You'll hear these words before you read them, usually sung, often fast. Here's how American parishes say them. Capitals mark the stressed syllable. Kh is the throaty sound at the end of Bach; th in a Greek word may be soft, as in this, or hard, as in thin, and the Notes say which when it matters. Where Greek and Slavic parishes say a word differently, the respelling gives both. Every word here is also in the Glossary, which has the rest. Nobody at coffee hour will correct you, and if somebody does, take it as a welcome.
| Term | Say it | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Theotokos | thee-oh-TOH-kos | Said the same in Greek and Slavic parishes; Slavonic also has its own word, Bogoroditsa. |
| Panagia | pah-nah-YEE-ah | Greek. Before i or e, the Greek g sounds like the y in yes. |
| Pascha | PAHS-khah | Greek and Slavic parishes say it alike. The kh is the throaty sound at the end of Bach. |
| Christ is risen! | Greek khree-STOS ah-NES-tee; Slavic khree-STOS vahs-KREH-seh; Arabic al-mah-SEEH KAHM | The answers: Greek Alithos anesti, Slavonic Voistinu voskrese, Arabic Haqqan qam. |
| Kyrie eleison | KEE-ree-eh eh-LEH-ee-son | Greek for "Lord, have mercy"; Slavonic is Gospodi pomiluy. |
| Axios | AHK-see-os | Greek for "worthy." |
| Iconostasis | eye-kuh-NOSS-tuh-sis; Greek ee-koh-noh-STAH-sis | English stress on NOSS; Greek parishes stress STAH. Slavonic ikonostas. |
| Narthex | NAR-theks | |
| Ambo | AM-boh | |
| Antimension | an-tee-MEEN-see-on | Slavonic antimins. |
| Antidoron | an-TEE-dor-on; Greek ahn-DEE-tho-ro | In the Greek, th is soft, as in this. |
| Prosphora | PROS-foh-rah; Greek PROS-foh-roh; Slavic prohs-foh-RAH | Three stresses for one loaf: English on the first syllable, Greek on the first with a final -o, Slavic on the last. |
| Proskomedia | pros-koh-MEE-dee-ah; Greek pros-koh-mee-THEE | The usual American form follows the Slavonic proskomidiya; Greek parishes say proskomidi. |
| Orthros | OR-thros | The Greek name for Matins. |
| Presbytera, Matushka, Khouria | Greek prez-vee-TEH-rah; Slavic MAH-toosh-kah; Arabic khoo-REE-yah | The priest's wife: Greek, Slavic and Arabic titles. Use the one the parish uses. |
| Epitrachelion | eh-pee-trah-KHEE-lee-on | Slavonic epitrakhil'. |
| Phelonion | feh-LOH-nee-on | Slavonic felon'. |
| Sticharion | stee-KHAH-ree-on | Slavonic stikhar'. |
| Orarion | oh-RAH-ree-on | Slavonic orar'. |
| Omophorion | oh-moh-FOH-ree-on | Slavonic omofor. |
| Epigonation | eh-pee-goh-NAH-tee-on | |
| Kamilavka | kah-mee-LAHV-kah | Slavonic kamilavka; the Greek book form is kamilavkion. |
| Diskos | DIS-kos; Greek THEES-kos | In Greek the d is a soft th, as in this. |
| Koliva | KOH-lee-vah; Slavic kutya koot-YAH | Slavic parishes say kutya. |
| Panikhida | pah-nee-KHEE-dah | Slavic; Greek parishes say mnemosyno. |
| Mnemosyno | mnee-MOH-see-noh | Greek; Slavic parishes say panikhida. |
| Trisagion | tree-SAH-yee-on | Before i, the Greek g sounds like y. |
| Prokeimenon | proh-KEE-meh-non | Slavonic prokimen. |
| Cherubic Hymn | chuh-ROO-bik; Greek Cheroubikon kheh-roo-vee-KON | Slavonic Kheruvimskaya. |
| Anaphora | uh-NAF-uh-ruh; Greek ah-nah-foh-RAH | English stresses the second syllable, Greek the last. |
| Epiclesis | ep-ih-KLEE-sis; Greek eh-PEE-klee-sis | English stresses KLEE, Greek PEE. |
| Zeon | ZEH-on | Greek; Slavonic calls the hot water teplota. |
| Zapivka | zah-PEEV-kah | Slavic parishes only. |
| Theophany | thee-OFF-uh-nee | |
| Dormition | dor-MISH-un | |
| Moleben | moh-LEH-ben | Slavic; the nearest Greek service is the paraklesis. |
| Paraklesis | pah-RAH-klee-sis | Greek. |
| Troparion | troh-PAH-ree-on | Slavonic tropar'. |
| Kontakion | kon-DAH-kee-on; Slavic kondak kahn-DAHK | |
| Apolytikion | ah-poh-lee-TEE-kee-on | Greek; Slavic parishes just say troparion. |
| Megalynarion | meh-gah-lee-NAH-ree-on | Slavonic zadostoynik. |
| Typikon | tee-pee-KON; Slavic TEE-pee-kon | |
| Theosis | thee-OH-sis | |
| Komboskini | kom-boh-SKEE-nee; Russian chotki CHOHT-kee | |
| Dynamis | THEE-nah-mees | In Greek the D is a soft th, as in this. |