History

During the meeting in Kodjoboué from January 22 to 23, 2011, when discussing the celebrations for the 10th anniversary of the Institut de Théologie de la Compagnie de Jésus (ITCJ), Father Paul Béré, sj, suggested the creation of a professors' journal in preparation for the colloquium that was supposed to mark the anniversary. According to him, this professors' journal would serve to support the ITCJ's research pole. This proposal was discussed in greater depth by the ITCJ's permanent professors. Father Yvon Elenga, sj, rector of the ITCJ, posed a number of preconditions to which the permanent professors present responded. The main questions were: (1) the periodicity (Father Elenga had suggested that it should be biannual); (2) a clear orientation and a name; (3) the need for originality in the journal; (4) being a showcase for the Institute. The project was entrusted to Paul Béré, sj, and Bienvenu Mayemba, sj. Akwaba, the student journal, had already been up and running since January 2009. Although the launch date was scheduled for January 2012, it was not until March 2013 that the first issue was published under the leadership of Paul Béré, the first editor-in-chief. The journal will take the name Kanien from the Akan languages spoken in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana, meaning “lamp” or “light”. The first editorial already gave the general orientation of the young journal: “Kanien will be attentive to social and ecclesial events in order to decipher them and translate them into the categories of both ordinary and confessional reason”. The tone was set, and the journal has not deviated from this objective. Articles have come from the worlds of theology, religious science, philosophy and political science, to name but a few. And both authors and reviewers come from diverse backgrounds. In 2015, Father Rodrigue Naortangar, sj, joined Father Béré and eventually took over as editor until January 2019, when Father Mben Joseph Loïc, sj, and Father Michel Istas, sj, took over. In the meantime, the journal will be adopting an intercultural orientation in 2016, following in the footsteps of the Institut, which had already done so in 2014. A sign of this intercultural openness is the bilingualism of the magazine, which publishes articles in French and English. Since 2022, the journal has been listed on Atla, the world's largest database of publications on religious issues. This shows that the journal is firmly anchored in the digital age in which we live.