Riamese Orthodox Church
Congregational Christian Church of Freice | |
---|---|
Pakaragare Wahoaniorena’ama-Kiaioti’ama oe Faio | |
Classification | Protestant |
Orientation | Calvinist |
Theology | Congregational |
Polity | Connexionalism |
Conference Minister (Executive Director) | Rev. Dr. Apoka Semeia[1] |
Headquarters | Sekapa, Freice |
Territory | Freice, Riamo, Hoterallia |
Origin | 3 April 1953 |
Separated from | Congregational Church of Riamo |
Other name(s) | Church of Freice[2] |
Official website | www.pwkf.faio |
The Congregational Christian Church of Freice (Freician: Pakaragare Wahoaniorena’ama-Kiaioti’ama oe Faio; PWKF), widely called the Church of Freice, is a Protestant denomination in Freice and, as of 2021, the largest church and Christian denomination in the Country. The church was founded in 1953 when it formally separated from the Congregational Church of Riamo and established itself as a separate body operating within the Riamese Christian Conference. The split was largely driven by pro-independence and Freician nationalist factions that sought to use religion as a vehicle for their aims. The church has its roots in the Christian missionaries who settled in Freice with Riamese colonisation in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
Although not the state church, the PWKF wields significant influence in society, due in most part to the large number of Freicians who are practitioners.[3]
Organisation
The organisation is the PWKF is described as a "free association of independent churches coordinated through an organisational hierarchy."
The local village church is the basic unit of the PWKF, which are voluntarily associated with one another in the form of district fellowships. District fellowships function as regional bodies to facilitate cooperation amongst participating churches, prevent factionalism, and promote Christian unity. Each district fellowship, contiguous with Freice's administrative districts, are led by a moderator, who is elected by the participating churches to oversee and direct the fellowship's operations and management.[2]
The moderators, when assembled as one body, constitute the National Conference of Fellowships (HToU), which is the supreme governing body of the church. The Conference Minister (who functions as the executive director of the church) presides over meetings of the HToU as first amongst equals, elected by the conference for a three-year term.[4] The Conference Minister is usually a pastor; they are required to resign any other position they hold within the church.
Overseas fellowships
There are two autonomous fellowship that operate within the PWKF but which are granted certain freedoms. These are the Ryume Fellowship operates in Hoterallia and the Guri Fellowship, which operates in mainland Riamo.
The Ryume Fellowship serves the Freician community in Hoterallia (並外民の外国人公共; translit. Namimin no Gaikoku hito kōkyō), which traces its heritage to the immigration from the island in the 1920s and 1930s during and immediately following the Hoterallian occupation of Freice. Established in its current form in 1962, the fellowship provides services to around 1,500 of the almost 2,100 Freicians resident in the country, most of whom live in Ryume Prefecture. The church is a "autonomous sub-district fellowship" operating within the Sekapa district fellowship.
The Guri Fellowship operates in mainland Riamo, including in the Unhak Island Territories. A large number of members are students and temporary workers, with major populations in Guri, Portington, and Swanton. The fellowship constitutes a separate district fellowship, with its own individual churches and moderator.
Composition of the National Conference of Fellowships
The conference minister and district moderators current bishops of the PWKF are:[5]
Name | Title | Serving since |
---|---|---|
Rev. Dr. Apoka Semeia | Conference Minister | 18 June 2020 |
Rev. Ilipule Likamai | Moderator of Marana Pratsa Fellowship | 5 June 2011 |
Rev. Likama Siolauo | Moderator of Dukorane Fellowship | 9 November 2017 |
Rev. Nualatamu Fuoa | Moderator of Sekapa Fellowship | 4 June 2018 |
Rev. Sotele Sekoela | Moderator of Koimuke Fellowship | 28 January 2013 |
Rev. Dr. Selaulo Bisona | Moderator of Guri Fellowship | 9 April 2015 |
Rev. Avama Ilipule | Moderator of Sekapa Seiva Fellowship | 13 August 2016 |
Rev. Seima Semeia | Moderator of Roheo Radei Oratite Fellowship | 6 January 2015 |
Rev. Dr. Enuleira Fuoa | Moderator of Ritora Iisa Fellowship | 8 May 2017 |
Rev. Seuia Kaineki | Moderator of Mopeta Pratsa Fellowship | 14 April 2015 |
Rev. Selaulo Tume | Moderator of Peka Fellowship | 8 January 2022 |
See also
References
- ↑ "Homa'me" (in Freician). pwkf.faio'. 9 January 2022. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Church of Freice". Methodism-Online. 19 November 2016. Retrieved 5 Auguste 2019. Cite error: Invalid
<ref>
tag; name ": Conference2" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ "Society > Traditions > Church". www.visit-freice.faio. 17 July 2020. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
- ↑ "Hiunuia Tehua'i oe Ulohaia'ama" (in Freician). pwkf.faio'. 14 May 2018. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
- ↑ "Pisekopa'me" (in Freician). pwkf.faio'. 9 January 2022. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
Notes
External links