Greek: New Testament Readings | Upper School

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This is an advanced readings course for Upper School students who have completed New Testament Greek Beginner (or equivalent), and are already competent in Koine (New Testament) Greek grammar and fluency. It is taught in the received pronunciation (modern pronunciation) which is a living language within the Greek Orthodox Church worldwide.

The fact that our class meets twice a week defines the scope of our work together. The purpose of our class meeting is to offer live instruction from a skilled teacher, who can explain the content of the course in a responsive way, giving students closer guidance than they would receive from a textbook, in a difficult subject many parents do not feel equipped to teach. The class meeting is also a time to coach students in their practice of skills they will need as they study Greek on the other four days of the week.

Saint Raphael’s School teaches what is often called “Koine Greek.” It is the dialect of Greek which was spoken throughout the Eastern Mediterranean following the conquests of Alexander the Great in the late 4th century BC, and persisted throughout the Roman and Byzantine periods and eventually evolved into the Modern Greek language which is currently spoken in Greece today. Koine Greek is the dialect of Greek with which the New Testament was written (which is why is Koine Greek is often called “New Testament Greek”).

Along with the New Testament, the various services of The Eastern Church, hymns, prayers, and saints lives were also composed in Koine Greek. At Saint Raphael’s School, Koine Greek is taught using the “Modern” or “Received” pronunciation. This pronunciation is identical to that used by speakers of the Modern Greek language today, and it is also the pronunciation currently used for the liturgies and services of the Orthodox Church of Greece, and most of the Orthodox Churches under the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarch, including The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America (GOARCH).

Schole Academy teaches both Classical and Koine Greek. Classical Greek is slightly different from and grammatically more complex than Koine Greek. While our course at Saint Raphael’s focuses on equipping Orthodox Christians with the tools to understand the New Testament, the church fathers, and the liturgy, Scholé course exposes students to the Greek of a lengthier period, from Homer (8th century BC) through “The Golden Age of Athens” (5th century BC) and into the Hellenistic/Koine period (including the New Testament and Patristics). Whereas our course uses the modern pronunciation employed in the Orthodox Church, Scholé Academy uses a pronunciation  “reconstructed” to approximate that of the time period of 5th century Athens. We hope this description of the two sets of courses helps you decide which is more appropriate for your purposes.