115th anniversary of the Philippine Independent Church

THE Iglesia Filipina Independiente (IFI) or Philippine Independent Church celebrates its 115th anniversary today with the theme “Make Every Effort to Do What Leads to Peace” (Romans 14:19).

Publicly proclaimed on August 3, 1902, by the Union Obrera Democratica, which was the first-ever labor confederation in the country, the church was established at the height of the patriotic struggle for national democracy. The IFI (Siwawayawaya nga Simbaan ti Filipinas in Ilocano, Malayang Simbahan ng Pilipinas in Tagalog, and Simbahan Hilway nga Pilipinhon in Kinaray-a/Hiligaynon), is also known as the Aglipayan Church, after its first Obispo Maximo (Supreme Bishop), the Most Reverend Fr. Gregorio Aglipay. It was Isabelo de los Reyes Sr., who was then president of the labor confederation, who nominated Fr. Aglipay to become the first Supreme Bishop of IFI. Fr. Aglipay led the IFI until 1940 during the era of strong sense of nationalism. The church eventually embraced a theology that approached religion in a patriotic and scientific manner. IFI is a vibrant congregation of “new men educated in and liberated by the teaching of Christ, dedicated to the worship of God in spirit and truth, nourished and sustained in the Eucharist, and commissioned to be witnesses to God’s love in the world.” It expresses the Filipinos’ enduring aspiration for national democracy in its rituals, music, and worship.

The IFI National Cathedral, located on Taft Avenue in Ermita, Manila, was inaugurated on May 8, 1969, on the occasion of the 109th birth anniversary of Obispo Maximo Aglipay. The church has around six million members nationwide and large congregations in the United States of America and Asia. It is regarded highly for its significant role in the history of the Filipino people’s struggle for freedom as “one of the most tangible products of the 1986 Revolution.” Today, faithful to its teachings, the IFI remains steadfast in serving as a voice for peace, the end of violence in the country, and in professing and upholding the dignity of human life and respect for God’s creation.

We greet the officials and flock of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente led by its Obispo Maximo, the Most Reverend Rhee Millena Timbang, on the occasion of its 115th founding anniversary.