Lucian Tapiedi ( – 1942) was a Papuan Anglican teacher who was one of the "New Guinea Martyrs." The Martyrs were eight Anglican

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

, teachers, and medical missionaries killed by the

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

in 1942 (a total of 333 church workers of all denominations were killed during the invasion).

Early life

Tapiedi was born around 1921, "the nephew of a suspected sorcerer of

Taupota Taupota is an Oceanic language of the Milne Bay Province, Papua New Guinea. It appears to be a dialect chain A dialect continuum or dialect chain is a series of language varieties spoken across some geographical area such that neighboring ...

village in Milne Bay district", on the north coast of Papua, and was educated at mission schools, where he was influenced by Nita Inman, the schoolteacher, and the Reverend Edwin Nuagoro, a Papuan priest. In 1939, he entered St Aidan's Teacher Training College at Dogura and in 1941 he became part of the staff at Sangara as a teacher and evangelist.

Death

On 4 January 1942 the Japanese initiated the invasion of Papua New Guinea with the Battle of Rabaul. The Anglican Bishop of New Guinea (then a diocese of the ecclesiastical Province of Queensland), Philip Strong, instructed most Anglican missionaries to remain at their posts despite the likely danger:

If we all left, it would take years for the Church to recover from our betrayal of our trust. If we remain — and even if the worst came to the worst and we were all to perish in remaining — the Church would not perish, for there would have been no breach of trust in its walls, but its foundations and structure would have received added strength for the future building by our faithfulness unto death.

Tapiedi and 10 others, evading the Japanese, came to a village inhabited by the

Orokaiva people The Orokaiva are a people indigenous to Papua New Guinea. In 1930, they were reported as being speakers of Binandere and divided into three groups: the Umo-ke ("River People"); the Eva-Embo ("the Salt-Water People"); and the Pereho ("the Inland ...

, and found themselves escorted away by men of that tribe. A man named Hivijapa killed Tapiedi with an

axe An axe ( sometimes ax in American English; see spelling differences) is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood, to harvest timber, as a weapon, and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol. The axe has ma ...

near a stream by Kurumbo village. The remainder of the group perished soon after; six of them were

beheaded Decapitation or beheading is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and most other animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood, while all other organs are deprived of the ...

by the Japanese on Buna beach. Another source says Tapiedi was "axed to death by the natives after he had returned to retrieve the station records box and some money."

Legacy

A statue of Tapiedi is installed among the niches with other 20th-century Christian martyrs over the west door of

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the Unite ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. His killer, taking the name Hivijapa Lucian, later converted to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

. He built a church dedicated to the memory of his victim, which grew to a diocesan center. However, the original building at Higatury was destroyed when

Mount Lamington Mount Lamington is an andesitic stratovolcano in the Oro Province of Papua New Guinea. The forested peak of the volcano had not been recognised as such until its devastating eruption in 1951 that caused about 3,000 deaths. The volcano rises to 1 ...

erupted on 21 January 1951 during a diocesan meeting, with considerable loss of life, so the church and center were rebuilt at

Popondetta Popondetta (sometimes spelled Popondota) is the capital of Oro (Northern) Province in Papua New Guinea. Popondetta is a city. In 1951 the city became the focus of relief efforts after nearby Mount Lamington erupted and killed 4,000 people. ...

. Another church taking Lucian Tapiedi as its patronal saint is St Lucian's Six Mile in the Six Mile Settlement of

Port Moresby (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New ...

, north of

Jacksons International Airport Port Moresby International Airport , also known as Jacksons International Airport, is an international airport located outside Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea. It is the largest and busiest airport in Papua New Guinea, with an estimated 1.4 mi ...

. Tapiedi's grave is at Sangara station.

Veneration

The Martyrs of New Guinea are honored with memorial and feast days on the calendars of many churches including 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 ...

References

External links

Westminster Abbey: Lucian Tapiedi
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tapiedi, Lucian Papua New Guinean Anglicans History of Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea in World War II 1942 deaths Anglican saints 20th-century Protestant martyrs 20th-century Christian saints Papua New Guinean murder victims People murdered in Papua New Guinea 1920s births People from Milne Bay Province Territory of Papua people Civilians killed in World War II