American rule and a wider church
Homegrown churches, arriving Protestants, and a faith tested by war.
New churches grew strong roots here. Understanding how each began keeps humility and honesty together.
Ephesians 4:4-6
Iglesia Filipina Independiente, 1902
With the Spanish bishops gone and the Roman hierarchy yet to rebuild, Gregorio Aglipay and Isabelo de los Reyes founded the Iglesia Filipina Independiente in 1902 — a church with Filipino leadership, vernacular liturgy, and open sympathy for the revolution. It spread quickly in the north, and later entered full communion with the Episcopal Church. The Philippines now had a church that was Catholic in form, but proudly not Roman.
Iglesia ni Cristo, 1914
Felix Manalo founded the Iglesia ni Cristo in Manila in 1914, registered in 1914 with a teaching that rejected the doctrine of the Trinity and taught that the INC is the church promised in scripture, with Manalo as its last messenger. Its discipline, block-voting practice and tight organization made it one of the fastest-growing homegrown churches in the country. Homegrown did not mean harmonious: Filipinos were now not just recipients of mission, but founders of churches.
Key terms
Aglipayan: The popular name for the Iglesia Filipina Independiente, after its first bishop, Gregorio Aglipay.
Homegrown church: A denomination founded by Filipinos rather than imported by foreign missionaries.
This week's practice
Map the churches around you
0 of 4 done
Week 4 check
3 questions · no grade, just a gut check
1. Which two churches were founded by Filipinos in the early twentieth century?
2. What did Protestant missionaries most conspicuously bring?
3. How did the Philippine church change during the Japanese occupation?