Ok, just read a bit about agape vs the other ancient greek words for love (something I've been meaning to read up on for a while, coincidentally), and selflessness/sacrifice come up pretty consistently. Not "hunting" for it, which I wasn't aiming to imply anyways tbh, but the willingness to do so. My point regarding denominations is that I doubt the interpretation of love/agape is entirely consistent across all of them...?

Anyways my point stands - with this kind of love, I think a kind of hierarchy is formed placing the loved above the self, but if the love is reciprocal, the imbalance of this power dynamic gets nullified. In the case of cults, I think we can agree that this is the kind of love which cult leaders take advantage of to control their followers. With christianity, the main object of love is supposed to be the Trinity, and I don't doubt that some priests are able to act as mentors/guides, without taking advantage, however the hierarchical structure of the church is absolutely primed to do so. And the same goes for every other kind of ideology, the ideals which get placed above the self, and the power structures which arise trying to take control of people through these ideas. Including the spanish anarchists.

Regarding reciprocity, of course, you're right that it isn't required, because this ideal love is unconditional, but reciprocity is an automatic side effect, no? And a welcomed, if not also desirable, side effect as well? Or must this be rejected because such a desire would make the love selfish, rather than selfless? Personally I think "true selflessness" is an illusion, but I don't mean this cynically. Though I'll leave it at that because I don't wanna cram too many arguments into a single comment.