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Conference talk in September 2023

  • (9 September 2023) Naoki Kamimura, ‘The healing imagery and its function in Roman North Africa,’ paper given at the APECSS 13th Annual Conference ‘Pluralistic Contexts in Early Christianity,’ Trinity Theological College, Singapore, 7–9 September 2023.

2023 APECSS TTC

For the first time in three years and nine months, I attended a conference abroad: the 13th annual conference of the Asia-Pacific Early Christian Studies Society, postponed from 2020, was held at the Trinity Theological College in Singapore, and I visited Singapore for the first time, albeit for only three days. I spent very fruitful days there, not only catching up with old friends I hadn’t seen in a long time, but also having stimulating exchanges with new participants.

2023 APECSS Marina Bay
2023 APECSS near Boat Quay
2023 APECSS Jewel @ Changi Airport

Conference talk in May 2023

  • (30 May 2023) Naoki Kamimura, ‘Augustine’s City of God and its Psychagogical Function,’ paper given at the Annual Meeting of the Canadian Society of Patristic Studies, as a Virtual Attendee, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 28–30 May 2023.

The first conference presentation of the year was made via online participation in the annual meeting of the Canadian Society of Patristic Studies. The presentation was part of a research project funded by a ‘Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research’ from 2021–2023.

Shifting Frontiers XV

Shifting Frontiers XV: Romans in New Worlds: Considering ‘Global Late Antiquity’ (21–24 September 2023)

You may be interested in the Shifting Frontiers XV conference scheduled for 21–24 September of this year at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

You will find more information at https://shiftingfrontiersxv.history.ucsb.edu/.

The deadline for submitting paper or panel ideas is 21 March.

AIEP-IAPS YouTube Channel March 2023

In March, our channel will present the following video:

Section: New books on Patristics

Interview with Prof. Jonathan Zecher (Research Fellow at the Institute for Religion and Critical Inquiry Australian Catholic University) about his recent Spiritual Direction as a Medical Art in Early Christian Monasticism, published by Oxford University Press in October 2022. Special thanks to Prof. Bronwen Neil (Department of History and Archaeology, Macquarie University). This video will be uploaded on March 4th.

Thanks to these prestigious scholars for their important contribution!

You can find the AIEP-IAPS-YouTube at the following link: https://youtube.com/@aiep

You can also find the videos on our website: https://aiep-iaps.org/iaps-youtube-videos

Conference talks in 2022

  • Naoki Kamimura, ‘Martyrdom in time of peace and the relation of Christian identities to parrhesia,’ paper given at the Annual Meeting of the Canadian Society of Patristic Studies, Virtual Online Conference, 29–31 May 2022.
  • Naoki Kamimura, ‘The cura animarum of Augustine in the City of God,’ paper given at the North American Patristic Society 2022 Annual Meeting Session 13A (virtual only), Hyatt Regency Chicago, Chicago, IL, 26–28 May 2022.

These talks were held as part of a research project funded by a ‘Grant-in-aid for Scientific Research’ from 2021. Some or all of the presentations will be included in a report to be published in the final year of the programme.

Conference talks in 2021

  • Naoki Kamimura, ‘‘Peregrinatio’ as Spiritual Formation in the Letters of Augustine,’ paper given at the 15th International Conference of the Taiwan Association of Classical, Medieval and Renaissance Studies, Virtual Online Conference, 22–23 October 2021.
  • Naoki Kamimura, ‘Augustine’s quest for peace and its relevance in his Sermones ad populum,’ paper given at the Annual Meeting of the Canadian Society of Patristic Studies, Virtual Online Conference, 30 May–1 June 2021.
  • Naoki Kamimura, ‘Medical Imagery and the cura animarum in the Letters of Augustine,’ paper given at the North American Patristic Society 2021 Annual Meeting, Virtual Online Conference, 24–29 May 2021.

These talks were held as part of a research project funded by a ‘Grant-in-aid for Scientific Research’ from 2021. Some or all of the presentations will be included in a report to be published in the final year of the programme.

The International Conference on the Philosophy of Early Christianity in the Era of Digitalization in 2019

The International Conference on the Philosophy of Early Christianity in the Era of Digitalization in 2019
Theme: The Philosophy of Early Christianity in the Era of Digitalization
Conference Date: 6th-7th Dec 2019
Conference Venue: Fu Jen Catholic University, New Taipei City
Organizer: The Department of Philosophy, Fu Jen Catholic University
Co-Organizer: Fu Jen Academia Catholica
Keynote Speakers:
Bernard Li, Emeritus Professor of Fu Jen Catholic University, Taiwan
Christoph Horn, Professor of Bonn University, Germany
Mark Edwards, Professor of Oxford University, England
Igor Palvovich Ryazantsev, Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Professor of St. Tikhon’s Orthodox University, Russia
Tran Van Doan, Emeritus Professor of National Taiwan University, Taiwan
Yee Tet Lim, Biblical Scholar, Malaysia
Call for Papers
Submission Deadline: 2th Nov. 2019
Details:
Please send an abstract of maximum 500 words (in Word format and prepared for blind review) for a paper suitable for a 30-munite slot (20 minutes for a paper, 10 minutes for questions and answers) to joannaloh29@gmail.com with the subject heading “Submission to The Philosophy of Early Christianity in the Era of Digitalization”. Papers should be no longer than 5,000 words and include the abstract. Please include author’s information, including paper title and abstract, in the email. Notifications of acceptance will be sent by 4th Nov., 2019.
The philosophy of early Christianity plays a very important role not only for the advancement of the Christian Church, but also for the philosophical development of Christian theology. It is known that Plato has been regarded as a Christian by some early apologists, such as Justin Martyr, which shows that the Christian faith has nourished the development of western philosophy. They are in nuce interdependent.
Platonic and generally ancient Greek philosophy weighed heavily on Origen, for example, who was not only the greatest theological luminary of his age, but also the head teacher at the Catechetical School of New Converts (founded by Mark, the apostle) in Alexandria, and was a Plotinic Christian. His On First Principles, which was translated into Latin by Rufinus, includes the concepts of the pre-existence of the soul and of emanation, which have been further developed by the Neo-Platonist, Plotinus. That is, if we don’t possess early Christian philosophy, our understanding of Plotinus is not able to reveal the whole picture, and perchance we misinterpret Plotinian theory. Additionally, Plotinus’ philosophy was also absorbed by St. Augustine. Hence, from this evidence alone the philosophy of early Christianity is crucial to understanding the whole picture of the development of Christianity and to keeping the Christian faith and tradition.
Early Christianity has been widely neglected in Taiwanese academia, albeit deeply rooted in the western academic sphere. So this is the mission that a Taiwanese Christian university has to carry out in the spirit of Christ, under the potential threat of the age of digitalization: to re-build the Christian faith by means of the medium of digitalisation.
The impact of digitalization upon economy, culture and politics is unfathomable, and has not only changed our lifestyle, but also our way of thinking. People who are not able to keep up with the trend of digitalization will encounter a lot of troubles, though Patriarch Kirill, Head of the Russian Orthodox Church, warns of the potential danger of the smartphone.
The advantages of the church online are great, for example, a house-bound patient who can listen to services, sermons and hymns at home, but the disadvantages cannot be ignored, for example, the potential dangers of internet chatrooms may cause some believers to be cheated. If we neglect the manipulation by digitalization on peoples’ behaviour, it is possible that the e-church will replace the real church, and that people will simply not go to church to worship God, but stay at home, singing hymns alone. Furthermore, social media, like Instagram, is arguably passively encouraging young people to commit suicide, which has happened in the UK to the shocking extent of more than 200 cases, according to the BBC; so that the impact of digitalization in the Church could play an important role. How can the church help believers recover traditional values from Christianity? It is an issue we are concerned with very much today.
The conference is invited to inquire into the following questions:
1. The influence of digitalization on society
2. The impact of digitalization on Christianity in society
3. The digitalization of society as a way to transhumanism
4. Christian theological views and philosophical insights on digitalization and virtualization in a society
5. The application of the interpretation of early Christianity to digitalization
6. The philosophy of early Christianity
7. Ancient Greek philosophy in early Christian theology
8. From Platonic theology to St. Augustine’s theology
9. Ancient Greek philosophy in modern society
For more information, please visit: https://philevents.org/event/show/75470 and http://philosophy.ourpower.com.tw/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=707:call-for-paper-the-philosophy-of-early-christianity-in-the-era-of-digitalization-2019&catid=91&Itemid=140.

CfP APECSS 2020 Singapore conference

The thirteenth annual conference of Asia-Pacific Early Christian Studies Society will be held in Singapore from 10–12 September 2020. The theme is ‘Pluralistic Contexts in Early Christianity’.
A 150-word abstract should be sent by 30 April 2020 to Rev Dr Leonard Wee (leonard@ttc.edu.sg) and Dr Geoffrey D. Dunn (gdd62au@hotmail.com) as an attachment.
Details are in the attached announcement.

CfP VII International Biblical Conference, University of Wrocław

The Institute of Classical, Mediterranean and Oriental Studies (Section of Ancient Near East and Biblical Tradition) of the University of Wrocław invites proposals for the VII International Biblical Conference, to take place 21-22 May 2020.
You are requested kindly to send abstracts (up to 200 words) in one of the congress languages or in Polish by 31 March 2020, to the following address: mjozwiak.uni.wr@gmail.com. For more information, please see the attached announcement.

The figure and the role of “father” in Classical Anitiquity and Early Christianity

The Pontificium Institutum Altioris Latinitatis (Faculty of Christian and Classical Literature) of the Salesian Pontifical University is organizing an international conference (on 27th March 2020) to reflect on the figure and the role of “father” in Greco-Roman Antiquity and Early Christianity. The deadline for proposals is 31 October 2019.
Updates on the conference can be found on the following website: https://flcc.unisal.it/index.php/it/covegni-2/covegni-2020.
Please see the attached CfP announcement for more information.