Today’s Leader of Faith
JAMES CALVERT
Home Call : 08 March 1892
Fearless Missionary, Evangelist, Translator, Founder of Wesleyan Chapel
James Calvert (1813–1892) was a devoted British Methodist missionary who played a crucial role in spreading Christianity in Fiji. At the time, Fiji was known for its violent tribal warfare and cannibalism. Calvert worked courageously to introduce the gospel to the people. Despite facing hostility, illness, and threats to his life, he remained steadfast in his calling. One of his most significant achievements was influencing Ratu Seru Epenisa Cakobau, a powerful Fijian chief, to renounce cannibalism and embrace Christianity in 1854. After leaving Fiji in 1872, he continued his missionary work in Africa till his last years.
Calvert was born on January 3, 1813, in Pickering, Yorkshire, England. He grew up in a devout Christian family and was influenced by Methodist teachings from an early age. As a young boy, he displayed a strong passion for faith and missionary work. He was trained at Wesleyan Theological Institution in Hoxton, London, where he studied Bible, theology, and missionary training. In 1838, at the age of 25, he was sent as a Methodist missionary to Fiji, where he served for seventeen years and played a major role in the spread of Christianity.
Calvert was sent as a Methodist missionary to Fiji in 1838, alongside John Hunt. At that time, Fijian chiefs viewed missionaries as a threat to their authority, particularly because Christianity opposed practices such as cannibalism, warfare, and polygamy. Despite the opposition, he remained in Fiji for 18 years (1838–1856) and witnessed a remarkable transformation as Christianity spread throughout the islands. With the conversion of the Fijian king to Christianity, cannibalism and polygamy were renounced, leading many Fijians to know the Lord and embrace the faith of Christ. The king’s final act was to cede Fiji to the United Kingdom in 1874. After returning to England in 1856, he supervised the printing of the Bible in the Fijian language, ensuring that the gospel could be widely read and understood. In 1872, he was sent by the Wesleyan Missionary Society to South Africa, where he continued his evangelistic work.
Calvert died in Hastings, England, in 1892 at the age of 79. That same year, he founded a Wesleyan chapel in Hastings, which was later renamed the Calvert Memorial Chapel in his honor.