www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall Orthodox in Philippines - Nice Website

While looking for some info tonight, I came across this website for the Holy Theotokos Church and Monastery in Bajada, Masbate, Philippines

Theotokos Orthodox Church and Monastery [geocities.com]

In addition to the very nice exposition of Orthodox doctrine on the main page, they have a page cautioning about independent and vagante orthodox and catholic churches (which abound in the Philippines). Besides the page's content, which I thought was well-constructed, I was impressed that it took note of the fact that not all episcopi vagante are evil, an often overlooked and frequently disputed point. (As has been discussed here previously, while some vagante are in it for the pageantry and others for the money, there are those who sincerely believe themselves to be doing God's work and sometimes serve those who are marginalized and would otherwise be unchurched.) Anyway, the piece is at:
On Independent Orthodox and Catholic Groups [geocities.com]

Many years,

Neil

Dear Neil:

Thanks for the info.

I still remember reading the news when EP Bartholomew was in the Philippines in March of 2000 to consecrate the first Orthodox Church in Metro Manila (located in the suburban City of Paranaque): the Anunciation Orthodox Church.

All in all, the Orthodox have 7 parishes and a convent in the island province of Masbate. I think the parish priest of the Theotokos Orthodox Church in Masbate is a former Catholic priest of some 20 years.

The Catholic hierarchy in the Philippines is generally very "ecumenical" about it. In fact, the Catholic "primate," Jaime Cardinal Sin (now Emeritus), the then Archbishop of Manila, graciously attended the consecration of Paranaque's Anunciation Orthodox Church.

I'd rather have Filipino Catholics joining the Orthodox Church than those hundreds of Protestant sects or to the pseudo-Christian groups, more particularly the "Iglesia Ni Cristo!" :rolleyes:

Amado

I woud think Orthodoxy would do well in the Phillipines because for indigenous cultures celibacy is very very difficult for them to deal with because it runs counter tribal thinking. I say this because I've got some Filipino family and the native Filipino priests(including family members!) are notorious for having affairs. The same in Africa.

Eastern Rite churches with married priests might do even better because of the strong ties to the Roman Catholic church.

Peace

It will be interesting to see if Orthodoxy sprreads there or not.

Quite a strong statement on the website

Concerning the Head of the Church
I believe that the only Head of the Orthodox Church is our Lord Jesus Christ. The Orthodox Church has never had, nor shall ever have a "universal" bishop. A "primate" or an "Ecumenical Patriarch" is not a prelate with universal jurisidiction over the Church, nor was the Pope of Rome, nor the Pope of Alexandria, for that matter, ever so considered in the early centuries before the rise of Papal pretensions, expecially from the ninth century on. The titles "patriarch," "archbishop," "metropolitan," and so forth, do not denote a difference of episcopal grace. The unity of the Orthodox Church is expressed by the harmony of Her bishops, by Her common Faith, common Law, and common spiritual life. Every bishop (the visible head) and his flock (the visible body) constitute the fulness of the Body of Christ. There can be no Church without a bishop, even as a body cannot exist without a head. Since He is God, our Lord Jesus Christ, despite His Ascension into the Heavens, remains with us until the end of time in accordance with His promise (Matt. 28:20); therefore, since He is not absent, He does not require a "vicar," in the Papal sense, to rule over His Body. The Holy Spirit directs the Church and accomplishes that incomprehensible identification in which our incarnate Lord Jesus, and the Holy Eucharist, and the assembly of the Church are one and the same and are called the Body of Christ. The Ecumenical and Local Councils do not invent symbols of faith, but, guided by the Holy Spirit, bear witness to what has been delivered by the Church at every time, in every place, and by every one; and they promulgate the canons necessary to put the Faith into practice as it has been lived and professed from the beginning. Infallibility is an attribute of the Catholicity of the Church of Christ, and not an attribute of a single person or, de facto, of an hierarchical assembly. A council is not "ecumenical" because of the exterior legality of its composition (since this factor does not oblige the Holy Spirit to speak through a council), but because of the purity of the Faith of the Gospels which it professes. "Truth (i.e. conformity to the Apostolic Tradition) judges the Councils," says St. Maximus the Confessor. There is no "pope," superior to the Councils who must ratify them, but rather it is the conscience of the Church, which, being infallible, does or does not recognize the authenticity of a Council, and which does or does not acknowledge that the voice of the Holy Spirit has spoken. Hence, there have been councils which, though fulfilling the exterior conditions of ecumenicity, were nonethless rejected by the Church. The Church's criterion, according to St. Vincent of Lerins, is the Church.