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The Episcopal Church in the Philippines (ECP; tl, Simbahang Episkopal sa Pilipinas; Ilocano: ''Simabaan nga Episkopal iti Filipinas'') is a
province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions out ...
of the
Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other ...
comprising the country of 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 ...
. It was established by the Episcopal Church of the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
(Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America) in 1901 by American missionaries led by Charles Henry Brent, who served as the first resident bishop, when the Philippines was opened to Protestant American missionaries. It became an
autonomous In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy, from , ''autonomos'', from αὐτο- ''auto-'' "self" and νόμος ''nomos'', "law", hence when combined understood to mean "one who gives oneself one's ow ...
province of the Anglican Communion on May 1, 1990. At present, the Episcopal Church has seven dioceses. Under Rev. Charles Henry Brent of the Episcopal Church of the United States of America, it was responsible for founding and overseeing institutions such as St. Luke's Medical Center,
Brent International School Brent International School is an international co-educational day and boarding school associated with the Episcopal Church in the Philippines. It has campuses in different locations throughout the Philippines: Brent School Manila in Brgy. Mampl ...
, St. Stephen's High School, and
Trinity University of Asia Trinity University of Asia (formerly Trinity College of Quezon City), also known as TUA or simply Trinity, is a non-sectarian private university located in Quezon City, Philippines. Formally established in 1963 as an elementary, high school and co ...
. Its principal ministerial training institution is St. Andrew's Theological Seminary. The current Prime Bishop is Brent Harry Alawas. Its national headquarters is the Cathedral Heights, New Manila,
Quezon City Quezon City (, ; fil, Lungsod Quezon ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read in Filipino as Kyusi), is the List of cities in the Philippines, most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a populatio ...
. The Church is in a concordat of full communion with the
Philippine Independent Church , native_name_lang = fil , icon = Logo of the Philippine Independent Church (Aglipayan Church).svg , icon_width = 80px , icon_alt = Coat of arms of the Philippine Independent Church , image ...
and is a member of both the
Christian Conference of Asia The Christian Conference of Asia is a regional ecumenical organisation representing 15 National Councils and over 100 denominations (churches) in New Zealand, Australia, Bangladesh, Burma, Cambodia, East Timor, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, ...
and the
National Council of Churches in the Philippines The National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP; tl, Sangguniáng Pambansâ ng mga Simbahan sa Pilipinas) is a fellowship of ten Protestant and non Roman Catholic Churches in the Philippines denominations, and ten service-oriented organ ...
.


History


Military chaplaincy and church for expatriates

When the Philippines was ceded to the United States from Spain in 1898, the Philippine islands was opened to Protestant American missions. A comity agreement was created between Protestant sects to divide the islands. The Protestant Episcopalians and Seventh-day Adventists did not join the agreement because they wanted to go elsewhere in the Philippines. The Episcopal Church in the Philippines virtually began with the first Episcopal worship service conducted in the Philippines by the Rev. Charles Pierce, an Episcopal Church chaplain of the
U.S. Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...
that occupied
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 populated ...
in 1898. This service was conducted on September 4, 1898 for the Americans and other English-speaking residents in Manila. The first Episcopal Church worship service conducted for Filipinos took place on December 25, 1898, Christmas Day. In April 1899, Hugh Nethercott and James Smiley of the
Brotherhood of St. Andrew The Brotherhood of St. Andrew is an international lay Christian religious organization with historical roots in the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. The objectives of the organization focus on prayer, Bible study and service to t ...
arrived to assist the American chaplains in their work. In September 1899, Frederick R. Graves, who was then serving as the Bishop of
Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four Direct-administered municipalities of China, direct-administered municipalities of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the ...
in
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
, visited Manila. Appointed to oversee American church work in the Philippines and later, bishop-in-charge, he held worship services in the home of a British couple. He confirmed five English-speaking persons and advised his congregation to build a church. He also received the first seven Filipinos into the Episcopal Church. The first baptisms in Manila were performed in 1900 by U.S. Army Chaplain John Marvine when he baptized three Amoy-speaking nationals and 12 more by the end of the year. These baptisms formally started Episcopal mission work among the Chinese in Manila.


As a missionary district of PECUSA

From being a mere outreach chaplaincy of the Episcopal Church chaplains of the U.S. occupation armed forces in the Philippines. Temporarily placed under the oversight of Bishop Frederick Graves, it was officially created as the Missionary District of the Philippine Islands of the Protestant Episcopal Church of the United States (PECUSA) by the PECUSA General Convention held in San Francisco on October 4–11, 1901. The same convention elected the Rev. Charles Henry Brent as bishop. In December 1901, Brent was consecrated and became the first bishop of the Missionary District under the jurisdiction of PECUSA. His successor, Gouverneur
Frank Mosher Gouverneur Frank Mosher (1871 – July 19, 1941) was Episcopal Missionary Bishop of the Philippine Islands. He was born at Stapleton, New York (Staten Island) and studied at Union College, Schenectady and Berkeley Divinity School in Middletown, Co ...
, served from 1920 to 1941. From October 11, 1901, when the church was officially established in the Philippines, it took the church almost 36 years to produce its first Filipino clergymen with the ordination of Eduardo Longid, Albert Masferre, and Mark Suluen to the Sacred Order of Deacons on January 25, 1937. It took another 22 years to produce the first Filipino Episcopal bishop with the consecration of Benito C. Cabanban as Suffragan Bishop on February 24, 1959.


Philippine Episcopal Church

In October 1937, the Missionary District of the Philippine Islands was renamed the Philippine Episcopal Church (PEC) through the action of the House of Bishops of PECUSA's Cincinnati General Convention. This signified a change in status of the Philippine Church from that of a missionary district to a ‘diocese’ under PECUSA. Thirty-four years later (in October 1971), PECUSA granted the PEC request to divide the lone diocese into three dioceses – the Dioceses of Central, Northern, and Southern Philippines. Each had a Filipino diocesan bishop – Bishop Cabanban, Bishop Eduardo Longid, and Bishop Constancio Manguramas, respectively. With three dioceses, the PEC was organized and operated like a church province in the
Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other ...
. However, unlike the other church provinces, the PEC did not have a Metropolitan Authority because it was still under the jurisdiction of PECUSA. The three dioceses were considered dioceses of both the PEC and the Episcopal Church in the U.S.A. (ECUSA). As a diocese, the PEC had its own constitution and canons, national council, national biennial convention, House of Bishops, and National Office, among others.


Full autonomy

On May 1, 1990, the PEC was officially separated from ECUSA and inaugurated as an
autonomous In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy, from , ''autonomos'', from αὐτο- ''auto-'' "self" and νόμος ''nomos'', "law", hence when combined understood to mean "one who gives oneself one's ow ...
church taking its place as a church province in the
Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other ...
with the name Episcopal Church in the Philippines (ECP). When the church had been admitted as a missionary district, its first missionary bishop, Charles Henry Brent, unlike other Protestant missionaries, had no intention of converting Filipino Roman Catholics to Anglicanism. As a consequence, his missionary focus was in those parts of the islands that had not previously been evangelised, in particular, in the mountain provinces and in Mindanao. In Manila missionary work was also done among the non-Christian Chinese community. In Manila Bishop Brent felt his ministry to the American community should be his main focus. He wrote: “From every point of view, the most important part of our work is among Americans and other English-speaking people.” One of the first things he did was to build a cathedral in downtown Manila, the Cathedral of St. Mary & St. John, which was destroyed during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
and later rebuilt in Quezon City. It was at that time that part of the Cathedral congregation formed the Church of the Holy Trinity, now located in the upscale village of Forbes Park,
Makati Makati ( ), officially the City of Makati ( fil, Lungsod ng Makati), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. Makati is the financial center of the Philippines; it has the highest concentration ...
. Holy Trinity's priest or rector from its beginning had always been an expatriate and its congregation was for the most part of expatriates; in recent years this has changed considerably and at the present it is an even mixture of Chinese Filipino, American/European and Filipino. For the physical health needs of his constituency, Brent also established St. Luke's Hospital (initially named University Hospital, now known as St. Luke's Medical Center). He also endorsed and supported the establishment of St. Luke's Nursing Training School (now St. Luke's-Trinity College of Nursing) to answer the need for well-trained nurses to serve the hospital. For the educational needs and in response to requests from the American parents for a boarding school for their children, Bishop Brent founded a school in Baguio for American boys. First called the Baguio School and later Brent School, this school is now known as Brent International School-Baguio. It is one of four
Brent International School Brent International School is an international co-educational day and boarding school associated with the Episcopal Church in the Philippines. It has campuses in different locations throughout the Philippines: Brent School Manila in Brgy. Mampl ...
s under the umbrella of a mother corporation called Brent International Schools Inc. The others are Brent International School-Manila/Biñan, BIS-Subic, and BIS-Boracay. In addition to children of expatriates, a large number, if not the majority, of enrollees in the Brent Schools are Filipinos from well-to-do families. With regard to starting missionary work and establishing a church for and among the unchurched, Bishop Brent was against proselytization. Having observed the extensive work of the Roman Catholic Church in the islands, he decided not to “put up an altar over and against another altar”. He adopted a policy of “non-interference under ordinary circumstances with the adherents of other churches”. Along this line, he decided to concentrate the mission work of the newly established church on the Americans and white Europeans in the country as well as on those geographic areas where there were non-Christians or where the unchurched were not being served by any church. At that time, most non-Christians in the Philippines were migrant Chinese in Manila, indigenous peoples in the North and in the South as well the
Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
in
Mindanao Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...
. The "pagan natives" of the north and of the south and the Muslims, living in communities in mountain jungles, had fought against the subjugation and rule of the colonial Spanish regime and had not effectively fallen under the rule and governance of Spain. It was to these people and communities that this church went to seek its members through conversions and baptisms. The church succeeded in its mission and evangelism work among the indigenous people but failed among the Muslims. It converted only five young Muslims girls by uprooting these girls from their communities in Mindanao and bringing them to the Cordillera in the north, where they lived and grew with the missionaries in Christian communities. They were educated, got married, and settled in the Cordillera and did not go back to their Muslim roots in the South. Bishop Brent's policy of not putting an altar against another altar and the initial and subsequent concentration of missionary work on areas inhabited by non-Christians explains why most of the members of the ECP are predominantly from tribal communities. This also explains why the ECP's work is concentrated in the northern and southern regions of the country. In like manner, it explains why it took almost four decades for this Church to produce its first Filipino clergymen and more than half-a-century to produce its first Filipino bishop, all of whom were from tribal communities. It was this Church that introduced literacy among these people and communities. It was this Church that first established schools, hospitals, clinics and roads in these oft-neglected communities. In time, the government was able to establish public schools, hospitals, and rural health centers for these communities. As a result, this Church phased out some of its schools and clinics in favor of the government providing such basic services needed by these communities.


Doctrine and practice

The Episcopal Church in the Philippines maintains the historic threefold ministry of bishops, priests, and deacons. A local variant of the
Book of Common Prayer The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the name given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The original book, published in 1549 in the reign ...
is used.


Structure


Prime Bishop

The Episcopal Church in the Philippines is headed by the Prime Bishop of the Philippines, serving as both
primate Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians ( monkeys and apes, the latter includin ...
and
metropolitan Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a typ ...
archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdio ...
of the entire church. The post was created in 1969 as a metropolitan role under the primacy of the Presiding Bishop of the American Episcopal Church, and took on the additional role of Primate when the province gained
autonomy In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy, from , ''autonomos'', from αὐτο- ''auto-'' "self" and νόμος ''nomos'', "law", hence when combined understood to mean "one who gives oneself one' ...
in 1990. Contrary to common Anglican practice, but like the Presiding Bishop of the American Episcopal Church and the Supreme Bishop of the
Philippine Independent Church , native_name_lang = fil , icon = Logo of the Philippine Independent Church (Aglipayan Church).svg , icon_width = 80px , icon_alt = Coat of arms of the Philippine Independent Church , image ...
, the Prime Bishop is not a diocesan bishop. Prime Bishop *1969 – 1978 : Benito Cabanban *1978 – 1982 : Constancio Manguramas *1982 – 1985 :
Richard Abellon Richard Abelardo Abellon (died in 2008) was a Filipino Episcopalian bishop. He was a bishop in The Episcopal Church and the first Prime Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the Philippines, from 1990 to 1992. References 2008 ...
*1986 – 1990 : Manuel Lumpias Prime Bishop and Primate *1990 – 1992 :
Richard Abellon Richard Abelardo Abellon (died in 2008) was a Filipino Episcopalian bishop. He was a bishop in The Episcopal Church and the first Prime Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the Philippines, from 1990 to 1992. References 2008 ...
*1993 – 1997 :
Narciso Ticobay Narciso Valentin Ticobay (19 March 1932 – 21 July 2013) was a Filipino Episcopalian bishop. He was the second Prime Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the Philippines from 1993 to 1997. He also served as the second Diocesan Bishop the EDSP from ...
*1997 – 2009 : Ignacio Soliba (Ignacio Capuyan Soliba) *2009 – 2014 : Edward Malecdan *2014 – 2017 : Renato Abibico *2017 – 2021 : Joel Pachao *2021 – ''present'' : Brent Harry Alawas


Dioceses

The Episcopal Church in the Philippines consists of seven
diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associ ...
s, five in
Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...
and two in
Mindanao Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...
: *Diocese of Central Philippines, with See in
Quezon City Quezon City (, ; fil, Lungsod Quezon ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read in Filipino as Kyusi), is the List of cities in the Philippines, most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a populatio ...
, Metro Manila *Diocese of Southern Philippines, with See in
Cotabato City Cotabato City, officially the City of Cotabato ( Maguindanaon: ''Kuta nu Kutawatu'', Jawi: كوتا نو كوتاواتو; Iranun: ''Bandar a Kotawato'', بندر ا كوتاواتو; fil, Lungsod ng Cotabato), is a third class independent c ...
*Diocese of Northern Philippines, with See in Bontoc, Mt. Province *Diocese of Northern Luzon, with See in
Tabuk, Kalinga Tabuk, known officially as the City of Tabuk ( ilo, Siudad ti Tabuk; fil, Lungsod ng Tabuk), is a 5th class component city and capital of the province of Kalinga, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 121,033 peopl ...
*Diocese of North Central Philippines, with See in
Baguio Baguio ( , ), officially the City of Baguio ( ilo, Siudad ti Baguio; fil, Lungsod ng Baguio), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Cordillera Administrative Region, Philippines. It is known as the "Summer Capital of the Philippines", ...
*Diocese of Santiago, with See in
Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whos ...
, Isabela ** The diocese was created in 1999 from the Diocese of Northern Philippines with inaugural bishop Alexander A Wandag, who is the current bishop *Diocese of Davao, with See in
Davao City Davao City, officially the City of Davao ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Dabaw; ), is a first class highly urbanized city in the Davao Region, Philippines. The city has a total land area of , making it the largest city in the Philippines in terms of land ...
**The incumbent bishop of Davao is Jonathan Labasan Casimina An eighth diocese in the Visayas is also being contemplated, starting with the new congregation in
Cebu Cebu (; ceb, Sugbo), officially the Province of Cebu ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Sugbo; tl, Lalawigan ng Cebu; hil, Kapuroan sang Sugbo), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 16 ...
.


References


External links

* {{Authority control Anglican Communion church bodies Christian organizations established in 1901 Christian denominations established in the 20th century Anglicanism in the Philippines Members of the World Council of Churches Christian denominations in Asia 1901 establishments in the Philippines Anglican denominations established in the 20th century
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 ...