The Christian world is faced with the problem of modernizing the translation of religious texts, first and foremost the texts of the Gospels. The necessity of this modernization is dictated by the needs of religious enlightenment. Translations of the Scriptures meeting the structural and stylistic norms of modern languages are more easily understood by laymen in their contacts with religion. For all this, it should be clear that re-translating the sacred religious texts is not called upon to supplant or in any way discard their use in the original translations in the spheres determined by the proper Church authorities. The author identifies and discusses the value of the three following types of translation: equivalent, semi-equivalent and unequivalent.