Methodist church
The
Methodist Church of Fiji and Rotuma
is the largest Christian denomination in
Fiji
, with 34.6% of the total population at the most recent 2007
census
.
[2]
Along with the
chiefly system
and the Fijian government, the
Methodist Church
forms a key part of Fiji's social power structure. The President of the Church, who must have been an ordained Minister for at least ten years, is elected at the annual conference for a term not exceeding three years. Tevita Nawadra Banivanua was elected President of the Church at the 2014 annual conference, and took office on 1 January 2015.
[3]
He succeeded Tuikilakila Waqairatu.
Church organization
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The Church has 2,860 congregations served by 430 pastors.
[4]
Administratively, the church is divided into 338 circuits and 56 divisions.
[5]
In the 1996 census, 280,628 persons identified as Methodists; 261,972 were indigenous Fijians, 5,432 were
Indo-Fijians
and 13,224 were from other ethnic communities.
[6]
In 2015, its membership stood at 212,860.
[4]
Church history and affiliation
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Christianity was introduced into Fiji in 1830 by three
Tahitian
teachers from the
London Missionary Society
. The Australian-based Wesleyan Missionary Society began work in
Lakeba
in the
Lau Islands
on 12 October 1835 under David Cargill and William Cross, along with some
Tongans
.
[8]
The conversion of many prominent chiefs, including
Seru Epenisa Cakobau
, in 1854, led to the conversion of much of the population.
Large-scale
Indian
immigration to Fiji began in 1879, and the Indian Mission began in 1892.
In 1964 the Methodist Church in Fiji became an independent entity.
The Methodist Church of Fiji and Rotuma is a member of the
World Council of Churches
(since 1976), the
Pacific Conference of Churches
, the Fiji Council of Churches, and the
World Methodist Council
.
[4]
The 2006 coup d'etat
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The Methodist Church opposed the
2006 coup
, although it had backed the previous three coups.
[9]
The Methodist Church strongly condemned the
coup d'etat
carried out by the
Republic of Fiji Military Forces
on 5 December 2006. The church issued a 20-point statement on 2 February 2007 analyzing the various factors in the coup, including the actions of the Military Commander,
Commodore
Frank Bainimarama
, to depose and reinstate
President
Ratu
Josefa Iloilo
, dismiss the
Cabinet
, and dissolve the
Parliament
, all of which it said were legally actionable. The statement called on Bainimarama to resign as interim
Prime Minister
to allow a "politically neutral" interim cabinet to be formed, comprising respected citizens. The Church also called for the 86-year-old President Iloilo, who publicly condoned the actions of the Military, to be "medically boarded" and, if necessary, "retired with dignity."
While condemning the coup, the statement stopped short of calling for the deposed government to be reinstated, instead recognizing the reality that normal democratic rule needed a process to restore it.
The statement of the Methodist Church provoked an angry reaction from Military spokesman
Major
Neumi Leweni
, who said that the Church had allowed itself to be "used".
In the past, the Church once called for a
theocracy
and fueled
anti-Hindu sentiment
.
[10]
See also
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External links
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References
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