Free Church of Tonga, Nukuʻalofa

The Free Church of Tonga is a religious denomination of Methodist extraction in the Kingdom of Tonga. The Church was established in 1885 by King George Tupou I and his government at Lifuka, Ha'apai, as a nationalist reaction to attempts at colonising the Friendly Isles. In 1924, its membership was enlarged by the admittance of the entirety of the Wesleyan Church of Tonga, whose district synod voted to reconcile with the Free Church. This union was rejected by the former President, Jabez B. Watkin, and a minority who continued under the old banner long after the united Church had reverted to its original name, the Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga. The Free Church name is now synonymous with the group that repudiated the church union of 1924. ()