Alfred Charles Willis (3 February 1836 – 14 November 1920) was an
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 t ...
missionary
A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...
bishop and author in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Biography
Born the son of a physician, he was educated at
Uppingham and
St John's College, Oxford
St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its founder, Sir Thomas White, intended to pr ...
, and
ordained
Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...
in 1860. After a
curacy
A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...
in
Strood, Kent
Strood is a town in the unitary authority of Medway in Kent, South East England. The town forms a conurbation with neighbouring towns Chatham, Rochester, Gillingham and Rainham. It lies on the northwest bank of the River Medway at its ...
, he was
the incumbent at St Mark,
New Brompton from 1863 until his appointment as the second bishop of
Honolulu
Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the isla ...
in 1872. He held this post for 30 years, until he retired to
Tonga
Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...
.
Willis was supportive of
Liliʻuokalani, the last sovereign monarch of Hawaii, after her 1893 overthrow. Shortly after her release from house arrest in 1896, he baptised and confirmed the deposed queen.
References
1836 births
1920 deaths
Clergy from Lincolnshire
People educated at Uppingham School
Alumni of St John's College, Oxford
20th-century Anglican bishops in the United States
Episcopal bishops of Hawaii
Anglican missionaries in Hawaii
19th-century Anglican bishops in Oceania
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