Kawaiahaʻo Church is a historic

Congregational Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christianity, Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice Congregationalist polity, congregational ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

located in

Downtown Honolulu Downtown Honolulu is the current historic, economic, and governmental center of Honolulu, the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. It is bounded by Nuuanu Stream to the west, Ward Avenue to the east, Vineyard Boulevard to the n ...

on the

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

an Island of Oʻahu. The church, along with the Mission Houses, comprise the Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site, which was designated a U.S.

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

(NHL) in 1962. and In 1966 it and all other NHLs were included in the first issuance of the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. At one time the central church of the

Kingdom of Hawaiʻi The Hawaiian Kingdom, also known as the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi ( Hawaiian: ɛ ɐwˈpuni həˈvɐjʔi, was an archipelagic country from 1795 to 1893, which eventually encompassed all of the inhabited Hawaiian Islands. It was established in 1795 w ...

and

chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...

of the Hawaiʻian royal family, the church is popularly known as “Hawaiʻi's

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

”. The name comes from the Hawaiian noun phrase ''ka wai a Haʻo'' (“the water of Haʻo”), because its location had a spring and freshwater pool of a High Chiefess name
Haʻo
It has also been called ''hale pule lahui'' (“Great Stone Church”), the Hawaiian Tabernacle ('' luakini''), the Mother Church, the Kingʻs Church, the Kingʻs Chapel, and the "''

Aliʻi The aliʻi were the traditional nobility of the Hawaiian islands. They were part of a hereditary line of rulers, the ''noho aliʻi''. Cognates of the word ''aliʻi'' have a similar meaning in other Polynesian languages; in Māori it is pronoun ...

'' Church". Today, Kawaiahaʻo continues to use the

Hawaiian language Hawaiian (', ) is a critically endangered Polynesian language of the Austronesian language family, originating in and native to the Hawaiian Islands. It is the native language of the Hawaiian people. Hawaiian, along with English, is an offi ...

for parts of its services. It is the oldest church on Oʻahu and one of the oldest standing

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

places of worship in Hawaiʻi, although four thatched churches stood at or near the site of the present coral church. The oldest standing church is

Mokuaikaua Church Mokuaikaua Church, located on the "Big Island" of Hawaii, is the oldest Christian church in the Hawaiian Islands. The congregation dates to 1820 and the building was completed in 1837. History The congregation was first founded in 1820 by As ...

on the Island of Hawaiʻi. Denominationally, it is part of the

United Church of Christ The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a socially liberal mainline Protestant Christian denomination based in the United States, with historical and confessional roots in the Congregational, Restorationist, Continental Reformed, and Lutheran t ...

History

The Kawaiaha'o mission was started in 1820. The stone building of Kawaiahaʻo Church was commissioned by the regency of

Kaʻahumanu Kaʻahumanu (March 17, 1768 – June 5, 1832) (''"the feathered mantle"'') was queen consort and acted as regent of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi as Kuhina Nui. She was the favorite wife of King Kamehameha I and also the most politically powe ...

, during the reigns of

Kamehameha II Kamehameha II (November 1797 – July 14, 1824) was the second king of the Hawaiian Kingdom, Kingdom of Hawaii from 1819 to 1824. His birth name was Liholiho and full name was Kalaninui kua Liholiho i ke kapu ʻIolani. It was lengthened to Kala ...

and

Kamehameha III Kamehameha III (born Kauikeaouli) (March 17, 1814 – December 15, 1854) was the third king of the Kingdom of Hawaii from 1825 to 1854. His full Hawaiian name was Keaweaweula Kīwalaō Kauikeaouli Kaleiopapa and then lengthened to Keaweaweula K ...

. Designed by Rev. Hiram Bingham in the

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

style of the Hawaiian

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group who 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.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Miss ...

, it was constructed between 1836 and 1842 of some 14,000 thousand- pound slabs of coral rock quarried from an offshore reef on the southern coast of Oʻahu. Hawaiian divers dove three to six metres below sea-level to chisel out each coral block with hand tools, and the blocks then were transported from the reef onto the shore. The church house rivaled the concurrent construction of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace by the

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

Apostolic Vicariate An apostolic vicariate is a territorial jurisdiction of the Catholic Church under a titular bishop centered in missionary regions and countries where dioceses or parishes have not yet been established. The status of apostolic vicariate is often ...

of the Hawaiian Islands. Construction began on that churchhouse in 1840 and was substantially completed in 1843, one year after the completion of Kawaiahaʻo Church. The name Kawaiahaʻo was not applied to the site until 1853. Kawaiahaʻo Church was frequented by the chiefs of the Hawaiian Islands as well as the members of the reigning Kamehameha dynasty and Kalākaua dynasty. Kamehameha III, Kamehameha IV, Kamehameha V and Kalakaua took their oaths of office to their constitutions at Kawaiahaʻo Church. State burials were also held at the church as well the baptisms of aliʻi including aliʻi members who would eventually convert to other denominations or faiths. Today, the upper gallery of the sanctuary is adorned with 20 portraits of Hawaiian royalty (Aliʻi). The body of King

Lunalilo Lunalilo (William Charles Lunalilo; January 31, 1835 – February 3, 1874) was the sixth monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii from his election on January 8, 1873, until his death a year later. Born to Kekāuluohi and High Chief Charles Kanaʻin ...

, who preferred burial in a church cemetery to burial in the Royal Mausoleum, is buried in a crypt along with his father near the front courtyard. But Kawaiahaʻo Church was not the only site of royal worship in the Islands.

Kamehameha IV Kamehameha IV (Alekanetero ʻIolani Kalanikualiholiho Maka o ʻIouli Kūnuiākea o Kūkāʻilimoku; Anglicisation, anglicized as Alexander Liholiho) (February 9, 1834 – November 30, 1863), reigned as the List of Hawaiian monarchs, fourth monar ...

and his wife Emma were devout members of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

and established the

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

Church of Hawaiʻi, which evolved into the present-day Episcopal Diocese of Hawaiʻi after the islands were annexed by the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and later gained statehood. The royal couple commissioned the construction of the Cathedral Church of Saint Andrew, which replaced Kawaiahaʻo Church as the principal centre of royal worship.

Kamehameha V Kamehameha V (Lota Kapuāiwa Kalanimakua Aliʻiōlani Kalanikupuapaʻīkalaninui; December 11, 1830 – December 11, 1872), reigned as the fifth monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi from 1863 to 1872. His motto was "Onipaʻa": immovable, firm, s ...

Kalākaua Kalākaua (David Laʻamea Kamanakapuʻu Māhinulani Nālaʻiaʻehuokalani Lumialani Kalākaua; November 16, 1836 – January 20, 1891), was the last king and penultimate monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi, reigning from February 12, 1874, u ...

, and

Liliʻuokalani Queen Liliʻuokalani (; Lydia Liliʻu Loloku Walania Kamakaʻeha; September 2, 1838 – November 11, 1917) was the only queen regnant and the last sovereign monarch of the Hawaiian Kingdom, ruling from January 29, 1891, until the overthrow of th ...

(after the rebellion which overthrew the kingdom) preferred to use the cathedral – even though, before her reign, then Princess

had directed the choir of Kawaiahaʻo Church. When Liliʻuokalani died in 1917, she lay in state in the church for a week before her funeral at Iolani Palace.

People associated with the church

Other well-known persons associated with the church include: *

Kīnaʻu Princess Kalani Ahumanu i Kaliko o Iwi Kauhipua o Kīnau, also known as Elizabeth Kīnau ( – April 4, 1839) was Kuhina Nui of the Kingdom of Hawaii as Kaahumanu II, queen regent and dowager queen. Life Her father was King Kamehameha I an ...

kuhina nui Kuhina Nui was a powerful office in the Kingdom of Hawaii from 1819 to 1864. It was usually held by a relative of the king and was the rough equivalent of the 19th-century European office of Prime Minister or sometimes Regent. Origin of the offi ...

of the Hawaiian Kingdom; * Timothy Kamalehua Haʻalilio, the Hawaiian envoy that helped to secure Hawaiian independence; * John (Ioane) Iʻi, an advisor to Kamehameha III and teacher at the Chiefʻs Children School; * Emma Kaʻili Metcalf Beckley Nakuina, historian and the first record female judge in Hawaiʻi; * Levi Haʻalelea, an advisor to Kamehameha III; * John Thomas Gulick, a missionary to Micronesia and head of the Hawaiian board of Foreign Missions to Oceania and the Philippines; * Daniel Opunui, one of the first Protestant missionaries in Micronesia was member of Kawaiahaʻo Church before Kaumakapili Church was built; * David Kinimaka, adopted brother of King Kalakaua and officer in the Hawaiian Royal Guards; * Henry Berger, band master of the Royal Hawaiian Band and is buried at Kawaiahaʻo Church. *

Agnes Baldwin Alexander Agnes Baldwin Alexander (1875–1971) was an American author and distinguished member of the Baháʼí Faith. Life Agnes Baldwin Alexander was born on July 21, 1875, in the Kingdom of Hawaii. She was the youngest of five children born to Willia ...

, born in Honolulu in 1875 to William DeWitt Alexander and Abigail Charlotte Alexander, née Baldwin. Miss Alexander was a scion of two of Hawaii’s most illustrious Christian missionary families — the Alexanders and the Baldwins. In 1900 Agnes discovered the

Baháʼí Faith The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the Baháʼí Faith and the unity of religion, essential worth of all religions and Baháʼí Faith and the unity of humanity, the unity of all people. Established by ...

while in Rome on a tour of Europe, which she had undertaken after a severe illness. In 1901 she returned to Hawaii as its first Baháʼí. * Abraham Akaka, late pastor of the Kawaiahaʻo Church and most remembered for his role in the US Civil Rights Movement.

List of Nā Kahu (senior pastors)

* Hiram Bingham (1820–1840) * Richard Armstrong (1840–1848) * Ephraim Weston Clark (1848–1863) * Henry Hodges Parker (1863–1917) * Akaiko Akana (1918–1933) * William Kamau (1934–1940) * Edward Kahale (1940–1957) * Abraham Akaka (1957–1984) * William H. Kaina (1984–1997) * James Fung (2000–2002) * Curtis P. Kekuna (2004–2017) * Kenneth Makuakāne (2018–present)

List of interim pastors

* Ronald F.K. Ching – Intentional interim (1998) * James Kimo Mersberg – Intentional interim (2017–2018)

References

External links