Passage
Romans 10
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Doctrine
Evangelism
Legally and culturally sensitive: public evangelism outside registered religious buildings is restricted under current Russian law, and evangelistic activity by non-Orthodox groups is sometimes framed in public discourse as foreign or sectarian; use language of proclamation and personal witness rather than public campaign language.
ROM.10.14-15
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Doctrine
Faith
In everyday Russian religious usage, 'having faith' (вера) often means identifying as Orthodox and participating in its sacraments, rather than personal trust in Christ specifically; Romans' individual, Christ-directed sense must be made explicit, especially in the justification passages.
ROM.10.9-10, ROM.10.17
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Glossary Term
Faith
вера is the standard, unambiguous term, but in Russian Orthodox usage 'faith' is often assumed to include sacramental participation and church membership (вера = being Orthodox) rather than personal trust in Christ alone.
ROM.10.9-10, ROM.10.17
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Doctrine
Fulfillment of Prophecy
Linear historical fulfillment (OT to NT) is not in tension with any competing native Russian cosmology, unlike in some other cultures; main risk is treating OT prophecy as generic religious literature rather than a specific, historically anchored promise.
ROM.10.11
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Glossary Term
Gentiles
язычники is the standard Synodal term but in modern Russian carries a stronger sense of 'pagans' (practitioners of a non-monotheistic religion) than the more neutral 'non-Jewish nations' sense Paul intends; use народы (nations/peoples) in mission-scope contexts (see mission) to avoid an unintended slur-adjacent tone.
ROM.10.12
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Doctrine
Gospel
Евангелие is universally recognized, including by secular Russians, but chiefly as the name of a book or historical text rather than a living proclamation demanding response; the curriculum must restore the sense of an active announcement, not assume it from the word alone.
ROM.10.15-16
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Glossary Term
Gospel
Established Synodal Bible term, already a loanword from Greek euangelion via Church Slavonic.
ROM.10.15-16
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Glossary Term
Intercession
ходатайство is the correct general term for prayer on behalf of others (Romans 8:26-27).
ROM.10.1
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Glossary Term
Israel
Standard proper name; note the modern nation-state of Israel shares the identical Russian name, so context should clarify when the biblical people/covenant referent, not the contemporary state, is meant (relevant given contemporary geopolitical sensitivity).
ROM.10.12
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Glossary Term
Jesus
Standard modern Russian Orthodox and Synodal spelling Иисус (with double и).
ROM.10.9, ROM.10.12
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Glossary Term
Justification
CRITICAL: оправдание is the standard Synodal rendering, but Russian Orthodox theology has no developed forensic-declaration doctrine analogous to Reformation justification; salvation is more commonly framed as a synergistic, lifelong process of theosis (обожение) cooperating with grace rather than a one-time legal verdict.
ROM.10.1, ROM.10.10
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Glossary Term
Law
закон is the standard Synodal term for the Mosaic Law/Torah and also the ordinary word for civil law, which is helpful for Paul's legal-metaphor argument in Romans 2-7 but requires context to keep readers from assuming only Russian/Soviet civil-law categories are in view.
ROM.10.11
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Glossary Term
Lord
Established Synodal and liturgical term.
ROM.10.9, ROM.10.12
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Doctrine
Lordship of Christ
Romans 10:9's confession 'Иисус есть Господь' risks sounding like a recited liturgical creed line, given Господь's heavy association with formal Orthodox liturgical address, rather than landing as a personal, decisive act of allegiance; surrounding text must restore that personal force.
ROM.10.9, ROM.10.12
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Doctrine
Prayer and Intercession
Distinguish Christ's and the Spirit's unique intercessory role in Romans 8 from заступничество, the term almost exclusively used in Russian Orthodox devotion for the intercession of the saints and the Theotokos, to avoid importing that specific devotional practice into the text's meaning.
ROM.10.1
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Glossary Term
Prophecy
God-inspired declaration; distinguish from horoscope/astrology-style prediction (гороскоп, предсказание), which remains a widespread cultural practice in secular post-Soviet media.
ROM.10.11
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Glossary Term
Righteousness
праведность is correct and established, but its everyday register (a 'righteous/upright person', праведник) evokes an Orthodox saint or morally exemplary elder, biasing readers toward righteousness-as-achieved-virtue rather than righteousness-as-gift received by faith.
ROM.10.1, ROM.10.10
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Doctrine
Salvation
CRITICAL: Must be anchored to Christ's decisive death and resurrection (Romans 10:9-10) rather than defaulting into the Orthodox theosis framework of salvation as an open-ended, lifelong sacramental process.
ROM.10.1, ROM.10.10
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Glossary Term
Salvation
CRITICAL: спасение is the correct and only viable term, but it must be anchored to Christ's death and resurrection as a decisive, received event (Romans 10:9-10), not left to default into the Orthodox theosis framework of salvation as an open-ended lifelong process of deification requiring ongoing sacramental participation.
ROM.10.1, ROM.10.10
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Doctrine
Unity of Jews and Gentiles
Given the historical weight of state and popular antisemitism in the Russian Empire and Soviet Union, Romans 9-11's argument for Jewish-Gentile unity and God's ongoing faithfulness to Israel needs careful, unambiguous translation rather than vague or minimizing paraphrase.
ROM.10.12
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Doctrine
Universal Scope of the Gospel
Directly challenges any ethno-religious identification of the gospel with Russian Orthodox national identity (the historic 'Third Rome' / 'Holy Rus'' self-understanding); must retain unqualified universality rather than being read as Russian Orthodoxy's exclusive possession.
ROM.10.12-13