The Christian Church of Tuvalu, in Tuvaluan

Tuvaluan language

Tuvaluan is a Polynesian language of or closely related to the Ellicean group spoken in Tuvalu. It is more or less distantly related to all other Polynesian languages, such as Hawaiian, Maori, Tahitian, Samoan, and Tongan, and most closely related to the languages spoken on the Polynesian Outliers...

 - Te Ekalesia Kelisiano Tuvalu - is the national church

National church

National church is a concept of a Christian church associated with a specific ethnic group or nation state. The idea was notably discussed during the 19th century, during the emergence of modern nationalism....

 of Tuvalu

Tuvalu

Tuvalu , formerly known as the Ellice Islands, is a Polynesian island nation located in the Pacific Ocean, midway between Hawaii and Australia. Its nearest neighbours are Kiribati, Nauru, Samoa and Fiji. It comprises four reef islands and five true atolls...

. It comprises 92% of the 12,000 inhabitants of the archipelago

Archipelago

An archipelago , sometimes called an island group, is a chain or cluster of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι- – arkhi- and πέλαγος – pélagos through the Italian arcipelago...

.

Christianity first came to Tuvalu

Tuvalu

Tuvalu , formerly known as the Ellice Islands, is a Polynesian island nation located in the Pacific Ocean, midway between Hawaii and Australia. Its nearest neighbours are Kiribati, Nauru, Samoa and Fiji. It comprises four reef islands and five true atolls...

 in 1861 when Elekana, a deacon of a Congregational church in Manihiki

Manihiki

Manihiki is an island in the Cook Islands known as the Island of Pearls. It is a triangular atoll north of Rarotonga.- History :Polynesians are believed to have lived on Manihiki since at least 900 or 1000 AD. Kupe was the first to explore Aotea Roa. Kupe came from Manihiki, also known as...

, Cook Islands

Cook Islands

The Cook Islands is a self-governing parliamentary democracy in the South Pacific Ocean in free association with New Zealand...

 became caught in a storm and drifted for 8 weeks before landing at Nukulaelae

Nukulaelae

Nukulaelae is an atoll that is part of the nation of Tuvalu, and has a population of 393. It has the form of an oval and consists of at least 15 islets...

. Elekana began proselytizing

Proselytism

Proselytizing is the act of attempting to convert people to another opinion and, particularly, another religion. The word proselytize is derived ultimately from the Greek language prefix προσ- and the verb ἔρχομαι in the form of προσήλυτος...

 Christianity. He was trained in a London Missionary Society

London Missionary Society

The London Missionary Society was a non-denominational missionary society formed in England in 1795 by evangelical Anglicans and Nonconformists, largely Congregationalist in outlook, with missions in the islands of the South Pacific and Africa...

 school in Samoa before beginning his work in establishing the Church of Tuvalu. In 1969, the Church acquired its independence from the LMS, since which time it has sent some missionaries to serve Tuvaluan migrants in Fiji, New Zealand, Hawaii, Australia, and the Marshall Islands.

The church is Calvinist in doctrine and congregational in organization. Being the de facto established church, the Church of Tuvalu dominates most aspects of social, cultural and political life in the country.

The church is a member of the World Association for Christian Communication

World Association for Christian Communication

The World Association for Christian Communication is an international NGO registered as a charity in both Canada and the United Kingdom. It is a worldwide network of ecumenical Christian communicators whose global office is based in Toronto...

, the Boys' Brigade International Fellowship, the World Alliance of Reformed Churches

World Alliance of Reformed Churches

The World Alliance of Reformed Churches is a fellowship of more than 200 churches with roots in the 16th-century Reformation, and particularly in the theology of John Calvin...

, the World Council of Churches

World Council of Churches

The World Council of Churches is a worldwide fellowship of 349 global, regional and sub-regional, national and local churches seeking unity, a common witness and Christian service. It is a Christian ecumenical organization that is based in the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland...

 and the Pacific Conference of Churches

Pacific Conference of Churches

The Pacific Conference of Churches is the Regional Ecumenical Organisation representing the Christian churches at all levels in the Pacific region...

.

The church publishes a bulletin in the Tuvaluan and English languages and operates a school in the capital city Funafuti

Funafuti

Funafuti is an atoll that forms the capital of the island nation of Tuvalu. It has a population of 4,492 , making it the most populated atoll in the country. It is a narrow sweep of land between 20 and 400 metres wide, encircling a large lagoon 18 km long and 14 km wide, with a surface of...

.

Rev. Sir Filoimea Telito

Filoimea Telito

Sir Filoimea Telito, GCMG, MBE was a political and religious figure from the Pacific nation of Tuvalu.-Background:...

, a former Governor General, presided most recently over the Church until his death in July 2011.