North Rhine-Westphalia Zentralabitur Orthodox Religious Education key terms

The Orthodox teaching that human beings are called to be transformed by God's grace into his likeness, sharing in the divine life without becoming God in essence. It frames salvation as union with God rather than a merely legal verdict.

The biblical claim that humans are made in God's image (Genesis 1:26–27). Patristic writers distinguish the given image from the likeness that must be freely acquired through virtuous living and grace.

The cooperation of human freedom with divine grace in salvation and growth in holiness. Orthodox theology rejects both pure human self-salvation and a grace that overrides the will, insisting that God invites and the person responds.

The God-given capacity of humans to choose, including the capacity to accept or refuse grace. It grounds moral responsibility and explains why love toward God must be freely offered rather than compelled.

The Orthodox reading of the fall of Adam and Eve as an inheritance of mortality, corruption, and a disordered condition rather than inherited personal guilt. Each person still sins personally and needs healing.

In ascetical theology, disordered desires or habits that enslave the person and distort the image of God. They are not simply emotions but sicknesses of the soul to be healed through repentance, prayer, and ascetic effort.

A state of inner freedom and calm in which the passions no longer dominate the person. It is a goal of ascetic struggle, understood as loving detachment rather than indifference or the absence of feeling.

The disciplined practices of fasting, prayer, vigils, and self-restraint undertaken to heal the passions and grow in virtue. It is understood as cooperation with grace, not as earning salvation or despising the body.

The teaching that in Jesus Christ one divine person, the Son, unites a complete divine nature and a complete human nature without confusion, change, division, or separation. The formula derives from the Council of Chalcedon.

The exchange of attributes by which statements about either nature of Christ may be predicated of the one person. Thus one may say that the Son of God was crucified, while attributes remain proper to each nature.

The teaching that Christ's human nature has no independent human person of its own but exists in the person of the divine Son. It guards against reading the union as two parallel subjects.

The ecumenical council of 451 whose definition confesses Christ as one person in two natures, divine and human, without confusion or separation. It is the reference point for Orthodox Christology and for dialogue with Oriental churches.

Greek for 'God-bearer', the title given to Mary because the child she bore is the divine Son incarnate. The Council of Ephesus in 431 affirmed it as a Christological statement about the unity of Christ's person.

The act by which the eternal Son of God assumed full human nature from the Virgin Mary and became man. Orthodox soteriology treats it as the decisive event of God's saving solidarity with humanity and creation.

The patristic idea, associated especially with Irenaeus, that Christ sums up and heals the whole human story by passing through every stage of it. His obedience reverses the disobedience of the first Adam.

A model of atonement presenting Christ's death and resurrection as the defeat of death, sin, and the powers that held humanity captive. It is prominent in patristic thought alongside sacrificial and healing imagery.

The descent of Christ to the realm of the dead after his crucifixion, proclaimed in 1 Peter 3:19 and celebrated in iconography. It shows the resurrection as the liberation of the dead from death's grip.

A gathering of bishops from the whole Church whose doctrinal decisions are received as authoritative. The Orthodox Church recognizes seven, from Nicaea in 325 to Nicaea II in 787, and treats their teaching as binding tradition.

The principle that the Church's faith is discerned and expressed through councils and the common mind of the faithful rather than by a single office. It is closely tied to the communion of local churches.

A term, elaborated by Russian theologians, for the Church's catholicity as a unity of persons in freedom and love. It is often contrasted with mere administrative centralization or individualistic religiosity.

The status of a local church that elects its own head and governs itself while remaining in full communion with other Orthodox churches. It expresses the Church's organization as a communion of self-governing churches.

A visible action of the Church through which the Holy Spirit conveys grace, such as baptism or the Eucharist. Orthodox tradition commonly speaks of seven mysteries while insisting that the whole life of the Church is sacramental.

The thanksgiving service in which bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ and the community is gathered into one body. It is the central act of Orthodox worship and the source of the Church's identity.

The liturgical remembrance by which the saving events of Christ are made present rather than merely recalled. In the anaphora it links the institution narrative to the offering of the Church in thanksgiving.

The invocation of the Holy Spirit in the Eucharistic prayer, asking the Father to send the Spirit upon the gifts and the people. It expresses the Orthodox emphasis that the sacrament is accomplished by the Spirit.

The great Eucharistic prayer of thanksgiving and offering that leads to communion. It includes praise, the sanctus, the institution narrative, the anamnesis, the epiclesis, and intercessions.

The sacrament of anointing with holy chrism, conferring the gift of the Holy Spirit. In Orthodox practice it normally follows baptism immediately and marks full initiation into the Church.

The screen of icons separating the nave from the sanctuary in many Orthodox churches. It frames the entrance into the heavenly liturgy and orders the veneration of images around the feasts of Christ and the saints.

A sacred image, usually painted on wood, depicting Christ, Mary, angels, or saints. Orthodox theology treats it as a window to the prototype, not an idol, and links its legitimacy to the incarnation.

The practice of honoring icons with relative veneration while reserving worship for God alone. The distinction was defined at Nicaea II in 787 and rests on the difference between the image and its prototype.

The movement in the eighth and ninth centuries that opposed the use of religious images as idolatry. Its condemnation shaped Orthodox theology of images and the celebration of the Triumph of Orthodoxy.

The seventh ecumenical council, held in 787, which defended the veneration of icons and distinguished it from the worship due to God. It is a key reference for Orthodox sacred art and theology.

The visual tradition of Orthodox sacred art, governed by conventions of perspective, color, and symbolism rather than naturalistic representation. Its forms aim to convey transfigured creation and theological meaning.

The principle that the rule of prayer shapes and expresses the rule of faith. Orthodox theology treats liturgy as a primary locus of doctrine, so that worship texts are read as theological sources.

The public worship of the Church, especially the Divine Liturgy, understood as the common work of the people. It is the place where Scripture, doctrine, and sacrament are enacted together.

The interpretation of Scripture according to the Fathers, often using typology, allegory, and attention to the unity of the biblical narrative. It reads the Old Testament as pointing to Christ and the Church.

Reading persons, events, or institutions of the Old Testament as prefigurations of Christ and the Church, such as the crossing of the Red Sea prefiguring baptism. It presupposes one divine plan across both testaments.

In patristic exegesis, the spiritual insight that perceives the deeper meaning of a text beyond its literal sense. It is not arbitrary allegory but a contemplative reading within the Church's tradition.

The effort to restore visible unity among Christians through dialogue, prayer, and common witness. Orthodox participation is grounded in the Church's catholicity and in the goal of shared faith and sacramental communion.

Structured theological conversation between church bodies aimed at overcoming divisions. Orthodox bilateral dialogues address issues such as primacy, the filioque, and the sacraments with Roman Catholic and Protestant partners.

The Latin addition to the Nicene Creed stating that the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. Orthodox theology objects that it confuses the persons' relations and was added without an ecumenical council.

A fellowship of churches founded in 1948 that promotes ecumenical cooperation, theological dialogue, and common service. Most Orthodox churches are members and participate while maintaining their ecclesiological self-understanding.

The confession of faith formulated at Nicaea in 325 and completed at Constantinople in 381. It is recited in the liturgy and functions as a normative summary of trinitarian and Christological faith.

The Christian confession of one God in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, sharing one essence. Orthodox theology emphasizes the monarchy of the Father and the communion of the three persons.

The rupture between the churches of Rome and Constantinople marked by mutual excommunications. Its causes included disputes over papal authority, the filioque, and liturgical practice, and it remains a focus of ecumenical work.

An ancient self-governing church led by a patriarch, such as Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, or Jerusalem. The Pentarchy shaped the classical ordering of the Church and remains relevant to Orthodox self-understanding.

The gradual estrangement culminating in the eleventh-century break between East and West. Historians stress that the division was a process rather than a single event.

A tradition of contemplative prayer, associated with Mount Athos, centered on stillness and the invocation of the Jesus Prayer. Its theological defense by Gregory Palamas shaped Orthodox teaching on divine light and grace.

A short repeated prayer, commonly 'Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner'. It is central to Orthodox spirituality as a way of unceasing prayer and interior stillness.

The application of Orthodox anthropology and moral theology to medical and life issues, treating the person as a body-soul unity made in God's image. It emphasizes love, healing, and pastoral discernment over rigid legalism.

The pastoral principle of wise accommodation in applying church discipline for the sake of salvation, as distinct from strictness of the law. It is used in sacramental and ethical decisions but is not arbitrary leniency.

The conviction that human life is a gift of God deserving protection from conception to natural death. In Orthodox bioethics it is grounded in the image of God and the person's call to communion.

Greek for resurrection, used especially for the icon of Christ's descent into hell, where he raises Adam and Eve. The image presents the resurrection as victory over death and the liberation of the dead.

The saving passage of Christ through death to resurrection, celebrated above all in the Easter liturgy. Orthodox theology reads the whole Christian life as participation in this mystery through baptism and Eucharist.

The sacrament of initiation by water and the Holy Spirit, incorporating the person into Christ's death and resurrection. In Orthodox practice it is normally followed by chrismation and first communion.

The Greek term mysterion, translated as sacrament, denoting a visible sign that conveys hidden divine grace. It also names the whole saving plan of God revealed in Christ.

The branch of theology concerned with the nature and mission of the Church. Orthodox ecclesiology stresses communion, eucharistic identity, and the unity of local churches in one faith.

The grace that precedes and enables human response to God, awakening the will and drawing the person toward faith. Orthodox theology links it to synergy, since it invites rather than coerces consent.