Powerful, secretive church under fire

A politically influential, wealthy and secretive Christian church in the Philippines, with thousands of Canadian members is facing an unprecedented tide of troubles, including allegations of abductions and misuse of funds.
The Iglesia ni Cristo (INC or Church of Christ), with congregations across Canada and billions in assets worldwide is also involved in a legal dispute with American R&B singer Chris Brown.
Known for its unity and its memebrs voting in a block, public protests are rarely seen since the Philippine-based church was founded in 1914 by Felix Manalo.
Born out of his dissatisfaction with the Catholic Church. Manalo is viewed by his followers as God’s last messenger. They believe there is no salvation outside the INC.
Within a century, the church has grown to three million members worldwide who support the church through generous donations. The largest congregation outside of the Philippines is in the United States.
In Canada, the church has congregations from British Columbia to Quebec.
The INC wields much influence within its overseas congregations as well in its homeland, where Philippine politicians seek its endorsement during elections.
But now, a minority of followers is speaking up by protesting against the corruption scandal rocking the church.
Amid swirling allegations of abductions and reports of expulsion of its members, the Iglesia ni Cristo  staged its centennial anniversary last weekend by holding its first Unity Games International.
More than 2,000 athletes from 17 countries , including Canada, convened in the Philippines competed in 12 sports categories.
Since 2011, the religious group has held Unity Games in the United Kingdom, Japan, North America, and Australia, according to INC Television, the church’s broadcast ministry.
Central to the controversy is the current INC Executive Minister, Eduardo Manalo, grandson of the founder, who in a bizarre move expelled his very own mother, Tenny, and brother, Angel, from the church — further fueling the scandal.
There are reports that critics within the INC have been abducted and silenced. Some church leaders say mother and son have been speaking up against the misuse of funds by the INC’s church council.
The cost of speaking up against the INC is huge expulsion from the church.
For its followers, a fate tantamount to death, something one INC minister in Fremont, California learned the hard way.
INC minister in Fremont, California, Bro. Louie Cayabyab, disobeyed orders from the Central Office in the Philippines to read before his congregation the expulsion order against Tenny and Angel Manalo on charges of dividing the church.
The minister stepped down from office, and now he fears for his life.
"My heart breaks. It is simply unacceptable. I can’t read those circulars. That would just leave an emotional scar on me for the rest of my life that I read something that is not true," he said.
"Let us face the truth, if we truly love the church let us stand for what is right," said Cayabyab.
The Philippine government last week opened an investigation into allegations that the advisory Council of Iglesia ni Cristo or INC was responsible for abducting ministers critical of church leaders and financial abuse. 
In an unrelated tiff American R&B singer Chris Brown who gave a concert in Manila last week was delayed from leaving because of a fraud complaint filed by a corporation run by the church. 
It claims the corporation had paid Brown and a promoter $1 million in advance for a New Year’s Eve concert at the 55,000-seat Philippine Arena, which he canceled without paying the money back. Brown was allowed to leave Manila late Friday after obtaining clearance.
The church’s troubles are apparently unrelated to its tiff with Brown, but could be far more damaging to its reputation by exposing the depth of internal squabbles in the 101-year-old movement. It is also likely to unmask the strong grip it has on its 2.3 million members.
The feud within the close-knit church became public last week when the mother and a brother of the group’s head, Eduardo Manalo, were expelled after they sought help from other members in a YouTube message, saying they were in danger and that several ministers had gone missing.
The brother, Felix Nathaniel Manalo, spoke out against what he said were various anomalies in the church’s operations, saying funds “are being used up in all sorts of projects which we don’t even need.”
One of the projects, he said, was the Philippine Arena, claimed to be the world’s biggest indoor stadium where Brown was to have performed last New Year’s Eve and where the 100th anniversary of the movement was celebrated last year.
“We have been threatened by the Council … because they say we are opposing the leader,” he said. “We love our brother, but the problem is those around him.”
Another mysterious expense by the church, which was not mentioned by Felix Nathaniel, was its purchase of the US ghost town of Scenic, South Dakota, for less than $800,000, the same year that construction of the arena began. The church has not disclosed its plan for the abandoned town. to
Isaias Samson, a minister and former editor-in-chief of the Iglesia newspaper, told reporters that he, his wife and son were held under “house arrest” by armed guards allegedly on orders of the church Council for a week before they escaped last week
The church believes that Jesus is the son of God, but it does not believe in the Holy Trinity as do Roman Catholics — the predominant religion in the Southeast Asian nation. Iglesia commands political influence because its members vote as a bloc in national elections, making them highly sought after by politicians, especially presidential aspirants.
The movement’s founder, Felix Manalo, broke away from the Catholic Church and is regarded by his followers as a prophet. He died in 1963, and was succeeded by his son, Erano Manalo, until his death in 2009, when another Manalo son took over as “executive minister.”
In 2010, The Iglesia ni Cristo accounted for 2.45% of the Philippine’s  population, around 2.5 million of today's 100-million population. Its membership lags way behind the majority Roman Catholic Church (more than 80%) and Islam (nearly 6% The INC gets its power not from sheer numbers but from the legendary unity of its flock. The faithful gather for religious services twice a week and pay regular tithes across 101 Philippine ecclesiastical districts, each with 15 to 70 locales, and 27 more districts across the United States, Canada, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia.