Thread by @indiohistorian

#TodayinHistory in 1875, the 1st ordained Filipino #Protestant pastor, & founder of the 1st indigenous Protestant church in #PH (@IEMELIF), Nicolás Zamora, was born in #Binondo #Manila #PH. His father was nephew to Fr. Jacinto Zamora (1 of the #GOMBURZA). THREAD. #PH #history

The unjust execution of the #GOMBURZA in 1872 opened the eyes of Filipinos to the rampant abuse & corruption of the Spanish colonial regime against Filipinos. Fr. Jacinto Zamora, the youngest of the 3, lost his mind prior to being executed.

https://twitter.com/indiohistorian/status/1229343528087539712?s=20

Jacinto's nephew, Paulino, harbored resentment vs. the oppression. Discontented w/ the religion of the friars, he began to smuggle Spanish Bibles w/c were forbidden at the time. During #PH Revolution in 1896, he was arrested & exiled to Chafarinas Islands in the Mediterranean.

Meanwhile, Paulino's son, Nicolas Zamora, grew under his father's guidance. Prior to his father's arrest, Nicolas was sent to #Manila under the tutelage of Fr. Pablo Zamora, a curate in the Manila Cathedral, & later studied in @ateneodemanilau (Ateneo Municipal at the time).

Nicolas aggrieved at his father's arrest, while he witnessed the abuses, joined the #PH Revolution, & became an officer under Gen. Gregorio del Pilar's army, being promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in 1898. The American colonial regime freed his father from exile.

W/ freedom to worship under the new dispensation, the father & son associated themselves w/ the missionary pursuits of the United Methodist Church. While Paulino became affiliated w/ the Presbyterians, Nicolas stayed w/ the Methodists, entering the seminary to become a pastor.

Nicolas Zamora's pulpit thundered as he gained a following in his church at Plaza Goiti #Manila. By 1902, he was ordained as Elder, & by 1903, was assigned a church at Avenida Rizal (Knox UMC Manila). However, racism was rampant in the American-dominated clergy.

One American pastor noted, "For all their veneer [Filipinos are still] primitive & childlike.” On 28 Feb 1909, at St. Paul’s Methodist Church in #Tondo, Zamora announced that he will be leaving the UMC to form the @IEMELIF. There were 25 of the 121 local preachers who joined him.

Nicolas Zamora: “It is the will of God for the Filipino nation that the Evangelical Church in the Philippines be established which will proclaim the Holy Scriptures through the leadership of our countrymen.” #QOTD

Although he died of Cholera in 1914 at the age of 39, his legacy lives on in the #Protestant expression of #Filipino spirituality today.

Read more: tmblr.co/ZtGCUx2lmEuw9

*Photos from the Filipino Methodist History Facebook Page.

@subselfie @jmnualla @tonitiemsin