22/09/2020
BRIEF HISTORY OF ECUMENISM IN THE PHILIPPINES
“I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me. And I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may be brought to perfection as one, that the world may know that you sent me, and that you loved them even as you loved me." St. John 17:20-23
Evidently, ecumenism is a vital mission of Christian churches that needs to be understood more fully and correctly, especially as Christians enter the pivotal third millennium. And one of the steps to understand more fully and correctly the promotion of Christian unity and cooperation throughout the world is to have a knowledge of the history ecumenism . Initially, it may be a good start to know a brief history of ecumenism in the Philippines.
Early years of ecumenism in the Philippines
The spirit of ecumenism was initiated by American Protestant missionaries in the Philippines. In December 1900, the Presbyterian mission wrote a proposal of cooperation to all other mission boards present in the Philippine, which led to the signing of the Evangelical Union in April 1901.
In 1914, the American congregations of Methodists and Presbyterians in Manila united to form the Union Church of Manila. In its founding document, the church stated that its purpose is “to unite Christians in worship and in every effort to spread the gospel, and to give adherents to any
denomination, while sojourning in Manila, a church in which they may worship God and labor
in unity for the upbuilding of the Kingdom.” Members of Union Church represented denominations, including Latter Day Saints, Greek Orthodox, Hebrew, and some Roman Catholics in their individual capacity.
In 1929, Presbyterian, United Brethren and Congregational Churches formed the United Evangelical Church in the Philippines. This was the forerunner of the United Church of Christ in
the Philippines (UCCP) formed by the merger of Presbyterians, Disciples of Christ, Evangelical
United Brethren, Philippine Methodists, and the Congregational Church in 1948. The UCCP today traces its lineage from the Presbyterian Church of USA (PCUSA), and still has fraternal relations with its mother church.
Ecumenism was also evident in the early formation of ecumenical councils. The Evangelical Union in 1901 was succeeded by the National Christian Council in 1929, Philippine Federation
of Evangelical Churches in 1939, Philippine Federation of Christian Churches in 1949, and finally by the now-liberal National Council of Churches in the Philippines in 1963.
The National Council of Churches in the Philippines
In Nov. 7, 1963 the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP was founded as an ecumenical fellowship. It was born from an earlier formation of the Philippine Federation of Christian Churches established in 1949. The Council today is the largest aggrupation of protestant churches and consists of ten denominations and nine service-oriented organizations in the Philippines, working for more visible unity and common witness and service.
The founding member churches of NCCP are the Convention of Philippine Baptist Churches, Iglesia Evangelica Metodista En Las Islas Filipinas (Philippine Evangelical Methodist Church or IEMELIF); Iglesia Evangelica Unida de Cristo, Iglesia Filipina Independiente (Philippine Independent Church), Philippine Episcopal Church, United Church of Christ in the Philippines, and the United Methodist Church. In later years, the Salvation Army, the Lutheran Church in the Philippines and the Apostolic Catholic Church joined the fellowship.
The nine service-oriented organizations are: Association of Schools and Colleges, Consortium of Christian Organizations for Urban Development, Ecumenical Church Foundation, Inc. (ECLOF), Kaisahang Buhay Foundation, Lingap Pangkabataan, Inc., Manila Community Services, Philippine Bible Society, Student Christian Movement of the Philippines, and Union Church of Manila.
The member churches of the NCCP come from different faiths and ecclesial traditions. Generally speaking, the traditions can be classified as catholic tradition (Aglipay Church or IFI, Episcopal Church, Apostolic Catholic Church) and protestant tradition (UCCP, United Methodist, IEMELIF, IUE, Salvation Army). There are stark differences in doctrines in these Churches. Issues on differences about doctrines are resolved through the NCCP’s Faith and Order Committee. This committee is made up and represented by all the NCCP member churches.
The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines
On February 15, 1945 the Rev. William Piani, D.D., apostolic delegate to the Philippines, created the Catholic Welfare Organization to address the country's needs following World War II. On July 19, the CWO became the official organization of the hierarchy of the Philippines, with the Most Rev. Gabriel Reyes, D.D., Archbishop of Cebu, as Chairman. It had 17 members and incorporated on January 22, 1946 with the purpose to unify, coordinate and organize Filipino Catholics to work together on education, social welfare, religious and spiritual issues under the direction of the Filipino bishops. The Holy See approved the Constitution on June 28, 1952.
After Vatican II, the CWO began a series of changes, becoming the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines on January 31, 1968. In 1972, the bishops updated its structure, which was approved by the Pope Paul VI on May 21, 1973. Finally, in January 23, 1988, a revised Constitution was approved by the Holy See
In 1969 a tentative agreement on a mutual recognition of the validity of Baptism between the Catholic and Lutheran Churches in the Philippines saw fruition in a Baptismal Agreement finally signed in February of 1972, followed by another such agreement with the Philippine Episcopal Church in 1980.
The Ecumenical Encounter initiated by Pope Paul VI at the Apostolic Nunciature in 1970 opened up more ecumenical dialogues at the Union Theological Seminary, the National Council of Churches in the Philippines, and the United Methodist Church.
In 1981, Pope John Paul II met with representatives of Christian Churches also at the Nunciature. In 1988 a National Ecumenical Consultative Commission, which is now the CBCP Episcopal Commission on Ecumenical Affairs, was organized with Bishops Cariño, Iñiguez and Bacani in its ranks. In 1993, Bishop Deogracias S. Iñiguez, Jr. - as Chairman of this Commission - attended the meeting of the Ecumenical Commission of Episcopal Conferences in Rome.
Joint Ecumenical Activities of the CBCP Episcopal Commission on Ecumenical Affairs (CBCP-ECEA) and the National Council of Christian Churches in the Philippines.
Following the model set in 1966 by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the Commission on Faith and Order of the World Council of Churches on the celebration of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, the first joint celebration of this annual Octave of Prayer was prepared in 1994. In the years that followed, ecumenical liturgical services were held in various Roman Catholic parishes, schools, communities and NCCP member churches. Although the whole week celebration was centered mostly in Metro Manila and Rizal provinces, there had been culminating activities held in Baguio, Batangas, Tarlac, San Fernando – La Union, Dagupan, Lucena, Imus, San Pablo, Puerto Princesa, Cebu, and Davao. There had also been simultaneous celebrations held in Baguio, Batangas, Puerto Princesa, San Pablo, San Fernando - La Union and Cebu.
In 1994 a joint cooperation named "Ecumenism in Action" was launched by the CBCP-ECEA and the NCCP. And in August of 1994, a first Medical mission to Bacolor, Pampanga took place with 30 participants from various Christian Churches during the World Youth Day celebration with the Holy Father.
Other activities during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity underaken jointly by ECEA and NCCP for the past years were: Ecumenical Sportsfest, Run for Unity, Songfest for Unity, Cultural Youthfest, Women's Dialogue, Church-workers' Dialogue, Theological Fora, Symposium on Ecumenism, Medical Missions, Feeding and Gift-giving to poor communities and Ondoy victims.
Other than the medical-dental-relief missions, the past years have seen the active participation of the youth from the Roman Catholic Church, represented by the Focolare Youth, and the Kalipunan ng Kristiyanong Kabataan sa Pilipinas (3KP Youth) of NCCP. They participated not only in the youth-led ecumenical liturgical services but also in the immersion projects in Payatas, Sulyap in Bagong Silangan, Q.C., Bukas Palad in Pasay, Fishermans ' Community in Paranaque and AIDS-HIV Center, and many others.
The Quezon City Ecumenical Fellowship
The Quezon City Ecumenical Fellowship started as a meeting of ecumenical families way back in 1996 with a few protestant and catholic clergies and couples meditating together and putting into practice the World of God. This fellowship was momentarily stopped but resurrected in 2012 with the formation of a more structured Quezon City Ecumenical Fellowship Group meeting regularly once a month. Initially, the Fellowship started as breakfast bonding but settled down as an afternoon merenda bonding to accommodate more members to participate. Later, ecumenical bonding became deeper with meditations and conversations on joint ecumenical activities and projects formalized by written-down minutes of the meeting.
