By Renacimiento Manila
05 July 2020
The San Agustin Church in Intramuros, Manila is part of the four baroque churches of the Philippines collectively inscribed in UNESCO’s World Heritage List. According to UNESCO, the four baroque churches of the Philippines represent the fusion of European church design and construction using local materials and decorative motifs to form a new church-building tradition (criterion ii); and that this group of churches established a style of building and design that was adapted to the physical conditions in the Philippines which had an important influence on later church architecture in the region (criterion iv).
The present San Agustin Church is the fourth structure on site, superseding the first (1571-1574), second (1575-1583), and third (1583-1586) earlier Augustinian churches. This fourth church was constructed from 1587 to 1607 following the design of Juan Macias and under the auspices of the friars of the Order of St. Augustine who dedicated it to St. Paul the Apostle.
The church originally featured two bell-towers, but eventually ended up with only its right tower after heavy damages from the 1863 and 1880 earthquakes. It survived the Second World War, and with the destruction of Manila’s Cathedral church, it gained the parish seat dedicated to the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary. It is currently the oldest extant intact stone church in the Philippines, and was subsequently inscribed in UNESCO’s World Heritage List by the World Heritage Committee in 1993. It is a parish church, and at the same time an Archdiocesan Shrine dedicated to the Virgin Mary under the title of Nuestra Señora de Consolación y Corre, a major patroness of the friars of the Augustinian Order.
The Church is commonly known as the San Agustin Church. However, it holds three more names, albeit less known: first as the St. Paul Church, since it is dedicated to St. Paul the Apostle; second as the Immaculate Conception Parish Church, being the parish seat of the Intramuros area since the Second World War; and third as the Archdiocesan Shrine of Nuestra Señora de Consolación y Correa.
The San Agustin Church’s age from the time of its completion in 1607 is sometimes difficult to appreciate. This year it’s already 413 years old. What does the figure 413 mean? One can think of it either as a century multiplied by four plus 13, or in terms of number of generations which could mean a lot depending on how one counts. Another way of doing it, however, is by association or comparison. San Agustin Church is the oldest extant stone church in this side of the world, and a great way of appreciating its longevity while understanding its history is by comparing its age with other known landmarks and sites of the world.
So what are the other famous world landmarks that are younger than the San Agustin Church?
The Blue Mosque, Istanbul (1616)
The Sultan Ahmed Mosque (Sultan Ahmet Camii), known also as the “Blue Mosque,” was built between 1609 and 1616 during the rule of Ahmed I. Beside being a tourist site, it is also an active mosque as well. The complex contains Ahmed’s tomb, a madrasah, and a hospice. Hand-painted blue tiles adorn the mosque’s interior walls, and at night the mosque is bathed in blue as lights frame the mosque’s five main domes, six minarets and eight secondary domes. The Blue Mosque sits next to the Hagia Sophia, another popular tourist site.
University of Santo Tomas, Manila (1611)
The University of Santo Tomas was established in Intramuros in 1611 as the Colegio de Nuestra Señora de Santisimo Rosario. It was raised to the status of a university by Pope Innocent X in 1645. Over the years it was graced and ennobled by several titles such as “Royal” by King Charles III of Spain, 1785; “Pontifical” by Pope Leo XIII, 1902; and “Catholic University of the Philippines” by Pope Pius XII, 1947. The school campus in Intramuros was subsequently destroyed during the Second World War, and has since then fully moved to its new campus in Sampaloc, Manila.
The Palace of Versailles, France (1624)
The Palace of Versailles started as a hunting lodge under King Louis XIII in 1624. Under the reign of Louis XIV, the residence was transformed into one of the largest palace complexes in the world. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the palace was the center of the French court, and was considered as one of the grandest theatres of European absolutism.
Completion of the St. Peters Basilica, Rome (1626)
It took more than a hundred years to build the St. Peters Basilica in Rome. The construction broke ground in 1506 under Pope Julius II and was only completed in 1615 under Pope Paul V. By the time it was completed, the San Agustin Church in Intramuros was already existing for several years already.
The Taj Mahal, Agra (1653)
The Taj Mahal was commissioned in 1632 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan (reigned from 1628 to 1658) to house the tomb of his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. The building was completed in 1653.
Potala Palace, Tibet (1645)
The Potala Palace is an immense religious and administrative complex in Lhasa, Tibet, and is situated atop the Marpori Mountain, 130 meters above the Lhasa River Valley. It once served as the seat of the Tibetan government and the main residence of the Dalai Lama. Constructed in 1645 by the fifth Dalai Lama, the complex is now a World Heritage Site.
The Hall of Supreme Harmony, Forbidden City Beijing (1695)
The Hall of Supreme Harmony is the center of the Forbidden City in Beijing, China. It boasts as being the largest building in the palace complex, as well as the largest wooden structure from Imperial China. In the Ming dynasty, the Emperor held court here to discuss affairs of state. During the Qing dynasty, as Emperors held court far more frequently, a less ceremonious location was used instead, and the Hall of Supreme Harmony was only used for ceremonial purposes, such as coronations, investitures, and imperial weddings. First built in 1420 during the reign of the Yongle emperor of the Ming dynasty, the hall was destroyed by fire and rebuilt four times in its long history. The final reconstruction took place in 1695 during the reign of the Kang Xi Emperor of the Qing dynasty.
St. Paul’s Cathedral, London (1710)
The present St. Paul’s Cathedral, known officially as the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, was built to replace the previous cathedral structure destroyed by fire in 1666. The cathedral was built between 1675 and 1710 following the design of Christopher Wren. It is notable for combining gothic, baroque, and neoclassical elements, and is at present the seat of the Anglican Diocese of London.
The Ifugao Rice Terraces (17th Century)
It is commonly believed the Rice Terraces in Ifugao is more than 2,000 years old. However, a group of leading scientists, archeologists, and anthropologists from UCLA has presented evidence disputing this long-held belief. Firstly, the 2,000 year old dating was merely the product of guesswork and was devoid of science. The original proponent, Henry Otley Beyer, came up with their guesswork by speculating how long it would have taken the Ifugao to construct the terraces. Secondly, it was concluded and verified by historical sources and radiocarbon data that the construction of the Rice Terraces was actually a direct response to Spanish colonization when the local population was forced to go up and settle in the highlands to escape the Spaniards. A more detailed explanation may be read at bit. ly /2Zas9sH. It is difficult to set the construction of the Rice Terraces at a specific date or year, but it is interesting to note that by the time of its first appearance as a consequence of colonialism, the San Agustin Church in Manila already existed.
The Alamo Mission, Texas (1744)
Alamo is an 18th-century Franciscan mission in San Antonio, Texas, U.S., that was the site of a historic resistance effort by a small group of determined fighters for Texan independence (1836) from Mexico. The building was originally the chapel of the Mission San Antonio de Valero, which had been founded between 1716 and 1718 by Franciscans. Before the end of the century, the mission had been abandoned and the buildings fell into partial ruin. Today, the Alamo is one of Texas’ most popular historical destinations, as well as one of the oldest structures in mainland United States.
The Grand Palace, Bangkok (1782)
The construction of the palace started in 1782 under King Phutthayotfa Chulalok (Rama I). Having seized the crown from King Taksin of Thonburi, King Rama I was intent on building a capital city for his new Chakri Dynasty. He moved the seat of power from the city of Thonburi, on the west side of the Chao Phraya River, to the east side at Bangkok.
References
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