Terminology -

LEAVENED – As in leavened bread, where a small amount of yeast will cause the whole loaf to rise, so a small amount of evil or good affects the whole body (Luke 13:20, 21; 1 Cor. 5:7, 8). In contrast to the Old Testament bread, which was unleavened to show the Israelites’ separation from the… Read More

LIGHT – 1)The Bible frequently uses light as a symbol of God and of that which is good, that which overcomes the darkness of sin and death. Candles are used in churches to symbolize the light of Christ. Christians are lights shining in the world to show the way of righteousness and salvation (Matt. 5:14;… Read More

LITURGY – (Gr. a public duty or work) The work or public service of the people of God, which is the worship of the one true God. As a word liturgy means the common work or action of a particular group of people for the sake of all. Thus the divine liturgy of the Christian… Read More

LOVE – Charity, union, affection, friendship; unselfish concern for another’s good. The love of Christians for each other and for the world is a reflection of the love between the three Persons of the Holy Trinity. (John 11:3, 36; 1 Cor. 13; 1 John 4:8, 16.)

MAGNIFICAT – The prayer or hymn sung by the Virgin Mary when she visited St. Elizabeth, the mother of St. John the Baptist, shortly after the Annunciation (Luke 1:46 55). Sung frequently during Matins in the Orthodox Church, this hymn takes its title from the Latin for the beginning phrase, “My soul magnifies the Lord.”… Read More

MAN – (Gr. anthropos) Frequently used in the Bible in the generic sense for both man and woman. Man is the pinnacle of God’s creation, for only he among the creatures was made in the image and likeness of God. (Gen. 1:26, 27; Luke 4:4.)  God’s vision of humanity far exceeds our limited understanding, this… Read More

MARTYR – (Gr. martyria) Literally, “a witness.” Normally, the term is used to describe those who give their lives for Christ. Martyria has two meanings: (1) witness or testimony, especially that which God bears to Christians, and which Christians bear to the world; and (2) martyrdom, especially Christ’s Passion, and the martyrdom of Christians for… Read More

MATINS – The early morning prayer service in the Orthodox Church. It begins with six psalms and has the reading of one of the eleven Resurrection Gospels, followed by the Canon with nine Odes and also the Great Doxology. It always is served before Divine Liturgy, sometimes on the eve of a holy day. The… Read More

MEDIATOR – One who intervenes on behalf of another. Jesus Christ intervenes on behalf of the faithful before God the Father.   (an appellation or Title of Jesus)   “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;” (1 Tim. 2:5).

MERCY – The compassionate, steadfast love of God for sinners. Christians reflect the mercy of God by caring for others. The most frequent prayer in Orthodox worship is “Lord, have mercy.“ (Matt. 5:7; Eph. 2:v7; Titus 3:4 7.) 

MESSIAH – 1) The Christ, the anointed one of God. Jesus Christ is the Messiah, fulfilling all the promises made by God to His chosen people (Is. 7:14; 9:6; Matt. 16:13 17). 2) (an appellation or Title of Jesus)  “He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias,… Read More

MILLENNIUM – A thousand years. The Orthodox Church has traditionally taught that the thousand-year reign of Christ on earth before the final defeat of Satan, as recorded in Rev. 20:1-3, is symbolic of the rule of Christ through the Church, which is a manifestation of the Kingdom of God (2 Pet. 3:8).

MIND – The intelligent faculty, the inner person; often used synonymously with “heart.”? There are two Greek words for mind: (1) nous, the mind which is separated from the sensible world and the passions (Rom. 8:7; 12:2); and (2) dianoia, the intellect (Matt. 22:37).

MISSION – A task given by God to His people. Christ sent the Seventy on a mission (Luke 10:1-24). St. Paul went on three missionary journeys to preach the gospel (Acts 13:1?14:28; 15:36?18:22; 18:23 21:16). The mission of the Church today is to proclaim Christ to the world.

MYSTERY – The ways of God, especially God’s plan for salvation, which cannot be known with the rational, finite human mind, but can be experienced only by the revelation of God. The Orthodox Church also uses the term mystery for the sacraments of the Church. (Mark 4:11; 1 Cor. 2:7, 8; Eph. 5:32). see also… Read More

NATURE – The sum of the qualities shared by individuals of the same type. (The qualities which distinguish individuals of a type from one another make up the “person.”) The Holy Trinity is one divine Nature in three Persons. Humanity is one human nature in many persons. Although stained by sin, human nature is good,… Read More

NEW MAN – One who is being transformed or deified by the Holy Spirit into a new creature in communion with God (2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 6:15).

NEW JERUSALEM – The center of the Kingdom of God which will be established following the Second Coming of Christ and the Last Judgment. The heavenly Jerusalem will take the place of the old earthly Jerusalem, and is called by Paul, “the mother of us all” (Gal. 4:26).  (Rev. 3:12; 21:2.)

OLD MAN – One not transformed by the Holy Spirit, still a slave to sin and death (Rom. 6:5-7; Eph. 4:20-24).

ORDINATION – (Holy Orders) The sacramental act setting a man apart for the ministry of the Church by the laying on of hands of a bishop. The original meaning of ordination includes both election and imposing of hands (Acts 6:1-6; 14:23; 1 Tim. 4:14).    

ORIGINAL SIN – (Ancestral Sin) The fact that every person born comes into the world stained with the consequences of the sins of Adam and Eve and of their other ancestors. These consequences are chiefly: (1) mortality, (2) a tendency to sin, and (3) alienation from God and from other people. Original sin does not… Read More

PARABLE – A story told to illustrate a greater truth through images related to the daily lives of the hearers. Christ’s teaching is filled with parables ( Matt. 13:1-54).

PARADISE – The place of rest for the departed in Christ. The original Paradise, seen in Gen. 2:8 14, will be restored in its fullness following the Second Coming of Christ. (Luke 23:43; 2 Cor. 12:4; 2 Pet. 3:13; Rev. 2:7; 21:1.) The word Paradise means a garden. It is the name given to the… Read More

PARADOX – That which is true, but not conventionally logical: for example, that a virgin could bear a Son and yet remain a virgin, as did Mary; or that God can be One, yet three Persons. The Christian faith is full of paradoxes, because our intellect is not sufficient to comprehend the mind of God… Read More