Apimeleki Nadoki Qiliho is an indigenous Fijian from the

Province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

of Nadroga-Navosa in the

Fiji Islands Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

and a retired

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

. Consecrated a bishop on 10 April 2005, he became "

Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

Vanua Levu Vanua Levu (pronounced , , ), formerly known as Sandalwood Island, is the second largest island of Fiji. Located to the north of the larger Viti Levu, the island has an area of and a population of 135,961 . Geology Fiji lies in a tectonic ...

and

Taveuni Taveuni (pronounced ) is the third-largest island in Fiji, after Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, with a total land area of . The cigar-shaped island, a massive shield volcano which rises from the floor of the Pacific Ocean, is situated east of Vanua ...

" in the Diocese of Polynesia (

Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia The Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia, formerly the Church of the Province of New Zealand, is a Anglican province, province of the Anglican Communion serving New Zealand, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, and the Cook Islands. Since 1992 ...

) — he made church history by becoming the first indigenous Fijian bishop in that church. He was one of three suffragan (assistant) bishops (consecrated the same day) who served under the diocesan Bishop of Polynesia (then Jabez Bryce) — the diocese covers

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...

and the

Cook Islands The Cook Islands is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of 15 islands whose total land area is approximately . The Cook Islands' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) covers of ocean. Avarua is its ...

. After his comrade

Gabriel Sharma Gabriel Sharma is an Anglican Bishop in Fiji. On 1 May 2005, he became the first Indo-Fijian to be consecrated as an Anglican Bishop, the first ethnic Indian Bishop in the Province of Aotearoa, of which Fiji forms a part, and the first Bish ...

resigned as Bishop in

Viti Levu Viti Levu (pronounced ; ) is the largest island in Fiji. It is the site of the country's capital and largest city, Suva, and home to a large majority of Fiji's population. Geology Fiji lies in a plate tectonics, tectonically complex area betwe ...

West, Qiliho also took that role from 2014 onwards; in 2017, he became (instead) Assistant Bishop of the diocese,ACANZP Lectionary, 2019
(p. 145) until his retirement in August 2018.

Background

Qiliho comes from the village of Rukurukulevu in the district of Cuvu in Nadroga, located in Fiji's Western Division. He then spent some time living in

Lautoka Lautoka (, ) is the second largest List of cities and towns in Fiji#List, metropolitan area in Fiji. It is on the west coast of the island of Viti Levu, in the Ba Province of the Western Division, Fiji, Western Division. Lying in the heart of ...

, the capital of the Western Division, at which time he changed denomination from being

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

to an Anglican. He then decided to become a priest and eventually was made a Bishop after serving for some time as the

Vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop or archbishop of a diocese or an archdiocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vica ...

at Holy Trinity Cathedral in Suva. Apimeleki Qiliho lives in

Labasa Labasa (, ) is a town in Fiji with a population of 28,500 at the 2010 census. Labasa is located in Macuata Province, in the north-eastern part of the island of Vanua Levu, and is the largest town on the island. The town itself is located on a ...

on Vanua Levu and is currently married to Taomi Tapu Qiliho. He was previously married to Litiana Rika who died in 1997. He has four children and eight grandchildren.

Career

Qiliho began training to be an Anglican priest in the early 1960s and during the course of his training stayed in Suva and

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

, New Zealand. After becoming a priest he had postings to

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

es around Fiji such as

Levuka Levuka () is a Local government in Fiji, town on the eastern coast of the Fijian island of Ovalau (Fiji), Ovalau, in Lomaiviti Province, in the Eastern Division, Fiji, Eastern Division of Fiji. Prior to 1877, it was the capital of Fiji. At the ...

, etc. He then went on to become Vicar General under Bishop Jabez Bryce and then Bishop of Vanua Levu and Taveuni. He also has served on many church and non church organisations such as the Pacific Council Of Churches, The Fiji Council of Churches and the President of the Pacific/ Fiji Bible Society. He also does work with certain

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

youth Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood (Maturity (psychological), maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as bei ...

and non governmental

organisations An organization or organisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences) is an entity—such as a company, or corporation or an institution (formal organization), or an association—comprising one or more people and having a part ...

in Fiji and the region.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Qiliho, Apimeleki People from Nadroga-Navosa Province Fijian Anglican bishops Anglican bishops of Polynesia Living people Year of birth missing (living people)