The conference in Sendai was another success for our society. The theme of letters in early Christianity saw a range of interesting papers from the New Testament to the end of late antiquity. The presence of the team of six South Korean scholars working on poverty in the early church added another rich dimension to the international nature of our organisation. Thanks must go to Miyako Demura of Tohoku Gakuin University, Sendai, ably assisted by Kazuhiko Demura during his sabbatical and the team of students from the university, for all their efforts in preparing for our visit.

 

Keynote presentations were given by Manabu Tsuji from Hiroshima University, whose opening lecture was entitled "Beyond the Original Context: Reception of the Pauline Letters in the First Century," Geoffrey D. Dunn of Australian Catholic University with a paper entitled "Papal Letters of the Early Fifth Century: The Example of Innocent I," and Ken Parry of Macquarie University, with a paper entitled "The Lotus and Cross: Early Christianity in China and India." There were also 27 short papers presented in 9 panels.

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Delegates also enjoyed a visit to the site of Sendai Castle and an elegant conference dinner at Ducca East Square Restaurant. We look forward to gathering together next year in Melbourne for our next meeting.