History
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.
Read more about this topic: Church Of The Province Of Melanesia
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