Cosmopolitan Church

File:Cosmopolitan Church NHCP Historical Marker.jpg historical marker installed in 2005]]

The Cosmopolitan Church's establishment traces back to the 1930s when 60 members of the Central Methodist Church on Kalaw Street, Ermita, Manila seceded from the American Methodist Episcopal Church in March 1933. The secession was led by Rev. Cipriano Navarro, Dr. Melquiades Gamboa, and Rev. Samuel Stagg, who were instrumental to the creation of the Philippine Methodist Episcopal Church which in turn led to the establishment of the Cosmopolitan Student Church.{{cite web|title=History - Our Beginnings|url=http://thecosmopolitanchurch.org/history/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304052528/http://thecosmopolitanchurch.org/history/|archive-date=March 4, 2016|website=Cosmopolitan Church|accessdate=June 30, 2015}}

The Cosmopolitan Church building was established in 1936. During the Japanese occupation of the Philippines in World War II from 1942 to 1944, the building was used as a base of operations by church members who joined the anti-Japanese guerrilla resistance. The building was eventually seized by Japanese forces in September 1944. It was rebuilt in 1945 after the building, along with many parts of the city, were razed and bombed in the Battle of Manila.{{Cite sign |title=Cosmopolitan Church |year=2005 |type=Plaque outside building|publisher=Philippine National Historical Institute |location=At the entrance of Cosmopolitan Church in Manila}}

In 1948, Cosmopolitan Church, then under the Philippine Methodist Church, became part of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines.

In 1975, then-Pastor Círilo A. Rigos, along with Senator Jovito Salonga, organized the Paglingap Ministry to Political Detainees, which interceded for the release of political prisoners, and offered financial aid to their families during the dictatorship of then-President Ferdinand Marcos and his imposition of Martial Law. Over 90 detainees were freed through the effort of Rigos and Salonga's organization after five years.{{Cite web|url=http://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/iq/79963-timeline-life-jovito-salonga|title = The life, love and struggles of Jovito Salonga}}

In 2012, some members of Cosmopolitan Church, led by the-Pastor Phoebe Dacanay, disaffiliated from the UCCP.

File:Cosmopolitan Church 03.jpg

The church currently occupies a four-story building called Rigos Hall. It was named after Martial Law-era pastor Dr. Círilo A. Rigos on May 15, 1996.{{Cite sign |title=Rigos Hall |date=June 24, 1996 |type=Marker inside building|publisher=Cosmopolitan Church |location=Lobby of the Cosmopolitan Church in Manila}} The naming was an effect of the ratification of a Special Church Council Resolution.

The Mary Boyd Stagg Memorial Sanctuary inside Rigos Hall is the main worship space for the church. In 1999, eight stained glass panels of stained glass were installed in the Sanctuary as part of the church’s 66th anniversary celebrations.{{Cite sign |title=Thanksgiving Marker |date=March 21, 1996 |type=Marker inside building|publisher=Cosmopolitan Church |location=Mary Boyd Stagg Memorial Sanctuary, Cosmopolitan Church in Manila}}

The Angela Valdez Ramos Memorial Chapel within church grounds was dedicated on January 6, 1978, in memory of Angela Valdez-Ramos (mother of President Fidel V. Ramos), for her role in the church's Sunday school.{{Cite sign |title=The Angela Valdez Ramos Memorial Chapel |date=January 6, 1978 |type=Marker inside building|publisher=Cosmopolitan Church |location=Angela Valdez Ramos Memorial Chapel}} The Founder's Garden, is a courtyard located between the Chapel and the Memorial Sanctuary.{{Cite sign |title=Founder's Garden |date=n.d. |type=Marker|publisher=Cosmopolitan Church |location=Founder's Garden}}

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• [http://www.uccpcosmopolitanchurch.org/ UCCP Cosmopolitan Church Official Website]

Category:Churches in Manila

Category:Buildings and structures in Ermita

Category:Cultural Properties of the Philippines in Metro Manila