Patteson, John Coleridge

(Apr. 1, 1827-Sept. 21, 1871). Bishop and martyr. Born in London, Patteson graduated from Balliol College, Oxford, in 1849, and in 1852 became a fellow at Merton College. He was ordained deacon on Sept. 14, 1853, and priest on Sept. 24, 1854. After a brief ministry at Alfington, Devonshire, he was persuaded by George Augustus Selwyn, Church of England Bishop of New Zealand, to go to Melanesia as a missionary. Patteson's missionary work in Melanesia was very successful. On Feb. 24, 1861, he was consecrated the first Missionary Bishop of the Church of England in Melanesia. On Sept. 21, 1871, on a visit to the island of Nukapu, he and several of his companions were speared to death. Patteson and his companion martyrs are commemorated in the Episcopal calendar of the church year on Sept. 20.