Greek & Orthodox Theological Terms Glossary

A quick-reference glossary of terms commonly encountered in Orthodox theological reading and study.

Christological

Relating to Christology -- the theological study of the person, nature, and work of Jesus Christ (e.g., His two natures, divine and human, united in one Person).

Constitutive

That which makes something what it essentially is; an element without which a thing would not be itself. In theology, used to describe qualities or realities that are essential rather than accidental to something's identity.

Doxological

Relating to doxology -- pertaining to the giving of glory and praise to God. From Greek doxa (glory) + logos (word). Orthodox worship is fundamentally doxological in character.

Doxologies

Plural of doxology. Formal, typically brief liturgical expressions of praise to God. The most common forms are the Greater Doxology ("Glory to God in the highest") and the Lesser Doxology ("Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit"). Orthodox services are structured around repeated doxological refrains punctuating the hours, liturgies, and sacraments.

Eschatological

Relating to eschatology -- the theology of the last things: death, judgment, heaven, hell, the Second Coming, and the final consummation of God's kingdom.

Hypostatic

Relating to hypostasis — a distinct personal subsistence or mode of being within the one divine essence. In Trinitarian theology, there are three hypostases (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) sharing one ousia (essence). In Christology, appears most often in "hypostatic union" — the doctrine that in Christ two complete natures (divine and human) are united in one hypostasis (person) without mixture, confusion, division, or separation (Council of Chalcedon, 451).

Kecharitomene (kecharitomene)

Greek: kecharitomene. "Full of grace" or "the one who has been graced." The angelic greeting to Mary in Luke 1:28. A perfect passive participle indicating a completed and enduring state of divine grace bestowed upon her.

Kenosis (kenosis)

Greek: kenosis. "Self-emptying." The voluntary self-emptying of Christ, who, being God, took on human nature and the form of a servant (Philippians 2:5-8). A central concept in Orthodox Christology.

Kenotic

The adjective form of kenosis; describing anything relating to Christ's self-emptying of divine prerogatives in the Incarnation.

Liturgical

Relating to the liturgy — the formal, structured public worship of the Church. From Greek leitourgia (public service; work of the people). In Orthodoxy, liturgical life encompasses the Divine Liturgy, the Daily Hours (Orthros, Vespers, etc.), and the cycle of feasts and fasts that order the church year. Orthodox theology holds that doctrine and liturgy are inseparable — lex orandi, lex credendi (the law of prayer is the law of belief).

Magnificat

The hymn of the Virgin Mary recorded in Luke 1:46-55, beginning "My soul magnifies the Lord." A canticle used prominently in Orthodox liturgical worship, celebrating God's saving acts.

Mariology

The theological study of the Virgin Mary -- her role, titles, veneration, and significance in salvation history and Church doctrine.

Ontological

Relating to ontology -- the study of being and existence. Concerning the fundamental nature or essence of something. In theology, often used to distinguish what something is from what it does (ontological vs. functional).

Paradoxically

In a way that seems self-contradictory yet expresses a deeper truth. A common mode of expression in Orthodox theology (e.g., "dying, He conquered death"; "the Virgin gave birth").

Parthenos (parthenos)

Greek: parthenos. "Virgin." Used in Orthodox theology especially of the Ever-Virgin Mary (Aeiparthenos). Also the term used in the Septuagint translation of Isaiah 7:14.

Patristic

Relating to the Church Fathers (Patres) -- the early Christian writers and theologians (roughly 1st-8th centuries) whose works form the authoritative foundation of Orthodox doctrine, biblical interpretation, and liturgical tradition.

Perichoretic

Relating to perichoresis — the mutual indwelling, interpenetration, and coinherence of the three Persons of the Holy Trinity. From Greek peri (around) + chorein (to give way, to make room). Describes how Father, Son, and Holy Spirit completely interpenetrate one another while remaining distinct hypostases — each fully present in the others, without confusion of persons. Also applied analogically to the two natures of Christ in the hypostatic union.

Synergeia (synergeia)

Greek: synergeia. "Cooperation" or "working together." In Orthodox theology, the cooperation between divine grace and human free will in the process of salvation. Distinct from both Pelagian self-effort and Reformed monergism.