Presenting the History of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente.

3. For whatsoever things were written
aforetime were written for our learning,
that we through patience and comfort of
the scriptures might have hope.
Romans 15:4

4.  400 YEARS of slavery, abuses and false
teachings of the Spanish Friars.
 Encomienda system
 Force Labor
 The Filipino Priests were coadjutor only

7.  NUMEROUS laborers who are members of
the Union Obrera Democratica gathered on
AUGUST 3, 1902.
 The masses (poor, laborers) headed by
ISABELO DELOS REYES, SR. (Don
Belong) proclaimed to RESTORE the
Church in a form of a NATIONAL CHURCH
independent from the power of ROME, thus,
 IGLESIA FILIPINA INDEPENDIENTE

8.  63 people from Navotas are among the first
who submitted to the newly restored Church.
 October 1, 1902 – Pedro Brillantes of
Bacarra declared that the whole
congregations are joining the Iglesia
Filipina.
 25% of the populace became Iglesia Filipina.

9.  The newly restored Church in the Philippines
HAS NO LEADER.
 The people nominated PADRE GREGORIO
AGLIPAY but he refused.
 The Nationalist Aglipay got insulted when a friar
bribe him with sum of money and high position
in the Roman Catholic.
 After a retreat, Padre Aglipay accepted the
nomination, held his first Solemn Pontifical
Mass on October 26, 1902 as the OBISPO
MAXIMO of the Iglesia Filipina.

13.  November 2, 1902 the Filipinistas took over
the Churches in Paco, Pandacan and
Sampaloc.
 In Antique the Anini-y, San Pedro and
Sibalom Churches. Sibalom Church used to
be the seminary of the Iglesia Filipina.
 The rest of the Roman Catholic Churches in
other parts of the country were seized by the
Filipinistas.

14.  September 17, 1904. The Iglesia Filipina
canonized the four martyrs as saints: Jose
P. Rizal, Padre Gomez, Burgos and
Zamora. (later the canonization was
revoked)
 Today, the martyrdom of these heroes are
commemorated by the Filipinistas and are
included in the Liturgical Calendar.

16.  In 1906. Iglesia de Tibiao founded by Fr.
Buenafe joined the Iglesia Filipina.
 Gen. Leandro Fullon propagated the Iglesia
Filipina in Antique except in Hamtic for the
Roman Priest was his relative.
 When US Supreme Court directed the Iglesia
Filipina to return all the properties
(churches/images, etc) to the Roman Church,
the Iglesia Filipina was left empty handed. But,
the masses, took the initiative.

17.  In Sibalom, the house of the Abao-an Clan
was renovated into the house of worship
where Ramon Maza Sr. preached through
sermon – the revolution – the writings of
Rizal.
 Pedro Vego was among the supporters of
the Filipinista Movement.
 Fr. Narciso Hijalda was then the Parish
Priest.

18.  In Pandan among the families who
maintained the Iglesia Filipina were Pedro
Telmo, the Zaldivars, Candari, Pedro
Gella, Enrique Oirol and Ciriaco Tayco.
 In 1911, Rev. Fr. Jose Javellana published
the “Ambahanun sang Himaya”

19.  OM AGLIPAY courageously fought for
independence.
 He circumvented the foreign laws such as
the Sedition Law 1901 (forbade
independence from US); Brigandage Act
1902 (armed resistance) and Flag Law 1907
(forbade display of Philippine Flag and
singing of Lupang Hinirang).

20.  In 1935, OM I Aglipay ran for President of
the Commonwealth Government but lost to
Quezon.
 October 30, 1938, OM I Aglipay’s comrade
in ministry and revolution – Don Belong died.
 In 1939, OM I Aglipay married Pilar Ver
Jamias.
 September 1, 1940 OM I Aglipay joined HIS
Creator at the age of 80.

22.  October 14, 1940: Bishop Santiago
Fornacier became the OM II.

23.  OM II Fornacier administered the Church
during the Japanese occupation.
 Created divisions among Church leaders,
some opposed the invasion but some
supported it.
 Nationalism for true Filipinistas is
defending their nation from all forms of
foreign invasion.

24.  On January 21, 1946 the Bishop Gerardo
Bayaca was installed as OM III.

25.  OM III Bayaca served the Church for less
than a year because he was replaced by
Bishop Isabelo delos Reyes, Jr. on
September 1, 1946 as OM IV – the son of
Don Belong.
 OM III Bayaca served only as transitory OM
after the General Assembly ousted OM II
Fornacier for his support to Japanese
invaders among other causes.

27.  It must be noted that during OM I Aglipay’s
leadership in the Iglesia Filipina, the latter
propagated the Unitarian Faith.
 For forty years the Iglesia Filipina leaders
rejected the divinity of Christ.
 Despite rejection of Trinitarian Faith, such
was only with the higher hierarchy, the
faithfuls remained to live up Trinitarian
sacraments, practices and traditions.

28.  With the effort of OM IV de los Reyes, the
Holy Spirit for sure steered him, the Iglesia
Filipina officially returned to the Trinitarian
belief and settled to the Catholic Faith.
 On August 5, 1947 the Declaration of
Faith and Articles of Religion were
announced to the public – ending the
theological wandering and a homecoming
to the Christendom.

29.  The confusing theological development in
the Iglesia Filipina could be better
understood by remembering that Don Belong
was a rationalist, OM I Aglipay was a bold
reformer, while early bishops and clergy
were ex-Roman Catholic priests and
acquainted with rationalistic trends of
thought (Batara, 2009).

30.  Apostolic succession is the uninterrupted lines
traceable back to the original twelve apostles
and legitimizes sacramental practices such as
ordination, baptism, consecration in the Holy
Eucharist and etc.
 On April 7, 1948 Episcopal Bishops bestowed
the apostolic succession to the Bishops of the
Iglesia Filipina, thus, legitimized the authority
of the Iglesia Filipina in performing all the
sacraments.

31.  The three Iglesia Filipina Bishops received
the gift of the apostolic succession were
OM IV de los Reyes, Bishop Manuel
Aguilar and Bishop Gerardo Bayaca.
 These bishops proceeded to validly ordain
and consecrate the ministers of the Iglesia
Filipina.

32.  OM II Fornacier rejected the decision of the
Supreme Court on January 28, 1955 over
the question of the legitimacy of OM IV de
los Reyes’ installation as OM, created his
own church which remained to be a
Unitarian, the ICFC or Independent Church
of Filipino Christians.

33.  The bestowal of the apostolic succession paved
the way for the recognition of the Iglesia Filipina
by other Churches as among the true branch of
the Christian Church.
 OM IV de los Reyes ushered in the forging of
concordat relations with various Churches in
many countries, first on the list was with the
Protestant Episcopal Church of U.S.A.
(PECUSA); co-founded the National Council of
Churches in the Philippines where he became its
first Chairperson and sought membership in
international ecumenical bodies such as the,
Christian Conference in Asia, the Anglican
Communion, and World Council of Churches.

34.  During the leadership of OM IV de los Reyes,
organizations of lay people were created: the
Women’s Auxiliary of the Philippine
Independent Church on May 10-11,1957; the
Laymen’s Organization on September 2, 1957
and the Philippine Independent Church
Regional Youth Movement in 1960 and the
National Youth in 1969. Several youth
organizations were organized in the 1970s.

35.  After the indiscriminate bombing destroyed
the Tondo Cathedral, the Iglesia Filipina
has no National Cathedral to serve as the
seat of the Obispo Maximo, not until May 8,
1969 when the new National Cathedral was
consecrated in honor of the Holy Child.

37.  In 1971, Bishop Macario Vilches Ga
succeeded OM IV de los Reyes as the OM
V.
 OM V Ga headed the Iglesia Filipina during
the marshal law.
 President Ferdinand Marcos, having been
born as Filipinista in Ilocos (though
converted to RC), the higher hierarchy of
the Iglesia Filipina staunchly supported the
regime.

38.  On June 26, 1973, a Memorandum of
Agreement between the IFI and Independent
Church of Filipino Christian (ICFC) was signed
by Obispo Máximo Macario V. Ga for IFI and
Obispo Máximo Vicente K. Pasetes of ICFC.
 This signing paved the way for the return of
OM II Santiago Fonacier to the fold of Iglesia
Filipina. A solemn mass of reconciliation was
held at the National Cathedral on March 24,
1974, culminating the reunification of the two
churches.

39.  During OM V Ga, the two seminaries were
established, the IFI Theological Seminary
(Now, Aglipay Central Theological
Seminary or ACTS) in Pangasinan and the
St. Paul Theological Seminary in Iloilo now
in Guimaras.

40.  With the growing discontent of the masses
and even of other Churches in the Marcos
regime, the clergy of the Iglesia Filipina
organized themselves which ousted OM V
Ga and elected Bishop Abdias de la Cruz
as OM VI on May 1981.
 Cannot accept his defeat, even in a legal
battle, OM V Ga formed his own Church.

42.  Despite internal problem on the another
faction, OM VI de la Cruz was able to lead
the Iglesia Filipina with strong commitment to
regain the nationalist heritage of the
Church.
 During OM VI de la Cruz the first ever
diocese outside the country was created in
1982, the then Missionary Diocese of USA
and Canada.

43.  A progressive and perceptive impulse for the
Church to become a socially and politically
relevant institution became evident in the
election of Bishop Soliman Ganno as
Obispo Máximo VII on May 8, 1987.

45.  During OM VII Ganno’s term, the Supreme
Council of Bishops (SCB) published two
consecutive pastoral letters in May 1988
(Our Heritage, Our Response) and 1989
(Witnessing: Sharing in the Pilgrimage)
respectively that contain an articulation and
elucidation of the nationalist heritage of
the Church.

46.  On July 30, 1987, the Statement on Development
was issued. The statement laid down the agenda of
the church for renewal on the various aspects of its
organizational and institutional life.
 The statement likewise reflected the continuous
and conscious effort of Filipinistas to recapture the
church's historical heritage by offering herself to
witness for and in behalf of the people who were
socially and politically marginalized by the
system, and to work for the integral
transformation of society.

47.  However, OM VII Ganno did live come to
witness the fruits of this labor as he died on
May 26, 1989, after two years of fruitful
leadership when he had a heart failure one
early morning at the altar of the National
Cathedral.
 He was succeeded by OM VIII Tito Pasco
on June 1989.

49.  The OM VIII Pasco authored the Three-Year
Vision Program and launched in October 1990
which was aimed to enhance stewardship and
education in the Church.
 In 1992, Comprehensive National Program
(CNP) of the Church was launched which was
meant to build up effective organizational
structures and institute processes that would
facilitate the various program concerns of the
Church.

50.  OM VIII Pasco supported, together with
the NPO, the hunger-striking teachers
camping at the National Cathedral in
1991.
 The church admonished the Aquino
Government to reinstate the teachers and
compensate their salaries and benefits.

51.  OM VII Pasco led the Church in launching
the Centennial Decade Celebration at the
Folk Arts Theater on August 3, 1992 to
mark the beginning of a ten-year
celebration prior to the centennial
anniversary of the Church in 2002.

52.  In February 4, 1994 OM V Ga voluntary
return to the Iglesia Filipina, his
reconciliation led to the signing of the
memorandum of Agreement thus paving the
way for the mass return of many faithful and
clergy in Ilocos Norte and Cotabato Areas.

53.  In May 1993 the new Obispo Maximo was
installed, OM IX Alberto Ramento.
 “Bishop of the Poor, Peasants, and
Oppressed”.
 One of the Martyrs with commemoration
day of October 3 on the church’s lectionary.

55.  OM IX Ramento embarked on an intensified
campaign for stewardship and further
empowerment of the laity.
 The Church’s importance on the peace process
was recognized when OM IX Ramento was
endorsed as member of the joint monitoring
committee on the peace process between the
Government of the Republic of the Philippines
(GRP) and National Democratic Front of the
Philippines (NDFP).

56.  The concordat between the Iglesia Filipina
Independiente and the Church of Sweden
was signed in 1995.
 In 1997, OM IX Ramento played important
role in the release of the prisoners of war
held by the New People’s Army.

57.  A Bishop from Antique was elected as the
OM X, he was Tomas A. Millamena in May
1999.
 The IFI Lawyers League was organized in
September 1999.
 On January 9, 2000 the new Obispo Maximo
left for Utrecht, The Netherlands for peace
negotiations with the National Democratic
Front.

59.  An intensive fund raising was lunched to
augment the celebration of the centenary
dubbed as “Lakbay-Alay sa Bayan at
Simbahan.
 Thousands of faithfuls gathered in Quirino
Grandstand during the Centennial
Celebration on August 3, 2002.
 It attended by national dignitaries such as
President Gloria Arroyo, Senate President
Franklin Drilon and the likes.

60.  In May 2005, the OM XI Godofredo David
was installed replacing OM X Millamena.

61.  On October 3, 2006, OM IX Ramento was
found dead in his humble convent in Tarlac.
 OM IX Ramento exemplified the true vigor in
living up the prophetic mission of the Church
to defend the poor, the oppressed and the
marginalized.

62.  At the end of OM XI David’s term, a more
solid base warranting the further institutional
development of the Church has been put up
with the proper management and
maximization of the Church’s human,
financial and material resources.
 The new Obispo Maximo was installed on
May 11, 2011 in the person of OM Ephraim
Fajutagana from Romblon.

65.  The 13th Obispo Maximo was installed on June
25, 2019 in the person of Obispo Maximo XIII
The Most Reverend Rhee M. Timbang. OM
Timbang was the first Mindanaoan Obispo
Maximo of the Church. Many programs were
launched such as the Continuing Ministry
Formation (CMF) wherein all clergy are required
to attend right there at the Obispado Maximo,
the Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) and the
filling-up of the vacant dioceses.

67.  OM Timbang leadership made the church
true to his mission – Pro Deo Et Patria.
 Challenges such as Red-Tagging,
harassment and death threats among the
clergy were prevalent due to the Church
involvement in civic campaign for genuine
peace and freedom.

69.  The IFI on May 5, 2019 has consecrated its
first WOMAN Bishop, the Rt. Rev. Emelyn
Dacuycuy as an ordinary of the Diocese of
Batac in Ilocos Norte.
 As of August 2019, the IFI has 49 dioceses
including dioceses in America and Canada
with organized congregations in United
Kingdom, Middle East, Hongkong and
Singapore.

72.  The Iglesia Filipina Independiente is the
congregation of new men and women
educated in and liberated by the teachings of
Christ, dedicated to the worship of God in
spirit and in truth, nourished and sustained in
the Eucharist and commissioned to preach
God’s love to the world (Tomas A. Millamena,
OM X).

73.  The origin/history of the Iglesia Filipina is likened to
the accounts in Exodus (400 years of Israelite
slavery from Egypt/400 years of Filipino slavery
from Spaniards; Israelites were liberated and fled
from Egypt/Filipinos were liberated and fled from
Roman Friars to the Iglesia Filipina; 40 years of
wandering in the wilderness under Moses with
assistance of Aaron; 40 years of Theological
wandering under OM I Aglipay with the assistance
of Don Belong; settled in the Promise Land/settled
in the Promise of Jesus for Salvation by virtue of
returning to the fold of Christendom.)

74.  None of the churches anywhere in the world
with the same origin that likened the story in
Exodus, only the Iglesia Filipina.
 Thus, Iglesia Filipina is prophetic in its
mission and expresses God’s will for the
Filipinos and to the world.
 The true Church for the Filipinos and the
entire humanity is the Iglesia Filipina
Independiente.

75. We have to stand
firm as Filipinista,
let us be steadfast
with our faith, hold
on to the
nationalist heritage
and live up the
Aglipayan
spirituality.
- Bro. Bienvinido E. Nallos, Jr.

76. Duro gid nga
salamat!
Mabuhay ang
Iglesia Filipina!
God bless!