Eraño Manalo

Eraño de Guzman Manalo (; January 2, 1925 – August 31, 2009), also known as Ka Erdy, was a Filipino minister and preacher who served as the second Executive Minister of the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) from April 19, 1963, until August 31, 2009. He took over the administration of the church after the death of his father, Felix Y. Manalo, in 1963. He was instrumental in the propagation and expansion of the church internationally.

Biography

thumb|The Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC) Lokal ng Tayuman is the second oldest congregation of the church, established on November 6, 1915, after the congregation at Punta in [[Santa Ana, Manila. The chapel was also the site of Eraño Manalo's ordination in 1947. Manila City Resolution No. 431, series of 2015 urged the National Historical Commission of the Philippines to recognize the locale as a historic site.]]

Eraño G. Manalo was born at their residence at No. 42 Broadway Avenue, New Manila, San Juan, Rizal (now part of Quezon City) on January 2, 1925. He was the fifth child of Felix Y. Manalo and Honorata de Guzman.

Administration

thumb|President [[Ferdinand Marcos|Ferdinand Marcos, Sr. and some Philippine senators (namely Sergio Osmeña, Jr., Arturo Tolentino, Benigno Aquino, Jr., and Jose Roy) during a birthday celebration of Executive Minister Eraño Manalo.]]

With the death of Felix Y. Manalo on April 12, 1963, Iglesia's critics predicted the church's decline and eventual fall. To them, the church's popularity was due mainly to the charisma and leadership of Felix Y. Manalo. Barely a month after assuming his role as spiritual leader of the church, the young Manalo began visiting congregations nationwide. At every location he visited, he officiated worship services and staged massive religious rallies in public plazas. During this period of transition in what critics thought was the most vulnerable period of the church, Manalo further consolidated the gains of the church.

In 1947, Manalo became the General Treasurer of the church. He was later elected as successor to Felix Y. Manalo by provincial ministers as early as 1953. In 1957 he became the District Minister of Manila. Very few people outside of the church gave Manalo's leadership potential enough credit. He would later initiate significant moves that would make the church to what it is today.

Manalo demonstrated the church responsiveness to the needs of the poor. Even before the government initiated agrarian reforms, Manalo established model land reforms. In 1965, the first of the resettlement farms was Maligaya farm in Palayan City, Nueva Ecija, Philippines. Similar projects were established in Cavite, Rizal and other provinces.

thumb|The [[Iglesia ni Cristo chapel, Makati|INC Lokal ng Palanan, formerly known as the INC Lokal ng Makati, was formed as a congregation in 1955 by members from INC locales in Pasay and Manila. After being destroyed by fire, the current structure was rehabilitated and rededicated in 2011, becoming one of the first edifices in the Philippines to exhibit the modern architectural design of INC chapels.]]

As early as 1967, four years after assuming leadership role, Manalo set his vision to overseas mission and global expansion. The first overseas INC mission was sent in 1968 on its 54th anniversary. On July 27, 1968, Executive Minister Eraño G. Manalo, officiated at the first worship service of the church outside the Philippines. This gathering held in Ewa Beach, Honolulu, Hawaii marked the establishment of the Honolulu congregation, the first overseas mission of the church. The following month, the Executive Minister was in California to establish the San Francisco congregation and lead its inaugural worship service. In 1971, the church set foot in Canada. In June 1987, the US Main Office (USMO) was set up in Daly City, California to assist the INC central administration in supervising the then 11 districts of the church in the West. The first local congregation in Latin America was established in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba in 1990. The following year, the church reached Mexico and Aruba. From 2000 and beyond, congregations rose in the Central and South American countries. The first local congregation in Europe was established in England in 1972. The church came to Germany and Switzerland in the mid-70s. By the end of the 1980s, congregations and missions could be found in the Scandinavian countries and their neighbors. The Rome, Italy congregation was established on July 27, 1994; the Jerusalem, Israel congregation on March 31, 1996; and the Athens, Greece congregation on May 10, 1997. The predecessors (prayer groups) of these full-fledged congregations began two decades earlier. Meanwhile, the mission first reached Spain in 1979. The first mission in northern Africa opened in Nigeria in October 1978. After a month, the King William’s Town congregation, in South Africa was established. A congregation was organised in Guam in 1969. In Australia, congregations have been established since mid-1970s. The church first reached China by way of Hong Kong, and Japan through Tokyo also in the 1970s. Missions have also opened in Kazakh SSR (now Kazakhstan) and Sakhalin Island in Russian SFSR (now Russia). In Southeast Asia, the first congregation in Thailand was established in 1976 and missions have already been conducted in Brunei since 1979. In addition, there are also congregations in Vietnam, Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia.

thumb|The [[Iglesia ni Cristo chapel, Bago Bantay|INC Lokal ng Bago Bantay, completed on December 4, 1964, is currently the only INC chapel located along EDSA, a major thoroughfare in the Philippines.]]

The INC started operating a radio station in 1969. While its first television program aired in 1983. The Ministerial Institute of Development, currently the New Era University College of Evangelical Ministry (later called as Iglesia ni Cristo School for Ministers), was founded in 1974 in Quiapo, Manila. It moved to its current location in Quezon City in 1978. As of 1995, it had 4,500 students and five extension schools in Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, Pampanga and Rizal. In 1965, INC launched its first resettlement and land reform program in Barrio Maligaya, Laur, Nueva Ecija. In 1971, the INC Central Office building was built in Quezon City. Thirteen years later, the 7,000-seater Central Temple was added in the complex. The Tabernacle, a tent-like multipurpose building which can accommodate up to 4,000 persons, was finished in 1989. The complex also includes the New Era University, a higher-education institution run by the INC.

Death

INC spokesperson and General Evangelist, Bienvenido C. Santiago Sr, confirmed Manalo's death in an announcement delivered in Filipino/Tagalog over various radio and television stations including Net 25 (along with sister station DZEC-AM), translated below:

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Santiago also stated that according to Dr. Ray Melchor Santos, Manalo died due to cardiopulmonary arrest. On Monday September 7, 2009, the remains of Manalo were temporarily interred at the INC Tabernacle at 12:00 PST while his mausoleum is being built near the memorial statue of his father, Felix Y. Manalo at INC Central Office Complex. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo declared September 7 a national day of mourning.

Recognition

The Quezon City government renamed what was Central Avenue to Eraño G. Manalo Avenue. Ordinance number SP-1961 S-2009 the Quezon City Council stated the renaming was to is recognition of "“his greatness and nobility” in leading the powerful religious group." Other roads named after him include Eraño Manalo Street in Manila (vicinity of INC Lokal ng Tayuman), and Eraño G. Manalo Street in Marikina (formerly Paliparan).

On April 13, 2010, The Philippine Postal Corporation announced that it will issue a limited edition postage stamp in his honour. The stamp will be released on April 23 with 100,000 pieces with a denomination of P 7.00.

Biography

Administration

Death

Recognition

Media portrayal

Family Tree

References

Notes

External links