From “Logos” to 言葉 (Kotoba): a linguo‑cultural interpretation of Christian lexicon in the translations of Saint Nicholas of Japan
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51216/2687-072X_2025_2_212-225Keywords:
Russian Orthodox Church, linguo-cultural interpretation, Saint Nicholas of Japan, missionary activity, translation of the Holy Scripture.Abstract
This article is devoted to the study of linguo-cultural aspects of conveying Christian terminology in the missionary translations of Saint Nicholas of Japan. The relevance of the topic is due to the growing scholarly interest in missionary methods connected with translating liturgical and sacred texts into the language of the converted people, as well as the need to comprehend and actualize the spiritual heritage of Saint Nicholas of Japan in the context of modern missionary service.
During his missionary service, which lasted more than half a century, Saint Nicholas worked in difficult conditions, when Christianity was perceived as hostile in Japan. During his missionary work, the saint developed a unique approach to translating Orthodox doctrine into Japanese. He sought to organically combine Christian dogmas with the peculiarities of Japanese culture and language in order to make Christianity close and understandable to the Japanese. This “cultural translation” became a key element of his missionary work aimed at deeply rooting Christianity in the Japanese cultural environment. Thanks to the efforts of Archbishop Nicholas (Kasatkin), the
Orthodox Church appeared in the Land of the Rising Sun, which numbered more than 30 thousand believers.
The work uses exegetical, comparative, interpretative methods and linguostylistic analysis, which allowed us to study the lexical-semantic and cultural-translation techniques used by St. Nicholas in conveying key concepts of Christian doctrine to the Japanese people.
As a result, the translations presented in the article have scientific-theological and ecclesiastical-practical significance, since the experience of St. Nicholas’s missionary translation demonstrates the importance of taking into account cultural and linguistic specifics in the modern missionary activity of the Russian Orthodox Church.
For citation: Kireev N. N., priest From “Logos” to 言葉 (Kotoba): a linguo-cultural interpretation of Christian lexicon in the translations of Saint Nicholas of Japan DOI: 10.51216/2687-072Х_2025_2_212-225. EDN: UNGSQO // Theological Collection of Tambov Theological Seminary. 2025, no. 2 (31). P. 212-225. (In Russian)
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