Is there a church pastor on Pitcairn Island?
Answer
The only church on the island is the Seventh-day Adventist Church. There is a pastor most years and recently has been a pastor assigned to Pitcairn from the Tahitian Mission, part of the Seventh-day Adventist's South Pacific Division. That assignment sometimes brings with it the need for a translator, since most of the Tahitian ministers speak only French, while the Pitcairners converse in either English or "Pitkern," – their own English-Tahitian creole.
Should the Pitcairn pastor suffer an accident or a sudden onset of a serious illness, the island may be left pastor-less until the pastor recovers and returns or a replacement pastor arrives on the island. During such times, the locally ordained elders of the church are responsible for the Sabbath services and other church responsibilities.
For more information about the religious history of the Pitcairners see: