Editor’s note: West Hawaii Today, in conjunction with the Kona Historical Society, is pleased to present readers a weekly feature compiled by the society called “A Guide to Old Kona.” These articles and accompanying photographs have been compiled and provided by Kona Historical Society and were published previously in a book of the same title.
Editor’s note: West Hawaii Today, in conjunction with the Kona Historical Society, is pleased to present readers a weekly feature compiled by the society called “A Guide to Old Kona.” These articles and accompanying photographs have been compiled and provided by Kona Historical Society and were published previously in a book of the same title.
Christ Church
Christ Church is the oldest Anglican Church in the State of Hawaii. It was built in 1867 by a young English clergyman, the Rev. Charles George Williamson, to serve Kona’s tiny but growing Anglo-European community. Attending the first services were 60 Europeans and 25 Hawaiians.
The Anglican Church was established in Hawaii in 1862 at the request of King Alexander Liholiho (Kamehameha IV) and his wife, Queen Emma, both of whom were pro-British monarchs. While in Kona, Queen Emma worshipped at Christ Church, filling the church to overflowing with her devoted subjects. Later King Kalakaua attended Christ Church during his Kona sojourns at Hulihee Palace in the 1880s. With the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy in 1893 and the annexation of Hawaii to the United States, Hawaii’s Anglican Church became Episcopalian.
Copyright 1998 Kona Historical Society. Reprinted by permission.