 gregorio aglipay cruz y labayan (; 5 may 1860 â 1 september 1940) was a former catholic priest who became the first head of the iglesia filipina independiente, an independent catholic sect in the form of a national church in the philippines. known for inciting patriotic rebellion among the filipino clergy, he was also a political activist who became acquainted with isabelo de los reyes, who would start an independent christian filipino church named after aglipay in 1902. aglipay was previously excommunicated by archbishop bernardino norzaleda y villa of manila in may 1899, upon the expressed permission of pope leo xiii. aglipay later joined freemasonry in may 1918. aglipay later married pilar jamias y ver from sarrat, ilocos norte in 1939 and then died one year later. followers of aglipay through the church colloquially sometimes refer to their membership as aglipayans. ==early life== born in batac, ilocos norte, aglipay was an orphan who grew up in the tobacco fields in the last volatile decades of the spanish occupation of the philippines. he bore deep grievances against the colonial spanish government of the islands, stemming from abuses within the agricultural system and the radical ecclesiastical reforms he championed. arrested at fourteen when a tobacco-picking worker for not meeting his tobacco quota, he later moved to the capital of manila to study law under the private tutelage of julian carpio.university, princeton. "the catholic historical review, volume 4". american catholic historical association, 1919, p. 320. after two years of study under carpio, aglipay continued his studies at the colegio de san juan de letran and at the [[universi
1860_births 1940_deaths Anglican_saints Candidates_for_President_of_the_Philippines Colegio_de_San_Juan_de_Letran_alumni Filipino_lawyers Filipino_religious_leaders Former_Roman_Catholics Ilocano_people Paramilitary_Filipinos People_excommunicated_by_the_Roman_Catholic_Church People_from_Batac People_of_the_PhilippineaAmerican_War Philippine_Revolution_people Roman_Catholic_Church_in_the_Philippines University_of_Santo_Tomas_alumni