Author Topic: DATING THE CORTES CHURCH  (Read 1758 times)

apothecary

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DATING THE CORTES CHURCH
« on: January 06, 2009, 10:37:27 AM »
DOBLE CARA
CORTES Church, no doubt is a century, if not centuries old structure. I may start a heated debate by saying that. The truth is, I haven’t found somebody who can authoritatively say or tell how old the church is.
Too bad, none of our older generations could actually leave to the living the exact date of the structure.   
Over this, let me attempt a wild theory.
 
There are about two clues as to the dates of the existing structure. One is a date carved on top of the center arch of the outer façade of the church, the other one above the center arch at the baptistry entrance.
 

The first date, 1896 is displayed prominently at the façade. The other date, 1892 is carved on the head of the arch at the baptistry entrance on the epistle side of the church.
Would the date on the entrance arch correspond to the beginning of the year when the cornerstones of the church were laid out? Or would it simply signify the time when the whole church was “completed”? (Completed is placed in quotation marks because by all indications, Cortes Church is not yet finished!)
Again, the stone member of the arch shows 1896.
But the baptistry, which is obviously a newer structure than the whole fabric of the main church is dated 1892.
 
Question, would builders build first a baptistery before finishing the body of the church upon which the entrance to the baptistery becomes part?
Going back to the date atop the main arch at the entrance of the first face of the church, it indeed is a later addition, and when this porch or portico façade was completed, the date was carved. 1896.
Proof?
The “lobby” of the puerta mayor feature false arches flanking the massive double doors.

 
The false arches also feature carved details of what is unmistakably baroque designs following the arch. Two square columns with designs carved in stone also flank the double doors.
The porch is a wide space with adobe tiles, some traces of the Moroccan blue (muslim tiles) can be seen. The space does not have a ceiling. This may be another proof that the church is not really completed.
And then as you take a look at the entirety of the puerta mayor, you will be asking the same question. This is already a complete face of the church, why was this not exposed?
If that were the real face of the church, the building would be aligned to the campanario, and that would make sense.
 
In other words, why would the builders make the false arches beside the main door when, in the end, it would be ultimately covered by the porch?
The answer lies in my personal belief that the two false arches flanking the main door may indeed be the true face of the church. And the campanario, at one time was in line with the main structure. And the date? Well, this may be before the Augustinian Recollects that is, before 1768.
How did I know that? This.

 
The inscription JHS with a cross and a crown is a basic Jesuit symbol. Would the Augustinian Recollects who came later allow the Jesuit inscription to be placed on top of the puerta mayor? No way, they’d rather put theirs on it.   
To prove my point, go outside and take a look at the stone formation that may be the old fabric of the older structure.
 
The above picture is taken from the epistle side. (ANDAS) Notice the black moss sticking to the old coral stones? The moss is indeed interestingly taking a line, right?
Now, look at the gospel side where the campanario is located.
At the side of the campanario, or at the side of the “Andas”, there you will notice that telltale sign of the portico façade as a later addition of the church!
 
Now, you will ask, why DOBLE CARA?
That is because the “centuries old” church bearing 1896 is just a date carved out after whoever thought of adding that portico façade. The date may coincide with the completion of that addition to that old church!
Why the addition, you would ask?
Because granting that even if our church was built during the early time of the Augustinian Recollects, and that should be after 1768, the people who built it may have copied the design from its mother parish, not Maribojoc, but Baclayon or Loboc.
 
And why would Baclayon and Loboc churches display two faces or doble caras?
 
Remember, Baclayon was built by the Jesuits, and so was Loboc.
Building the old Baclayon Church was started in 1596, a year after the first Jesuit missionaries Fray Juan de Torres and Gabriel Sanchez came.
When the Jesuits started to build, they want to be always reminded of home, in their case, modern Europe. To keep that, they attempted to make a European building by copying the arts there and bring these images nearby. The art and the architecture: baroque.
Baroque art is characterized by the profuse use of flowery designs which represent movements. Take a look at the altar inside the church. That is baroque, in my calculations, mid to late 17th century!
 
In Baclayon, while the Jesuit planners were building the church, piratical raids keep them from focusing on the construction. The same raids later forced the Jesuit builders of Baclayon to seek for another place where they would not be caught unaware. The Baclayon project was ultimately abandoned.
By 1602, the Jesuits formally resettled in Loboc, away from the raiders who devastated coastal settlements.
In Loboc, the Jesuits started another Church, which later got burned. From the fabric of that burnt building, they built the convent, while relocating the new church to its new location where it is now.     
Like Baclayon, the new church, with double towers, feature two similar false arches flanking the puerta mayor.
 
When peace reigned in Bohol by the early 17th century, the Jesuits went back to administer the settlement in Baclayon and completed the unfinished church and the watchtower in 1725 or 1727.
The art and architecture of these two 16th century churches are unmistakably baroque.
But, politics rocked the universal church. Jesuit popularity was resented by competing Augustinian Recollects. At one time, the Recollects succeeded to convince the pope to expel the Jesuits from all their missions all over the world in the 1760’s.
By 1768, the Augustinian Recollects have reclaimed the Jesuit missions and replaced the frayles in missionaries the mission areas.
But when they came, they were disappointed, even frantic. The Jesuits left their marks in the baroque architecture.
 
To hide these images, especially in the façade of the old churches, the Recollects did the unthinkable. They added portico facades to hide the Jesuit baroque art in the face of these structures.
The addition, to be an extension of the churches would be covered with roof, effectively making the haunting image of the Jesuit church be lost under a roofed portico facade.
The Augustinian Recollects then built massive tres arcos and two side arcos with equally massive posts like what we also see in Baclayon, Loboc and yes, Cortes.
 
Thus the churches of the old Jesuit regime bears double faces or DOBLE CARAS: an inner face which is truly Jesuit and an outer face that is also unmistakably Augustinian Recollect.
Now why would Cortes Church, a church later established, by Augustinians be exhibiting that doble cara?
And why would the Augustinian missionaries doing the visita from Maribojoc not insist on a single façade like “mother parish” Maribojoc?
 
The answer may be because the Recollects may have found the people insisting that they copy their mother church, not Maribojoc, but Baclayon and Loboc.
In fact, because perhaps the residents of Malabago could never forget the influence left by the Jesuits, they insisted that the church art be baroque!
 
In short, the Augustinian Recollect missionaries could not that easily dictate the residents to build a structure like what they have in their Recollect plans.
 
And because the residents of Malabago de Paminguitan were descendants of tough men who fought it out and hard against Spanish soldiers in quelling the Tamblot in Tupas, they know too well not to insist.
So, that is what these people are. Renegados.
In fact, the missionaries could not even force the people to get that fancy “SPANISH SOUNDING NAMES”
Think of the Concons, Hubacs, Ocons, Tambis, Nguhos, Pilongos, Agtas, Balates, Pahacs, Boctotos and the funny native sounding names as the first and real renegados.
It is just that the Spaniards could not call them such in the face.
Because if they had done so, you could just imagine the consequences.



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"If you can't convince them, confuse them."

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Lorenzo

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Re: DATING THE CORTES CHURCH
« Reply #1 on: January 06, 2009, 10:55:52 AM »
What a great find. Thank you for sharing this, apothecary.

Please, sir, more..

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apothecary

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Re: DATING THE CORTES CHURCH
« Reply #2 on: January 06, 2009, 11:02:40 AM »
Bay, the article goes with visuals, i just do not know how to insert them within the article. if it could be done like what we did with cortesanon.com, it would even come out better seguro


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Re: DATING THE CORTES CHURCH
« Reply #3 on: January 06, 2009, 12:32:23 PM »
kataas sa post apothecary! your from cortes diay? kaila kang melissa alderite?

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:-)

apothecary

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Re: DATING THE CORTES CHURCH
« Reply #4 on: January 06, 2009, 09:08:02 PM »
yup, i happen to know her, schoolmate mi sa IKA. Shes in Cortes now, though shes working now in the UK.


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Re: DATING THE CORTES CHURCH
« Reply #5 on: January 07, 2009, 01:25:33 PM »
:-)

apothecary

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Re: DATING THE CORTES CHURCH
« Reply #6 on: January 23, 2009, 11:19:47 AM »
Infant King Academy Bay, private catholic school sa Cortes under sa Bohol Association of Catholic Schools 1 Tagbilaran.



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Re: DATING THE CORTES CHURCH
« Reply #7 on: January 23, 2009, 02:32:24 PM »
:-)

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