Iglesia ni Cristo[2] (Tagalog pronunciation: [ɪˈgleʃɐ ni ˈkɾisto], abbreviated as INC or Iglesia; English: Church of Christ) is an international Christian church that originated in the Philippines and has been accused of being a cult[3]. It was registered in 1914 by Felix Y. Manalo,[4][5][6] who became its first Executive Minister.
The Iglesia Ni Cristo claims to be the one true church and the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus, and that all other Christian churches are apostates.[5][7] INC doctrine cites that the official registration of the Church with the Government of the Philippine Islands on July 27, 1914, by Felix Y. Manalo—upheld by its members to be the last messenger of God—was an act of divine providence and the fulfillment of biblical prophecy concerning the reestablishment of the Church of Christ in the Far East[8][9] concurrent with the coming of the Seventh seal marking the end of days.[1][10]
By the time of Manalo's death in 1963, the Iglesia ni Cristo had become a nationwide church with 1,250 local chapels and 35 large concrete cathedrals.[11] His son, Eraño G. Manalo, became the next church leader and led a campaign to grow and internationalize the church until his death on August 31, 2009,[12] whereupon his son, Eduardo V. Manalo, succeeded him as Executive Minister.[13] In 2010, the Philippine census by the National Statistics Office found that 2.45 percent of the population in the Philippines are affiliated with the Iglesia ni Cristo, making it the third largest religion by number of adherents in the Philippines after Roman Catholicism (80.6%) and Islam (5.6%).[14][15]
History:
During American colonial rule over the Philippines, there were a variety of rural anti-colonial movements, often with religious undertones,[16] and American Protestant missionaries introduced several alternatives to the Roman Catholic Church, the established church during Spanish colonial period.[17]
