Faith & RitualGreek → English
Soteriology
/səˌtɪəriˈɒlədʒi/noun
The branch of theology dealing with how salvation works and what it consists of.
The Greek roots
σωτηρία
sōtēría
deliverance, salvation
λόγος
lógos
account, study
Literally: “study of deliverance”
The story of the word
Before it meant anything religious, σωτηρία was ordinary rescue: coming home alive from a voyage, a city surviving a siege, a patient recovering. Greek cities voted sacrifices ὑπὲρ σωτηρίας, for the safety of the people, and inscribed the word on public monuments. The theological narrowing came through the New Testament's σωτήρ, saviour, and the English discipline was named in the nineteenth century.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → scientific coinage → English
- First recorded
- 19th century
The same roots elsewhere
Other languages reached for exactly the same Greek pieces.
Same family
sotertheologyeschatologyChristology
In a sentence
His soteriology leaves surprisingly little room for human effort.