Jan 03 2012
Church by the River
This is the fifth and last 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.
Loboc’s intricately-carved side-altar retablos and pulpit.
The church of San Pedro y San Apostol majestically stands beside the Loboc River. It is a fairly large church accented with buttresses at both its Gospel and Epistle sides and carved-relieves at the exterior wall of both transepts. Uniquely attached to the back of the church is a three-storey rectory, one of the very few of its kind in the entire country. A part of the rectory houses the church museum. The belfry stands very near the river, a distance away from the church.
The church was completed in 1734 by the Jesuits and was taken over by the Augustinian-Recollects when the Society was suppressed. It is the second oldest stone church in Bohol. As usual, the Recollects added a porticoed facade in front of the original and even went beyond by chipping off some Jesuit relieves found at the exterior wall. Were they trying to erase Jesuit memory or were they simply introducing Augustinian devotions? The carvings however were not replaced with newer ones so we are left to speculate.
It was already getting late in the afternoon that we had to negotiate with some altar boys in order for us to be accommodated inside the church, at least for a while in order to pray and to take some pictures. When permission was granted, we entered the church through a door at the sacristy.
The interior is perhaps one of the best that I have seen in Bohol. The side-altar retablos are in full baroque-rococo splendor. The pulpit attached to the Epistle side has a cupola decorated with pinnacles. The ceiling frescoes depicting some biblical scenes are still intact. At the choir loft is a pipe organ that has been restored just like in Baclayon and Loay.
I was not really able to appreciate much of this magnificent structure as it was already getting dark and our presence was actually a bit unwanted since the church was already closed. I am planning however to go back to this church to shoot better photos and explore more.
Stunning ceiling frescoes in Dauis church, the country’s very own Sistine Chapel.
Coffered Ceiling
We were now on our third and last day in Bohol so we decided to head to Panglao Island just off the coast of Tagbilaran. It was not too far and the distance was just kind of like Mactan Island from mainland Cebu. The island is connected to the mainland by a causeway and right from the approach of this bridge one can already see the towering neo-gothic belfry of the Nuestra Señora de la Asuncion church in Dauis.
The church is actually a mixture of styles with the upper part of the facade in Greek-revival, the portico in the lower part in Romanesque style, and the belfry, as mentioned earlier, in neo-gothic style. Nevertheless, the fusion of various forms makes this church charming enough and a bit enigmatic.
Facade of Dauis church.
Entering the interior will make one’s jaw drop in amazement. Being one of the last two churches in our itinerary, I can very much say that the ceiling frescoes are simply the best and the finest that I have seen in our entire sojourn to Bohol. A product of three masters during the pre-war years – Rey Francia, Canuto Avila, and Lito Arcaya – the frescoes cannot be compared with anything else in the province.
The ceiling over the main nave and the side-aisles are artesonado or coffered and accented with painted floral motifs that give the illusion of it being carved directly from wood. Surely this can rival with some of the best painted ceilings in Europe. Remarkably, the interior of Dauis church is very much well-preserved and unlike in the previous churches where you can see certain parts of the frescoes fading off or certain parts of the ceiling starting to show signs of decay, Dauis’ was different in that it seems like the job was just done yesterday. Pretty much intact indeed and so stunning that no amount of words can really describe it.
A skillfully-rendered ceiling awaits visitors to Dauis church.
The plan of the church is quite complicated and seems to be a deviation from the usual cruciform type of layout. For example, the walls at the transepts are diagonal and on both sides of the sanctuary are hallways that lead to side-altar retablos and then to the sacristy at the back. At any rate, the interior is pretty much well-lit thanks to the high ceiling that gives the interior a basilica-like look. If there’s one church in Rome that pops into my mind on seeing Dauis it would be the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls.
Our last stop, the church of San Agustin in a town named after the island itself, was like the dessert after having eaten the main course of the meal. It is pretty much a simple church with a modern facade albeit with a worn interior with charming wooden retablos and ceiling frescoes needing a little bit of restoration. Just within the church plaza are the ruins of an earlier church and near the seashore at the back of the existing church is a towering belfry at four levels high. Its type of construction strongly suggests that it predates the existing church and may very well have been constructed around the same period as the ruins. Having an advantage near the coast, it may have doubled as a watchtower too.
Interior of Panglao church.
There is still so much to discover in Bohol but our time was limited. The twelve churches that we visited were more than enough to convince me that Bohol is indeed the heritage church capital of the Philippines. Such churches, some of which are in pristine condition, serve as an eye-opener for us to do our share in protecting our own heritage. Some may view such churches as symbols of a horrid past under the imperialistic yoke of a colonial regime but I simply view it as the masterpieces of our ancestors who toiled all day with their hands in sweat and blood just to glorify God – and art itself.
How many still knows how to carve intricately in stone today? How many still knows how to build magnificent stone temples that can withstand time? How many can still build those huge stone arches that rise a few hundred feet from the ground without the support of steel rebars? Even with our modern technology and expertise it would still entail difficulty as no one already knows how to replicate the technique mastered by our forefathers. These stone churches are our heritage; they are our blueprints for the future. They deserve to be protected and appreciated.
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