In sun-kissed Quezon:
Beginnings and growth of the Church Of Christ

In sun-kissed Quezon:
Beginnings and growth of the Church Of Christ

The Iglesia Ni Cristo in the Province of Masbate

By ARNEL M. ARMENIA and FELGEM EDWARD J. ELEVADO

QUEZON PROVINCE in the Philippines was formerly called Tayabas. The name was changed in 1946 to honor the late Philippine President Manuel L. Quezon, a native of Baler, in Aurora Province which used to be a part of Quezon.

Well before this, the Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church Of Christ) had already established congregations in this Southern Tagalog province. From then on, Quezon has seen the growth of the Church from coast to coast—the eastern coastline of the province faces the Pacific Ocean while its western coast the Tayabas Bay. Even the Polilio group of islands in the northeast portion of the province and the Alabat Island, in Lopez Bay, have become home to expanding congregations of Iglesia Ni Cristo members.

History of the Church in Quezon

Before the outbreak of the war in the Pacific, Brother Felix Y. Manalo, God’s Messenger in these last days, sent ministers of the gospel to start the work of propagation in the province. The first evangelical mission was held in front of the Philippine National Railways train station in Looban District, Lucena City. The first baptism was conducted on February 13, 1936 at Iyam River, Barrio Gulang-gulang, Lucena City. On February 16, 1936, the first worship service in Quezon was conducted at the house of Brother Fausto and Sister Isabel Arenas at Daang Cotta near the place now known as Cerilla Compound in Lucena City.

To further help in propagating the true faith in Quezon, the Church Administration sent more ministers in other towns such as Candelaria and Sariaya. The words of God quickly spread to the nearby towns, which led to the establishment of the Ecclesiastical District of Tayabas on July 27, 1936. The first local congregations of the ecclesiastical district are Lucena City, Sariaya, , Lutucan (now Sto. Cristo), Candelaria, Tayabas, Tiaong, and Lusacan. Brother Glicerio Santos Sr. was the first district supervising minister.

In February 1939, the Church’s mission reached the eastern part of the Quezon Province, specifically in the town of Lopez. And on April 25 that same year, the Local Congregation of Lopez was established, concurrent with a baptism. On June 24, 1939, the Local Congregation of Gumaca, named after the town next to Lopez, was established. Then, the preaching of the gospel reached the town of Catanauan in the southern part of the province. The Local Congregation of Catanauan was established on December 7, 1939 and continued to spread throughout the eastern and southern portions of the province.

In March 1948, the Church’s work of propagation reached the northern part of Quezon Province, which included the towns of Infanta, Real, Gen. Nakar, and Polilio Islands.

The Church Administration sent ministers to propagate the gospel in Real, Quezon starting from Brgy. Kiloloron. They, then, went to the town of Infanta where they met brethren registered in the neighboring Ecclesiastical District of Laguna. The first worship service in the northern part of Quezon was conducted on May 20, 1948 at Daang Bonifacio, corner Arellano Street, Poblacion, Infanta. From 1948 to 1965, the local congregations in this part of Quezon were part of the Ecclesiastical District of Laguna. It was in 1965 when the local congregations in the northern part of Quezon became an ecclesiastical district, named Ecclesiastical District of Polilio.

To make the supervision of the congregations in Quezon Province more efficient, the Church Administration approved on May 11, 1967 that all local congregations in Quezon be regrouped into two districts—Quezon-I and Quezon-II. Thirty-five local congregations comprise the Ecclesiastical District of Quezon-II at the time.

On August 4, 1989, the Ecclesiastical District of Quezon-III was established, having 21 local congregations and five extensions. In July 1990, four ecclesiastical districts in Quezon were renamed, thus: Quezon North (formerly Polilio), Quezon West (Quezon-I) then later on called Quezon, Quezon East (Quezon-II), and Quezon South (Quezon-III). On August 17, 2022, Quezon West was established, marking the fifth district in the province.

Shining even brighter in Quezon

Church Of Christ members continue to shed the light of truth in Quezon with steadfast faith and unity with the Church Administration so more people are led back to God.