Lucian Tapiedi
Encyclopedia
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
Anglican
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
teacher who was one of the "New Guinea Martyrs." The Martyrs were eight Anglican clergy
Clergy
Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. A clergyman, churchman or cleric is a member of the clergy, especially one who is a priest, preacher, pastor, or other religious professional....
, teachers, and medical missionaries killed by the Japanese
Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...
in 1942 (a total of 333 church workers of all denominations were killed during the invasion).
Early life
Tapiedi was born around 1921,“the nephew of a suspected sorcerer of Taupota village in Milne BayMilne Bay
Milne Bay is a large bay in Milne Bay Province, southeastern Papua New Guinea. The bay is named after Sir Alexander Milne.The area was a site of the Battle of Milne Bay in 1942....
district”, on the north coast of Papua
Papua (Australian territory)
The Territory of Papua comprised the southeastern quarter of the island of New Guinea from 1883 to 1949. It became a British Protectorate in the year 1884, and four years later it was formally annexed as British New Guinea...
, and was educated at mission schools, where he was influenced by Nita Inman, the schoolteacher, and the Reverend Edwin Nuagoro, a Papuan priest. In 1939, he entered St Aidan's Teacher Training College at Divari and in 1941 he became part of the staff at Sangara
Sangara, Papua New Guinea
Sangara is a settlement in southeastern Papua New Guinea. It is located to the east of Kokoda.-History:During the Second World War the area saw fighting between the Japanese forces and the allies . Missionaries were once active in the area and a mission station was established in Sangara...
as a teacher and evangelist. On 21 July 1942 the Japanese invasion of New Guinea
History of Papua New Guinea
The prehistory of Papua New Guinea can be traced back to about 60,000 years ago when people first migrated towards the Australian continent. The written history began when European navigators first sighted New Guinea in the early part of the 16th century....
began.
Death
Tapiedi and 10 others, evading the Japanese, came to a village inhabited by the OrokaivaOrokaiva
The Orokaiva are a people indigenous to Papua New Guinea. In 1930, they were reported as being speakers of Binandere and divided into three groups: the Umo-ke ; the Eva-Embo ; and the Pereho ....
people, and found themselves escorted away by men of that tribe. A man named Hivijapa killed Tapiedi with an axe
Axe
The axe, or ax, is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood; to harvest timber; as a weapon; and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol...
near a stream by Kurumbo village. The remainder of the group perished soon after; six of them were beheaded
Decapitation
Decapitation is the separation of the head from the body. Beheading typically refers to the act of intentional decapitation, e.g., as a means of murder or execution; it may be accomplished, for example, with an axe, sword, knife, wire, or by other more sophisticated means such as a guillotine...
by the Japanese on Buna
Buna, Papua New Guinea
Buna is a village in Oro Province, Papua New Guinea. It was the site in part, of the Battle of Buna-Gona during World War II, when it constituted a variety of native huts and a handful of houses with a airstrip...
beach.
Legacy
A statue of Tapiedi is installed among the niches with other 20th-century Christian martyrs over the west door of Westminster AbbeyWestminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. His killer, taking the name Hivijapa Lucian, later converted to Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
. He built a church dedicated to the memory of his victim at Embi. Another church taking Lucian Tapiedi as its patronal saint is St Lucian's Nine Mile in the Nine Mile Settlement of Port Moresby
Port Moresby
Port Moresby , or Pot Mosbi in Tok Pisin, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea . It is located on the shores of the Gulf of Papua, on the southeastern coast of the island of New Guinea, which made it a prime objective for conquest by the Imperial Japanese forces during 1942–43...
, north of Jacksons International Airport
Jacksons International Airport
Jacksons International Airport , also known as Port Moresby Airport, is located 5 miles outside Port Moresby, in Papua New Guinea...
.
Tapiedi's grave is at Sangara station.
Veneration
The Martyrs of New Guinea are honored with memorial and feast days on many church calendars including the liturgical calendar of the Episcopal Church (USA)Calendar of saints (Episcopal Church in the United States of America)
The veneration of saints in the Episcopal Church is a continuation of an ancient tradition from the early Church which honors important people of the Christian faith. The usage of the term "saint" is similar to Roman Catholic and Orthodox traditions. Those in the Anglo-Catholic tradition may...
on September 2.