SSEC Faces Serious Threat of Split

Some leaders of the South Seas Evangelical Church, SSEC, have reportedly threatened to set up an alternative SSEC leadership structure if Reverend Michael Maeliau is elected on Thursday as the Reverend Bishop of the SSEC Church in the country.

Several of the SSEC superintendents attending the national SSEC conference have told the National Express that if Reverend Maeliau is elected Head of the SSEC Regions of Guadalcanal, Makira, Southern Malaita, and Rennell and Bellona they would break away and set up an alternative National SSEC Church structure.

The National SSEC Head Office has received letters, particularly from North Malaita and one of SSEC's most prominent members and Speaker of the National Parliament, Sir Peter Kenilorea, raising serious concern about Reverend Maeliau's candidacy.

Reverend Maeliau, one of the SSEC's most trained and prominent leaders have become a controversial figure in the SSEC community over his teachings and leadership of a movement he has created in North Malaita.

Many SSEC leaders and followers believe that Reverend Maeliau's teachings have been very much influenced by Judaism. Those teachings have subsequently created a split in the SSEC community in North Malaita as many deem that the teachings have departed from some of SSEC's fundamental teachings and practices.

The Superintendents believe that the failure by the previous two SSEC administrations to deal with the split in the North Malaita SSEC community over the emergence of Reverend Maeliau's movement has led to the current situation.

SSEC, which is one of the country's five main churches, is divided into Regions comprising of Northern and Southern Regions of Malaita, Guadalcanal, Makira, Rennell and Bellona, and Central Regions which covers Honiara, Central, Western and Choiseul provinces.

Source: National Express