Arthur Innes Hopkins (1869 – 1943) was a British

Anglican 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 th ...

missionary active in the north of the island of

Malaita Malaita is the primary island of Malaita Province in Solomon Islands. Malaita is the most populous island of the Solomon Islands, with a population of 161,832 as of 2021, or more than a third of the entire national population. It is also the se ...

Early life

Hopkins was born in

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

to a devoutly Christian family. He was sickly as a child and suffered from numerous serious illnesses, but he nonetheless completed his education at several local schools. Hopkins was ordained as a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

in 1892 and as a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

in 1893. Hopkins wished to work as a missionary, and applied to the Missionary Council for Service Abroad in 1900 in order to do so.

Lau Lagoon

In 1903, he set up a missionary base in the Lau Lagoon under the orders of Charles Morris Woodford. Hopkins was sent to the Lau Lagoon in order to preempt the possibility of the

Methodist Church Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related Christian denomination, denominations of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John W ...

setting up a mission in the area, as the Anglican colonial authorities did not wish for the Methodists to gain influence. After arriving at the mission, Hopkins was placed under 24-hour guard, as the mission was under constant threat of attack from locals. Hopkins became influential in the area, negotiating the setting up of missions with Malaitan leaders. He had strained relations with the most powerful leader in the area,

Kwaisulia Kwaisulia (early 1850s – 1909) was a prominent tradesman, strongman and blackbirder on the island of Malaita in the late nineteenth century, who for several decades held political control over the north of the island. Born on the island of Sulu ...

, but co-operated with him on crushing local outbreaks of violence. Hopkins translated the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

into the

Lau Lau or LAU may refer to: People * Lau (surname) * Liu (劉/刘), a common Chinese family name transliterated Lau in Cantonese and Hokkien * Lau clan, one of the Saraswat Brahmin clans of Punjab * LAU (musician): Laura Fares Places * Lebane ...

and

Kwara'ae The Kwara'ae language (previously called Fiu after the location of many of its speakers) is spoken in the north of Malaita Island in the Solomon Islands. In 1999, there were 32,400 people known to speak the language. It is the largest indigenous ...

languages, and also conducted church services in those languages. He attempted to send copies of these translated religious materials to

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement

missionary

Peter Ambuofa Peter Ambuofa was an early convert to Christianity among Solomon Islanders who established a Christian community on Malaita, and a key figure in the history of the South Seas Evangelical Mission (now South Seas Evangelical Church, SSEC). Peter Amb ...

, but his efforts did not result in any significant conversions to Anglicanism in the area under Ambuofa's control.

Later life

Hopkins left Malaita in 1915, heading to

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 ...

and then to

Maravovo Maravovo (or alternatively Marovovo) is a village on the northwest coast of Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands. It is located by road northwest of Honiara. Mangakiki is in close proximity to Maravovo. The population is reportedly entirely Anglican. On ...

. He later returned to the United Kingdom, becoming Secretary for the Melanesian Mission from 1926 to 1929. Hopkins died in 1943.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hopkins, Arthur Anglican missionaries in the Solomon Islands Clergy from York 1869 births 1943 deaths