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Revision as of 21:39, 8 October 2004 by Rlquall (talk | contribs) (added cat)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)The Philippine Independent Church, officially the Iglesia Filipina Independiente (IFI) in Spanish, is a Christian denomination belonging to the Roman Catholic tradition. It is better known as the Aglipayan Church after its founder, Gregorio Aglipay.
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. With the execution of prominent Filipino clergy such as Fr. Jose Burgos at the hands of the Spanish authorities, church reforms became a facet of the Philippine independence movement.
Gregorio Aglipay was an activist priest from Ilocos Norte that, despite his intercession and defense of the Spanish clergy from 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 and Aglipay reformed the Filipino Catholic clergy into the Philippine Independent Church, officially established in 1902. The new church rejected the spiritual authority of the pope and abolished the celibacy requirement from its clergy, allowing marriage among its priests.
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 formally joined other denominations including the Episcopal Church and the American Unitarians.
Today, the Philippine Independent Church are affiliated with the Old Catholics and the Anglican Communion. Aglipayans number around one to three million, mostly in the Ilocos Region.
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