2. Rizal as the Tagalog Christ
➢ Rizal’s execution on December 30, 1896 became important turning
point in the history of Philippine Revolution.
➢ Influenced by both the Roman Catholic Church and the prehispanic
spiritual culture, some Filipino masses likewise founded organizations
that recognize Rizal not just as an important hero but also their savior
from all the social ills that plague the country.
➢ Rizalistas – These organizations believe that Rizal has a Latin name
Jove Rex Al, which literally means “God, King of all.”
3. ➢In the late 1898 and early 1899, revolutionary newspapers La
Independencia and El Heraldo de la Revolucion reported about
Filipinos commemorating Rizal’s death in various towns in the country.
➢ After Rizal’s execution, peasant in Laguna were reported to have
regarded him as “the lord of a kind of paradise in the heart of Mount
Makiling. The early decades of 1900s then witnessed the founding of
different religious organizations honoring Rizal as the “Filipino Jesus
Christ”.
➢ In 1907, Spanish writer and Philosopher Miguel de Unamuno gave
Rizal the title “Tagalog Christ” as religious organizations venerating him
had been formed in different parts of the Philippines.
4. Similarities
❑ “For both Jesus and Rizal, life
on earth was a summon and
submission to a call, the
redemption of mankind from
sin (Jesus) and the
redemption of his people from
oppression (Rizal).”
❑ “Both were Asians, had
brilliant minds and
extraordinary talents.
❑ Both believed in Golden
Rule, cured the sick,
reformers, and believed in the
universal brotherhood of men.
❑ Died young (Christ in 33 and
Rizal at 35)
5. The canonization of Rizal
➢ The earliest record about Rizal being declared as a saint is that his
canonization initiated by the Philippine Independent Church (PIC) or La
Iglesia Filipina Independiente.
➢ As a nationalist religious institution, PIC churches displayed Philippine
flags in its altars as an expression of their love of country and
recognition of heroes who fought for our independence.
➢ In 1903, the PIC’s official organ published the Canonization of the
Great Martyrs of the country Dr. Rizal and fathers Burgos, Gomez and
Zamora. On September 24, 1903, on this day, Jose Rizal and the three
priests were canonized following the Roman Catholic rites.
6. ➢ In the 1950s, Paulina Carolina Malay
wrote her observations of Rizal being
revered as a saint:
▪ Many towns of Leyte have religious
sects called Banal which venerate
Rizal as a God
▪ Legaspi City has a strange society
called pantay-pantay whose
members are called Rizalino
▪ A “colorum” sect in Tayabas,
Quezon has built a chapel for Rizal
at the foot of Bundok San Cristobal,
better known as Mt. Banahaw
▪ The Rizalina in Barrio Caluluan,
Concepcion, Tarlac has even sort of
nunnery for its priestesses.
7. Groups venerating Jose Rizal
▪ Sambahang Rizal
▪ Adarnista/Iglesiang Pilipina
▪ Iglesia Watawat ng Lahi
8. Sambahang Rizal
➢ Sambahang Rizal, literally, “Rizal Church,” was established by the late
Atty. Basilio Aromin in Cuyapo, Nueva Ecija in 1918.
Beliefs
➢ The beliefs of this sect may be summarized as follows.
▪ God is known by the name “Bathala”
▪ They believed that Rizal is the “Son of Bathala”
▪ The doctrines and teachings of Rizal are to be found in his novels, Noli and El
Feli serve as their “bible”
9. Sacraments and sects
▪ The sacraments are “basically similar” to those of the Catholic Church
with some changes suited to the particular needs of this sect.
▪ Baptism consisted in the Trinitarian formula; i.e. the prospective
member was baptized in the “name of the Father, Son, and Holy
Ghost.”
▪ The ceremonies for the dead consisted in prayers asking Bathala that
“the dead merit heaven through the merits of Dr. Rizal
10. Hierarchy
Pangulu Guru
(Chief preacher) was
the highest rank
within the sect.
Lalawigan Gurus –
(preachers of the province)
It was their duty to perform
the rites of confirmation
and supervise the “gurus”
under their jurisdiction.
Gurus – belonged to the lowest rung of
the hierarchy of this sect
▪Consejo Sambahang Rizal – formed by the
“pangulu guru” and six other members of the sect.
11. The Adarnista (Iglesiang Pilipina)
▪ Candida Balantac of Ilocos Norte was the founder of Adarnista or the Iglesiang
Pilipina, Her followers believe that she was an engkantada (enchanted one) and
claimed that a rainbow is formed around Balantac while she preached.
Beliefs
The following is a summary of the beliefs of this sect:
1. Rizal is a god of the Filipino people
2. Rizal is true god and true man
3. Rizal was not executed as has been mentioned by historians
4. Man is endowed with a soul; as such, man is capable of good deeds
12. 5. Heaven and hell exist but are nevertheless, “within us.”
6. The abode of the members of the sect in Bongabon, Nueva Ecija is the New
Jerusalem or Paradise.
7. The caves in Bongabon are the dwelling place of Jehivah or God.
8. There are four persons in God: God, the Father, the son, the Holly Ghost, and the
Mother (Virgin Mary)
13. Sacraments and sects
▪ Like also the Catholic Church, the Adarnista also conducts sacraments such as
1. Baptism, as performed by Danny Subat, a pastor of the sect
2. Confirmation is administered by Candida Balantac
3. Marriage is also administered by Balantac
4. as also confession
5. the last rites of the dead are performed by An Aglipayan priest invited to do
so.
14. Hierarchy
▪ Candida Balantac (The head of the sect)
▪ Alfredo Salvador, Felipe Baldonado and Danny Bibat (Right hand men)
15. Iglesia Watawat ng Lahi
▪ Samahan ng Watawat ng Lahi (Association of the Banner of the Race is said to have
been established by the Philippine national heroes and Arsenio de Guzman in 1911.
▪ According to stories, sometime in 1936, a banal na tinig (holy voice) instructed Mateo
Alcuran and Alfredo Benedicto to go to Lecheria, Calamba in the province of Laguna
to look for Jovito Salgado and Gaudioso Parabuac.
▪ Every Saturday afternoon from then on, the four listened to the teachings of the banal
na Tinig. In 1938, the the banal na Tinig informed them that their guide was the spirit
of Jose Rizal which instructed them to organize a movement called the Samahan ng
watawat ng Lahi
16. Aims of the organization
1. To love God above all things
2. To love one’s fellowman as one loves himself
3. To love the motherland and to respect and venerate the heroes of the race especially
the martyr of Bagumbayan, Dr. Rizal, to follow, to spread, and to support their
teachings, and to serve the country with one’s whole heart towards its order,
progress, and peace.
17. Beliefs of the sect
▪ The teachings of the sect are based on the commands of the Holy Moses, Our lord
Jesus Christ, and the teachings of Dr. Rizal culled from his writings.
▪ Christians believe in trinity, power of god (Moses), power of the Son (Jesus Christ)
and the power of Holy Ghost (Rizal)
▪ Jesus Christ is embodied in Dr. Jose Rizal and hence, Rizal is at once a god and a
man.
▪ Rizal is not dead
▪ It is the voice of Rizal which commands the officials and the members what to do; this
voice is heard in the weekly meetings.
▪ If WWIII breaks out, numberless peoples will be killed by atomic weapons.
▪ Man has a soul, but a soul that is different from the soul of Dr. Rizal, for Rizal is god.
▪ There is a particular judgment (the soul is judged three days after death) and the last
judgment (when all the creatures will be judged.
18. ▪ Man has a soul, but a soul that is different from the soul of Dr. Rizal, for Rizal is god.
▪ There is a particular judgment (the soul is judged three days after death) and the last
judgment (when all the creatures will be judged.
Sacraments
▪ The sacraments of this sect, according to Fabregar, are “similar to the Catholic
Church”
1. Baptism
2. Confirmation is performed by Fabregar and other bishops of the sect.
3. Matrimony is performed according to rites similar to those of the Catholic faith.
19. Hierarchy
▪ The officers of the organization who look after the temporal welfare of the sect
▪ The Bishops and priests who look after the spiritual needs of their flock.
