Ini Kopuria

Ini Kopuria (died 1945), a police officer from Maravovo, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands formed the Melanesian Brotherhood in 1925. He and the Bishop of Melanesia, the Right Reverend John Manwaring Steward, realised Ini's dream by forming a band of brothers (known in the Mota language as 'Ira Reta Tasiu') to take the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the non-Christian areas of Melanesia. He is commemorated in the calendars of saints of the Church of the Province of Melanesia, of the Church of England, and of the Episcopal Church (USA).

References

• Material by and about the Melanesian Brotherhood from Project Canterbury
• The Brothers: The Story of the Native Brotherhood of Melanesia, by Margaret Lycett 1935 account.

See also

• Calendar of saints (Church of the Province of Melanesia)
• Calendar of saints (Church of England)