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The Free Wesleyan Church (FWC; Tongan: Siasi Uesiliana Tau‘ataina ‘o Tonga) is the largest Methodist denomination in Tonga, and also the state church. It is the world's only state church in the Methodist tradition. The royal family of the country are prominent members, and the late king was a lay preacher.
Contents
In 1924, Sālote Tupou III wanted to combine the official state church of Tonga (Free Church of Tonga), established by her great grandfather George Tupou I, with the Methodist church (governed by the Methodist body in Australia). However being unsuccessful, the Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga is now the official state church of Tonga. The Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga (Siasi Uesiliana Tau'ataina 'o Tonga) was founded as a sovereign nation, in the process of promoting its sovereignty abroad by means of bilateral treaties with Western nations should have an independent (Wesleyan) Church. Preachers in the FWC system must be ordained ministers, a process that takes between three and five years, and can involve many stages of approval and apprenticeship. However, ministers are not required to attend theological seminary, because often doing so in the past created a teacher shortage in the church schools while the candidates were attending seminary.
Schools
The Free Wesleyan Church also runs 30% of the schools in Tonga. Many parents choose to send their children to the FWC schools for moral education; to teach them obedience, hard work, good manners, and respect, which are all high values in Tonga. As in other schools, FWC schools usually do not have class on Fridays, but instead use the day for school cleanup; all school facilities in Tonga are maintained by the students. School uniforms are the church's colors: royal blue and white.
Presidents
The Current President of the Church is 'Ahio and Secretary General is Tevita Koloa'ia Havea. They both took their office in the Church Conference of 2009. The Church has been led by the following Church Leaders: