The Mystery of the 1835 Burning of the Moku'aikaua Church

by Nicholas A. Freeman

Moku'aikaua Church in Kailua-Kona is recognized as the first and oldest Christian church in Hawaii.  Today “its high steeple stands out conspicuously and has become a landmark from both land and sea." (Mokuʻaikaua Church | Images of Old Hawaiʻi)  It was recognized on the National Register of Historic Places listings on the island of Hawaii in 1978. Moku'aikaua sits on the site of a previous thatch-built church which was destroyed by fire in June, 1835. Over the years, very little detail has been brought to light as to the cause of the fire.  Most of accounts remain general, including the present day church’s website which states: “After several fires, the present stone church was constructed, from about 1835 to 1837." (Moku'aikaua Church - The Oldest Christian Church in Hawaii | Only In Hawaii)  

However, recently while researching my dissertation on the Great Hawaiian Revival, three articles authored by Thomas Hopu, a close associate of Henry Obookiah and part of the missionary station at Kailua-Kona were uncovered in an online edition of the Ke Kumu Hawaii newspaper. These articles, which are perhaps Hopu’s only known publications after returning to the Islands (See https://tinyurl.com/2p9tb848 for details) cover several subjects including the burning of the Moku'aikaua Church in 1835. He provided a passionate and detailed account of the purposeful burning of the church and entitled his article “The Burning of the Temple in Kailua,” which was published on July 22, 1835. Hopu and his wife Delia, were serving at that time in Kailua-Kona, alongside Asa Thurston there in Kona, and therefore would have been eyewitnesses to the event. (LaRue Piercy, Hawaii’s Missionary Saga, p.28)

The article’s transcription was found at www.papakilodatabase.com, Vol. I, No. 15, July 22, 1835, page 19, and was accessed August 11, 2025:  

O KA PUHI ANA O KA LUAKINI MA KAILUA.
KAILUA, Iune 9, 1835.

Auhea oe e Mika Bihopa, a me Mika Tatina. - Eia au ke hoakaka aku nei ia olua i ka mea i hiki mai nei ma ko kakou kulanakauhale nei. Ua wela i ke ahi ka hale pule o kakou, a me ko Maheha mau hale, a me ko Kekupuohi mau hale. No ka hale pule mai ke ahi i wela ai kela poe hale eono. Ma ka po mua o Iune, ma ka hora 12 o ke aumoe, oia ka manawa i wela ai ka hale pule.

I puhi koloheia keia luakini e na enemi, aole nae i ike maopopoia ka poe nana i puhi i ke ahi; ua nalo no lakou, aole i loaa pono. Maloko o ka hale ke kahi ahi, a ma ka loha akau kekahi ahi o ke pulu ana. No ka wela ana o ka hale pule i ke ahi, nolaila makou e hoomakaukau nei me ke alii i hale pule hou ma Kailua nei. Ina pana he hale pohaku ka makou e hoomakaukau nei, ina ua pono loa ka hana ana malaila. He hale Hawaii nei ke ano, aole e nui aku na makahiki e ku ai keia hale. No ka mea, aole e mau ka hale Hawaii nei, he popo koke iho.

Ke kiai nei makou me na hoahanau a pau i ke kulauakauhale ma na po a pau. E nana i ka poe puhi hale i ka po. Pela mai na'lii ia makou, a me Kuakini. Nolaila ke malama nei makou i na hale o kakou o pau i ke ahi ku e a ka poe enemi. O na laau a pau, a me na opala laau a pau, o lakou wale no ka i aii a e ke ahi a ka poino. Aka, o ka luakini io o ke Akua, aole lakou i wela i ke ahi ke ola nei no lakou, aole loa e pau, no ka mea, o ke Akua me lakou. O na hoahanau a pau, na kane, a me na wahine, ua like lakou i ka hana maikai. Aohe mea ku e ae iwaena o lakou, ua kokua no ke kahi i kekahi. Nolaila, ua noho lakou me ke aloha, a me ka makau paha i ke Akua.

Ua oluolu like no na hoahanau e noho nei, a ua hana like ma ka pono. He aloha ko lakou ia oukou e noho nei. Aole oukou i poina ia lakou. He mihi ko lakou e noho nei imua o ke Akua. Pela like ko makou manao ia olua, a me Mita Tatina ma. NA. THOMAS HOPU.

The following is a general English translation:

Where are you, Mika Bishop, and Mika Tatina? - Here I am explaining to you what happened in our city. Our church, Maheha's houses, and Kekupuhohi's houses were burnt by fire. The fire that burned those six houses was from the church. On the first night of June, at 12 midnight, that's when the church burned.

This temple was set on fire by the enemies, but the people who set it on fire are not clearly known; they are lost, not found properly. Inside the house there is a fire, and on the right side there is a fire getting wet. Because the church burned down in the fire, we are preparing a new church in Kailua with the king. If we have a stone house that we are preparing, it would be very useful to work there. This is a Hawaiian style house, it won't last many years.  Because this Hawaiian house will not last, it will soon be broken.

We are guarding the town with all our relatives every night. Look at the people burning houses at night. This is how the kings treated us, and Kuakini. That's why we protect our houses against the enemy's fire. Of all the trees, and all the waste of trees, they are the only ones that are consumed by the fire of disaster. But the true temple of God, they did not burn in the fire, it lives for them, it will never end, because God is with them. All the brothers, men and women, are equal in doing good. There was no conflict between them, they helped each other. Therefore, they lived with love, or fear of God.

It was easy for the brothers who were living together, and they worked together in the right way. They have love for you who live here. You have not forgotten them. They have repentance before God. We feel the same way about you and Mita Tatina. By: Thomas Hopu.[1]

Providing more evidence of a purposeful burning of the church, another key eyewitness account comes from Rev. Artemis Bishop, a well-known missionary who resided and ministered in the town and who lost his house in the fire.  Rev. Bishop published his account of the event in the Ke Kumu Hawaii newspaper two months later in September, 1835:    

Ua kamaaina hou nei makou i Kailua nei. Holo aku no inakou i Oahu i ka ia mua o lune. la po iho, ma ka moana makou mawaho o Kaelehuluhulu, i ke aumoe nana makou i hope, ike aku la makou i ke kia ahi kiekie )oa ma Kailua, a e paapu ana maluna i ka uahi me he ao eleele la, a ua malamalama ka moana a hiki loa i ko makou wahi. Hikileie ko makou naau i ka makaa o pau kahi hale o niakou ne ka ukana a pau o loko. Mahope lohe makou ia ilopu, o ka halepule ia i puhi kolohe ia, a ua loaa ole ka mea nana i puhi. Pela no aole i loaa a hiki i neia manawa, ua nalo loa ka mea nana i lawehala ma ia mea. Eia kekahi mea i akaka ai, ua puhi kolohe ia ua hale la: ua opeopeia na moena, a ua hoahuia maluna o ke ahi; eia kekahi, he elua mau wahi i kuniia'i ke ahi. (Ke Kumu Hawaii, Volume I, Number 20, 30 September 1835, accessed 9/6/2025)

General English Translation:

“We have recently become familiar with Kailua. They left for Oahu on the first day of June. That night, we were on the sea outside of Kaelehuluhulu, at midnight we looked back, we saw a tall pillar of fire at Kailua, and it was gathering smoke like a black cloud, and the sea was bright until we reached our place. Our hearts are strong when we realize that a house is ours and all the goods inside are ours. After we heard about it, it was the church that was set on fire, and the person who set it on fire was not found. In the same way, it has not been found until now, the person who committed the crime in that matter is completely lost. Here's one thing that made it clear, that house was set on fire: the beds were blown away and piled on top of the fire; In addition, two places were set on fire. When I came back and looked at the place, there was only a site left, my heart was broken by the malice of the man who burned it.”[i]

The fire coincided with the missionaries leaving Kailua-Kona for their annual General Meeting with the rest of the mission. It seems to illustrate that not all were pleased with the missions’ activities but also shows the determination of the church to rebuild even in the face of adversity. As well, the historical significance of this finding is that these articles are perhaps the only firsthand eye-witness accounts of the event and specifically address the fire and its potential cause and provides a rich layer of historical documentation regarding the history of the Moku'aikaua Church. Also, it illustrates the importance of taking a second look at Hawaiian language newspapers and related articles found within both physical and digital archival libraries.

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Nicholas A. Freeman is a PhD student who is the final stages of his dissertation at Liberty University on the Great Hawaiian Revival and has spent time on Maui and the Big Island researching the numerous revival participants to help tell the full story of this historical event.