Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church of Christ)

The Iglesia ni Cristo (INC; stylized as Iglesia Ni Cristo; Tagalog pronunciation: [ʔɪɡˌlɛs.jɐ n̪ɪ ˈkɾis.t̪o]; transl. Church of Christ) is a Christian new religious movement founded in 1913, and registered by Felix Manalo in 1914 as a sole religious corporation with 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 13 July 1914, by Felix 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 organization 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 31 August 2009. His son, Eduardo V. Manalo, succeeded him as Executive Minister.