The Community of the Sisters of Melanesia, more usually called The Sisters of Melanesia, is the third order for women to be established in the Church of Melanesia, which is the Anglican Church of Solomon Islands

Solomon Islands

Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...

 and Vanuatu

Vanuatu

Vanuatu , officially the Republic of Vanuatu , is an island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is some east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, west of Fiji, and southeast of the Solomon Islands, near New Guinea.Vanuatu was...

.

The first women's order was the defunct Sisters of the Holy Cross

Sisters of the Holy Cross

The Sisters of the Holy Cross headquartered on the same grounds as Saint Mary's College, Notre Dame, Indiana, is one of three Catholic congregations of religious sisters which trace their origins to the foundation of the Congregation of Holy Cross by the Blessed Father Basil Anthony-Marie Moreau,...

, whose members transferred to the Roman Catholic Church

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

 in 1950.

In the late 1960s, the then bishop

Bishop

A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...

 of the Diocese

Diocese

A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...

 of Melanesia hoped to establish a group of women Franciscan

Franciscan

Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....

s in Honiara

Honiara

Honiara, population 49,107 , 78,190 , is the capital of the Solomon Islands and of Guadalcanal Province, although it is a separately administered town...

. They could not come, but the Community of the Sisters of the Church

Community of the Sisters of the Church

The Community of the Sister of the Church is a religious order of women in various Anglican provinces who live the vowed life of poverty, chastity and obedience...

 came and prospered.

A little more than a decade later, one woman named Nesta Tiboe felt that there was room for a community of sisters working in the Solomon Islands which followed the ideals and structures of the Melanesian Brotherhood

Melanesian Brotherhood

The Melanesian Brotherhood is an Anglican religious community of men in simple vows based primarily in the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and Papua New Guinea.- History :...

. This turned out to be the Sisters of Melanesia.

There are about 110 sisters and over 50 novices at Verana'aso, Maravovo, Western Guadalcanal

Guadalcanal

Guadalcanal is a tropical island in the South-Western Pacific. The largest island in the Solomons, it was discovered by the Spanish expedition of Alvaro de Mendaña in 1568...

. The Head Sister is Sister Catherine Rosa. Besides Verana'aso, they have households in Honiara, CDC, Auki

Auki

Auki is the provincial capital of Malaita Province, Solomon Islands. It is situated on the northern end of Langalanga Lagoon on the north-west coast of Malaita Island. There are daily flights between the Solomons capital of Honiara and Auki...

 and South Malaita

Malaita

Malaita is the largest island of the Malaita Province in the Solomon Islands. A tropical and mountainous island, Malaita's pristine river systems and tropical forests have not been exploited. Malaita is the most populous island of the Solomon Islands, with 140,000 people or more than a third of the...

.

The novice

Novice

A novice is a person or creature who is new to a field or activity. The term is most commonly applied in religion and sports.-Buddhism:In many Buddhist orders, a man or woman who intends to take ordination must first become a novice, adopting part of the monastic code indicated in the vinaya and...

s wear a blue dress and upon admittance into the Sisterhood change into a green dress with a white veil with a green trim. The sisters wear a heart-shaped medal around their necks.

Sources

• Richard Toke. "Religious Order celebrates silver jubilee". Melanesian Messenger 060608-1, June 8, 2006. The Anglican Communion
• 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...
  
  . Church of Melanesia
• Kevin Ward, Andrew Wingate, Carrie Pemberton (eds.) Anglicanism: a Global Communion, pp. 48-49. Church Publishing, Inc., 1998. ISBN 0898693047