Dulong Malabon IEMELIF ChurchDistrict II East
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Bishop Nicolás Zamora, standing, in a long coat
Rev. Nicolás Zamora y Villegas. Photo from R. F. Trinidad, A Monument to Religious Nationalism (1999), viaWikimedia Commons(public domain).

IEMELIF History

A church to be run by Filipinos.

On February 28, 1909, at St. Paul's Methodist Episcopal Church in Tondo, Nicolás Zamora preached on Galatians 5:1 and founded the Iglesia Evangelica Metodista en las Islas Filipinas, the first Protestant church founded by Filipinos.

1909Founded in Tondo, Manila
~1,500Members who joined at the start
12General Superintendents since 1909
117Years in 2026

Why the church was founded

Self-governing, self-propagating, self-supporting

From 1898 to 1915, Americans held every senior post in the Methodist Episcopal Church in the Philippines. Filipino workers were given third-class travel and kept out of leadership. A dispute with a foreign bishop was the spark.

About 1,500 of some 30,000 Methodist members joined the new church.

Milestones

From the first sermon to today

  1. 1899

    The first sermon

    Nicolás Zamora preached for the first time in July 1899. By October, 130 people were attending his services.

  2. 1900

    The first Filipino Protestant minister

    Bishop James M. Thoburn ordained him a deacon on March 10, 1900. On August 12, 1900, the church in Pandacan was dedicated: the first formally dedicated Protestant church in the Philippines.

  3. 1909

    The founding in Tondo

    On February 28, 1909, Zamora preached on Galatians 5:1 and declared the founding of the IEMELIF. The constitution was ratified on March 11, and the church was registered on April 20.

  4. 1914

    The founder's death

    Zamora died on September 14, 1914, in Bulakan, Bulacan, at the age of 39. The church had about 11,000 members by then.

  5. 1928

    A Discipline of its own

    Under Bishop Francisco Gregorio (1928–1939), the IEMELIF drew up its own Book of Discipline.

  6. 1941

    The first temple burns

    The Tondo temple, completed in 1938, was destroyed by fire on May 3, 1941. During the war, Bishop Matías B. Valdez resisted the forced merging of churches under the Japanese.

  7. 1959

    The Tondo Cathedral

    Rebuilding began on April 21, 1947, and was completed on February 28, 1959, the church's 50th anniversary. The architect was Benjamín T. Félix.

  8. 1972

    Part of the worldwide church

    The IEMELIF joined the World Council of Churches. It is also a member of the National Council of Churches in the Philippines and the World Methodist Council.

  9. 2026

    117th anniversary

    The church celebrates its 117th year. Its headquarters is the Beulah Land IEMELIF Center in Novaliches, Quezon City.

Obispo Maximo

The twelve General Superintendents

Five of the first eight also wrote hymn lyrics for the Imnario.See the hymn writers.

  1. 1

    Nicolás V. Zamora

    1909–1914

  2. 2

    Alejandro H. Reyes

    1914–1922

  3. 3

    Victoriano Mariano

    1922–1928

  4. 4

    Francisco Gregorio

    1928–1939

  5. 5

    Matías B. Valdez

    1939–1948

  6. 6

    Eusebio Tech

    1948–1952

  7. 7

    Marcelino C. Gutiérrez

    1952–1953

  8. 8

    Lázaro G. Trinidad

    1953–1972

  9. 9

    Gerónimo P. Maducdoc

    1972–1980

  10. 10

    George F. Castro

    1980–2000

  11. 11

    Nathanael P. Lázaro

    2000–2016

  12. 12

    Noel M. Abiog

    2016–present

About the Gomburza link. Nicolás Zamora is often said to be related to Fr. Jacinto Zamora, one of the three priests executed in 1872. This is widely repeated but has not been confirmed from Fr. Jacinto's own family records, so we report it as tradition, not established fact.

Every date and name on this page has a source. Anything not yet confirmed is left out.