#TodayInPhilippineHistory July 27, 1914, Brother Felix Manalo founded Iglesia ni Cristo (INC), largest homegrown Christian Church in the Philippines, in Punta, Sta. Ana, Manila. Brother Manalo, whom followers and members recognized as God’s messenger, professed to the reestablishment of the original church founded by Jesus and claimed that the original church was apostatized. The INC began with a handful of followers with Manalo as its head minister propagated his message within his local area, subsequently growing its members and converting members of other religions. In 1924, the INC had about 3,000 to 5,000 members in 43 or 45 congregations in Manila and six nearby provinces. By 1936, the INC had 85,000 members. This figure grew to 200,000 by 1954. A Cebu congregation was built in 1937, the first to be established outside of Luzon, and the first in the Visayas. The first mission to Mindanao was commissioned in 1946. Its first concrete chapel was built in Sampaloc, Manila in 1948. As Manalos health began to fail in the 1950s, his son, Eraño Manalo started to take leadership of the church. Felix Manalo died on April 12, 1963.
Posted on: Sat, 26 Jul 2014 15:41:00 +0000