Alessandro Valignano’s Japanese Catechism: Aquinas’s Influence and Valignano’s Sensitivity to Context
Visiting Scholar Talks
Jan 13, 2025 | 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM
Common Room (#136), 2 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA,
Speaker
Son Eunsil | Associate Professor, Department of Religious Studies, Seoul National University; BC Ricci Institute–HYI Joint Visiting Researcher, 2024-25
Chair
M. Antoni J. Ucerler, S.J. | Associate Professor, History, Boston College; Director, Ricci Institute for Chinese-Western Cultural History
Discussant
Nicolas Standaert | S.J., Professor of Sinology, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium
Co-sponsored by the Ricci Institute for Chinese-Western Cultural History
This is a hybrid event. You are welcome to attend in person, or you can register to attend via Zoom.
This presentation explores the influence of Thomas Aquinas on Jesuit missionary Alessandro Valignano’sCatechismus Christianae Fidei(1586), commonly known as the “Japanese Catechism.” This work shows Aquinas’s profound impact on both its methodology and its content. Through a detailed textual analysis, the study examines how Aquinas’s theological insights and methods shaped the teaching of Christian doctrine in non-Christian cultural contexts. It also highlights Valignano’s critical engagement with the religious landscape of 16th-century Japan and his skillful integration of rational argumentation and contextualization to explain Christian doctrine and address contemporary Japanese religions.
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