United Church of Christ in the Philippines

Coordinates	3°8′51″N101°41′36″N
Name	United Church of Christ in the Philippines
Caption	Discerning and Obeying God's Will in these Critical Times
Main classification	Protestant
Orientation	Mainline
Polity	Mixed. Elements of Congregationalist, Presbyterian and Episcopal polities.
Founded date	April 26, 1901 (officially May 25, 1948)
Founded place	Malate, Manila
Merger	The Evangelical Church of the Philippines, the United Evangelical Church, the Philippine Methodist Church and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Associations	World Alliance of Reformed Churches; World Council of Churches; World Methodist Council;
Area	Philippines
Congregations	2,564 (estimate as of 2008)
Members	500,000
Website	www.uccp.org.ph

The United Church of Christ in the Philippines (Tagalog: Ang Nagkaisang Iglesia ni Cristo sa Pilipinas; Ilokano: Nagkaykaysa nga Iglesia Ni Cristo iti Filipinas) is a Christian denomination in the Philippines. Established in its present form in Malate, Manila, it resulted from the merger of the Evangelical Church of the Philippines, the Philippine Methodist Church, the Disciples of Christ, the United Evangelical Church and several independent congregations.

The United Church is a mainline Protestant group in the Philippines with around 500,000 members and 1,593 pastors in 2,564 congregations as of 2008. Its main offices are located in Malate, Manila.

History

The Evangelical Church

Presbyterian missionaries in the Philippines in April 1901 invited missionaries of other evangelical churches to a conference to discuss the possibility of working together in the proclamation of the gospel of faith alone as the only way of salvation to Filipino Catholics, Muslims and pagans. Representatives included those from the Methodist Episcopal Church , the United Brethren in Christ (UBC) , the Northern Baptist Church , the Christian and Missionary Alliance, the Free Methodist Church, the British and Foreign Bible Society, the American Bible Society, and the Presbyterian Church.

The Evangelical Union was then formed on April 26, 1901. The evangelical churches agreed to call themselves “The Evangelical Church” (with the original denomination name in parenthesis below it). From 1898 to 1905 these are the mission churches joining in the agreement:

Methodists (1898, most of lowland Luzon and north of Manila)

Presbyterians (1899, Bicol, Southern Tagalog area and some parts of Central and Western Visayas)

Baptists (1900, Western Visayas)

United Brethren (1901, Mountain Province and La Union)

Christian Churches and Churches of Christ/Disciples of Christ (1901, Ilocos, Abra, and Tagalog towns)

Congregationalists (1902, Mindanao except for the western end)

Christian and Missionary Alliance (1902, Western Mindanao and Sulu Archipelago)

Manila was opened to all denominations and mission agencies. The Seventh-day Adventist Church and Protestant Episcopals did not join because they wanted to go to all parts of the archipelago.

Currently known as The United Methodist Church since 1968 when Evangelical United Brethren merged with The Methodist Church Currently known as The United Methodist Church since 1968 when the Evangelical Church merged with the United Brethren and later merged with The Methodist Church Currently known as the Convention of Philippine Baptist Churches, Inc.

The United Evangelical Church of the Philippines

The United Evangelical Church of the Philippines was organized in March 1929. It was a union of Presbyterian, United Brethren in Christ, and Congregationalist denominations along with the United Church of Manila. The Methodist and the (Northern) Baptist who were part of the Evangelical Union refused to join the new union. The doctrinal statement of union was the Nanking Agreement which was itself based on that of the Union Theological Seminary in Nanking, China. It had four major points:

that the Old and New Testaments were the inspired Word of God;

that Jesus Christ is the divine Son of God, and offered atonement for sin by faith in his vicarious death;

that the Holy Spirit is both divine and personal; and,

that the Church has spiritual, but not political authority.

Since it included United Brethren in Christ in northern Luzon, Presbyterians in southern Luzon and the Visayas and Congregationalists in Mindanao, the UEC was spread throughout the country. Rev. Enrique Sobrepena, a young leader in the United Brethren in Christ, was elected as the Moderator of the General Assembly.

The Philippine Methodist Church

After the foundation of the Iglesia Evangelica Metodista en las Islas Filipinas (IEMELIF) by Rev. Nicolas V. Zamora, a second major split occurred in the Methodist Church on March 23, 1933. About three years before, Melecio de Armas, a prominent minister had been accused by his colleagues of immorality towards a teenage girl, a church member. At the 1932 Philippine Annual Conference, a committee found the minister guilty and recommended his expulsion from the ministry. But the minister appealed the decision to the Appellant Committee of the General Conference of the Methodist Church of America (GCMCA). This Committee decided that it does not have enough evidence against the minister, so it acquitted him—thereby overturning the decision of the Philippine Conference. This brought to everyone’s attention the subordinate position of the Philippine church. Bishop Herbert Welch, at the 1933 Annual Conference, declared the matter closed, and reinstated the minister.

As a result, a group led by Rev. Samuel W. Stagg, pastor of the influential Central Church (now Central United Methodist Church on T.M. Kalaw), and including five other missionaries and 27 ordained Filipino ministers led by Rev. Cipriano Navarro and Dr. Melquiades Gamboa, a U.P. professor, left the church and declared themselves the General Conference of the Methodist Church in the Philippine Islands (GCMCPI). All but 41 members of Central Church left their newly dedicated gothic cathedral. This group formed the Philippine Methodist Church, with Navarro as bishop. The church financially supported the Staggs and the other missionaries who joined it. Stagg and his former members formed the Cosmopolitan Church, which became the leading congregation of the new denomination. The independent GCMCPI elected Navarro as acting General Superintendent. In 1948 the Philippine Methodist Church was a constituent part of the formation of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines.

The Evangelical Church of the Philippines

The Evangelical Church of the Philippines was formed in 1943 under the direction of the Japanese Imperial Forces. It brought together the United Evangelical Church, the Christian Churches and Churches of Christ (Disciples of Christ), the Iglesia Evangelica Unida de Cristo, the Iglesia Evangelica Metodista En las Islas Filipinas (IEMELIF) which was founded by Bishop Nicholas Zamora, the Iglesia Evangelica Nacional, the Philippine Methodist Church, the Seventh Day Adventists and other churches. It was the first union of churches under the full leadership of the Filipinos.

After World War II, the former Presbyterians and the Congregationalists reconstituted the United Evangelical Church. On the other hand, the former United Brethren in Christ, together with the Church of Christ (Disciples of Christ) and the independent congregations remained as the Evangelical Church of the Philippines. Because the Seventh Day Adventists was forced by the war to join the merger, they immediately left the Evangelical Church of the Philippines after the war.

The United Church of Christ in the Philippines

In May 1948, the United Evangelical Church, the Philippine Methodist Church, the Evangelical Church of the Philippines, some congregations of the Iglesia Evangelica Unida de Cristo, the Convention of the Churches of Christ (Disciples of Christ) of Northern Luzon, the Iglesia Evangelica Nacional and some congregations of the Iglesia Evangelica Metodista En Las Islas Filipinas (IEMELIF) joined together to form the United Church of Christ in the Philippines. Enrique Sobrepena of the United Evangelical Church served both as Bishop for Luzon and as Presiding Bishop.

This was the real culmination of the efforts of the Evangelical Union established by missionaries on April 26, 1901 to seek the evangelization of the Philippines through a common effort. In spite of the refusal of the United Methodist, Baptist and other independent evangelical churches, the UCCP was known to be the most visible sign of interdenominational and church unity in the Philippines

Sacraments

The church believes in two sacraments only: baptism and The Lord's Supper. The church takes a neutral position on the observance of feet washing taking into consideration the various traditions brought in by the uniting churches. The 1948: Article III Historic Faith and Message states, " We do preserve all the heritage of faith brought into the union by each of the constituent churches and hereby declare as our common faith and message: 'Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, our Lord and Saviour.'"

Baptism

The UCCP defines baptism as a sacrament of initiation into the church. They believe that baptism is not a means of salvation but a first step of obedience for the new believer. The church permit believer's baptism, and infant baptism alike. Infant baptism is administered only to infant children of church members as a sign of God's covenant of mercy. In recent times infant baptism has given way to more frequent infant "dedication" ceremonies or alay (in Filipino), thus reserving baptism until after the time when the child makes a conscious decision to follow Christ. The church also recognize and accept the baptism of other Christian churches of Jesus in the Lord's Supper (Santa Cena o Banal na Hapunan in Filipino). They believe that it was given by Jesus Christ to his church as a way of remembering and proclaiming th sacrifice He made on the cross. It is a sacrament that contains an element of remembering and proclaiming Christ's death while at the same time looking forward to the time when they will enjoy communion with Christ in heaven. This international, interdenominational Christian missionary organization also promoted Christian movies in secular theaters throughout the archipelago. Many Filipinos from this time are in full time Christian service today or are productive Christians. In addition, a number of indigenous churches were established among squatter communities in Metro Manila, in Baguio and villages in the Cordilleras.

Then the Philippine Campus Crusade for Christ, also an international interdenominational movement came in and started the evangelistic movement in the church that started the increase in church attendance and membership. Other churches involved themselves into the Evangelism Explosion, a ministry that trains people how to share their faith in Christ.

Interestingly, the United Church of Christ in the Philippines in Baguio City is an active member of the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches (PCEC) . PCEC is the largest network of denominations, churches, mission groups and para-church organizations in the Philippines being involve in evangelism and defending the fundamental evangelical Christian faith.

Seminaries and affiliated institutions

The denomination maintains affiliations with seminaries in the Philippines. These are:

College of Theology of Northern Christian College in Laoag City, Ilocos Norte

College of Theology of Southern Christian College in Midsayap, Cotabato

Divinity School at Silliman University in Dumaguete City, Oriental Negros

Ecumenical Theological Seminary in Baguio City

Pag-asa School of Theology of Brokenshire College in Davao City

Union Theological Seminary in Dasmarinas, Cavite (in partnership with the United Methodist Church)

Universities and colleges

Apayao Community Learning Center in Kabugao, Apayao

Brokenshire College in Davao City

College of Maasin in Southern Leyte

Dansalan College Foundation in Marawi City, Lanao del Sur

Ifugao Academy in Kiangan, Ifugao

Jimenez Bethel Academy in Jimenez, Misamis Occidental

Kalinga Academy in Lubuagan, Kalinga

National Heroes Institute in Kananga, Leyte

Northern Christian College in Laoag City, Ilocos Norte

Philippine Christian University in Malate, Manila (in partnership with the United Methodist Church)

St. Tonis College in Tabuk, Kalinga

Silliman University in Dumaguete City, Oriental Negros

Southern Christian College in Midsayap, Cotabato

Union Christian College in San Fernando City, La Union

United Institute in Legazpi City, Albay

Pilgrim Christian College, Cagayan de Oro City

Affiliated health care institutions

Bethany Hospital in San Fernando, La Union

Bethany Hospital in Tacloban, Leyte

Brokenshire Integrated Health Ministries in Davao City

Silliman University Medical Center Foundation Inc. in Dumaguete City, Oriental Negros

Amelita Martinez-Ramos, former Philippine first lady (Philippine Methodist)

Dr. William Padolina, former Secretary of Department of Science and Technology

Dr. Ricardo Gloria, former Secretary of Department of Education

Teodoro Rafael Yangco

Angel C. Alcala, Ramon Magsaysay Awardee for Public Service and former Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources

Leonor M. Briones, former National Treasurer of the Republic of the Philippines

Prominent former members

Felix Manalo, pastor and evangelist of the Church of Christ (Disciples). Subsequently left and founded the Iglesia ni Cristo

Apollo C. Quiboloy, son of a UCCP pastor. Left and founded the "The Kingdom of Jesus Christ, The Name Above Every Name", a Philippine based Christian sect.

Cynthia A. Villar, representative of the Lone District of Las Piñas. Married to Sen. Manny B. Villar, Jr., a Roman Catholic.

See also

Protestantism in the Philippines

National Council of Churches in the Philippines

References

External links

Official Website of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines

Category:Religion in the Philippines Category:United and uniting churches Category:Methodist denominations Category:Presbyterian denominations Category:Members of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches Category:Members of the World Council of Churches Category:Presbyterian denominations and unions established in the 20th century Category:Methodist denominations and unions established in the 20th century Category:Congregationalist denominations Category:Religious organizations established in 1948 Category:Evangelical denominations in Asia Category:Protestantism