Anglican Church of Melanesia

Template:Anglican Portal The Church of the Province of Melanesia is part of the Anglican Communion, and includes 8 dioceses. The Primate of the Church is the Archbishop of Melanesia. The Most Rev. Sir Ellison L. Pogo, KBE has served in this position since 1994.

Official name

The Church of the Province of Melanesia is the official name, but it is usually shortend to the Church of Melanesia or COM. Within Solomon Islands and Vanuatu the Church is often called simply Anglican.

History

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John Coleridge Patteson died a martyr's death in 1871.

The Church was established by Bishop George Augustus Selwyn in 1849, and was initially headed by a bishop of Melanesia. One of the important features of the province's life over many years has been the work of a mission vessel in various incarnations known as the Southern Cross. First based in New Zealand, the missionaries, mainly from Oxbridge and the public schools, established their base on Norfolk Island, bringing Melanesian scholars there to learn Christianity until the school was closed in 1918. The many languages in Melanesia made evangelisation a challenge. The Melanesian Mission adopted the language of the island of Mota in the Banks group of islands as the lingua franca. The Church of Melanesia is known for its pioneer martyrs, especially Bishop John Coleridge Patteson, murdered in 1871, Charles Godden, killed in 1906, among several others.

Membership

Today, there are nearly 200,000 Anglicans out of an estimated population of over 800,000 in two countries, and a newly formed parish in Noumea, New Caledonia.

Structure

John Coleridge Patteson was the first bishop of Melanesia. The polity of the Church of Melanesia is Episcopalian church governance, which is the same as other Anglican churches. The church maintains a system of geographical parishes organized into dioceses. There are 8 of these, each headed by a bishop:

The Diocese of Central Melanesia. The Bishop is the Most Rev. Sir Ellison Pogo.
The Diocese of Central Solomons. The Bishop is the Rt. Rev. Charles Koete.
The Diocese of Temotu. The Bishop is the Rt. Rev. David Vunagi.
The Diocese of Malaita. The Bishop will be the the Rev. Canon Sam Sahu, due to be ordained bishop on 2 November 2008, and assistant bishop the Rt. Rev. Alfred Hou.
The Diocese of Ysabel. The Bishop is the Rt. Rev. Richard Naramana.
The Diocese of Banks and Torres. The Bishop is the Rt. Rev. Nathan Tome.
The Diocese of Vanuatu. The Bishop is the Rt. Rev. James Ligo.
The Diocese of Hanuato'o. The Bishop is the Rt. Rev. Alfred Karibongi.

Each diocese except for Central Melanesia (the Honiara area) is divided into regions, each headed by a senior priest. The regions are further subdivided into parishes or districts (the two words being interchangeable), headed by a parish priest, usually called a rector. Parishes may be subdivided into sub-parishes, headed by assistant priest. Catechists are lay people appointed by a local community and authorised by the bishop to take services and look after the spiritual life of a village.

Worship and liturgy

The Church of Melanesia embraces three orders of ministry: deacon, priest, and bishop. A local variant of the Book of Common Prayer is used, called A Melanesian English Prayer Book.

Doctrine and practice

See also: Anglicanism and Anglican doctrine

The centre of the Church of Melanesia's teaching is the life and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The basic teachings of the church are summed up in the Apostle's Creed and the Nicene Creed.

The Church in its canons accepts and teaches the seven sacraments of the Church, Baptism, Holy Eucharist, Confirmation, Penance, Holy Matrimony, Holy Orders, and Anointing of the Sick.

Ecumenical relations

Like other Anglican churches, the Church of Melanesia is a member of the ecumenical World Council of Churches, and is a member of the Pacific Conference of Churches, the Solomon Islands Christian Council, and the Vanuatu Council of Churches.

The Mothers' Union is quite active, as are the four religious communities active in the province, the Melanesian Brotherhood, the Society of Saint Francis, the Community of the Sisters of the Church, and the Community of the Sisters of Melanesia. The province has its own liturgical customs and a Calendar of saints.

Further reading

Anglicanism, Neill, Stephen. Harmondsworth, 1965.

External links

• Official provincial website
• A large group of documents on Anglican history in Oceania