Manuel Umana Salinas

Manuel Umaña Salinas (born November 16, 1887, in Limache; deceased August 2, 1964, in Santiago) joined the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1906. He later became part of the Pentecostal revival that emerged in Valparaíso in 1909 and was ordained pastor of the Methodist Pentecostal Church (Iglesia Metodista Pentecostal, IMP) in 1911. Umaña emerged as a leader who distanced himself from missionary Protestantism, underwent a process of Pentecostalization, and became a figure who embodied charismatic authority.

His leadership was strengthened through the multiplication of preaching venues and the appointment of preachers under his direction. As a result, he rapidly became the most influential pastor within the IMP, a position reinforced by his presence in Santiago, the nation’s capital. He presided over the principal IMP temple on Jotabeche Street (today the Evangelical Cathedral), which by 1933 had a seating capacity of 1,200 people as well as a network of twelve churches that gathered more than 2,000 followers.

By 1943, the IMP under Umaña’s leadership counted 35 pastors and 222 meeting points. By 1964, these figures had increased to 94 pastors and 652 meeting points, respectively, in addition to two church workers in Argentina. Thus, Umaña’s leadership was sustained by the constant expansion of sites for worship and preaching, growing to the point of becoming a model to be emulated.

Umaña came to represent a form of leadership unmatched by any other IMP leader, concentrating a symbolic privilege of exceptional magnitude. Those who challenged or opposed him—whether his authority or his personal prestige—were regarded as adversaries and were often excluded or expelled. Consequently, these dissident leaders went on to establish new communities or congregations, thereby contributing to the reproduction of Pentecostalism in a Chilean context marked by structural poverty and rural-to-urban migration.

Ignacio Vergara, in Protestantism in Chile, argues that between 1933 and 1946 a series of schisms and departures occurred, giving rise to at least fourteen new churches. Some of these developed into significant denominations, such as the Evangelical Army of Chile, the Pentecostal Church of Chile, and the Apostolic Pentecostal Mission. In 1950, Umaña had appointed himself bishop, a decision that resulted in a wave of resignations and expulsions of pastors who opposed this move.

Despite prominence, Bishop Umaña experienced a profound credibility crisis in 1963 and 1964 when print and radio press reported allegations of corruption and abusing power. He was accused of: (a) maintaining ties with a conservative faction of the Radical Party, although during the 1930s he had been associated with liberal sectors; (b) leading a life deemed morally questionable and inappropriate for a religious leader; and (c) engaging in illicit enrichment through church revenues.

In the midst of this crisis, he died on August 2, 1964. Following his death, the press, government authorities, and political figures expressed their condolences and acknowledged his contribution to the expansion and consolidation of the Reformed faith in a country historically shaped by Catholicism, whose presence dates back to the sixteenth century. Bishop Manuel Umaña Salinas is recognized as the founder of the Methodist Pentecostal Church of Chile in the city of Santiago.

For Further Reading

Ignacio Vergara, Protestantism in Chile.

Manuel Umaña Salinas (1887—1964)

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