Convention of Philippine Baptist Churches
| Convention of Philippine Baptist Churches | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Classification | Protestant |
| Orientation | Mainline/Baptist |
| Polity | Congregationalist |
| Leader | Atty. Von Lovell Bedona |
| Associations | World Council of Churches; National Council of Churches in the Philippines; |
| Region | Philippines |
| Origin | May 23, 1935 (year formed) Jaro, Iloilo City |
| Official website | www.cpbc.org.ph |
The Convention of Philippine Baptist Churches, Inc. (Hiligaynon: Kasapulanan sang Bautista nga Pilipinhon) is the oldest Baptist organisational body in the Philippines.
Protestantism developed in the Philippines after the Spanish–American War, when the Spanish Empire ceded the islands to the United States in accordance with the 1898 Treaty of Paris. During the American Occupation, the Catholic Church in the Philippines was disestablished, affording Protestant missionaries from various denominations free entry into the colony. A greater acceptance of alternative forms of Christian expression also flourished due to some Filipinos' resentment of Catholicism, which the Spanish used as a tool of colonisation and oppression. The dominance of the Catholic Church in the Philippines and Protestant anti-Catholic animosity were prominent reasons for the start of Protestant missionary activity. In 1901 the Evangelical Union was established in the Philippines to co-ordinate activities amongst the Protestant denominations and lay the foundations for an indigenous religious movement.
In 1898, Presbyterian, Baptist and Methodist leaders met together in New York City to discuss how to evangelise Filipinos. The result was a comity agreement of the missionary enterprises, dividing up places of ministry to avoid future conflicts among themselves and their converts. This meant that only one Protestant church would be started in each area. The comity agreement, which led to the territorial division of the Philippines, was one of the accomplishments of mission enterprises in the Philippines. The meeting was followed by another gathering in 1901 by the early missionaries in Manila to further discuss the comity agreement with three specific major agenda items:
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