Christ is Risen! Truly the Lord is Risen!
With the blessing of His Eminence Metropolitan Myron of New Zealand, Fiji, Tonga and Samoa, and with deep respect for the family of the reposed Fr. Bartholomew of blessed memory, I offer these words in humble remembrance of a priest, father, and brother to all who laboured in the Orthodox mission.
May the Lord grant rest to his soul in the dwelling place of the righteous, and may his memory be eternal.
His passing is a moment of grief for his family, parishioners, and the wider Orthodox community in Fiji and Tonga. Yet it is also an occasion to give thanks for a life poured out in service to Christ and His Church.
I first came to know Fr. Bartholomew when I was fifteen years old and living in the same neighbourhood as the church. At that time, Orthodox Christianity was unfamiliar to me, and even the sight of a priest in a black cassock confused me; as a child, I wondered whether it belonged to another religion altogether.
My first real encounter with Fr. Bartholomew took place on a Saturday evening, when I saw him walking towards our house with a warm and gentle smile, inviting us to attend the Divine Liturgy at the Monastery of the Dormition of the Theotokos. I was immediately struck by the fact that he was a native Fijian Orthodox priest, and the first question that arose in my mind was what had drawn him to this ancient faith, and even to the priesthood.
As I began attending the services more frequently and learning about the faith, I slowly came to understand the beauty of the path Fr. Bartholomew had chosen. He became for me a living witness that drew me more deeply into love for the Church.
He was a man in whom gentleness and seriousness met. He could appear strict, especially in matters concerning the Church: the order of the services, the care of the church grounds, and the preparation of feast days. Yet his seriousness was not harshness; it came from discipline and reverence. When something was not done properly, he would correct it, often saying, “When you do something, do it to the best of your ability.” Those words still remain with me, because they reveal how deeply he believed that the Church shapes our life and calls us into communion with God.
One of my final memories of Fr. Bartholomew took place before I left Fiji earlier this year. I met him on a Sunday morning while he was waiting near the church, having arrived early before it had been opened. In our conversation, he reminded me to encourage the young children of the Church to remain faithful and to strive to live according to what the Church teaches. That moment revealed the quiet love and care he often carried within himself. His concern was not only for the present, but for the future of Orthodoxy in Fiji and for the younger generation called to continue the life of the Church.
Fr. Bartholomew’s life holds particular significance because he was the first native Fijian ordained in the Greek Orthodox Church. He was ordained by His Eminence Metropolitan Amphilochios of New Zealand to the diaconate at the Holy Monastery of the Archangels in Thari, Rhodes, and to the priesthood in the city of Thessalonica. He served for seventeen years in various parishes in Fiji, and later in the Sacred Mission in the Kingdom of Tonga.
His journey into Orthodoxy revealed the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church taking root in the soil of the Pacific Islands, and his life became a call to all Fijians and all Islanders: to take up their cross, follow Christ, and worship Him in spirit and in truth, as the Gospel declares.
At the end of his journey, even as his health deteriorated, he continued to serve the Church until his condition became so serious that he was eventually bedridden.
According to His Eminence Metropolitan Myron, who visited him at his home together with Archimandrite Fr. Meletios on 22 April 2026, Fr. Bartholomew shared that, in the early hours of the morning, he had heard the gentle chanting of “Agné Parthene,” the hymn to the Mother of God. He then heard a voice saying: “Do not worry. You are already healed. You will rise, and you will walk again.”
Three days later, surrounded by prayer, he surrendered his soul into the hands of the Lord. Such an ending fittingly reflects a life centred not only on service to the Church, but also on the hope of resurrection and eternal life in Christ.
Today we remember Fr. Bartholomew as a humble and faithful servant of Christ, who served the Church for many years and has now joined those who have gone before him—Metropolitan Gheronda Amphilochios, and Fathers Barnabas and Panagiotis. May their memory be eternal, and may they continue to pray and intercede for us.
The presence of Orthodoxy in Fiji remains young, yet deeply meaningful. Fr. Bartholomew stands at the beginning of something new and great: not only as the first native Fijian Orthodox priest, but as a witness that the Orthodox faith can be embraced, lived, and passed on by Fijian people themselves.
My hope is that the younger generations will build upon the seed he planted—learning the faith, loving the liturgy, serving with discipline, and carrying Christ into their homes, villages, and islands. May Orthodoxy continue to flourish in Fiji, and may the example of Fr. Bartholomew continue to inspire and guide all who labour for the Church.
Reader Amphilochios Ratu Buatavatava
Final-Year Theology Student, St Andrew’s Theological College, Sydney