THE United church in Papua New Guinea is mourning the passing of one of the church’s founding bishops, Rev Dr Sir Ravu Henao.
Sir Ravu, who hailed from Barakau village in Central province, passed away peacefully in Port Moresby last Thursday evening.
He was 80. He served the Lord, through the church faithfully before he was ordained in 1955.
When the United church was formed in 1968, Sir Ravu was appointed the first Bishop of the Papua mainland region.
He became the executive secretary of the Bible Society of Papua New Guinea from 1980 up until his retirement from active ministry in 1988.
For services to the church and the community, the late Sir Ravu was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II, and was also awarded an Order of the British Empire.
His work was also recognised by the academic community, with the conferral of an honorary doctor of technology by the Papua New Guinea University of Technology in 1987.
Moderator of the United church Rev Samson Lowa described Sir Ravu as one of the most humble, yet influential Papua New Guinean missionaries of his time.