Gregorio Aglipay

Who was Gregorio Aglipay?

Gregorio Aglipay Cruz y Labayan was a former Catholic priest who became the first head of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente, a Protestant sect in the form of a national church in the Philippines.

Known for inciting patriotic rebellion among the Filipino clergy, he was also a political activist who became acquainted with Isabelo de los Reyes, who would start a Protestant church named after Aglipay in 1902.

Aglipay was previously excommunicated by Archbishop Bernardino Norzaleda y Villa of Manila in May 1899, upon the expressed permission of Pope Leo XIII. Aglipay later joined Freemasonry in May 1918. Aglipay later married Pilar Jamias y Ver from Sarrat, Ilocos Norte in 1939 and then died one year later. Followers of Aglipay through the church colloquially sometimes refer to their membership as Aglipayans.