Bishop Charles Henry Brent
American Historical Collection

In 1905, the property on which St. Stephen’s Church stood was sold to the government, and Bishop Charles Henry Brent purchased a cathedral site near what is now the intersection on UN Avenue and Maria Orosa Street in Ermita. After the completion of the original Cathedral of St. Mary and St. John in 1907, the former congregation of St. Stephen’s was given the use of the Cathedral for its services and became known as the Cathedral Parish. This congregation of notable people in government, the military, business and professions made its continuous contribution for lasting good until the Pacific War.

The occupation and its aftermath

During the Japanese occupation, Bishop Norman S. Binsted, his mission staff, and most of the members of the Cathedral Parish were interned. Nevertheless, Christian worship was continued both in the internment camps as well as outside. Ninety percent of the mission buildings were destroyed; a notable loss was the Cathedral, the first great reinforced concrete building in the Far East, and of striking Spanish mission architecture, totally destroyed in the retaking of Manila, in February, 1945.

After the war, Bishop Binsted decided to sell all but a portion of the Cathedral property and buy land in Quezon City on which to build a new Cathedral and other Church institutions, and reserved for it the name of St. Mary and St. John. The land he sold is now occupied in part by Manila Doctor’s Hospital and the Manila Pavilion Hotel and Casino. He made St. Luke’s Hospital Chapel in Magdalena St., Tondo the Pro-Cathedral.

And so, Holy Trinity in Ermita

The members of the Cathedral Parish and the bishop mutually felt that the Parish should continue in Ermita. So on June 7, 1948 members of the Parish met in the office of Theo H. Davies Co., and reorganized their Parish life. On June 15, 1948 a committee of thirteen women and eight men selected The Church of the Holy Trinity as a name. Bishop Binsted set aside the unsold portion of the old Cathedral site facing San Luis Street (now T.M. Kalaw Street), Ermita, for the new church. Under the leadership of the Reverend Albert Ervine Swift, the Parish published a regular leaflet, Trinity Tidings, worshipped temporarily at the Pro-Cathedral, laid plans for building a Parish Hall-Chapel and Rectory, and sought construction funds.

Meanwhile, the Parish carried on other services in the tradition of Christian ministry. By August of 1948 Father Swift celebrated Holy Communion on one Sunday each month at the Seafront Chapel (in the old Polo Club grounds, facing Manila Bay; now the U.S. Embassy Seafront compound), at Blackhawk (a US Army installation in Marikina), and at the Tenth General Hospital in what was then Fort McKinley; now Fort Bonifacio.

Building funds were accumulated from several sources. Gifts by Mr. Gibson Fahnestock, Mr. John A. Hausserman, and Mrs. J.P. Heilbronn matched advances from the Bishop’s Reconstruction Fund and the Episcopal National Council. The Women’s Auxiliary organized on November 16, 1948 with Mrs. Gerald Wilkinson as first President, sold tickets for a Parish dinner in the old French Restaurant. St. Stephen’s Chinese Parish advanced a loan. By March, 1949 Mr. F. Thayer Stoddard and his Building Committee signed a contract for Holy Trinity’s first building costing P105,000, about two-thirds of which were raise locally. The Women’s Auxiliary supplied the funds to cover the cost of furnishings.

On Trinity Sunday, June 12, 1949, the first service was held in the new Parish Hall-Chapel, a long, rectangular building of simple design. Behind the altar was a vestry room and kitchen. The adjacent Rectory, modest and limited in space, provided a combination sala/dining room and three upstairs bedrooms.

Consolidation and growth: 1949-55

From the outset Holy Trinity Parish participated in all the affairs of the Church in the Philippines. In the second post-war Convocation, held in January, 1949, Holy Trinity was represented as a Parish by Mrs. Gerald Wilkinson, Mrs. E.S. Gable, Mr. William B. Cobb and Mr. F.T. Stoddard as delegates. During the Convocation Bishop Binsted stated that by this consent The Church of the Holy Trinity had retained its parish status, meaning that officially it was the oldest parish in the Philippines Episcopal Church. On October 31, 1949 the new Parish elected its vestry, with Mr. F.T. Stoddard as Senior Warden and Mr. Allison Gibbs as Junior Warden.

During this period certain Parish services became annual events: in Advent, Bible Sunday usually with representative of the Bible House as preacher; on Thanksgiving Day, a combined service with Union Church, yearly alternating churches; in the Christmas season, the Service of Nine Lessons and Carols was held; also, Remembrance Sunday commemorating Armistice Day of World War I had particular meaning for the British community. By July, 1950, the rector renewed the services at Sangley Point Naval Station, Cavite which had been first begun in 1902 by Bishop Brent. During his period the Parish officers were: G.H. Wilkinson, Warden; Duncan Burn, Clerk; and E.A. Finlay, Treasurer.

On January 25th, 1951 the Parish voted to incorporate under Philippine law, though the actual incorporation occurred on June 12th 1959. The bishop, the rector and eight others signed the incorporation papers, which with the By-Laws made the Parish a legal entity. By the terms of these legal instruments the Parish acceded conformity to the Episcopal Church under the authority of the Bishop of the Philippines.

On March 31st Father Swift, the post-war rector, resigned to serve as Missionary Bishop of Puerto Rico; he left a Parish of 198 Communicants well settled in its new buildings. On July 6th the Reverend John W. Duddington, a former missionary to China, and a former minister in England and the United States, arrived with his wife to become the second rector of Holy Trinity. The Parish Meeting of October 29th decided to proceed with the building of a permanent Church; at that point it was still necessary to hold Church School classes in the vesting room, the rector’s office and the Rectory, while the Parish Hall was used for worship.

Planning and construction, under the supervision of Mr. Horace Hill, Mr. F.W. Crow, and Mr. James McKinnon of the Building Committee, got underway. Architectural plans, drawn by Concio and Bondoc, were completed in October 1952. On Sunday, January 18 1953, the Bishop blessed the ground; on the site of the altar, he, the Senior Warden, the Chairman of the Building Committee and the Engineer, broke the ground, each in turn; Mrs. Angus Burn described the fine mist of rain at the end of the service as like a benediction. Three months later, on Sunday, April 19th, Bishop Binsted, assisted by Father Duddington, laid the cornerstone. Members of the Parish placed in the foundation the Cross, the Bible, the Prayer Book, the Record of Founders, the Parish List and other church records. As described by Mr. Dennis Andreae, the Choir Master, it was a singular moving ceremony.

Basic construction was completed, largely through the efforts of Mr. Joseph Roughgarden, a missionary engineer, in the time for inaugural services on Trinity Sunday, May 31, 1953. At the first service the rector officiated, Bishop Binsted preached, and Mr. Duncan Burn, Senior Warden, read the lessons. For the second service of the morning, a British Coronation Service of Thanksgiving for the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II was held. The church was crowded with parishioners, members of the Commonwealth and foreign diplomats attending. The rector preached, and the lessons on Trinity Sunday, June 5, 1955.

The completed church was somewhat contemporary style, but retained traditional features. The nave and sanctuary, separated by two steps, were together 90 feet in length and 30 feet wide. Reinforced concrete arches, rising to a ridge beam 38 feet from the floor, eliminated bracing and trusswork. The church entrance faced the Parish Hall driveway, and was connected by a right angle cloister, needful against the tropical sun and rain. A most notable feature was the three stained glass windows of the Ascension, given by Mrs. Thomas A. Coppens, in memory of her grandfather, the Reverend William Henry Jones, which were emplaced as symbols of the Holy Trinity, behind and above the altar.

After brief stability, another move is necessary

By 1956 the Parish might have justifiably concluded that the challenges were over. The building program was successfully completed, Parish giving had increased steadily, the church community and its leadership seemed well settled, but seldom has confidence in future predictability been realized. Bishop retired in 1957, due to ill health; his Suffragan, Lyman C. Ogilby, became the fourth Bishop of the Philippines.

In January, 1958, Father Duddington left to become the Episcopal Chaplain of Stanford University; during the later years of his tenure the Parish Hall had been doubled in size.

The Reverend George Zabriskie II, formerly of Groton School and Curate of St. Thomas’ Church in New York City, became the third rector of Holy Trinity, arriving in Manila with his wife, Thyrza, on November 10, 1959.

Even before his arrival a change in the character of the Parish had become apparent. The lengths of stay in the Philippines of many Parish members began to shorten, and the center of membership began to shift to the southeastern suburbs of Manila. In May, 1961, Father Zabriskie wrote that except for a few long-time residents, a complete turnover of members could be expected every five years, noting that his vestry had changed completely during his first thirteen months. He described Americans, British and Filipino as composing 95% of his congregation; a sizable minority was not Anglicans and many were residents in Manila for a limited time.

The move to Makati

By 1963 many parishioners were of the opinion that the Parish should move to Makati. It became increasingly apparent that Ermita was becoming a commercial district and that most of the members were no longer living in Manila.

In the early part of 1964 the rector appointed a Development Committee with Mr. William H. Quasha as Chairman, Mr. John L. Manning as Vice-Chairman and Mr. Edwin J. Voster and several others as members. It was the responsibility of this Committee to determine whether or not a move to Makati was feasible, to work with Bishop Ogilby to establish whether or not a move was desirable, and if a move was deemed proper, to find a suitable site and to work out the necessary legal and financial details.

In March of 1965, as a first step, the Rectory was moved to Makati where 61% of the Parish resided. By February, 1966, it having been established that the Bishop was willing to dispose of the San Luis property where the church then stood and to utilize a substantial part of the proceeds to assist the Parish in accomplishing the move to Makati, the move was desirable from the point of view of both the Philippine Episcopal Church and the Parish.

In April, 1966 the Parish approved a plan to erect a twelve-storey condominium-type building in which the church would utilize the 12th floor and the penthouse. A pre-feasibility study and an architectural design were prepared without cost to the Parish. After deep consideration, the Development Committee decided to continue to search for a parcel of land on which an orthodox-type church could be built.

The Vestry and the Development Committee, at a joint meeting on December 5, 1966, decided to recommend to the Bishop to accept an offer to buy the Puyat property on McKinley Road consisting of 7,772 square meters of land and a residential building which had been built before World War II. Subsequently, Mr. Quasha was empowered by the Vestry to deal with Bishop Ogilby, and it was ultimately agreed that the Bishop would devote one-half of the proceeds of the sale of the San Luis property towards helping the Parish acquire the new property and erect a suitable building and Rectory. Arrangements were made to sell the property on San Luis Street and to buy the Puyat property simultaneously.

On January 24, 1967, Mr. Quasha, as Senior Warden and Chairman of the Development Committee, presented the entire plan to the annual Parish meeting. The Parish duly approved the project. Certain parts of the old church were salvaged, including the stained-glass windows. As soon as all financial arrangements and the building plans were completed, a building committee was formed with Mr. E.G. Voster as Chairman. Messrs. J. L. Manning, N. Baldwin and W.H. Quasha were the members.

Mr. Quasha was also placed in charge of raising funds for furnishing the new church; this included air-conditioning and all new stained-glass windows. The old residence on the newly acquired property was utilized as a Parish Hall and temporary church. The last service held in the church on San Luis Street was on April 30, 1967 at which time the Bishop issued a proclamation which was read by Mr. Quasha deconsecrating the old church property.

The move was accomplished rapidly. On April 29, 1967, a guard was posted; on May 3 and 4 hauling of the Church property to the house on the new property was accomplished; on May 5 the fans were installed; on May 5 the altar was set up; on May 7, Sunday after Ascension, the first service in the Residence–Parish House was held.

A year later on May 5, 1968, the ground was broken for the new Church of the Holy Trinity, the third building program which the Parish had embarked upon in one generation. Bishop Benito C. Cabanban, the first Filipino Bishop of the Philippines, Father Zabriskie, the Wardens and Representatives of the Parish each in turn broke ground in an area which the Wardens of 1967 and 1968 had marked with cords forming a cross within the outline of the foundations.

Seventeen months later the Church premises were readied for the consecration of the eight location of worship since 1898. The new church was the central element of three blocks, flanked on the south by the old residence, on the north by the new Rectory. The old residence, connected to the main mass of the church by covered walkways and a Sacristy / office wing, originally provided a long sala, kitchen and Church offices on the ground floor and suitable Church School classrooms above.

On the opposite side of the Church, below the terrace, was the Rectory, gracious, adequately family-sized, and well planned, with an entrance on Cambridge Circle, North Forbes Park. The architect was Mr. Carlos Arguelles.

The nave walls are of clear glass, overlooking the Rectory garden and the cloister, serving both as windows and doors. The building is air-conditioned, dignified and peaceful, its main area open and without obstruction under arches free of bracing or trusswork. Translated to the walls of the Baptistry, on the north side of the nave, are the stained glass windows of the Ascension, brought from their first home in Ermita.

A Repository was formerly located in the Baptistry. The acoustics are perfect so that no public address system is really needed.

On Sunday, September 28, 1969 Holy Trinity Church was consecrated by Bishop Cabanban in the ancient form of the Book of Common Prayer.

Father Zabriskie was the Litanist; Mr. Thomas Oliver, the Epistler, Dean Conrad Myrick, Gospeler, Father Ellsworth Chandlee, Preacher; Father Gabriel Dimanche, fourth rector of the parish, was chaplain to the bishop. The colytes, choir and Mr. Manning, Senior Warden, and Mr. Main, Junior Warden, lead the procession, followed by the Clergy, the Bishop representatives of the people and Congregation—208 of whom had given funds for the furnishings of the Church.

A time of transition and growth

After eleven years of gratifying and fruitful ministry, the Reverend George Zabriskie and his family left Holy Trinity on June 1, 1970.

His successor, the Reverend Gabriel Dimanche, a Belgian national and former Chaplain of Trinity College of Quezon City, found a Parish ready to harvest the good seed which had been planted. In some way, he was one of the first fruits of this harvest, having been married by Father Zabriskie at Holy Trinity in 1959 and then as a member for two years before he left for the States to complete his Theological studies. He returned to Manila at the invitation of Rt. Reverend Ogilby to establish Trinity College of Quezon City and later assumed the position as the fourth rector in 1970.

The traditions, style and organization of Father Zabriskie were faithfully continued: it was a “low church” with all services following the 1929 Book of Common Prayer. The celebrant was dressed in white cassock and tippet; no bells, no incense. Eucharist was celebrated at 7:30 service while the 9:30 service was Morning Prayer, except on the first Sunday of the month when Eucharist was celebrated at the later service.

In 1976, many changes were taking place in most parishes. It was then decided to celebrate the Eucharist at all services on all Sundays. The adoption of the new Prayer Book was not acceptable to all parishioners so the Rector compromised by using the 1929 Prayer Book for 7:30 service and the New Prayer book for 9:30 service. However, on Christmas and Easter Sunday, the services followed the “low church” traditions.

As the years progressed, the traditional Remembrance Sunday service in November under Father Zabriskie continued under Father Dimanche, with all acolytes, boys and girls participating in the service, executing well rehearsed maneuvers with the different national flags. Remembrance Sunday continues to this day.

As in the past for Thanksgiving Service, Holy Trinity, San Antonio and Union Church, in the spirit of the new Ecumenical movement continued the beautiful tradition of jointly celebrating this traditional holiday. The Service rotated amongst the three Parishes annually, and with the three combined choirs performing magnificently, it was a well attended and anticipated event that was later discontinued.

A most well attended Service was the Christmas Eve Service at 5:00 pm for the children wherein the choir, the readers, the acolytes, and the participants were all children. The Rector’s only role was the blessing at the end. In the past, several narrated the Christmas story and the children brought the statues from the crèche to form the Christmas tableau. The first year Father Dimanche used the statues from the old crèche, but they were too small to make an impact. The following year, much bigger ones were used; but with so many children wanting to participate, both sets were used. It did not seem to matter if there were an inordinate number of angels, shepherds and animals, so there were three large wise men and three little wise men, but only one Baby Jesus!

Sunday school and youth programs

Following established tradition, children sat with their parents at the beginning of Service and after a short address by the Rector, they would line up in the center aisle, following a designated crucifer out of the church to their classrooms. To enable more children to participate in the “parade”, the new Rector had banners made lettered with specific lessons. Two children held each banner, and there was always a long list of children signed up for this honor!

Boys aged 8 to 15 or older were invited to participate as acolytes. Weekly training was a must, even if one was not serving. Later, girls were also welcomed as acolytes. This weekly meeting became the nucleus of a dynamic youth group of the Parish. The Youth undertook the organization and execution of the Pancake Supper as a fund-raiser. They solicited for the ingredients, mixed and cooked the pancakes, grilled the sausages and organized the games. The Women simply “filled in the gaps”. At the same time, out of town trips were organized for the group. Parents volunteered to provide leadership.

A children’s choir was organized and they practiced one afternoon a week and sang once a month as well as at all special Services. It was a big group and they all looked lovely in their white robes with green collar and red bow.

To further foster camaraderie in the Parish, Barbara Steinbrenner started the Family Fun Festival. One Saturday a year, parents and the youth organized games and set up booths for a bake sale, used book sales, silent auctions, and donated “white elephants”. The initial purpose was simple and limited, but the event grew in popularity and scope and became one of the major fund-raising activities of Holy Trinity which the Church plans to revive this year.

Having built on a solid foundation and an active congregation after eighteen years of dedicated service to the Diocese and the Church, Father Dimanche returned to his educational roots and took up the position of Headmaster of Brent School Manila. He later went on to become Headmaster of Brent School Subic and eventually retired as Headmaster of Brent School Mamplasan.

In 1988, Father Brian Allan—a former journalist—took up the position as the fifth Rector of the Church of the Holy Trinity.

It was during his term that the Cathedral of St. Mary and St. John in Quezon City, heretofore the Cathedral of the Central Diocese, was designated as the National Cathedral of the Episcopal Church in the Philippines. The designation was brought about by the expansion of the Philippine Episcopal Church through the creation of the new diocese, and the separation of the Philippine Episcopal Church from the Episcopal Church of the United States of America on May 1, 1990.

The Central Diocese was left without a cathedral or “the seat of the Bishop.” Left without any other choice, this impelled then Diocesan Bishop, the Rt. Reverend Manuel Lumpias, to designate the Church of the Holy Trinity in Makati as the Pro-Cathedral or the matrix ecclesia of the diocese, on 28 October 1990. On the same day, Father Allan was appointed by Bishop Lumpias to be the first Dean of the Pro-Cathedral of the Holy Trinity.

Father Allan used an ecumenical approach towards strengthening relationships across the various Christian groups and particularly within the Parish, but his mission was cut short by his untimely death due to a heart attack while presiding over a retreat at the Church, just before his 40th birthday in October 20, 1991.

Father Allan’s death led to the appointment of Father Barry Cumberland as sixth Rector and second Dean of the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity.

In 1984, Father Cumberland first visited Holy Trinity Church while on an exposure program sponsored by the United Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, a UK based Anglican mission organization. At that time, Father Cumberland had just resigned as head of the French Department at Westminster School in London and was exploring a vocation to the Anglican priesthood. It was Bishop Lumpias who recommended that he visit Holy Trinity, at that time under the Rectorship of Father Dimanche.

Father Cumberland was appointed Locum Tenens for six months after the death of Father Allen in 1991. He had worked as Chaplain of Brent International School Manila and professor of Ethics and Ecumenical Theology at St. Andrews Seminary. He was called as Rector by the Vestry and appointed as Dean by the Bishop on February 1992. His installation as the Second Dean of the Cathedral and Rector of the Parish took place on 24 May 1992.

During the term of Father Cumberland, the status of the Pro-Cathedral of the Holy Trinity changed to full Cathedral on pronouncement by Bishop Lumpias in 1993. Father Cumberland left the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in April 1996 to return to England. He subsequently returned to the Philippines and is a regular member of the Parish and often serves in the Church.

Replacing Father Cumberland was Father Robert Tiling who had previously been Dean / Rector of Grace Episcopal Church, Galesburg, Illinois.

He was appointed by the Vestry as Rector on July 10, 1996 and installed as Dean on October 27 by the Rt. Reverend Benjamin Botengan, Bishop of the Central Diocese. Father Tiling’s term as Rector was marked by several projects, specifically the extension of the Columbarium and the renewed youth group called Friday Nite Live.

In 1997, the Columbarium extension project was conceptualized, planned and approved to generate an endowment fund wherein only interest is used to fund operations. The Columbarium was a facility almost non-existent in Philippine churches at that time. The Chapel of the Resurrection in the Columbarium evokes restful peace for any grieving family or friend who enters. Construction commenced on July 31, 2000 and was consecrated by Bishop Botengan on April 29, 2001, under the Rectorship of Father Tyler Strand.

Also during the Rectorship of Father Tiling, Holy Trinity helped financed the rebuilding and re-opening of St. Barnabas Mission Church in Tagaytay, and completed the computerization of the office and the Parish Bookkeeping Department. Repairs were also undertaken on the parking lot and church bell tower. In 1998, the Thread of Hope for Economic Advancement Foundation, Inc. (THEA) kept a permanent outlet on Church grounds. THEA, an organization that teaches and employs indigent individuals as seamstresses and cutters to make ladies and children’s blouses, sleepwear, etc. remains on Church grounds today. Also, a youth program with almost 70 young people was active and known as the Friday Nite Live group and met at Brent School in Pasig.

Father Tyler Strand, a native of suburban Chicago who has served in many parts of the world, succeeded Father Tiling in the year 2000.

Into a new century

With the arrival of Father Strand as the eighth Rector of Holy Trinity, the congregation numbered 411 parishioners. Several changes were initiated in the services and the Cathedral sanctuary was rearranged, with the celebrant’s chair, bishop’s chair and seats for the lay readers ranged behind the altar. At the 7:30 Eucharist Service, the congregation uses the Rite I Liturgy of the 1979 Prayer Book, which is similar to that of the 1929 Prayer Book. At 9:30, there is a new liturgy with more sung elements than previously and a greater variety of service music and Filipino music that changes with the seasons of the Church year. To increase Filipino inclusiveness, the midweek staff Eucharist was conducted in Tagalog and English on alternating weeks. In Filipino tradition, Church socials centered on food: Chinese dim sum breakfasts and pot luck lunches for the 7:30 and 9:30 congregations, respectively.

The Outreach Program in 2000 included an exploratory meeting with Holy Spirit Taguig with Father George Fetiza, Rector. The congregation of Holy Spirit Taguig is primarily made up of those from the Cordillera region in the North. The thrust was originally to offer guidance in establishing a curriculum for their Sunday School Program but later broadened to a scholarship program for deserving students of the school, Holy Spirit Christian Learning Center, established by Holy Spirit Taguig which continues to the present.