Jan 03 2012
A Church with a Cemetery
This is the fourth post of a series of articles about the great and beautiful churches of Bohol. Its old parishes were established by the Jesuits and taken over by the Augustinian-Recollects when the Society was suppressed in the mid-18th century. Although it is now a separate island province southeast of Cebu, it practically shares the same language, culture and values as the Cebuanos.
Interior of Dimiao church.
Continuing further east we arrived at the church of San Nicolás de Tolentino in Dimiao. Built in the mid 19th-century, the church has a bit of a similarity with Loon because of the twin belfries that are attached to both sides of the facade. The neo-classical facade however is simpler although the decorative pilasters are embellished with floral relieves.
Unlike the previous churches, Dimiao’s interior looks bright probably because of its whitewashed walls. The ceiling has frescoes which feature decorative motifs rather than biblical scenes. The sanctuary has baroque wooden retablos painted in dark brown giving it a somewhat natural look. The pulpit at the Epistle side also sports a dark brown shade with the carved decorative relieves accented in gold.
The choir loft contains a large pipe organ that again looks similar to Loon. The pipes however are missing although the internal parts are virtually intact according to an expert thus it is easily restorable as long as funds are readily available. Also at the choir loft is a narrow spiralling flight of staircase that leads to the top of the southern belfry where a huge bell dedicated to San Nicolás de Tolentino hangs.
Beside Dimiao church is a cemetery that was built in 1800. The honeycomb niches (above) form part of the cemetery’s stone wall enclosure.
Outside the church, just a few meters from the Epistle side, is an enclosed cemetery which was built in 1800 and completed in 1815. The honeycomb niches of the cemetery itself form part of the stone enclosure. At the middle are the ruins of what looks like the mortuary chapel. This cemetery however was never fully used since there were no corpses interred in the burial chambers. The theory is that when the cemetery was completed an order from the parish priest banning burials near the church for sanitary purposes had already taken into effect.
From Dimiao we proceeded to the church of San Miguel Arcángel in Jagna, the last church that we visited in this coastal part of the province before heading to the interior going back to Baclayon passing by the majestic Chocolate Hills in Carmen and the San Pedro y San Pablo Church in Loboc.
A stone stairway at the back of a belfry in Dimiao.
Jump off Point to Camiguin
Just like the cathedral of Tagbilaran, the exterior of the San Miguel Arcángel Church is disappointingly modern. Cement has been generously plastered to the stone walls and painted with a light yellow color. The church faces the sea and on a clear sunny day it is said that one of the volcanoes of Camiguin Island in Mindanao is visible. Jagna actually serves as a jump-off point to Camiguin and a fastcraft plies the route from its port.
Jagna interior.
The interior of the church looks stunning however. The ceiling boasts of frescoes depicting various biblical scenes. The dome of the crossing in particular bears painted scenes of the Seven Sacraments. The sanctuary contains magnificent wooden retablos in baroque-rococo style. The retablos and the images of saints that are enshrined in it have actually been recently repainted since the smell of paint was still lucrid. Nevertheless it still looks charming in its “Bohol” colors.
We were now heading north towards the interior of Bohol passing by dirt roads and densely forested areas. A few minutes of a bumpy ride took us to a paved road going to Carmen and then to Bohol’s famous attraction, the Chocolate Hills. We made a brief stopover at the viewing deck in Carmen to appreciate this unusual geological formation after which we headed to the church of San Pedro y San Apostol in Loboc.
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