Bishop Emerito P. Nacpil: A Man of Vision and Passion

(Global Leader, Evangelist, Ecumenist, Educator, Author, Philosopher, Theologian)

In the history of United Methodism in the Philippines, Bishop Emerito P. Nacpil stands out, bar none.

Elected to the Episcopacy in 1980, he served as bishop for 20 years until his retirement in the year 2000. Bishop Nacpil awakened and invigorated the Methodist church by strengthening its mission evangelism program. Under his watch, pastors were equipped and trained to be evangelists themselves. Those were the golden years of Methodism in the Philippines, marked by the expansion of Methodist membership, building of new local churches, standardization and stabilization of support for pastors, and church workers through his Self-Reliance Fund program.

Coming from a family of educators and church workers, Bishop Nacpil breathed life on John Wesley’s vision of uniting vital piety and learning. He believes that education is “a growing in and a coming out”, a combining of the secular (learning) with the spiritual (vital piety),  leading to the development and formation of mature and educated  Christian leaders. A visible realization of this vision was the founding of Wesley Divinity School in Cabanatuan City and Wesleyan College of Manila in the heart of Metro Manila.

His expertise as an educator did not escape the discerning eye of Chairman Emmanuel Y. Angeles of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED). In 2015 Bishop Nacpil was appointed by CHED as a member of the technical panel of the Humanities Education Technical Working Group. He was likewise appointed chair of the Theological Committee Working Group, actively helping and accrediting the programs of theological schools all over the country.

Bishop Nacpil redefined mission evangelism in Asia.

He valiantly fought for the rethinking and reformation of mission in Asia, a challenge that this Asian David posed before the western Goliath in his 1971 address before Methodist missionaries and church leaders. This resulted in the moratorium of missionaries from the West and allowed the churches from Asia to find their own identity and self-hood in mission.

As President of the Union Theological Seminary, Dean of Southeast Asia Graduate School of Theology, and Executive Director of the Association of Theological Schools in Southeast Asia, he displayed remarkable global leadership earning him the respect of his peers and the admiration of church leaders all over the world.

From the perspective of Southeast Asia, Bishop Nacpil made cutting-edge theological contributions at the conferences and consultations held in the Asian region. As Executive Director of the Association of Theological Schools in Southeast Asia, he formed and developed the “Asian Critical Principle,” which up to now is regarded as a fundamental cornerstone in doing theology and mission in the Asian context.

To quote S. Wesley Ariarajah, a scholar and researcher from Boston University of Theology, “Not everyone in the Southeast Asian region who has had thorough orientation in the Western theological tradition has been able to break out of the Western theological mode of thinking to articulate theology from an Asian perspective.  When one mentions the pioneers in this respect, Emerito Nacpil will be among the top of the list”.

Confronting pluralism in Christian traditions and theology, Bishop Nacpil smashed to smithereens the impasse, by being an indefatigable ecumenist. Inspired by the spirit of Vatican 2, where he was one of the very few carefully chosen as Vatican 2 observer, Bishop Nacpil opened the lines of communication between and among Catholic and Protestant churches in the Philippines, in Asia, and the whole world.

As Vice-Chair of the Faith and Order Commission, he worked together with Father Joseph Ratzinger, known to the world as Pope Benedict XVI. Working with the best minds, the young Bishop Nacpil, served as staff of the East Asian Christian Conference and became the trusted confidante and secretary to the great world leader in ecumenism and evangelism, D.T. Niles.

Being a member of the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches, Bishop  Nacpil left no stone unturned in achieving harmonious ecumenical partnerships, respecting and promoting unity in diversity, thereby preventing further damaging schism of Christian Churches.

In 1997, he earned the distinction of being the only Filipino and the only Asian to be elected and installed as president of the United Methodist Council of Bishops. Our hearts swelled with pride when in May 2000, he was chosen to deliver the Episcopal address during the 2000 General Conference, the first non-American bishop selected for the task.

Even in retirement, Bishop Nacpil posited a nascent theological vision in his magnum opus, the 5-volume book on A Spirituality that Secularizes. In a sphere dominated Western thought, Bishop Nacpil forayed into traditional exegesis engaging and provoking his readers to come to terms with tacit postulations and interpretation of the Scripture, bringing into light a unique understanding of the secularizing activity of the Spirit in the world.

As a prolific thinker and writer, Bishop Nacpil is listed in the WorldCat Identities network, where his 23 works (books, articles, treatises) in 54 publications, are held by 925 library holdings all over the world.

A man of peace and unwavering passion for the cause of peacefully making peace, Bishop Nacpil reached out to people, transcending cultural and racial boundaries serving as Chairperson of the Peacefully- Making Peace Committee of the Asia Pacific  Association of Methodist-related Educational Institutions, and as consultant to the Interfaith Committee of the Global Peace Foundation.

A world-class bishop with a great mind and a compassionate heart, in the words of Retired Chief Justice Reynato Puno, “Bishop Nacpil targeted the transposition of our church  from a passive church to an active church in the matter of contributing inputs on the  burning social, economic, political and  religious problems confronting our people,”

A distinguished intellectual giant with exemplary Christian stewardship, admirable courage and honesty, indisputable integrity, and probity who steered the course of Wesleyan education and Methodist tradition all over the world to greater heights, inspiring and making us all truly proud of this humble man of vision and passion, BISHOP EMERITO P. NACPIL!