Inaugural Melanesian Commission Established by the Anglican Diocese of Polynesia

17 – 19 June 2026 | MAST Building, Suva, Fiji

A Renewed Anglican Commitment to Justice, Healing and Hope for the Descendants of the Blackbird Trade

The Anglican Diocese of Polynesia has formally inaugurated the Melanesian Commission, setting before the Church and the wider community a solemn and hopeful commitment to the renewal of Melanesian life, dignity and future within the Diocese. Rooted in the movement from the old and painful narrative of “forgotten people” toward the Gospel promise of becoming “people of God’s promise,” the Commission is established as a strategic and pastoral instrument for truth-telling, justice, reconciliation and practical transformation.

Grounded in the Five Marks of Mission, the Commission brings together the Church’s spiritual calling and its public responsibility. Its work is directed not only toward proclamation and pastoral care, but also toward the urgent realities confronting Melanesian communities, including land insecurity, poverty, education, youth employment, substance abuse, cultural erasure and the enduring wounds left by colonial history. In this way, the Diocese affirms that the mission of Christ must be expressed in loving service, courageous advocacy and the restoration of human dignity.

The Diocese also announces with gratitude that His Grace Archbishop Leonard Dawea of the Anglican Church of Melanesia has accepted the invitation to chair the Commission. This is a strategic appointment of deep ecclesial and historical significance, intended to foster a closer relationship between the Anglican Diocese of Polynesia and the Anglican Church of Melanesia on the basis of a shared inheritance, a common faith and a common responsibility. Through this partnership, the Commission seeks to address the injustices of colonialism with honesty and Christian resolve, while helping to build a future of hope for the descendants of the Blackbird Trade.

Archbishop Sione Uluilakepa has emphasized that the Commission is not merely an administrative body, but a spiritual and moral undertaking for the life of the Church. He said: “We are bringing our people together on a common foundation to confront the wounds left by colonialism, to honour the dignity of the descendants of the Blackbird Trade, and to build, with God’s help, a future shaped not by abandonment, but by promise.”

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