As a young prince, King
Kamehameha IV had visited
England and was impressed by the rich ceremony of the
Church of England, compared to the dour simplicity of the American missionaries who educated him as a child. His
queen consort Queen Emma had a British grandfather and was brought up in a house of a British Anglican doctor. Their 1856 wedding ceremony included Anglican prayers but had to be performed by the
Congregationalist minister. In 1859, Emma wrote to
Victoria of the United Kingdom to request a clergyman from the English church. The King's foreign minister,
Robert Crichton Wyllie, also made requests through diplomatic contacts. In 1860,
Samuel Wilberforce suggested expanding the mission to include a
bishop who could organize a new branch.
William Ingraham Kip of the
Episcopal Church in
California also supported the idea, but the
American Civil War prevented any help from them. The sending of Staley caused friction with the
American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions even before he arrived in 1862; making him a bishop concerned the Congregationalists, who opposed any kind of religious hierarchy.
Rufus Anderson, of the American Board, became a fierce critic, accusing him of
ritualism. The officially chartered name of "Hawaiian Reformed Catholic Church" provoked criticism as "
papist". After Kamehameha IV died, an elaborate funeral service was held which was compared to a
Pontifical High Mass. Staley was even attacked by American writer
Mark Twain, and others whom he called "
Puritans". ==See also==