Adapted from Anglican Communion News Service
A novice of the Melanesian Brotherhood has been killed and another badly beaten in a street attack in the Solomon Islands last week. Jackson Lodo and another novice were walking to Tabalia from the capital city, Honiara, when they were the victims of an unprovoked attacked on the evening of October 30.
Jackson was killed. His companion, a third-year novice, was violently assaulted but managed to escape. Radio New Zealand International reported that the survivor is in hospital.
The police have mounted a full investigation into the attack. The funeral for Jackson was held on November 1. Head Brother, Matthias Tovotasi, and the Most Rev. Philip Richardson, primate of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand & Polynesia, have asked people to pray for the victims, the brotherhood, and the victims’ families.
The Melanesian Brotherhood, an Anglican religious community based primarily on the Solomon Islands, is expanding into other parts of the world. Ini Kopuria, a Solomon Islander on the Island of Guadalcanal, founded the order in 1900. Seven members of the brotherhood were martyred in 2003.