Official Record of Apostolic Succession of

Catholic; so also many of the older "Pro-Catholic" Independent Bishops and clergy also supported Marcos
when he was in office.
The Pro-Protestant groups of younger priests and bishops within the Independent Church often tried (and
succeeded) to overshadow the "war horse" bishops and priests who had been with the Independent Church
from Her founding. One example: On May 8, 1961, the Pro-Protestant party won enough support to force the
Constitution and Canons of The Philippine Independent Church to be amended to read, concerning Holy
Orders, that "No bishop shall maintain seminarians in his convent or within his diocese on the ground that
there is an official seminary, St. Francis Theological Seminary, Quezon City, recognized by the Church,
where provision is made for the education of those who have a vocation to the priesthood. It is absolutely
prohibited that any bishop ordain men to the priesthood . . . without certification issued by the dean of the
seminary ..."
What this meant for The Independent Philippine Church is that, if a man graduated from Yale Divinity School
or Union Theological Seminary or Concordia Theological Seminary or Harvard University (just to name a few
schools from which that priests of the Los Angeles Diocese of The Philippine Independent Catholic Church
in the Americas have graduated), they would be unable to be ordained as priests in The Independent
Church. Also, the many Roman Catholic priests who, after having married, wanted to work as priests within
The Independent Church, would have to be refused.
The older bishops of The Church never obeyed this canon, which they said turned their postulants over to a
PECUSA-controlled seminary and the heresies of modernism which trickled down from PECUSA even to the
Philippines. Also, these Church Fathers did not approve of PECUSA's sole control over the seminary and
their postulants. These older Bishops refused to give up their diocesan training centers for clergy and
continued the practice of accepting former Roman priests.
Msgr. Isabela de los Reyes, Jr., had been elected the Obispo Maximo (Supreme Bishop) in 1948, and
continued to be re-elected every four years until his death. He was succeeded by Bishop Macario V. Ga, of
the Diocese of Negros Oriental. Msgr. Ga has since been re-elected every four years. It is remarkable that
many of the men who were with The Independent Catholic Church in The Philippines when She received
Apostolic Succession from PECUSA are still serving and still in office.
The vision of formally extending The Philippine Independent Catholic Church to the United States was
primarily carried to fulfillment through the efforts of Dr. Thomas Gore. Dr. Gore graduated from Nashotah
House ( a PECUSA seminary in Wisconsin) in 1976 and was ordained a priest within PECUSA by the Rt.
Rev'd Charles Bennison (Bishop of Western Michigan) in 1968. He continued his education and received the
Doctor of Medicine degree from the Autonomous University of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Licensed both
in Texas and Mexico as a medical doctor, he currently practices psychiatry in Lubbock, Texas.
Fr. Gore was a representative when Bishop Pagtakhan of The Philippine Independent Catholic Church
(assisted by Bp. Sergio Mondala and Bp. Lupe Rosete) consecrated Robert Kennaugh, Ogden Miller and C.
Wayne Craig to the Sacred Episcopate for the continuing Anglican jurisdictions in the USA. Dr. Gore,
however, desired a more direct link with the mainland Independent Church.
After visiting the Philippines and winning the approval of Obispo Maximo Macario Ga and Archbishop
Pagtakhan, Dr. Gore was consecrated on April 20, 1986, by Abp. Pagtakhan, Bp. Bayani Mercado and Bp.
F. Barber. Bishop Gore then caused the American diocese of The Philippine Independent Catholic Church to
be incorporated in the State of Texas as the Iglesia Filipina Independiente, The Philippine Independent
Catholic Church in the Americas with Abp. Francisco Pagtakhan serving as President of the
Diocese/Corporation. It was Bishop Gore's hope that this new American jurisdiction could serve as a refuge
for all traditional Episcopalians in the U.S.A. seeking valid sacraments, holy orders, and recognition by the
International Catholic Community through its relation to the mainland Philippine Church -- which is a full
member in good standing of The Anglican Communion.
The Philippine Independent Catholic Church has been in existence in the USA for about ten years (as of this
writing). The small candle that was lighted by Dr. Thomas Gore in Texas has burned brighter each year,
enhanced by the rainbow beams of the Philippines. Known for more than a century as the "Jewel of the
Orient" from a folk-lore tradition that a Pearl from the Holy Grail was taken to the Philippines, an old tale