The Anglican Church of Melanesia (ACoM), also known as the Church of the Province of Melanesia and the Church of Melanesia (COM), is a church of the
Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other ...
and includes nine dioceses in the
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...
,
Vanuatu
Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of no ...
and
New Caledonia
)
, anthem = ""
, image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg
, map_alt = Location of New Caledonia
, map_caption = Location of New Caledonia
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, subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...
. The
Archbishop of Melanesia is
Leonard Dawea. He succeeds the retired archbishop George Takeli.
History
![John Coleridge Patteson](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/John_Coleridge_Patteson.jpg)
The church was established by
George Selwyn in 1849,
and was initially headed by a
Bishop of Melanesia. One of the important features of the province's life over many years has been the work of a mission vessel in various incarnations known as the ''
Southern Cross
Crux () is a constellation of the southern sky that is centred on four bright stars in a cross-shaped asterism commonly known as the Southern Cross. It lies on the southern end of the Milky Way's visible band. The name ''Crux'' is Latin for ...
''. First based in
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
, the missionaries, mainly from
Oxbridge
Oxbridge is a portmanteau of Oxford and Cambridge, the two oldest, wealthiest, and most famous universities in the United Kingdom. The term is used to refer to them collectively, in contrast to other British universities, and more broadly to de ...
and the
public schools, established their base on
Norfolk Island
Norfolk Island (, ; Norfuk: ''Norf'k Ailen'') is an external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, directly east of Australia's Evans Head and about from Lord Howe Island. Together with ...
, bringing Melanesian scholars there to learn
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
until the school was closed in 1918.
The many languages in Melanesia made evangelisation a challenge. The
Melanesian Mission The Melanesian Mission is an Anglican missionary agency supporting the work of local Anglican churches in Melanesia. It was founded in 1849 by George Selwyn, the first Bishop of New Zealand.
History
Bishop Selwyn's see was focused on New Zealand. ...
adopted the
language of the island of Mota in the
Banks group
The Banks Group is a family owned business headquartered in Durham, but working across Scotland and the North of England, established in 1976. Banks develops and operates in a variety of business areas including property development, renewables ...
of islands as the ''lingua franca''. The Church of Melanesia is known for its pioneer martyrs, especially
John Patteson, murdered in 1871,
Charles Godden, killed in 1906, among several others.
Membership
Today, there are nearly 200,000 Anglicans out of an estimated population of over 800,000 in the
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...
and
Vanuatu
Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of no ...
as well as a newly formed parish in
Nouméa
Nouméa () is the capital and largest city of the French special collectivity of New Caledonia and is also the largest francophone city in Oceania. It is situated on a peninsula in the south of New Caledonia's main island, Grande Terre, a ...
,
New Caledonia
)
, anthem = ""
, image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg
, map_alt = Location of New Caledonia
, map_caption = Location of New Caledonia
, mapsize = 290px
, subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...
.
Structure
The polity of the Church of Melanesia is episcopal, which is the same as all other Anglican churches. Since being made a province in 1975 the church has maintained a system of geographical parishes organised into dioceses, of which there are now nine. The spiritual head of the province is the
Archbishop of Melanesia, whose metropolitan See is the Diocese of Central Melanesia.
The dioceses are:
Central Melanesia;
Malaita,
Vanuatu and New Caledonia (originally New Hebrides), and
Ysabel
''Ysabel'' is a fantasy novel by Canadian author Guy Gavriel Kay. It was first published in January 2007 by Viking Canada. It is Kay's first urban fantasy and his first book set outside his fantasied Europe milieux since the publication of his f ...
(all 1975);
Temotu (1981);
Hanuato'o (1991);
Banks and Torres (1996);
Central Solomons (1997); and
Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal (; indigenous name: ''Isatabu'') is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands, located in the south-western Pacific, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomon Islands by area, and the seco ...
(2013).
Parishes and priests
Each diocese except for Central Melanesia (the
Honiara
Honiara () is the capital and largest city of Solomon Islands, situated on the northwestern coast of Guadalcanal. , it had a population of 92,344 people. The city is served by Honiara International Airport and the seaport of Point Cruz, and lie ...
area) is divided into regions, each headed by a senior priest. The regions are further subdivided into parishes or districts (the two words being interchangeable), headed by a parish priest, usually called a rector. Parishes may be subdivided into subparishes, headed by assistant priests. Catechists are lay people appointed by a local community and authorised by the bishop to take services and look after the spiritual life of a village.
Worship and liturgy
![St](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e5/St._Barnabas_Anglican_Cathedral%2C_Honiara.jpg)
The Church of Melanesia embraces three orders of ordained ministry: deacon, priest and bishop. A local variant of the ''
Book of Common Prayer
The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the name given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The original book, published in 1549 in the reign ...
'' is used, called ''A Melanesian English Prayer Book''. Its predecessor in local liturgical development was ''A Book of Common Prayer Authorised for Use in Churches and Chapels in the Diocese of Melanesia'', first published in 1938.
Doctrine and practice
See also:
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the ...
and
Anglican doctrine
Anglican doctrine (also called Episcopal doctrine in some countries) is the body of Christian teachings used to guide the religious and moral practices of Anglicans.
Approach to doctrine
Anglicanism does not possess an agreed-upon confessi ...
The centre of the Church of Melanesia's teaching is the life and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The basic teachings of the church are summed up in the
Apostles' Creed
The Apostles' Creed (Latin: ''Symbolum Apostolorum'' or ''Symbolum Apostolicum''), sometimes titled the Apostolic Creed or the Symbol of the Apostles, is a Christian creed or "symbol of faith".
The creed most likely originated in 5th-century Ga ...
and the
Nicene Creed
The original Nicene Creed (; grc-gre, Σύμβολον τῆς Νικαίας; la, Symbolum Nicaenum) was first adopted at the First Council of Nicaea in 325. In 381, it was amended at the First Council of Constantinople. The amended form is a ...
.
The focus of the church's worship is the celebration of the
Holy Eucharist
The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...
, sometimes called "Mass", but more often "Communion" or "Communion service". This is celebrated weekly wherever there is a priest and in some communities it is celebrated daily, except for Saturdays.
Morning Prayer and
Evening Prayer are offered in most churches and congregations daily, and Evening Prayer, "
Evensong
Evensong is a church service traditionally held near sunset focused on singing psalms and other biblical canticles. In origin, it is identical to the canonical hour of vespers. Old English speakers translated the Latin word as , which became ...
", is often sung (except for the Psalms) on Sundays and feasts.
Feast days are celebrated by most communities on a Sunday near the feast day, or at least in the same month.
The church in its canons accepts and teaches the seven sacraments of the Church,
Baptism
Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...
,
Holy Eucharist
The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...
,
Confirmation
In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. For adults, it is an affirmation of belief. It involves laying on ...
,
Penance
Penance is any act or a set of actions done out of Repentance (theology), repentance for Christian views on sin, sins committed, as well as an alternate name for the Catholic Church, Catholic, Lutheran, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox s ...
,
Holy Matrimony,
Holy Orders, and
Anointing of the Sick.
Ecumenical relations
Like other Anglican churches, the Church of Melanesia is a member of the ecumenical World Council of Churches, and is a member of the
Pacific Conference of Churches
The 'Pacific Conference of Churches (PCC)'' is an ecumenical organization representing Christian churches in the Pacific region. It seeks the visible unity of the church on issues of justice, peace and integrity of creation, initiatives on capac ...
, the
Solomon Islands Christian Council, and the
Vanuatu Council of Churches.
The
Mothers' Union
The Mothers' Union is an international Christian charity that seeks to support families worldwide. Its members are not all mothers or even all women, as there are many parents, men, widows, singles and grandparents involved in its work. Its main ai ...
is quite active, as are the four religious communities active in the province, the
Melanesian Brotherhood
The Melanesian Brotherhood is an Anglican religious community of men in simple vows based primarily in the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and Papua New Guinea.
History
The Melanesian Brotherhood was formed in 1925 by Ini Kopuria, a policeman from M ...
, the
Society of Saint Francis
The Society of Saint Francis (SSF) is an international Franciscan religious order within the Anglican Communion. It is the main recognised Anglican Franciscan order, but there are also other Franciscan orders in the Anglican Communion.
Backgrou ...
, the
Community of the Sisters of the Church and the
Community of the Sisters of Melanesia The Community of the Sisters of Melanesia, more usually called The Sisters of Melanesia, is the third order for women to be established in the Church of Melanesia, which is the Anglican Church of Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.
The first women's orde ...
. The province has its own liturgical customs and a calendar of saints.
Anglican realignment
The Church of Melanesia is a member of the
Global South and has been involved in the
Anglican realignment
The Anglican realignment is a movement among some Anglicans to align themselves under new or alternative oversight within or outside the Anglican Communion. This movement is primarily active in parts of the Episcopal Church in the United States ...
movement.
David Vunagi
Sir David Okete Vuvuiri Vunagi, (born 5 September 1950), is a retired Solomon Islands Anglican bishop and incumbent governor-general of Solomon Islands. He was the archbishop of Melanesia and bishop of the Diocese of Central Melanesia from 2009 ...
attended the Global South Fourth Encounter at 19–23 April 2010, in
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
. He also would be one of the signatories of the Global South Primates letter to the Crown Nominations Commission, at 20 July 2012. Nevertheless, other clergy have sided with the more liberal Anglican provinces, including
Terry Brown, former Bishop of Malaita, who has spoken "as an 'out' gay man serving as bishop".
References
Further reading
''Anglicanism'', Neill, Stephen. Harmondsworth, 1965.
External links
Official provincial websiteDocuments on Anglican history in Oceaniafrom
Project Canterbury Project Canterbury (sometimes abbreviated as PC) is an online archive of material related to the history of Anglicanism. It was founded by Richard Mammana, Jr. in 1999 with a grant from Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold, and is ho ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anglican Church of Melanesia
Melanesia, Anglican Church of
Melanesia, Anglican Church of
Religious organizations established in 1849
Members of the World Council of Churches
Christian denominations established in the 19th century
Melanesia, Anglican Church of
1849 establishments in Oceania
Dioceses of the Anglican Church of Melanesia
Religion in Melanesia