Sione Amanaki Havea (1922–2000) was a

Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

minister and

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

, known for developing a

contextual theology Contextual theology or contextualizing theology refers to theology which has responded to the dynamics of a particular context. Terminology The term contextualizing theology was used in missiology by Shoki Coe when he argued that the Venn- And ...

for the context of the

Pacific Island The Pacific islands are a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean. They are further categorized into three major island groups: Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Depending on the context, the term ''Pacific Islands'' may refer to one of several ...

Career

Havea was a strong advocate for

ecumenism Ecumenism ( ; alternatively spelled oecumenism)also called interdenominationalism, or ecumenicalismis the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships ...

amongst Christians in

Oceania Oceania ( , ) is a region, geographical region including Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Outside of the English-speaking world, Oceania is generally considered a continent, while Mainland Australia is regarded as its co ...

. He served as the first chairman of the Pacific Conference of Churches (1966–1971) and was an active participant in 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, most jurisdictions of the Eastern Orthodo ...

. Havea was an ordained

minister who served for two terms as president of the

Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga The Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga (FWCT; Tongan: ''Siasi Uēsiliana Tau‘atāina ‘o Tonga'') is a Methodist denomination in Tonga. It is the largest Christian denomination in the nation and is often mistaken to be its state church. It has i ...

(1971–1977 and 1982–1992). Between these terms, he also served as the principal of the

Pacific Theological College The Pacific Theological College (PTC) is an ecumenical theological college located in Suva, Fiji. Established in 1965, it opened for training in 1966 and was originally designed as the only regional institution to offer degree-level education in th ...

, in

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

(1977–1981), an institution which trains students mainly coming from Pacific Island churches, establishing a woman's program and advancing a theological orientation which addresses the context of Oceanic culture.

Theology

Havea is best known for promoting the construction of Pacific theology, one that comes from the soil and context of the Pacific Islands. He believed one of the most vivid images for Oceanic culture was the

coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (biology), family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, ...

and spoke of a coconut theology.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Havea, Sione {{fakau'aAmanaki 1922 births 2000 deaths Tongan Methodists Methodist theologians World Christianity scholars

Career

Theology

See also

References