Lucian Tapiedi

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The 20th Century Martyrs. Westminster Abbey, London. The statue of Lucian Tapiedi, by Tim Crawley, stands second from right.

Lucian Tapiedi (c. 1921 – 1942) was a

missionaries killed by the Japanese
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

Papua, and was educated at mission schools, where he was influenced by Nita Inman, the schoolteacher, and the Reverend Edwin Nuagoro,[2] a Papuan priest.[1] In 1939, he entered St Aidan's Teacher Training College at Dogura and in 1941 he became part of the staff at Sangara
as a teacher and evangelist.

Death

On 4 January 1942 the Japanese initiated the invasion of Papua New Guinea with the Battle of Rabaul. The Anglican Bishop of New Guinea (then a diocese of the ecclesiastical Province of Queensland), Philip Strong, instructed most Anglican missionaries to remain at their posts despite the likely danger:

If we all left, it would take years for the Church to recover from our betrayal of our trust. If we remain — and even if the worst came to the worst and we were all to perish in remaining — the Church would not perish, for there would have been no breach of trust in its walls, but its foundations and structure would have received added strength for the future building by our faithfulness unto death.[3]

Tapiedi and 10 others, evading the Japanese, came to a village inhabited by the Orokaiva people, and found themselves escorted away by men of that tribe. A man named Hivijapa killed Tapiedi with an axe near a stream by Kurumbo village. The remainder of the group perished soon after; six of them were beheaded by the Japanese on Buna beach.[4] Another source says Tapiedi was "axed to death by the natives after he had returned to retrieve the station records box and some money."[5]

Legacy

A statue of Tapiedi is installed among the niches with other 20th-century Christian martyrs over the west door of

Jacksons International Airport
.

Tapiedi's grave is at Sangara station.

Veneration

The Martyrs of New Guinea are honored with memorial and

feast days on the calendars of many churches including the Anglican Communion
.

References

  1. ^ a b Jones Taugaloidi. "Martyrs of New Guinea". Archived from the original on 2007-02-19. Retrieved 2008-10-26.
  2. hdl:10125/25825. Retrieved 8 March 2017. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help
    )
  3. ^ 'The New Guinea Diaries of Philip Strong, 1936-1945', edited by David Wetherell (1981) p223
  4. ^ "Lucian Tapiedi". Retrieved 8 March 2017.
  5. ^ Revd Dr Scott Cowdell (2004-08-31). "New Guinea Martyrs". St Paul's Anglican Church, Canberra. Archived from the original on 2008-07-21. Retrieved 2008-10-26.
  6. ^ Michie, Trevor. "Service Times of the Anglican Diocese of Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea". Retrieved 8 March 2017.

External links

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