Philippine Independent Church

Iglesia Filipina Independiente
Iglesia Filipina Independiente Seal
Primate Most Reverend Godofredo David y Juico, Obispo Maximo XI
Headquarters National Cathedral of the Holy Child, Taft Avenue, Manila, Philippines
Territory Philippines,United States, and Canada
Members 3,000,000 (estimate)
Website Iglesia Filipina Independiente Home
Flag of Anglican Communion.svg   Anglicanism Portal

The Philippine Independent Church, officially the Iglesia Filipina Independiente (IFI), is a Christian denomination of the Catholic tradition in the form of a national church. The church was founded by Isabelo de los Reyes[1][2][3][4][5] in 1902 and made Gregorio Aglipay[6][7] its head. It is also known as the Aglipayan Church after its first head, Gregorio Aglipay.

Since 1960 it has been in full communion with the Episcopal Church of the United States (and through it with the entire Anglican Communion) and, since 1965, with the Old Catholic Union of Utrecht Association of Churches. Today the Philippine Independent Church or Aglipayan Church is the third largest Christian denomination in the Philippines after the Roman Catholic Church and the Iglesia ni Cristo respectively, with approximately two to four million members who are scattered all over the Philippines and with large congregations in the United States and parts of Asia as well. The bulk of the Aglipayans comes from the northern part of the island of Luzon especially in the Ilocandia region, where its first supreme bishop came from. Now the church is divided into 10 dioceses which includes the Diocese of United States and Canada. But, due to a lack of priests, many parishes in the USA are priestless.

The current Obispo Maximo is the Most Reverend Godofredo J. David, who has his central office in the capital of the country, Manila, at the (National Cathedral of the Holy Child in Taft Ave, Manila). His line of episcopal succession goes back from the first Obispo Maximo Aglipay and which is followed by 10 other successors.

The Philippine Independent Church is considered the most tangible product of the 1898 Revolution against Spain.

Contents

Rise of nationalism

At the end of the 19th century, Filipino nationalism emerged, preceding the struggles of other colonized countries in Asia such as British India and French Indochina, and the fight for independence gave way to revolution. Latin American countries at this time were also breaking away from Spain. With the execution of prominent ethnic Filipino clergy such as Fr. José Burgos at the hands of the Spanish royal authorities, church reforms became a facet of the Philippine independence movement.

Colonial church

Whereas many Spanish friars protested abuses by the Spanish government and military, other friars were committing many abuses. Many Filipinos were enraged when Spanish friars blocked the ascent of the Filipino clergy in the Catholic Church hierarchy. Vast lands were claimed as friars' estates from landless farmers. There were also widely known cases of sexual abuse of women by priests. Anak ni Padre Dámaso (Child of Father Dámaso, alluding to a character in one of Rizal's novels) has become a cliché or stereotype to refer to an illegitimate child, especially that of a priest. The death of Fr. José Burgos, Fr. Zamora, and Fr. Gomez is said to have indirectly ignited the Philippine revolution and had a profound effect on Dr. José Rizal.

Gregorio Aglipay

Main article: Gregorio Aglipay
Gregorio Aglipay in his youth before excommunication

Gregorio Aglipay was an activist Roman Catholic priest from Ilocos Norte who, despite his intercession and defense of some of the Spanish Roman Catholic clergy from liberal-nationalist Filipino revolutionaries, was excommunicated by the Vatican for inciting rebellion within the Filipino clergy. During the brief interlude between independence from the Spanish and the subsequent reoccupation by the Americans, Isabelo de los Reyes (also known as Don Belong) and Aglipay reformed the Filipino Catholic clergy into the Philippine Independent Church, officially established in 1902. The new church absolutely rejected the spiritual authority of the Pope (then Pope Leo XIII) and abolished the celibacy requirement from its clergy, allowing marriage among its priests, who were all apostate Roman Catholic priests. Later on, the new independent Church reformed the traditional Roman Catholic Latin Tridentine liturgy drastically after the model of the Anglican vernacular reform. The Eucharist has been said in Spanish (sometimes: Portuguese) for already more than one hundred years in the IFI. The apostolic succession of bishops ordained in the historic episcopate was restored via the Episcopal Church in the USA in 1948.

Factionalism and current state

Winning large numbers of adherents in its early years because of its nationalist roots, Aglipayan numbers decreased due to factionalism and doctrinal disagreements. Some factions, tending towards more radical cryptoprotestant reforms, formally joined other denominations including the Episcopal Church and the American Unitarians.

Today, the Philippine Independent Church is affiliated with the Old Catholics and the Anglican Communion. Aglipayans number around a million, mostly in the Ilocos Region. They constitute about 1% of the total population of the Philippines, while 83% of the population are members of the Roman Catholic Church.

Iglesia Filipina Independiente (Philippine Independent Church), an independent church, has Concordat relationships with the Anglican provinces and the Old Catholic Church. Its members are currently spread throughout the Philippines, the United States and Canada. The spiritual head is called Obispo Maximo (Supreme Bishop). His Eminence Godofredo J. David, is the incumbent and the 11th Obispo Maximo.

Most of the members of the church, like the founders Aglipay and De Los Reyes, are activists, often involved in progressive groups as they advocate for nationalism, anti-imperialism, democracy, as well as opposing extra-judicial killings. They have been victims of forced disappearances and been branded as leftist by the government for being aligned with progressive groups, specifically after Obispo Maximo IX Alberto Ramento was killed for being an anti-government critic.

In 2002 Aglipayan bishops registered their objection to the presence of U.S. Special Forces troops in the Philippines.[8]

Notable Aglipayans

List of Obispo Maximos from 1902 to 2006

  1. The Most Rev. Gregorio Aglipay y Labayan- First Obispo Maximo from 1902-1940
  2. The Most Rev. Santiago Antonio Fonacier y Suguitan- from 1940-1946
  3. The Most Rev. Gerardo Bayaca y Medina- 1946
  4. The Most Rev. Isabelo de los Reyes, Jr.y Lopez- from 1946-1971
  5. The Most Rev. Macario Ga y Vilches- from 1971-1981
  6. The Most Rev. Abdias dela Cruz y Rebantad- from 1981-1987
  7. The Most Rev. Soliman Ganno y Flores- from 1987-1989
  8. The Most Rev. Tito Pasco y Esquillo- from 1989-1993
  9. The Most Rev. Alberto Ramento y Baldovino- from 1993-1999
  10. The Most Rev. Tomas Millamena y Amabran- from 1999-2005
  11. The Most Rev. Godofredo David y Juico- from 2005-present

List of dioceses

National Cathedral and specially assigned clergy under OM The Most Rev. Godofredo J. David

Churches in full communion

Old Catholics:

Anglican Communion:

IFI, by virtue of its concordat relations with the Anglican Churches, is given the privilege to send delegates to the Council of Churches of East Asia (CCEA) as organized by the Anglican Provinces in East Asia in 1962. Since 1964, the IFI Bishops have also been regular members of the international Anglican gathering, the Lambeth Conference.

Other Concordat Churches worldwide:

References

  1. ↑ The official website of the Province of Ilocos Sur
  2. ↑ Senators Profile - Isabelo de los Reyes
  3. ↑ Philippine National Heroes
  4. ↑ Aglipayanism and the Philippine Independence Church
  5. ↑ Gutom.org - Portal for the Pinoy Perspective - Perryscope: Dawn of a New Dark Age
  6. ↑ de Achutegui, Pedro S. & Miguel A. Bernad, "The Religious Coup d'Etat 1898-1901: A Documentary History. Religious Revolution in the Philippines, Volume III. The University Press, 1971. Cited in John A. Larkin, "Review 74-- No Title, The Journal of Asian Studies, Nov 1972; 32,1. at Proquest (subscription)
  7. ↑ http://ifi.ph/history.htm
  8. ↑ "Clerics object to US troops." BusinessWorld. Manila: Feb 14, 2002. pg. 1

Struggle for Freedom: The Philippine Independent Church. Lewis Bliss Whittemore. Greenwich, CT: SPCK, 1961.

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