Off the Old Self and Putting On the New Self
Original: ἀνακαινόω
Category: Walking in Newness of Life
NEW. Еф. 4:23. Reuses the established Рим. 6:4 обновление root; reinforces cross-curriculum doctrinal consistency.
Grieve The Spirit
Approved rendering: не оскорбляйте Святого Духа Божия
Transliteration: ne oskorblyayte Svyatogo Dukha Bozhiya
Doctrine: Sealing and Assurance by the Holy Spirit
Original: λυπέω τὸ Πνεῦμα
Category: Walking in Newness of Life
NEW. Еф. 4:30. Established Synodal phrase; reinforces the Spirit’s full, relational personhood against any impersonal-force reading.
Children Of Light
Approved rendering: чада света / дети тьмы
Transliteration: chada sveta / deti t’my
Doctrine: Walking in Newness of Life
Original: τέκνα φωτός / τέκνα σκότους
Category: Walking in Newness of Life
NEW. Еф. 5:8. No competing native dualistic cosmology risk; straightforward moral-spiritual metaphor.
Filled With Spirit
Approved rendering: исполняйтесь Духом
Transliteration: ispolnyaytes’ Dukhom
Doctrine: Being Filled with the Spirit and Spirit-Led Worship
Original: πληρόω ἐν Πνεύματι
Category: Walking in Newness of Life
NEW. Еф. 5:18. Established Synodal phrase; retain the contrast with drunkenness (loss of control) vs. Spirit-given ordered worship.
Heavenly Places
Approved rendering: на небесах / в небесных обителях
Transliteration: na nebesakh / v nebesnykh obitelyakh
Doctrine: Cosmic Spiritual Authorities and Powers / The Church as the Body of Christ
Original: ἐπουράνιος
Category: God
NEW. Еф. 1:3,20; 2:6; 3:10; 6:12. Names a present spiritual dimension of reality where both Christ’s authority and hostile spiritual powers operate; must not be flattened into a purely future eschatological ‘heaven when we die’ reference.
Low Risk Terms
Thanksgiving
Approved rendering: благодарение
Transliteration: blagodareniye
Doctrine: Thanksgiving and Prayer
Inherited from Romans package. Еф. 1:16; 5:20; 6:18.
Fellowship
Approved rendering: общение
Transliteration: obshcheniye
Doctrine: The Church as the Body of Christ
Rejected alternatives: дружба, коллектив (avoid Soviet-collective connotation)
Inherited from Romans package.
Prophet
Approved rendering: пророк
Transliteration: prorok
Doctrine: Gifts for Building Up the Church
Rejected alternatives: предсказатель, экстрасенс
Original: προφήτης
Category: Gifts for Building Up the Church
Inherited from Romans package. Еф. 2:20; 3:5; 4:11.
Prophecy
Approved rendering: пророчество
Transliteration: prorochestvo
Doctrine: Gifts for Building Up the Church
Rejected alternatives: предсказание, гороскоп
Inherited from Romans package.
Israel
Approved rendering: Израиль
Transliteration: Izrail’
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles in One New Humanity
Inherited from Romans package. Еф. 2:12 ‘the commonwealth of Israel.‘
Foundation Cornerstone
Approved rendering: основание / краеугольный камень
Transliteration: osnovaniye / krayeugol’nyy kamen’
Doctrine: The Church as God’s Temple
Original: θεμέλιος / ἀκρογωνιαῖος λίθος
Category: Church
NEW. Еф. 2:20. Well-established, standard Christian architectural metaphor shared across Russian Christian traditions.
Circumcision
Approved rendering: обрезание / необрезание
Transliteration: obrezaniye / neobrezaniye
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles in One New Humanity
Original: περιτομή / ἀκροβυστία
Category: Unity of Jews and Gentiles
NEW. Еф. 2:11. Standard, established Bible terms; requires OT covenant-background explanation, not term-level caution.
Access
Approved rendering: доступ
Transliteration: dostup
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles in One New Humanity / The Mystery of Christ Revealed
Original: πρόσαγωγή
Category: Unity of Jews and Gentiles
NEW. Еф. 2:18; 3:12. Standard; connects conceptually to дерзновение (boldness) in ch.3.
Honor
Approved rendering: почитать
Transliteration: pochitat’
Doctrine: Household Codes: Parents and Children
Original: τιμάω
Category: Household Codes
NEW. Еф. 6:2. Standard, established from the Decalogue’s Synodal rendering.
Teacher
Approved rendering: учитель
Transliteration: uchitel’
Doctrine: Gifts for Building Up the Church
Original: διδάσκαλος
Category: Gifts for Building Up the Church
NEW. Еф. 4:11. Standard.
Imitators
Approved rendering: подражатель
Transliteration: podrazhatel’
Doctrine: Imitating God in Sacrificial Love
Original: μιμητής
Category: Walking in Newness of Life
NEW. Еф. 5:1. Standard.