Aglipayan Church

The Aglipayan Church, also known as the Philippine Independent Church, is a nationalist church and the second largest Christian denomination in the Philippines, with approximately 2 to 6 million members. The denomination broke off from the Catholic Church in the early twentieth century under the leadership of former Roman Catholic priest Gregorio Aglipay, who sought to establish a church free of Spanish and American colonial influences. It operates three lay organizations for men, women, and youth, as well as commissions on economic development, mission and evangelism, business and finance, education, and liturgy and music. Ecumenical partners include the Anglican Communion, Union of Utrecht of Old Catholic Churches, World Council of Churches, National Council of Churches of the Philippines, and Church of Sweden. The leader of the Aglipayan church is known as the Obispo Maximo (Supreme Bishop) and is currently Godofredo J. David.