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The United Evangelical Church of Christ (Spanish: Iglesia Evangelica Unida de Cristo) ; commonly the Unida Church, Unida Christian ChurchorUnida Evangelical Church) is an evangelical Protestant denomination in the Philippines founded in 1932.
| United Evangelical Church of Christ | |
|---|---|
| Iglesia Evangelica Unida de Cristo | |
Church logo
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| Classification | Protestant |
| Orientation | Evangelicalism |
| Polity | Unida |
| General Superintentent | Rev. Richard Buenaventura |
| Associations | World Communion of Reformed Churches |
| Region | Philippines |
| Language | Filipino and English |
| Founder | Don Toribio Teodoro |
| Origin | January 3, 1932 Manila Grand Opera House, Manila, Philippines |
| Merger of | Iglesia Christiana Trinitaria Iglesia Evangelica de Atlag Iglesia Evangelica de los Christianos Filipinos Iglesia Evangelica Metodista Reformada La Iglesia de Dios La Iglesia de Jesu-Cristo, "Jerusalem Nueva" |
| Separations | Iglesia Unida Ekyumenikal (1995) |
| Congregations | 82 local churches 60 mission churches |
| Members | 25,000 |
| Tertiary institutions | 2
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The Church formed from the merger of six Filipino evangelical groups of Presbyterian and Methodist background, who met in Manila through the invitation of Don Toribio Teodoro, a layman and industrialist who was a member of the Iglesia Evangelica de los Cristianos Filipinos (Evangelical Church of the Filipino Christians). A church union was declared on 3 January 1932 at the Manila Grand Opera House.[1]
In May 2012, Unida Church celebrated its 80th founding anniversary at the Cuneta Astrodome.
The denomination has since grown to 25,000 members in some 82 congregations and 60 mission churches, with churches concentrated in Metro Manila, Southern Tagalog, Bulacan, and the Bicolandia; several congregations in the Northern Philippines, Visayas and Mindanao; and overseas congregations in Canada and Qatar.
The church is a member of the World Communion of Reformed Churches.[2] The Temple and Main Office of the UNIDA Church, known as the Unida Christian Center, is located at Silang, Cavite, Philippines.