Philippine Independent Church

The Philippine Independent Church, (officially the Spanish: Iglesia Filipina Independiente ir the IFI, also known as the Philippine Independent Catholic Church or the Ilocano: Siwayawaya a Simbaan nga ti Filipinas (sometimes also know as Tagalog: Malayang Simbahan ng Pilipinas), is a Christian denomination of the Catholic tradition in the form of a national church. The church was founded by the members of the first federation of labor unions in the country, the Union Obrera Democratica (UOD) in 1902. Isabelo de los Reyes was the founder of the church and suggested to make Gregorio Aglipay its head. It is also known as the Aglipayan Church after its first obispo maximo, Gregorio Aglipay. Unsurprisingly, all the founding members of the church were excommunicated by the Catholic Church during its establishment in 1902.[3] Since 1960 it has been in full communion with the Episcopal Church in the United States of America (and through it with the entire Anglican Communion) and, since 1965, with the Old Catholic Union of Utrecht Association of Churches. Today the Philippine Independent Church or Aglipayan Church is the second largest Christian denomination in the Philippines after the Roman Catholic Church. The bulk of the Aglipayans comes from the northern part of the island of Luzon, especially in the Ilocandia region, where its first supreme bishop came from. Now the church is divided into 10 dioceses which includes the Diocese of United States and Canada. But, due to a lack of priests, many parishes in the USA are priestless. The current Obispo Maximo is the Most Reverend Godofredo J. David, who has his central office in the capital of the country, Manila, at the (National Cathedral of the Holy Child in Taft Ave, Manila). His line of episcopal succession goes back from the first Obispo Maximo Aglipay and which is followed by 10 other successors. The Philippine Independent Church is considered the most tangible product of the 1898 Revolution against Spain