Nestor Poltic installed as prime bishop of the Episcopal Church in the Philippines

[Episcopal News Service] The Most Rev. Nestor Dagas Poltic Sr. was installed March 12 as the eighth prime bishop of the Episcopal Church in the Philippines at the Cathedral of St. Mary and St. John in Quezon City, succeeding retired Prime Bishop Brent Harry Alawas.

The Most Rev. Nestor Dagas Poltic Sr. was installed March 12, 2025, as the eighth prime bishop of the Episcopal Church in the Philippines at the Cathedral of St. Mary and St. John in Quezon City, succeeding retired Prime Bishop Brent Harry Alawas. Photo: Courtesy of Charles Robertson

Poltic, 57, was previously the bishop of the Diocese of the North Central Philippines, based in Baguio City in the Benguet Province. He was ordained to the diaconate in 1992 and to the priesthood in 1993. Poltic was elected prime bishop in May 2024 during the church’s synod at the Cathedral of St. Mary and St. John.

Special guests from Anglican provinces throughout Asia and the Pacific and elsewhere were in attendance, including from Lambeth Palace and the Anglican Communion Office.

Hawai‘i Bishop Robert Fitzpatrick, and the Rev. Bruce Woodcock, partnership officer for Asia and the Pacific, and the Rev. Charles Robertson, canon and senior advisor to Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe, who preached during Poltic’s installation, represented The Episcopal Church. 

“Prime Bishop-elect, you and your fellow bishops are called to be shepherds of the flock, as Jesus describes in John’s Gospel. And perhaps even more importantly, you are called to be models to the rest of us of what good shepherds are. Because all of us here today—bishops, priests, deacons and lay people – all of us are both sheep and shepherds,” Robertson said during his sermon. “All of us go forth from here to be shepherds to the many around us who sometimes don’t even know what they so desperately need.”

Fitzpatrick read a letter written by Rowe addressed to the new prime bishop during a reception.

“Building upon the long standing and strong relationship with the Episcopal Church in the Philippines, together we can face challenges and embrace our partnership efforts within Anglican Communion,” Rowe wrote in the letter. “By the Grace of God and sustained efforts on this journey, the relationship between our church members will continue to be strengthened well into the future. At the same time, I trust we can discover new and deeper ways for us to partner in God’s mission of healing in a broken world.”

The Episcopal Church in the Philippines began as a missionary district of The Episcopal Church in 1901 and later consecrated its first Filipino bishop in 1967. It became an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion in 1990. Today, the Episcopal Church in the Philippines has seven dioceses and approximately 125,000 members.

-Shireen Korkzan is a reporter and assistant editor for Episcopal News Service. She can be reached at skorkzan@episcopalchurch.org.