The Congregational Christian Church of Tuvalu (
Tuvaluan: ''Te Ekalesia Kelisiano Tuvalu'', EKT), commonly the Church of Tuvalu, is a
Christian Church which is the
state church of
Tuvalu
Tuvalu ( or ; formerly known as the Ellice Islands) is an island country and microstate in the Polynesian subregion of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean. Its islands are situated about midway between Hawaii and Australia. They lie east-nor ...
, although this status merely entitles it to "the privilege of performing special services on major national events". Its adherents comprise about 97% of the ~11,000 inhabitants of the
archipelago
An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands.
Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Arc ...
, and theologically, it is part of the
Calvinist
Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...
tradition.
The
Constitution of Tuvalu guarantees freedom of religion, including the freedom to practice, the freedom to change religion, the right not to receive religious instruction at school or to attend religious ceremonies at school, and the right not to "take an oath or make an affirmation that is contrary to
ne'sreligion or beliefs".
History
Christianity first came to Tuvalu in 1861 when
Elekana, 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 Chur ...
of a
Congregational church in
Manihiki,
Cook Islands
)
, image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg
, capital = Avarua
, coordinates =
, largest_city = Avarua
, official_languages =
, lan ...
became caught in a storm and drifted for eight weeks before landing at
Nukulaelae
Nukulaelae is an atoll that is part of the nation of Tuvalu, and it has a population of 300 (2017 census). The largest settlement is Pepesala on Fangaua islet with a population of 300 people (2017 Census). It has the form of an oval and consists of ...
.
[Laumua Kofe, Palagi and Pastors, ''Tuvalu: A History'', Ch. 15, U.S.P. & Tuvalu (1983)] Elekana began
proselytising Christianity. He was trained at
Malua Theological College, a
London Missionary Society
The London Missionary Society was an interdenominational evangelical missionary society formed in England in 1795 at the instigation of Welsh Congregationalist minister Edward Williams. It was largely Reformed in outlook, with Congregational m ...
school in
Samoa
Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); ...
, before beginning his work in establishing the Church of Tuvalu. In 1865, the Reverend A. W. Murray of the
London Missionary Society
The London Missionary Society was an interdenominational evangelical missionary society formed in England in 1795 at the instigation of Welsh Congregationalist minister Edward Williams. It was largely Reformed in outlook, with Congregational m ...
(LMS) – a
Protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
congregationalist missionary society – arrived as the first European missionary where he too proselytized among the inhabitants of Tuvalu.
Murray was followed by the Reverend Samuel James Whitmee in 1870.
The first pastors were: Ioane at Nukulaelae (1865-88); Kirisome at Nui (1865-99); Tema at Funafuti (1870-89); and Jeremia at Vaitupu (1880-95).
In 1896 the pastor on Funafuti was Simona.
At the end of the 19th century, the ministers of what became the Church of Tuvalu were predominantly
Samoans,
who influenced the development of the
Tuvaluan language
Tuvaluan (), often called Tuvalu, is a Polynesian language closely related to the Ellicean group spoken in Tuvalu. It is more or less distantly related to all other Polynesian languages, such as Hawaiian, Māori, Tahitian, Samoan, Tokelauan ...
and the
music of Tuvalu
The traditional music of Tuvalu consists of dances, including '' fatele'', '' fakanau'' and '' fakaseasea''. The influence of the Samoan missionaries sent to Tuvalu by the London Missionary Society from the 1860s resulted in the suppression of so ...
.
The LMS Church in the Ellice Islands remained part of the Samoan LMS Church’s congregational system until 1958, and was administered (together with
Tokelau
Tokelau (; ; known previously as the Union Islands, and, until 1976, known officially as the Tokelau Islands) is a dependent territory of New Zealand in the southern Pacific Ocean. It consists of three tropical coral atolls: Atafu, Nukunonu, a ...
and the
Gilbert Islands, under the title, the Northwest Outstations of the Samoan Mission.
In 1958, the LMS Church in the Ellice Islands became self-governing.
Ellice Islander ministers were trained at Mälua, the LMS College in Western Samoa.
The Samoan language Bible was used until 1978 when a Tuvaluan-language New Testament was published.
In 1969, the ETK acquired its independence from the LMS, since which time it has sent some missionaries to serve
Tuvaluan migrants in
Fiji,
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 ...
,
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...
,
Australia, and the
Marshall Islands
The Marshall Islands ( mh, Ṃajeḷ), officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands ( mh, Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ),'' () is an independent island country and microstate near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the Intern ...
.
The former
Governor-General of Tuvalu
The governor-general of Tuvalu is the vice-regal representative of the Tuvaluan monarch, currently King Charles III, in the country of Tuvalu.
The monarch is the head of state of Tuvalu, with the governor-general performing the monarch's duti ...
, Rev Sir
Filoimea Telito, presided over the Church until his death in July 2011.
"The Rev. Filoimea Telito passed away"
, Tuvalu News, 22 July 2011 The Church currently publishes a bulletin in the Tuvaluan and English languages.
The Reverend Kalahati Kilei, President of the ETK and Pastor for the island community of Funafuti, died on 10 September 2019 at Princess Margaret Hospital.
The most prominent building on Funafuti
Funafuti is the capital of the island nation of Tuvalu. It has a population of 6,320 people (2017 census), and so it has more people than the rest of Tuvalu combined, with approximately 60% of the population. It consists of a narrow sweep of lan ...
is the ''Fētu'ao Lima'' (Morning Star Church) of the Church of Tuvalu.
The Tuvalu Community Church congregation of Henderson, Auckland, New Zealand, was established in 1992. In 2021 the congregation opened a new church, which was designed by South Pacific Architecture, which won a Public Architecture Award at the 2021 Auckland Architecture Awards.
Beliefs
The Church is Calvinist
Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...
in doctrine and congregational
Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...
in organisation. There is an ordination for women which occurred on July 16th 2022 with the first two women, Rev Oliula Kalahati and Rev. Sulufaiga Uota (EKT Head Office, 2022). The Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed are generally accepted. Being the ''de facto'' state church, the Church of Tuvalu dominates most aspects of social, cultural and political life in the country.
Fetuvalu Secondary School
The Church operates Fetuvalu Secondary School
Fetuvalu Secondary School is a day school in the Pacific island nation of Tuvalu that is operated by the Church of Tuvalu and is located on Funafuti atoll. The school re-opened in 2003 having been closed for 5 years; the school offered Form 3 and a ...
, a day school
A day school — as opposed to a boarding school — is an educational institution where children and adolescents are given instructions during the day, after which the students return to their homes. A day school has full-day programs when compa ...
which is located on Funafuti
Funafuti is the capital of the island nation of Tuvalu. It has a population of 6,320 people (2017 census), and so it has more people than the rest of Tuvalu combined, with approximately 60% of the population. It consists of a narrow sweep of lan ...
.
Relations
The Church is a member of the World Association for Christian Communication, the Boys' Brigade International Fellowship, the World Communion of Reformed Churches
The World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) is the largest association of Calvinist churches in the world. It has 230 member denominations in 108 countries, together claiming an estimated 80 million people, thus being the fourth-largest Chris ...
, Council for World Mission, the World Council of Churches
The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, most ju ...
, and the Pacific Conference of Churches. It also has ties with the Methodist Church in Fiji, the Congregational Christian Church in Samoa, the Kiribati Uniting Church, the Uniting Church in Australia
The Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) was founded on 22 June 1977, when most congregations of the Methodist Church of Australasia, about two-thirds of the Presbyterian Church of Australia and almost all the churches of the Congregational Uni ...
, and the Methodist
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...
and Presbyterian
Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...
churches in New Zealand.
References
{{reflist, 33em
Churches in Tuvalu
Tuvalu
Tuvalu ( or ; formerly known as the Ellice Islands) is an island country and microstate in the Polynesian subregion of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean. Its islands are situated about midway between Hawaii and Australia. They lie east-nor ...
Tuvalu
Tuvalu ( or ; formerly known as the Ellice Islands) is an island country and microstate in the Polynesian subregion of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean. Its islands are situated about midway between Hawaii and Australia. They lie east-nor ...
Congregationalism
Tuvalu
Tuvalu ( or ; formerly known as the Ellice Islands) is an island country and microstate in the Polynesian subregion of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean. Its islands are situated about midway between Hawaii and Australia. They lie east-nor ...
Reformed denominations in Oceania
1861 establishments in Oceania