Churches
BACKGROUND
HISTORY
OF
CHRISTIANITY
The Philippines is
the fifth largest Christian country, with
about 93% of the population being adherents. It is also one of two
predominantly Roman
Catholic nations
in Asia (the other being East
Timor),
and is the third largest Catholic
country in the world.
An estimated 92.5% of Filipinos are
Christians which consists of 80.9% Roman
Catholic,
2.8% Evangelical, 2.3% Iglesia
ni Cristo,
2% Aglipayan, and
4.5% other Christian groups including other Protestant denominations (Baptist,
Pentecostal, Anglican,
Methodist, and Seventh Day Adventist) as well as Orthodox. In
the southern Philippines (especially in Mindanao Island)
roughly 5% of the population is Muslim;
1.8% of the entire population adheres to other independent religions, while
0.7% are irreligious.
Religion in the Philippines (2000)
Roman Catholic (80.9%)
Islam (5%)
other Christian (4.5%)
Evangelical (2.8%)
Iglesia ni Cristo (2.3%)
Aglipayan (2.0%)
Other (1.8%)
Unspecified and none
(0.7%)
Christianity arrived
in the Philippines with the landing of Ferdinand Magellan in 1521. In the late 16th
century, the archipelago was claimed for Spain and named it after its king.
Missionary activity during the country's colonial rule by Spain and the United
States led the transformation of the Philippines into the first and then, along
with East Timor, one
of two predominantly Christian nations in East Asia, with approximately 92.5%
of the population belonging to the Christian faith
Most Filipinos are
very religious, the belief in God permeating many aspects of life. Christians
celebrate important holidays in many different ways, the most important of
which are Christmas, Lent and Holy Week, All Souls' Day, as
well as many local fiestas honoring patron saints and especially
the Virgin Mary. Filipinos residing in Metro Manila and
occasionally those overseas often return to their respective
home provinces and towns to observe these holidays with their birth
families, much like the practice in Mainland
China for traditional holidays. Filipino infants and individuals are
more often than not expected to be baptized as Christians to affirm faith in
Christ and their belonging to a specific denomination.
By Antonio G. Gilana
Since
1994, when Sorsogon Province celebrated its Centennary
(1894-1994) as a province, the commemoration of the First Holy Mass in the
Island of Luzon has been done in the neighboring town of Magallanes, in
a place called Sitio Gibal-ong (Barangay Siuton). Both the Civil and Religious (Catholic) authorities in Sorsogon
Province have followed this annual tradition over the last 19 years.
I
think it is about time to rectify this error in history.
During
my incumbency as Municipal Councilor of Bulan (1995-2004), I advocated for this
rectification. I authored a council resolution informing the Provincial
Government of the need to conduct research and further studies on where indeed
the First Holy Mass in Luzon was celebrated. But this fell on deaf ears. I
found some support in the work and research of Dr. Luis Camara Dery of Gubat, a
historian of caliber. It was his research that became the basis of a documented
statement/ declaration that it was not in Magallanes ,
BUT in OTAVI, BULAN, that the First Holy Mass in Luzon was held. THE FIRST
CHAPEL WAS BUILT IN MAGALLANES, BUT THE FIRST MASS WAS HELD IN OTAVI.
For
every world religion, there is a place to worship. For Christianity, there are
a confusing variety of names for these places, which are frequently—but
incorrectly—used interchangeably. Church, chapel, and cathedral are the trio of
terms most commonly used to denote a religious space, but how are they
different? As with most questions on the nature of language, it depends not
whom you ask, but when you ask.
Chronologically
speaking, the words “church” and “chapel” emerged into widespread use at about
the same time, dating back to approximately the thirteenth century. Church
evolved from a motley collection of sources: the Old English cirice, West Germanic kirika,
Middle Dutch kerke, and from the Greek kyriake. Chapel has a more straightforward derivation, from the Old
French chapele,
which in turn had roots in the Medieval Latin cappella, literally meaning “little cape,” honoring the story of St. Martin of
Tours’ holy garment. Of the two, “church” is the broader term, referring
both to the worship space in an architectural sense as well as the congregation
as a collective group of people meeting within the church building. Though the
word’s original connotations were of a building designated for holy worship,
church services now often take place in secular locations, and former church
buildings are frequently converted into private homes, bookstores, and bars.
THE DIFFERENCES OF CHAPEL TO CHURCH
Chapels
are commonly smaller spaces, usually a room within the church or a
larger, non-faith-based institution like an airport, hospital, or university,
and they are not necessarily consecrated ground. Even chapels of considerable
size or with their own freestanding grounds differ from the traditional
Christian church in welcoming nondenominational or interfaith worship. Perhaps
the loosest definition of “chapel” refers to those peculiar Las Vegas wedding
locations for hasty, and occasionally poorly thought out, marriages—a far
cry from most established religion.
Unlike
both churches and chapels, which originated in the general Christian tradition
but are not specific to any particular incarnation of it, cathedrals fulfill a
specific role within the Catholic faith. Named for the bishop’s throne, the
cathedra—and despite its implications of stained glass and grandeur—a
“cathedral” is simply the designated principal church within a diocese.
Naturally, where the bishop goes, lofty arches and flying buttresses often
follow, but those are just a side effect. If the bishop’s seat moves elsewhere,
so too does the designation of “cathedral.” Such was the case with Crotia’s Church
of the Holy Cross, once billed as “the smallest cathedral in the world”—in the
absence of a bishop, the Croatian Tourist Board is pushing the definition just
a bit.
Jorge
Imperial Barlin was the first Filipino bishop of the Catholic Church. His
miter as the 28th bishop of Nueva Caceres was granted to him by the Vatican in
secret consistory on December 14, 1905. His Episcopal consecration was held on
June 29, 1906 in Manila.
His
rise to that exalted ecclesiastical post was not only a personal triumph but
also the fulfillment as well of every Filipino Catholic priest’s aspiration.
It, too, was a triumph of the Filipino people, of a race that had been
considered inferior for over 300 years by a regime which had itself brought
Catholicism into the country.
Jorge
Barlin was ordained priest when he was 28 years old, at a time when the
Catholic Church, headed by Spanish friars, was persecuting Filipino priests who
were fighting for reforms within the Church structure. Father Burgos, Gomez,
and Zamora were garroted on February 17, 1872 for their alleged complicity in
the Cavite revolt, a charge which has since been debunked by history.
As a
priest, Father Barlin would have been subjected to the racial discrimination experienced by
his fellow secular priest, and permanently relegated to the lowest rungs in the
Church hierarchy. This fate did not come to him early, though. Bishop Gainza, his
benefactor and mentor, was fond of him and, hence, did his best to ensure the
future of his protégé. Right after his ordination, he was appointed capellan de solio and
majordomo of the Cathedral, by Monsignor Gainza. He
held those posts, which ensured his proximity to the bishop, throughout Gainza’s
term. He discharged his responsibilities with exceptional competence, bearing
in mind at all times his teacher’s example.
Upon
the death of Bishop Gainza sometime in 1880, father Barlin was
assigned to Siruma, in Bicol. The adjustment he had to make from the royal episcopal
society to that isolated town would have been traumatic, but he bore the
hardship in silence, his patience and obedience fortifying his character. Three
years later, in 1883, Barlin was reassigned to the pastoral village of Libog, Albay,
which was near Siruma.
