The Religious Schism

     The only living and tangible result of the Revolution was the Filipino Church, popularly known as the Aglipayan or Philippine Independent Church. When at the start of the second phase of the Revolution the Spanish archbishop enlisted Father Gregorio Aglipay's help in bringing back the Filipinos to the Spanish side, Emilio

Aguinaldo persuaded Aglipay to divert his energies to the cause of the people.Aguinaldo played a game in which Aglipay was the pawn. They commissioned Aglipay to confer with revolutionary leaders, particularly with Mariano Trias, Artemio Ricarte and Emiliano Riego de Dios, in order to bring them back to the Spanish side. The bait to win them over to their side was the promise of autonomy. Apolinario Mabini, riding on the crest of the popular nationalistic movement, suggested the founding of a Filipino National Church. Though unsuccessful owing to war conditions, his idea laid the groundwork of the later Philippine to a great extent the story of the struggle of the Filipino clergy to Filipinize the Catholic Church in the Philippines.