Iglesia ni Cristo
| Iglesia ni Cristo | |
|---|---|
Seal | |
| Abbreviation | INC |
| Classification | Restorationism Protestantism |
| Theology | Apocalypticism Nontrinitarianism Unitarianism One true church |
| Governance | Central administration |
| Executive Minister | Eduardo V. Manalo |
| Region | 72 sovereign nations (based on official INC Directory) |
| Language | Filipino, English |
| Headquarters | Central Avenue, New Era, Quezon City, Philippines |
| Founder | Felix Manalo |
| Origin | July 27, 1914 (date registered to the Philippine government as Iglesia ni Kristo or INK) December 25, 1913 (date of baptism of first INC members) Punta, Santa Ana, Manila, Philippine Islands |
| Absorbed | Iglesia Ni Cristo 1901 (Ugong, Pasig congregation only, 1918) Iglesia Universal de Cristo (Cebu City congregation only, 1937) |
| Separations | Iglesia Verdadera de Cristo Jesus (1922, later renamed as The Most Holy Church of God in Christ Jesus) Iglesia ng Dios kay Cristo Jesus (1928, later renamed as Iglesia ng Dios kay Cristo Jesus, Haligi at Suhay ng Katotohanan) INC Defenders (2015) True Church of Christ (2015, also known as Small Remnant) Church of Yahusha 1914 Ministries (2020) Assembly of Yahusha (2021) |
| Congregations | 178 ecclesiastical districts 3,222 sites (mostly church edifices or houses of worship) 5,968 congregations 2,715 house churches, group worship services, and church extensions |
| Members | 2.8 million (2020; Philippines only) 3 million worldwide (estimated) |
| Ministers | 5,252 (ordained as of 2025) |
| Aid organization |
|
| Hospitals | New Era General Hospital |
| Primary schools | Yakap Orphanage |
| Tertiary institutions |
|
| Other name | Church of Christ |
| Official website | iglesianicristo |
| Slogan | Trusted. Connected. On point. |
| Part of a series on |
| Christianity |
|---|
The Iglesia ni Cristo (stylized as Iglesia Ni Cristo; abbreviated as INC; locally [ʔɪɡˌlɛs.jɐ n̪ɪ ˈkɾis.t̪o]; transl. Church of Christ) is an independent nontrinitarian Christian church founded in 1913 and registered by Felix Manalo in 1914 as a sole religious corporation of the Insular Government of the Philippines.
Seen as a rigid, authoritarian, exclusivist, highly centralized, and apocalyptic church, the INC describes itself to be the one true church and the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus, whereby all other Christian churches are apostatic. According to INC doctrine, the official registration of the church with the Philippine government was on July 27, 1914, by Felix Y. Manalo—who is upheld by members to be the last messenger of God in the End Times—was an act of divine providence and the fulfillment of biblical prophecy concerning the re-establishment of the original church of Jesus in the Far East concurrent with the coming of the seventh seal marking the end of days.
By the time of Manalo's death in 1963, the INC had become a nationwide church with 1,250 local chapels and 35 cathedrals. As his successor, Manalo's son, Eraño Manalo, led a campaign to grow and internationalize the church until his death on August 31, 2009. His son, Eduardo V. Manalo, succeeded him as Executive Minister. The 2020 Philippine census reported that 2.8 million were adherents of the INC, making it the fifth (5th) largest denomination in the Philippines behind the Roman Catholic Church, Islam, Evangelicalism, and Protestantism.