The Church of Hawaiʻi, originally called the Hawaiian Reformed Catholic Church, was the state church and national church of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi from 1862 to 1893. It was the

ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian Churches with traditional hierarchical structure, including Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity. In general, an ecclesiastical province consists of seve ...

of the

Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other ...

Hawaiʻi Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

History

As a young prince, King

Kamehameha IV Kamehameha IV (Alekanetero ʻIolani Kalanikualiholiho Maka o ʻIouli Kūnuiākea o Kūkāʻilimoku; anglicized as Alexander Liholiho) (February 9, 1834 – November 30, 1863), reigned as the fourth monarch of Hawaii under the title ''Ke Aliʻi ...

had visited

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and was impressed by the rich ceremony of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

, compared to the dour simplicity of the American missionaries who educated him as a child. His queen consort Queen Emma had a British grandfather and was brought up in a house of a British Anglican doctor. Their 1856 wedding ceremony included Anglican prayers but had to be performed by the Congregationalist minister. In 1859, Emma wrote to

Victoria of the United Kingdom Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...

to request a clergyman from the English church. The King's foreign minister,

Robert Crichton Wyllie Robert Crichton Wyllie (October 13, 1798 – October 19, 1865) was a Scottish physician and businessman. He served for twenty years as Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Kingdom of Hawaii. Early life Wyllie was born October 13, 1798, in an area c ...

, also made requests through diplomatic contacts. In 1860,

Samuel Wilberforce Samuel Wilberforce, FRS (7 September 1805 – 19 July 1873) was an English bishop in the Church of England, and the third son of William Wilberforce. Known as "Soapy Sam", Wilberforce was one of the greatest public speakers of his day. Natural ...

suggested expanding the mission to include a

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

who could organize a new branch.

William Ingraham Kip William Ingraham Kip (October 3, 1811 – April 7, 1893) was an American Protestant Episcopal bishop. Early life Kip was born in New York City, of Breton ancestry, the son of Leonard Kip and Maria (Ingraham) Kip.Memorial Biographies, 130 He g ...

of the Episcopal Church in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

also supported the idea, but the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

prevented any help from them. The idea was approved by

John Bird Sumner John Bird Sumner (25 February 1780 – 6 September 1862) was a bishop in the Church of England and Archbishop of Canterbury. Early life John Bird Sumner was born in Kenilworth, Warwickshire, on 25 February 1780. He was the eldest son of the R ...

and British Foreign Secretary

Lord John Russell John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, (18 August 1792 – 28 May 1878), known by his courtesy title Lord John Russell before 1861, was a British Whig and Liberal statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1852 and a ...

. The first Bishop was Thomas Nettleship Staley, consecrated on December 15, 1861. The sending of Staley caused friction with the

American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) was among the first American Christian missionary organizations. It was created in 1810 by recent graduates of Williams College. In the 19th century it was the largest and most imp ...

even before he arrived in 1862; making him a bishop bothered the Congregationalists, who opposed any kind of religious hierarchy. Rufus Anderson, of the American Board, became a fierce critic, accusing him of

ritualism Ritualism, in the history of Christianity, refers to an emphasis on the rituals and liturgical ceremonies of the church. Specifically, the Christian ritual of Holy Communion. In the Anglican church in the 19th century, the role of ritual became ...

. The officially chartered name of "Hawaiian Reformed Catholic Church" provoked criticism as "

papist The words Popery (adjective Popish) and Papism (adjective Papist, also used to refer to an individual) are mainly historical pejorative words in the English language for Roman Catholicism, once frequently used by Protestants and Eastern Orthodo ...

". After Kamehameha IV died, an elaborate funeral service was held that was compared to a

Pontifical High Mass A Pontifical High Mass, also called Solemn Pontifical Mass, is a Solemn or High Mass celebrated by a bishop using certain prescribed ceremonies. Although in modern English the word "pontifical" is almost exclusively associated with the pope, an ...

. Staley was even attacked by American writer Mark Twain, and others whom he called "

Puritans The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. ...

". The Church of Hawaiʻi became the official royal church, with land donated from the royal family's holdings, not the government. Emma was baptized, followed by a young David Kalākaua who would later also become king. The Royal Mausoleum was built with a private chapel, which contrasted to the simple unadorned graveyards preferred by earlier missionaries. Observance of the holidays of

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

and Good Friday was begun. Since Kamehameha IV had died on the feast of Saint Andrew, the first cathedral constructed in Hawaiʻi by his brother the new King Kamehameha V was called the Saint Andrew's Cathedral. The cornerstone was laid in 1867, and it became the official residence of the bishop. Two associated schools were also started:

Saint Andrew's Priory School for Girls St. Andrew's Schools is a private K–12 school in Honolulu, Hawaii. Made up of The Priory, an all-girls K–12 program with a college preparatory school; The Prep, the all-boys K–5 program; and a co-educational preschool for ages 2–5 years i ...

, and a boys' school named for

Saint Alban Saint Alban (; la, Albanus) is venerated as the first-recorded British Christian martyr, for which reason he is considered to be the British protomartyr. Along with fellow Saints Julius and Aaron, Alban is one of three named martyrs rec ...

, which eventually became part of

Iolani School Iolani is a masculine Hawaiian name meaning "royal ''hawk''." It comes from the Hawaiian words ''ʻio'', meaning "Hawaiian hawk," and ''lani'', meaning "royal." It may refer to: *ʻIolani School, a private school located in Hawaii *ʻIolani Palac ...

. After the overthrow of the monarchy in 1893 and

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

annexation in 1898, the Church of Hawaiʻi was dissolved and became the Episcopal Diocese of Hawaiʻi as territorial jurisdiction was transferred to the

Episcopal Church in the United States of America The Episcopal Church, based in the United States with additional dioceses elsewhere, is a member church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. It is a mainline Protestant denomination and is divided into nine provinces. The presiding bishop o ...

References

External links

The Church in Hawaiʻi
{{Christianity in Hawaii Christianity in Hawaii

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

Religious organizations established in 1862 Anglican organizations established in the 19th century 1862 establishments in Hawaii 1898 disestablishments in Hawaii Religious organizations disestablished in 1898 Christian organizations established in the 19th century

History

See also

References

External links