Octavian Gordon - Denominational Translation of Patristic Texts into Romanian: Elements for a Patristic Traductology.

A series of denominational marks can be found in different translations into Romanian of Greek or Latin patristic texts. Even if two or more translations of the same Greek / Latin word or phrase are philologically correct, it appears that a translation made by an orthodox will employ certain language (most of them lexical) features, whereas a catholic or a protestant, when translating the same patristic text, will use a different terminology, or even topic and morphological features. 

This may be due, on the one hand, to at least two different traditions in the Romanian literature, concerning the history of literary language (as well), but, on the other hand, also to a different understanding of the patristic texts, whether we refer to important theological (especially dogmatic and liturgical) terms or the nature of the patristic literature itself. 

This communication aims to give possible answers to three questions: 1. Whether / To what extent the major differences in patristic translations are relevant for the understanding of the text. 2. Whether the scientific character of a translation is organically linked to patristic hermeneutics. 3. Whether the translations that allege themselves to be denominationally-blind have a language of their own, or rather they perforce resort to unavoidable elements of denominational language, in a loosely controlled assortment.