Our historical heritage, Pro Deo et Patria, is our birthright as the Iglesia Filipina Independiente. The wellspring from where we draw our spirituality and theology, it offers us the reason to come together and celebrate God’s presence and power in our journey in history. The past and present experience of living-out our birthright has strengthened our collective life, work and witness and sustained us in pursuing God’s mandate of mission to proclaim the Gospel of Christ among our people.

It becomes our sacred duty, as we celebrate the 109th Proclamation Anniversary of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente, to faithfully incarnate our rich historical heritage, without neither reluctance nor reservation, in the present moment of our history. This is the spirit that our theme, “Ipagpatuloy ang Mabuting Gawa Tungo sa Higit na Pagpapala” (Galatians 6.9), hopes to impart to us as we are evermore encouraged to serve God’s people with a far stronger resolve.

Serving the people of God equally requires the institutional strengthening of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente. It is important that we continue to brace ourselves for the completion of our corporate journey and to increase and intensify our efforts for the education and consolidation of our clergy and laity, further build up the local churches and strengthen the national structures of leadership in the Church. Let us, then, persevere with our corporate journey in pursuit of God’s mission.

We are determined to leap beyond our limitations so we may responsibly and relevantly minister to our people who continue to struggle for justice, peace and life with dignity. There may be nothing much that we hold in our hands to offer to the poor of our people, but our solemn commitment to remain with them till the end of their journey has never changed. We stand true to our words for we share with them the same hope that the day will come when our people will drink from the cup of justice and break the bread of peace in God’s table.

With this faith and hope, let us joyfully and jubilantly celebrate the birth of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente. It is with God’s grace that we have arrived to this moment, and it shall also be with God’s grace that we will continue in our journey. Let us, then, continue to move and march onwards to the future in affirmation of the historical heritage of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente and consistently and constantly serve God’s people.

Pro Deo et Patria,

   Obispo Maximo