POST-WAR ECUMENICAL DEVELOPMENTS

This leads us to take a final look at the ecumenical situation since 1948. R. Pierce Beaver, in his Ecumenical Beginnings in Protestant World Mission, notes that,

The Philippines had provided the most notable instances of division of territory and assignment of responsibility prior to occupation of a country by missionary forces. The Comity Agreement of 1901 had been an influential factor in the speedy growth of the evangelical churches and had provided the basis for far-reaching cooperation.¹⁴⁶

Following the war, however, this laudable achievement began to be greatly weakened due to a number of factors. For one thing, a number of sect groups began to come into the country and they did not respect the 1901 agreement. When mainland China was closed to mission work with the Communist take-over an even greater number of groups flooded the country. This greatly confused the denominational picture in the Philippines. At the same time, there were a number of growing indigenous sects, the largest being the Iglesia ni Kristo, which was spreading rapidly.

Another important factor was the great shift of population. Hundreds and thousands of pioneer settlers began to move into Mindanao from Luzon and other crowded areas. Among these migrants were many Methodists, as well as members of other denominations, which previously had had no work in Mindanao, due to the comity arrangement. These settlers desired their churches to follow them south, so they could continue to worship as they had been accustomed in Luzon. The dilemma for the comity-bound churches became even more difficult when groups not bound by the Comity Agreement – such as the Lutherans and the Seventh Day Adventists – began establishing new work in Mindanao.

The other great factor that changed the ecumenical scene was the formation of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines on May 25, 1948. We have previously commented upon the founding of the Evangelical Church in the Philippines in 1944, a union of which The Methodist Church was not a part. At the conclusion of the war this wartime union began to fall apart, as various groups with- drew from it. As Guillermo Manuel commented,

Many in the United Evangelical Church felt that the church union was conceived in haste, and since constitutional procedures in many places were not followed, they felt that they had nothing to do with the Evangelical Church.¹⁴⁷

New talks for union began following the war, therefore, with the attempt being made to avoid the mistakes of the prior union and to build a genuinely new, united church. These talks for union went on through the Committee on Churches and through similar committees in the many negotiating churches (including The Methodist Church), leading eventually to the 1948 union. The uniting churches were the United Evangelical Church, the Evangelical Church, and The Philippine Methodist Church.¹⁴⁸ Again, The Methodist Church chose to stay out of the union. There was in Methodism a growing confessionalism, reflecting a widespread trend in churches founded by American Methodism throughout the world,* to reject organic union in favor of building a "non-racial" and "non- national" – but denominational world church.

The founding of the United Church led to a situation that, coupled with these other factors, led to the final break-up of the comity pattern. The United Church, which included some former Methodists, looked upon Methodist territory as its legitimate concern and therefore assigned one of its bishops to all of Luzon, north of Manila. Regarding this, R. Pierce Beaver has commented:

There was most unfortunately no prior consultation between the United Church and the Methodist leaders. The Methodists regarded this action as a repudiation of the Comity Agreement by the United Church and clamored both against the 'invasion' and for the right to establish churches in Mindanao. The United Church people reported that they were simply organizing all elements belonging to their church. Bishop Jose L. Valencia, of The Methodist Church, on May 12, 1949, began a correspondence with the officers of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines about the matter, which led to an initial meeting on July 28 between the Methodist and the United Church people, and then a serious attempt by the Federation to find a solution to the problem."¹⁴⁹

The result of these efforts was the formation of a Christian Board of Strategy designed to work cooperatively for the harmonious development of the new denominational pattern that had emerged. Although this Board made some initial headway, misunderstanding between the denominations led to its eventual failure and dissolution. It was never officially accepted by the Central Conference of The Methodist Church and then, the General Conference – meeting in 1952 – declared that The Methodist Church in the Philippines was being given permission to expand its jurisdiction throughout the country. The Central Conference saw this as the green light for release from the bonds of the original comity agreement and, as R. Pierce Beaver said, "this action by the Methodists sounded the death knell of both comity and the Board of Strategy. In light of this development, the sessions of the Board, on October 15, 1952, and thereafter, accomplished very little and soon it ceased to meet."¹⁵⁰

On November 28, 1953, the Executive committee of the Philippine Federation of Christian Churches adopted the following measure to fill the vacuum caused by the dissolution of the original comity agreement:

VOTED: That all Executive Heads of member-churches of the Federation do their very best, Including the sending of a pastoral letter, to see to it that their workers, before opening up work in any locality where there is an established church of a Federation member-church, will confer with the pastor or official representative of the local church in that area as to the advisability of opening up work and organizing a church in the given Area.¹⁵¹

With this basis for denominational relationships, there has been a great deal of territorial as well as numerical expansion by Methodists, as well as by other denominations, in the last decade. One cannot view this expansion simply within the confines of one's own denomination, however. We must rather look at the total impact of the Kingdom of God upon Philippine society. Looked at denominationally, the growth of Methodism-and of other denominations – seems quite encouraging. But when one takes into consideration the rapid population growth, the divided witness of Protestants and the united witness of the Roman Church, the picture is seen in a different light. Though denominationally our efforts may seem great, they look most inadequate when measured by the demand God is making on us all for a prophetic, united witness in these revolutionary times.

One final word should be said about the ecumenical relations of Methodism. Her rejection of organic union, of course, does not mean that The Methodist Church has not continued to be cooperative. On the contrary, her cooperative spirit is seen, for example, in her participation in the interdenominational chapel at the University of the Philippines; in per very substantial contribution of leadership and financial support to the National Council of Churches in the Philippines; and in the fact that The Methodist Church continues to be the only denomination that trains all of her ministers at Union Theological Seminary. In addition, The Methodist Church worked tirelessly for the new National Council of Churches in the Philippines, as a body which is more inclusive in its membership than the former Philippine Federation. Because the purpose of the latter was stated to be actual organic union, churches such as the Philippine Episcopal Church and the Philippine Independent Church remained aloof from it. The new National Council of Churches, however patterned after other national councils, is more inclusive and allows for more differences within its fellowship.
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* Mission churches of British Methodism have, on the whole, been more favorable toward organic union with other church bodies, as is seen in Canada and India. "British" Methodists, for example, joined the Church of South India while "American" Methodists in that area did not. While in Madras, this author saw an American Methodist church only a few blocks from a Church of South India church

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