The common Greek of the Hellenistic world: original language of the New Testament and of the Septuagint, and foundational for Greek Christianity.
Tagged: Catholic
After Alexander, Greek became the common tongue of the eastern Mediterranean. The New Testament was written in this post-classical variety, and in it the Greek fathers built the vocabulary of Christian doctrine — ousia, hypostasis, theologia itself.
Key Texts
Prayers & Creeds in Its Traditions
- Act of Contrition Catholic — A prayer of sorrow for sin, prayed in the Sacrament of Penance and in personal examination of conscience.
- Anima Christi Catholic — A medieval prayer asking Christ's body, blood, and passion to sanctify, save, and protect the one who prays.
- Glory Be (Gloria Patri) Catholic — A short doxology praising the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, used across Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant worship.
- Hail Mary Catholic — A prayer to the Virgin Mary built from the angel's greeting in Luke 1, asking for her intercession.
- Jesus Prayer Orthodox — A short, repeated invocation of Jesus asking for mercy, central to the Orthodox hesychast tradition.
- Prayers of the Rosary Catholic — The set of prayers prayed on the beads of the Rosary, including the Fatima Prayer and the Hail Holy Queen.
- Te Deum Catholic — An ancient Latin hymn of praise to God, sung on occasions of solemn thanksgiving in Catholic and Anglican worship.
- The Angelus Catholic — A thrice-daily prayer of versicles and Hail Marys commemorating the Annunciation and the Incarnation.
- Trisagion Prayers Orthodox — The opening prayers of Orthodox services and prayer rules, built around the thrice-holy hymn 'Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal.'
Glossary Terms from Koine Greek
- apophatic (ἀποφατικός) — By denial or negation.
- cataphatic (καταφατικός) — By affirmation.
- homoousios (ὁμοούσιος) — Of the same essence or substance.
- hypostasis (ὑπόστασις) — That which stands under; a subsistence.
- kenosis (κένωσις) — An emptying.
- oikonomia (οἰκονομία) — Household management; the stewardship of a house.
- ousia (οὐσία) — Being; essence; substance.
- perichoresis (περιχώρησις) — A going around together; mutual indwelling.
- theologia (θεολογία) — Speech about God; discourse concerning divine things.
- theosis (θέωσις) — Deification; being made god.
Learning and Reference Resources
- Perseus Digital Library — LSJ lexicon Free / open access
Related Across the Site
- Catholic Culture Library — An online library, dictionary, and document search representing more than 2,000 years of Catholic scholarship and teaching.
- Clerus.org / BIBLIACLERUS Library — The electronic library of the Congregation for the Clergy: the Bible in many languages with commentaries, and the documents of the Church.
- Corpus Thomisticum Library — The complete works of St. Thomas Aquinas, with manuscripts, bibliography, and research tools for Thomistic study.
- FORMED Library — A Catholic streaming platform with video studies, movies, audio programs, and ebooks, offered by subscription through parishes and directly.
- Verbum Library — A Catholic digital library with interactive study tools and packaged collections of Scripture, the Fathers, and Catholic scholarship.
- Glory Be (Gloria Patri) Prayer or Creed — A short doxology praising the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, used across Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant worship.
- Hail Mary Prayer or Creed — A prayer to the Virgin Mary built from the angel's greeting in Luke 1, asking for her intercession.
- The Catholic World View World View — Catholic Christianity confesses one triune God and receives his revelation through Scripture and Tradition, guarded by the Church Christ founded and its apostolic teaching office.
Provenance
Classification follows Ethnologue and standard Hellenic linguistics; identifiers verified at build time.