Martyred Bishop

Remembered

Special church services have been held in the Solomons to mark the centenary of the con secration of the first Bishop of Melanesia, John Patteson.

Bishop Patteson’s episcopate of 10 years came to an end in 1871 on Nukapu, in the Reef Islands, where he was mistaken for a blackbirder dressed in the garb of a priest, and was killed.

The casket in which is pre served the burial mat which was wrapped around the body of the martyred bishop, as well as the paten and chalice given for his use in the Western Pacific, is still kept in All Saints’ Cathedral, Honiara.

Patteson made his first missionary journey to the Solomons in 1856, prior to his consecration.