CCA General Secretary felicitates Obispo Maximo-Elect Joel O. Porlares the new Primate – of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente (IFI)

Programme Review and Programme Direction

Two key deliberative sessions during the 15th CCA General Assembly are the Programme Review and Programme Direction sessions.

The Programme Review and Programme Direction sessions will both be conducted in three groups relating to the CCA’s programme areas, namely, (i) General Secretariat (GS), (ii) Mission in Unity and Contextual Theology (MU) and Ecumenical Leadership Formation and Spirituality (EF); and (iii) Building Peace and Moving Beyond Conflicts (BP) and Prophetic Diakonia (PD).

Assembly participants will have the option to join one of three groups for both the Programme Review and Programme Direction sessions. For the sake of coherence, the assigned group will remain the same for both sessions.

General Secretariat

The General Secretariat oversees the coordination of programmatic, administrative, and financial activities of the organization. The GS comprises various departments such as church and ecumenical relations, relations with ecumenical partners, finance, administration, and communications, which provide crucial support and services for the implementation of programs and contribute to the overall functioning of the CCA.

Programmes: Relations with member churches and councils, ecumenical partners; advocacy at the United Nations; ecumenical responses to emerging issues in solidarity; income development and finance; and communications.

Mission in Unity and Contextual Theology (MU) and Ecumenical Leadership Formation and Spirituality (EF)

Under the MU programme area, the CCA accompanies Asian churches to strengthen their mission and witness in multi-religious contexts, revitalise and nurture church unity and the Asian ecumenical movement, and develop contextual theological foundations.

Programmes: Asian Movement for Christian Unity (AMCU); Congress of Asian Theologians (CATS); Asian women doing theology in the context of wider ecumenism; contextualisation of theology in Asia and ecumenical theological education.

The EF programme area focuses on nurturing and developing ecumenical leaders in Asia. The programme aims to enhance spiritual formation and theological understanding, enabling people to actively engage in ecumenical dialogue and collaboration.

Programmes: Ecumenical Enablers’ Training in Asia (EETA); Asian Ecumenical Institute (AEI); Youth and Women Leadership Development; Ecumenical Spirituality and Nurturing of Contextual Liturgical Traditions; Asia Sunday

Building Peace and Moving Beyond Conflicts (BP) and Prophetic Diakonia and Advocacy (PD)

The BP programme area is dedicated to promoting peace, justice, and reconciliation in Asia’s diverse contexts. Through training, advocacy, and dialogue, the programme addresses the root causes of conflicts, empowers communities, and fosters sustainable peacebuilding initiatives.

Programmes: Pastoral Solidarity Visits; Churches in Action for Moving Beyond Conflict and Resolution; Young Ambassadors of Peace in Asia (YAPA); Ecumenical Women’s Action Against Violence (EWAAV); Eco-Justice for Sustainable Peace in the Oikos.

The PD programme area focuses on promoting justice, human rights, and social transformation in Asia. Through advocacy, capacity-building, and raising awareness, the programme addresses systemic injustice, empowers marginalised communities, and advocates for prophetic actions and meaningful change.

Programmes: Human Rights advocacy; Migration, Statelessness, and Trafficking in Persons; Asian Ecumenical Disability Advocacy Network; Asian Advocacy Network on the Dignity and Rights of Children (AANDRoC); Ecumenical Solidarity Accompaniment and Diakonia in Asia (ESADA); Health and Healing; Good Governance; Action Together to Combat HIV and AIDS in Asia (ATCHAA).

No preference updated.

    The 15th General Assembly of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente (IFI) held from 7 to 10 May 2023 elected Bishop Joel O. Porlares as the 14th Obispo Maximo.  He succeeds the Most Rev’d Rhee M. Timbang, who has held the office of the Obispo Maximo since 2017.
     
    The Christian Conference of Asia General Secretary Dr Mathews George Chunakara sent greetings and felicitations to the newly elected supreme spiritual leader of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente who was also a participant with him in the Asia Youth Assembly (1984) organised by CCA and held in New Delhi, and other CCA youth programmes in the 1980s.

    “We pray that you may be richly blessed by the Lord as you begin to lead the IFI into a new era with a renewed spirit of mission and witness. Being a shepherd of the faithful members of the IFI across your country and in the diaspora across the world is an arduous task, but your call to walk in fidelity to the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ will strengthen your commitment and vision. Whatever be the challenges you may encounter, may Divine grace guide you in every area that calls for your involvement as part of your ministry,” assured the CCA General Secretary.

    Obispo Maximo-Elect Porlares has been serving the IFI as its general secretary since 2017, and as vice chairperson of the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP) since 2019. 

    Besides being a priest and bishop of the IFI, Porlares is also an ecumenical accompanier in his role as the coordinator of the Bataan Ecumenical Council and the Central Luzon Ecumenical Council. Specialised in Canon Law and Church History, he taught at the Aglipay Central Theological Seminary in Urdaneta, Pangasinan, and at St. Andrew’s Theological Seminary in Quezon City. He was an alumnus of St. Andrew’s where he did his theological education at Bachelor and Masters' levels.
    Porlares was involved in CCA programmes since he was a youth and participated in the Asia Youth Assembly (1984) organised by CCA, which was held in New Delhi, as well as in other CCA Youth Programmes in late 1980s.  

    At the assembly, Bishop Dindo D. Ranojo was also elected as the new general secretary of the IFI. 

    The Iglesia Filipina Independiente was one of the founding member churches of the CCA’s forerunner, the East Asia Christian Conference (EACC) in 1957. 

    The full text of the CCA General Secretary’s Congratulatory note can be found below:

    CCA General Secretary felicitates Obispo Maximo-Elect Joel O. Porlares the new Primate – of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente (IFI)