Naoki Kamimura
I am a research fellow in the Department of Philosophy and Ethics of Tokyo Gakugei University. I am also an adjunct lecturer in philosophy at Tokyo Metropolitan University and Keio University, Tokyo. I am serving as a co-editor of both the JSPS (Japanese Society for Patristic Studies) journal Patristica and the APECSS (Asia-Pacific Early Christian Studies Society) e-newsletter. I am based in Tokyo.
My principal area of research is philosophy in Late Antiquity and early christian thought. I also take a strong interest in the scriptural exegesis in patristic literature and have wide interests in ancient philosophy and its later influence. In particular I have written about Augustine’s view of ethics and exegesis as a way of life, thereby focusing on the spirituality of North African Christianity, that of Tertullian, Cyprian, and Lactance.
During the previous several years I worked on the projects entitled ‘Joint Studies in the Perspectives on Poverty in an Era of Crisis—Testing Some Social Models of Early Christianity’ and ‘Augustine’s Understanding and Practice of Poverty in an Era of Crisis’, both of which focus on the approach to patristics socio-ethical texts, especially thinking about the wealth, poverty, and eschatology in Augustine’s Sermones ad populum, Enarrationes in Psalmos, and some related texts.
I am equally interested in the development of web-based resources for the study of Augustine of Hippo and his later influence.
As well as this webpage, I have my personal website <http://www.kmmrnk.com/> and a "ReaD &; Researchmap" page <http://researchmap.jp/read0145538>. I also maintain a website of the Japanese Society for Patristic Studies: <http://jpnpatristics.wordpress.com/>.
My principal area of research is philosophy in Late Antiquity and early christian thought. I also take a strong interest in the scriptural exegesis in patristic literature and have wide interests in ancient philosophy and its later influence. In particular I have written about Augustine’s view of ethics and exegesis as a way of life, thereby focusing on the spirituality of North African Christianity, that of Tertullian, Cyprian, and Lactance.
During the previous several years I worked on the projects entitled ‘Joint Studies in the Perspectives on Poverty in an Era of Crisis—Testing Some Social Models of Early Christianity’ and ‘Augustine’s Understanding and Practice of Poverty in an Era of Crisis’, both of which focus on the approach to patristics socio-ethical texts, especially thinking about the wealth, poverty, and eschatology in Augustine’s Sermones ad populum, Enarrationes in Psalmos, and some related texts.
I am equally interested in the development of web-based resources for the study of Augustine of Hippo and his later influence.
As well as this webpage, I have my personal website <http://www.kmmrnk.com/> and a "ReaD &; Researchmap" page <http://researchmap.jp/read0145538>. I also maintain a website of the Japanese Society for Patristic Studies: <http://jpnpatristics.wordpress.com/>.
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Available as OA: Read online or downloaded via https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429448508
In contributing to the debate on changes of the Christian world in late antiquity, some scholars have claimed that the boundaries between religious groups were blurred with shifting, in that, for instance, the identity of Christians in the society was not characterised by clear indications of religious belief, observance, and practice. After a significant contribution to the discussion of the Christian identity, more recent and detailed surveys have shown that the difference between Christians and pagans can be seen as part of a discursive binary. While the North African evidence allows us to consider the question of what it means to be a Christian, it is interesting to note that there is a comprehensive framework for the understanding of human behaviour and thought: the spiritual training in the Greco-Roman tradition. What did Augustine think of this training? This question has received frequent attention in Augustinian scholarship, particularly in Pierre Hadot’s work, where he illustrates a complex set of modes of the ‘spiritual exercises’ and defines it as a ‘metamorphosis of our personality’. It has been regarded by some scholars as the purely intellectual training of the intelligence or mind. Primary attention should be given to it. All the same, the simplistic approach merits careful deliberation. Hadot emphasises the need to investigate the wider diversity of exercises and the purgation of the soul within the very context of involving all facets of human thought and behaviour. Although the training in question varied according to the circumstances of Greco-Roman thought, a modification appeared in late antiquity, more specifically, from the mid-fourth century in more detail than before. A crucial stage of the development seems to be prepared by Augustine. It seems to be legitimate to revisit the subject in his works. The intention of this paper is, therefore, to focus on the evidence for the multiplicity of Christian and/or pagan identities in Augustine’s Sermones ad populum, thereby coming to some understanding of the horizons on which he made use of the aspect and goal in speaking about spiritual training. I shall first examine how he explained his idea of the Christian code of behaviour to his congregation; then I shall ask what Augustine understood by the spiritual training. Finally, I shall consider the principal feature of spiritual training from the viewpoint of its significance and limit for the constructive guidance necessary to form the Christian identity that Augustine hoped for.
In contributing to the debate on the transformation of late Roman world, some scholars have claimed that the boundaries between religious groups were fluid with external and internal factors. Christian identity was not characterised by clear indications of religious belief, observance, and practice. Some intriguing surveys have shown that the difference between Christians and pagans can be seen as part of a discursive binary. While the North African evidence of their identity allows us to consider the question of what it means to be a Christian, it is noteworthy that there is a comprehensive framework for the understanding of human behaviour and thought: the 'spiritual exercises' in the Greco-Roman tradition. In the fourth-and fifth centuries, Christian thinkers began to pursue the matter in a more detailed way. A crucial stage of the development seems to be prepared by Augustine. Provided with some illuminating studies which consider the spiritual training in question as being linked with the context of his concern for Chris-tianness in late antique North Africa, the correlation still remains in question. In this article, therefore, first I examine how he referred to the Christian code of behaviour in his letters. In particular, focusing my attention on epistolary correspondence of Augustine with two seemingly 'pagans', I show how he tried to impose his idea of the Christian norms of behaviour on his correspondents – with Dioscorus (Ep. 117 and 118) and with Volusianus (Ep. 132, 135, and 137). Then I ask what Augustine understood by spiritual training. For the sake of clarity, I have divided the letters along thematic lines into three groups – the intellectual and therapeutic (Ep. 26, 37, 56, 102, 162, 193, 202A, and 2*), the religious and eschatological (Ep. 92, 130, 131, 137, and 157), and the exegetical aspect (Ep. 28, 137, 149, 199, and 213). In each group I consider them chronologically as far as possible. Finally, I consider the principal feature of spiritual training, thereby coming to the enhancement of spiritual affinities and mutual relationships of which he made use in speaking about Christian identity.
Available as OA: Read online or downloaded via https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429448508
In contributing to the debate on changes of the Christian world in late antiquity, some scholars have claimed that the boundaries between religious groups were blurred with shifting, in that, for instance, the identity of Christians in the society was not characterised by clear indications of religious belief, observance, and practice. After a significant contribution to the discussion of the Christian identity, more recent and detailed surveys have shown that the difference between Christians and pagans can be seen as part of a discursive binary. While the North African evidence allows us to consider the question of what it means to be a Christian, it is interesting to note that there is a comprehensive framework for the understanding of human behaviour and thought: the spiritual training in the Greco-Roman tradition. What did Augustine think of this training? This question has received frequent attention in Augustinian scholarship, particularly in Pierre Hadot’s work, where he illustrates a complex set of modes of the ‘spiritual exercises’ and defines it as a ‘metamorphosis of our personality’. It has been regarded by some scholars as the purely intellectual training of the intelligence or mind. Primary attention should be given to it. All the same, the simplistic approach merits careful deliberation. Hadot emphasises the need to investigate the wider diversity of exercises and the purgation of the soul within the very context of involving all facets of human thought and behaviour. Although the training in question varied according to the circumstances of Greco-Roman thought, a modification appeared in late antiquity, more specifically, from the mid-fourth century in more detail than before. A crucial stage of the development seems to be prepared by Augustine. It seems to be legitimate to revisit the subject in his works. The intention of this paper is, therefore, to focus on the evidence for the multiplicity of Christian and/or pagan identities in Augustine’s Sermones ad populum, thereby coming to some understanding of the horizons on which he made use of the aspect and goal in speaking about spiritual training. I shall first examine how he explained his idea of the Christian code of behaviour to his congregation; then I shall ask what Augustine understood by the spiritual training. Finally, I shall consider the principal feature of spiritual training from the viewpoint of its significance and limit for the constructive guidance necessary to form the Christian identity that Augustine hoped for.
In contributing to the debate on the transformation of late Roman world, some scholars have claimed that the boundaries between religious groups were fluid with external and internal factors. Christian identity was not characterised by clear indications of religious belief, observance, and practice. Some intriguing surveys have shown that the difference between Christians and pagans can be seen as part of a discursive binary. While the North African evidence of their identity allows us to consider the question of what it means to be a Christian, it is noteworthy that there is a comprehensive framework for the understanding of human behaviour and thought: the 'spiritual exercises' in the Greco-Roman tradition. In the fourth-and fifth centuries, Christian thinkers began to pursue the matter in a more detailed way. A crucial stage of the development seems to be prepared by Augustine. Provided with some illuminating studies which consider the spiritual training in question as being linked with the context of his concern for Chris-tianness in late antique North Africa, the correlation still remains in question. In this article, therefore, first I examine how he referred to the Christian code of behaviour in his letters. In particular, focusing my attention on epistolary correspondence of Augustine with two seemingly 'pagans', I show how he tried to impose his idea of the Christian norms of behaviour on his correspondents – with Dioscorus (Ep. 117 and 118) and with Volusianus (Ep. 132, 135, and 137). Then I ask what Augustine understood by spiritual training. For the sake of clarity, I have divided the letters along thematic lines into three groups – the intellectual and therapeutic (Ep. 26, 37, 56, 102, 162, 193, 202A, and 2*), the religious and eschatological (Ep. 92, 130, 131, 137, and 157), and the exegetical aspect (Ep. 28, 137, 149, 199, and 213). In each group I consider them chronologically as far as possible. Finally, I consider the principal feature of spiritual training, thereby coming to the enhancement of spiritual affinities and mutual relationships of which he made use in speaking about Christian identity.
- Abbreviations ix
- N. Kamimura, ‘Introduction’, 1-11
- N. Kamimura, ‘The Exegesis of Genesis in the Early Works of Augustine’, 13-24
- M. Sato, ‘The Role of Eve in Salvation in Augustine’s Interpretation of Genesis’, 25-32
- M. Sato, ‘The Word and Our Words: Augustine’s View of Words Based on John 1:3’, 33-39
- N. Kamimura, ‘Augustine’s Quest for Perfection and the Encounter with the Vita Antonii’, 41-52
- N. Kamimura, ‘The Interpretation of a Passage from Romans in the Early Works of Augustine’, 53-62
- N. Kamimura, ‘Augustine’s Evolving Commentaries on the Pauline Epistles’, 63-72
- Bibliography 75
- Index locorum 85
- Kazuhiko Demura, ‘Preface’ (in Japanese), pp. 1–10
- Kazuhiko Demura, ‘Augustine’s Committment to the Poverty and the Cor’ (in Japanese), pp. 11–24
- Naoki Kamimura, ‘Rhetorical Approach to the Poor and Poverty: A Case Study of Augustine’s Enarrationes in Psalmos’, pp. 25–40
- Naoki Kamimura, ‘Poor and Poverty in the Earthly City: A Case Study of Augustine’s De ciuitate dei’, pp. 41–52
- Naoki Kamimura, ‘Augustine’s Spiritualisation of the Poor in an Era of Crisis’, pp. 53–63
- Kazuhiko Demura, ‘Christian Ethics of St. Augustine on Poverty’, pp. 65–73
-Index locorum, pp. 75–79
Supplement:
Translation of the following book chapter: Pauline Allen and Edward Morgarn, chap. 4: ‘Augustine on Poverty’, in: Pauline Allen, Bronwen Neil, and Wendy Mayer (eds), Preaching Poverty in Late Antiquity: Perceptions and Realities, Arbeiten zur Kirchen- und Theologiegeschichte 28 (Leipzig: Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, 2009) 119–170.
The APECSS—Asia-Pacific Early Christian Studies Society—Newsletter April 2016. APECSS was formerly called WPRPS—Western Pacific Rim Patristics Society. In 2003, it was proposed of creating a regional society for scholars in early Christian and late antique studies.
The APECSS—Asia-Pacific Early Christian Studies Society—Newsletter July 2014. APECSS was formerly called WPRPS—Western Pacific Rim Patristics Society. In 2003, it was proposed of creating a regional society for scholars in early Christian and late antique studies.
The APECSS—Asia-Pacific Early Christian Studies Society—Newsletter July 2014. APECSS was formerly called WPRPS—Western Pacific Rim Patristics Society. In 2003, it was proposed of creating a regional society for scholars in early Christian and late antique studies.