BSc Counselling

In Christian theology, the term metanoia (from the Greek μετάνοια, metanoia, changing one's mind) is often translated as "conversion" or "repentance," though most scholars agree that this second translation does a disservice to the original Greek meaning of metanoia.

In Christianity, especially in Orthodox Christianity, the Greek philosophical concept of metanoia has become linked with Christian prayer, in which a prostration is called a metanoia, with "the spiritual condition of one's soul being expressed through the physical movement of falling facedown before the Lord" as seen in the biblical passages of Matthew 2:11, Luke 5:12, and Luke 17:15–16. In this context, the term suggests repudiation, change of mind, repentance, and atonement.

The most direct translation of the term "metanoia" from the Greek to English is "think again".