The thing I most admire about the RDL is its use of the untranslated title, Theotokos. Perhaps the same approach ought to have been used for that title of her Son and God, Philanthropos. This would have solved more than one problem.

I did run across one English translation of our liturgical texts which retained the term "Philanthropos, philanthropic". The problem is not that the term is hopelessly incomprehensible - no matter how we translate it there will always be a need to explain its Biblical background - but that it already has a meaning in English which is distant from that Biblical background, to the extent that Chesterton could describe a philanthropist as "someone who loves anthropoids"! Amusing, certainly, but not helpful for our purposes.

Fr. Serge

I thought "Lover of the humankind" referred to the God Father.

Fr. Serge, could you explain that Biblical background, please?

Yes, but not this morning!

Fr. Serge

Phillipe,

Thanks for the correction!

Sorry for the delay. My discussion of "Philanthropos" appears in Logos: A Journal of Eastern Christian Studies, Vol. 39 (1998) Nos. 2-4, pp. 267-402, "Ukrainian Catholics: Four Translations of the Divine Liturgy [and] Some Early Translations"

The specific material on Philanthropos and Philanthropia can be found on pages 308-314.

Fr. Serge

It is at times not explicit in the liturgy exactly to whom our prayers are addressed -- Father, Christ, Spirit, Trinity. At least twice, however, it is clear that the concluding word of the concluding blessing of the service of the preparation and the liturgy itself each end with the very word philanthropos/chelovikolubets, and that this designation -- some might say title -- is here applied to Christ:

Christ our true God, through the prayers of His most pure Mother and of our holy Father (JOHN CHRYSOSTOM, BASIL THE GREAT, ...) and of all the saints, will have mercy on us and will save us, for He is good and loves Mankind.

Fr. Serge, is that material available on internet? As you know I live in Brazil and the access would be very difficult.

Thanks, ajk, for the observation!

To the best of my knowledge, it is not available on the Internet. Send me a PM with your postal address, and I'll send you a copy of the article from Logos.

Fr. Serge