El Shaddai (movement)
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El Shaddai DWXI Prayer Partners Fellowship International, popularly known as El Shaddai ( he, אֵל שַׁדַּי, , , which is one of the names of God in Jewish faith) is the biggest Catholic charismatic movement in the
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
. The movement is led by
Mike Velarde Mariano Zuniega Velarde (born August 20, 1939), better known as Brother Mike Velarde, is the founder and "Servant Leader" of a Philippines-based Catholic charismatic movement called El Shaddai which has estimated following of three to seven m ...
, a
real estate developer Real estate development, or property development, is a business process, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw land and the sale of developed land or parcels to others. R ...
and
preacher A preacher is a person who delivers sermons or homilies on religious topics to an assembly of people. Less common are preachers who preach on the street, or those whose message is not necessarily religious, but who preach components such as a ...
.
Novaliches Novaliches is a place that forms the northern areas of Quezon City, and encompasses the whole area of North Caloocan. Etymology The name Novaliches came from the name of the small village of Novaliches in the town of Jérica, Spain. It was ...
bishop emeritus Teodoro C. Bacani, Jr. serves as its spiritual adviser.


History

Inspired by his recovery from a heart ailment in 1978, Mike Velarde started a weekly Bible-quoting radio show on DWXI, a station he acquired in 1982 as part of a real estate deal. Listeners, he says, began reporting that his voice had cured their afflictions."Pacman deep into Bible study." ''Filipino Reporter'' March 23, 2012: 21. ''Newspaper Source Plus.'' Web. February 15, 2013. In 1984, Velarde called his show " El Shaddai," a biblical name for God that he found in an American religious pamphlet. Velarde then held monthly prayer rallies outside the vicinity of the radio station. As the number of attendees kept growing, he made the rallies weekly until the crowd could no longer be accommodated by the area. The rallies were then moved to various locations such as a
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
stadium and then transferring several times to the
Quirino Grandstand The Quirino Grandstand, formerly known as the Independence Grandstand, is a grandstand located at Rizal Park, Manila, Philippines. History Contrary to popular belief, the first Independence Grandstand was not originally located on the present ...
at
Rizal Park Rizal Park ( fil, Liwasang Rizal, es, link=no, Parque Rizal), also known as Luneta Park or simply Luneta, is a historic urban park located in Ermita, Manila. It is considered one of the largest urban parks in the Philippines, covering an area ...
in
Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...
; the open grounds outside the
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and the
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in
Pasay Pasay, officially the City of Pasay ( fil, Lungsod ng Pasay; ), is a 1st class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, i ...
near
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; and finally in Amvel Business Park, Barangay San Dionisio,
Parañaque Parañaque, officially the City of Parañaque ( fil, Lungsod ng Parañaque, ), is a first class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to t ...
(a site owned by the family) in order to accommodate the movement's followers. In 1992, Velarde and the movement expanded to television, when the movement taking its programming airtime on the government owned broadcasting network
Intercontinental Broadcasting Corporation Intercontinental Broadcasting Corporation (IBC) is a Philippines, Philippine State broadcasting, state broadcaster owned by the Government Communications Group under the Presidential Communications Group (Philippines)#Presidential Communicat ...
with the Sunday late night delayed broadcast of the weekly Saturday Family Appointments, and the broadcasts of the weekly Family Appointments became the sixth longest-reigning religious program in Philippine television history. In addition, the movement also produced the faith-based drama anthology series ''Mga Himala at Gintong Aral ni El Shaddai'' from 1994 until its cancellation in 1997. Velarde himself served as the host for the series. In 1998, Velarde and
Jesus Is Lord Church Jesus Is Lord Church Worldwide (JILCW), or more commonly known as Jesus Is Lord Church (JIL), is a Christianity in the Philippines, Christian megachurch based in the Philippines. It describes itself as a Full Gospel, Christ-centred, and Bible-ba ...
leader
Eddie Villanueva Eduardo Cruz Villanueva (born October 6, 1946), most commonly referred to as "Bro. Eddie Villanueva", is an evangelist and president-founder of the Jesus Is Lord Church Worldwide (JILCW). Villanueva was previously a communist-atheist, radical ...
engaged in a legal battle over control of the Christian television station DZOE-TV (Channel 11). Villanueva has the franchise and the authority to operate the facility, but Velarde, using political connections, was able to import transmission equipment, the value of which he claims to have converted into equity in the station.
Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...
intervened and awarded Villanueva the right the acquire the frequency, with him paying Velarde for the stock and assets held by
Delta Broadcasting System Delta Broadcasting System, Inc. (DBS) is a media company owned by El Shaddai leader Bro. Mike Velarde. Its studios and offices at the Queensway Commercial Center Building, 118 Amorsolo Street, Legaspi Village, Makati. It registered at the Secu ...
(DBS). El Shaddai Movement has grown rapidly in the last decade and, as of 2005, had a reported 8 million members worldwide. On August 20, 2009, El Shaddai inaugurated a 1 billion (approx. US$21 million at the time) House of Prayer on a ten hectare site in Amvel Business Park. The cost does not include the land, which will be paid for over 20 years. The building is 10,000 square meters and seats 16,000 with standing room for another 25,000, with space on the site for an overflow of the crowd. The building was inaugurated by
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal Arroyo (, born April 5, 1947), often referred to by her initials GMA, is a Filipino academic and politician serving as one of the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines, House Deputy Spe ...
, the fourteenth
president of the Philippines The president of the Philippines ( fil, Pangulo ng Pilipinas, sometimes referred to as ''Presidente ng Pilipinas'') is the head of state, head of government and chief executive of the Philippines. The president leads the executive branch of t ...
, on Velarde's 70th birthday. As it is a Roman Catholic movement, its diocesan bishop is Jessie Mercado of the Diocese of Parañaque, while its spiritual director is the Bishop ''Emeritus'' of Novaliches Teodoro Bacani.


Political influence

Conspiracy theorist A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * * * * The term has a nega ...
s propagate the belief that El Shaddai plays a major role in Philippine politics. They assert that former President
Fidel V. Ramos Fidel Valdez Ramos (, ; March 18, 1928 – July 31, 2022), popularly known as FVR and Eddie Ramos, was a Filipino general and politician who served as the 12th president of the Philippines from 1992 to 1998. He was the only career military ...
won the 1992 general election because of the movement's votes, although this has never been corroborated with an actual tally of votes correlated with El Shaddai membership rosters. Moreover, the Catholic Church, of which El Shaddai is an apostolate, refrains from interfering in temporal matters and, as such, does not dictate to its members which candidates to support or oppose.Lockwood, R. P. (July 11, 2008).
Catholic urban legends: The Catholic vote
". ''Catholic Answers''.
In the same vein, ''individual'' members of the Catholic Church are free to form
voting bloc A voting bloc is a group of voters that are strongly motivated by a specific common concern or group of concerns to the point that such specific concerns tend to dominate their voting patterns, causing them to vote together in elections. For example ...
s that are independent from the church itself, as in the case of Catholic Vote. During the impeachment trial of President
Joseph Estrada Joseph Ejercito Estrada, (; born Jose Marcelo Ejercito; April 19, 1937), also known by the nickname Erap, is a Filipino politician and former actor. He served as the 13th president of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001, the 9th vice preside ...
in late 2000, Velarde, in line with Catholic teaching regarding temporal matters, rejected the call of then-
Archbishop of Manila The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila ( lat, Archidioecesis Manilensis; fil, Arkidiyosesis ng Maynilà; es, Arquidiócesis de Manila) is the archdiocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in Metro Manila, Philippines, encompassing ...
Jaime Cardinal Sin Jaime Lachica Sin ( zh, t=辛海梅, 辛海棉, poj=Sin Hái-mûi, Sin Hái-mî; August 31, 1928 – June 21, 2005), commonly and formally known as Jaime Cardinal Sin, was the 30th Roman Catholic Archbishop of Manila and the third cardinal from ...
to join a prayer rally urging Estrada to resign. Velarde said that El Shaddai members were free to join the rally of their own volition and reiterated that the movement was neither for nor against Estrada's resignation. It was reported that Velarde attempted to end a 2005 Philippine electoral crisis by uniting the Estrada and Arroyo camps.


Controversy

In 2005, Katharine L. Wiegele said that El Shaddai has spread
prosperity theology Prosperity theology (sometimes referred to as the prosperity gospel, the health and wealth gospel, the gospel of success, or seed faith) is a religious belief among some Protestant Christians that financial blessing and physical well-being are a ...
outside
Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
Christianity in the Philippines.


See also

*
Delta Broadcasting System Delta Broadcasting System, Inc. (DBS) is a media company owned by El Shaddai leader Bro. Mike Velarde. Its studios and offices at the Queensway Commercial Center Building, 118 Amorsolo Street, Legaspi Village, Makati. It registered at the Secu ...
* DWXI 1314 kHz AM * DWDE-TV *
Mike Velarde Mariano Zuniega Velarde (born August 20, 1939), better known as Brother Mike Velarde, is the founder and "Servant Leader" of a Philippines-based Catholic charismatic movement called El Shaddai which has estimated following of three to seven m ...
* College of Divine Wisdom


References


Further reading

* Wiegele, Katharine L. (2005).
Investing in miracles: El Shaddai and the transformation of popular Catholicism in the Philippines
'. University of Hawaii Press. .


External links


ElShaddai UKElshaddai IndiaEl Shaddai QatarLeyte and Biliran Branch
{{DEFAULTSORT:El Shaddai (Movement) Catholic Church in the Philippines Catholic lay organisations Parañaque Christian organizations established in 1984 1984 establishments in the Philippines