Top Five Greek Words Every Catholic Should Know

Why should Roman Catholics know Greek words?

During the Inauguration Mass of Pope Leo XIV, the Gospel reading was proclaimed in both Latin and Greek, a symbolic act representing the Catholic Church's unity of both Western and Eastern traditions. In fact, this year marks the 1700 anniversary of the Council of Nicea. Pope Leo and the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew will hold a joint event later this year in Iznik, Turkey – the ancient city of Nicaea – where the landmark council was held in 325 AD. There is an ongoing effort to bring the Eastern, Greek speaking Catholics into a greater unity with Rome.

We know that Latin is the official ancient language of the Church. Many Catholics have picked up basic Latin phrases and words just by being Catholic or by living in what remains of Western Civilization. We also know a few Greek words because every now and then we chant them during the Penitential Rite at Mass. ‘The Kyrie’ is a prayer where we say, ‘Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy’. In Greek it sounds like, ‘Kyrie Eleison, Christi Eleison, Kyrie Eleison’.

Ancient Greek is important to everyone because of the residual effect of the life and reign of Alexander the Great who lived from 356 BC- 323 BC. His empire spread throughout ithe land of the Bible and way beyond. The Greek language and culture was intentionally spread and eventually dominated through the period and process of Hellenism 323 BC- 32 BC. 

Many of the Jews were hellenized and as a result, the Old Testament was first translated into Greek during the 3rd century BC. This translation, known as the Septuagint. Similarly, the first five books, called the Torah in Hebrew, are called the Pentateuch in Greek. 

For Christians this matters because the Old Testament is part of our Holy Scriptures and the New Testament was mostly originally written in Greek. Serious Catholic Bible scholars study biblical Greek in order to read the Septuagint and the New Testament as it existed in the times of the early Church. 

So what about the rest of us who don’t study biblical Greek? What Greek words should we know?

1. Theos: (pronounced,‘thay-ose’)Theos means God or deity. Most of us who don’t know Greek know that Theology means the study of God. The word ‘Theos’ appears over 1300 times in the New Testament in phrases like "the true God" (1 Thessalonians 1:9; 1 John 5:20), "the one God" (1 Corinthians 8:6; 1 Timothy 2:5), or "the only true God" (John 17:3).

2. Logos: (pronounced, ‘low-gose’)  In John’s gospel, Jesus (God the Son) is called the ‘Word of God’ or more accurately, the Logos. Logos is the root for the English word, Logic. Logos literally means ‘word’. Words express ideas and ideas originate in the minds of intelligent beings. Therefore we can understand Logos as order, meaning, logic, purpose and design incarnated in the person of Jesus. The world is created through the Word of God (all things were created through Him). The Logos is like the spiritual DNA stamped into all of creation. governing the cosmos and guiding all things to their proper end. This is what Saint Thomas Aquinas called the ‘Eternal Law’. The word, ‘Logos’ was used 331 times in the New Testament, most notably in Jn 1:1, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.’

3. Pneuma:  (pronounced, ‘new- ma’)Pneuma is frequently used to refer to the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity. The Hebrew word "ruah," often translated as "spirit," "breath," or "wind," is translated to "pneuma" in the New Testament Greek. The wind that swept over creation at the beginning of time, the wind that came into the upper room windows at Pentecost and the breath that God breathed into Adam are all referring to the life-giving Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit. Jesus used the word "pneuma" on Easter night, as recorded in John 20:22. Jesus said, "Receive the Holy Spirit (pneuma hagion)." The branch of theology that delves into the study of the Holy Spirit is called pneumatology. The word ‘pneuma’ appears around 385 times in the New Testament. 

4. Agape: (pronounced, ‘ah-GAH-peh’) Agape is self-sacrificial, unconditional Christian love. It is best exemplified by the crucifix. Saint Paul described it as patient, kind, selfless, and enduring. It is not jealous, boastful, proud, or rude, and it rejoices in the truth, not in wrongdoing. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. Ultimately, love never fails. It was used 106 times in the New Testament. When the resurrected Jesus asked Peter three times, ‘Do you love me?’, he was using the word ‘agapao’. Peter responded with a word that means a lesser kind of friendship love when he answered, ‘Yes Lord you know I love (Phileo) you’ (Jn 21:15-19). 

5. Metanoia: (pronounced, ‘meh-tah-noy-ya’) Metanoia literally means "a changing of the mind," and it reflects a transformation in one's thinking and perspective. In theology it means repentance. In Mark's gospel, the first words out of Jesus’ mouth included this word. “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent (metanoeo), and believe in the gospel”(Mark 1:15). In the New Testament,  the noun "metanoia" is used 24 times, while the verb "metanoeo" is used 34 times. 

I chose these five words which loosely translate to English:

• Father (Theos)

• Son (Logos)

• Holy Spirit (Pneuma)

• Love (Agape)

• Repent (Metanoia)

If you think about it, these words are a summation of the Bible message: the whole of salvation history is God coming to us in three divine Persons to love us and our response is to willingly be changed by that love through repentance and conversion.