ECCLESIOPHILIA: parish church

about ECCLESIOPHILIA

While I am not sure if such a word already exists, the term refers to my fondness to the majestic architecture of some of the Philippine religious structures-- a loanword from the Greek root "ecclesio-" meaning "church" and "-philia" meaning "love." However, the word "ecclesiophobia" was officially introduced by the medical world and means otherwise.

I mostly fancy the façades of various antebellum Roman Catholic churches scattered across the country for their splendid European influences.

21 October 2009

San Felipe Neri Church

Author: pallida Mors | Posted at: Wednesday, October 21, 2009 | Filed Under: parish church |

Mandaluyong was once named San Felipe Neri by the Spaniards, in honor of the patron saint of Rome. In 1863, led by the congregation of Dulcisimo Nombre de Jesus (Spanish for "Jesus' Sweetest Name"), the town founded its own church, convent and school along what is now called Boni Avenue.

The San Felipe Neri has a rather vague architecture-- I am not quite sure if it is a combination of Roccoco and Gothic, or a completely different style that I still haven't encountered in the past. When I saw the building the first time, I actually thought that it is the type that a little child will draw when he is instructed to draw a church.

The Parish of San Felipe Neri played a significant role as a relay station for propagating the Katipunan during the 1896-1898 Revolution. It was in Barangay Hagdang Bato on August 28, 1896 where Andres Bonifacion issued a proclamation setting Saturday, August 29, 1896 as the date of the attack on Manila. It was also in this town that the revolutionary paper, “La Republika”, was established on September 15, 1896.
-the City of Mandaluyong website

19 October 2009

Our Lady of The Abandoned Parish (Paroquia de Nuestra Señora de los Desamparados)

Author: pallida Mors | Posted at: Monday, October 19, 2009 | Filed Under: parish church |

I always pass by this church when I'm homebound to Pasig from Marikina, and just learned that it is actually older than I first thought. Despite the modernistic feel (or maybe just because some parts were newly painted), the establishment was founded by the Augustinian friars in the 1700's.

Originally, a chapel was built near the banks of the Marikina River (which is now known as Barangay Jesus dela Peña), but since it was experiencing seasonal flooding during the rainy season, the then Governor-General ordered it to be destroyed and abandoned, then transferred to a safer place. Crossing the river, they found the highest ground in the area on that time, and that is where the church stands in the present.