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Philippine Church Recalls Paradoxical History, Prepares for New Century

Episcopal News Service. October 23, 2001 [2001-298]

Patrick Mauney, Director of Anglican and Global Relations for the Episcopal Church

(ENS) Combining colorful pageantry, sobering historical narrative and clear vision for the future, the Episcopal Church in the Philippines (ECP) celebrated 100 years of existence on October 11.

Born of imperial paternalism after the Spanish-American War, maturing as a thoroughly indigenous and progressive church, the ECP had much to celebrate. Thousands of Episcopalians throughout the country participated in centennial events leading to October 11. On that day, representatives of all seven dioceses, together with numerous overseas and ecumenical guests, gathered in the pine-scented village of Sagada, high in the mountains of northern Luzon. Here Bishop Charles Henry Brent and the Rev. John Staunton built the massive Church of St. Mary the Virgin, the renowned St. Mary's School and St. Theodore's Hospital.

Other major centers of the U.S. Episcopalian mission a century ago were in nearby Bontoc, among the Chinese in Manila and the Muslims of the southern island of Mindanao. Bishop Brent, ecumenically sensitive, had resolved to plant missions only where no other Christian body existed.

Tension and paradox

Alternating historical narrative with scripture and music, the ECP recalled its roots in the festive service. There was tension from the beginning of the church. "For all the laurels we place on Bishop Brent's head, we must also confess he was an active and willing agent of American imperialism," declared the Bishop Richard Chang of Hawaii in his homily. Yet, Chang observed, Brent and the early missionaries were also sacramentalists who insisted the church was coterminous with society.

"Thus the Social Gospel was brought to the Philippines in the guise of a civilizing, colonialist but unmistakably Catholic, sacramental mission. Here to extend empire, the American Episcopalian Mission gave birth to a truly indigenous Filipino church," Chang concluded. The ECP is still marked by a strong emphasis on social justice and economic development among the poor.

Church and culture

The historical tension between empire and indigenization is mirrored in the lives of young Episcopalians today in the tension between church and cultural heritage. This is particularly true of the northern Luzon Igorots, or indigenous mountain peoples, who make up the vast majority of the ECP's membership.

"Christian Igorot, or Igorot Christian?" asked a musical drama written and performed by young churchpeople as part of the centennial observance. The answer appeared to mirror Brent's Catholic convictions: cultural heritage and practices are not in ultimate conflict with Christianity; only a Christianity embracing Igorot particularities can be lived with integrity by young Filipino church members. Young clergy and bishops are, in fact, prominent in the ECP and are leading it in a mission distinct from its American antecedent.

A clear vision, serious challenges

"By the year 2007, we envision the Episcopal Church in the Philippines as a renewed church, fully self-supporting and reaching out to proclaim God's love in the far reaches of the nation," declared Prime Bishop Ignacio Soliba. The year 2007 marks the end of the American church's financial subvention, a commitment made when the ECP was granted its autonomy by the 1988 General Convention.

Significant challenges confront the newly autonomous ECP beyond stewardship of financial resources. An adequate pension plan has yet to be capitalized. The ecumenical cooperation called for by the ECP's concordat of full communion with the Philippine Independent Church exists on paper only, according to many observers.

Perhaps most challenging is the healthy tension between ethnic identity and openness to mainstream Filipino society that must be balanced by the majority indigenous peoples of the ECP. "We need to recapture our zeal for mission," said Bishop Benjamin Botengan of the Central Diocese, whose territory includes Metro Manila and offers the greatest opportunity for church growth.

The 2000 Denver General Convention called for the establishment of a ECP Centennial Endowment Fund as part of the Episcopal Church's covenant commitment. The fund aims to raise an initial one million dollars in the U.S. and a matching one million pesos (about $20,000) in the Philippines by 2007. Executive Council at its June meeting in Salt Lake City committed a quarter of the Episcopal Church's pledge to the Centennial Fund.