via ABS-CBN News, 01 July 2021: For those interested in historical Philippine church architecture.
If you are to ask Richard Tuason-Sanchez Bautista, one can tell which religious order built a Philippine church just by observing its architectural nuances. This was the topic of his Intramuros Learning Sessions webinar last June 24.
Called “Istilong Prayle: Architectural Character of the Five Colonial Orders in the Philippines- As observed,” it was an exploratory discussion on how five colonial religious orders in the Philippines — Augustinians, Franciscans, Jesuits, Dominicans, and the Recollects—built their churches following their own architectural characteristics.
The emphasis of Bautista’s research was pure observation. In his presentation, he talked exclusively about churches that were not altered and were built during the Spanish Colonial period. His motivation for exploring this subject was a rather careless observation from a colleague: that the architectural design of the five orders didn’t have any distinctive styles hence there’s not much to discuss about each of these churches other than their history. According to Bautista, the statement provoked him because he’s long observed that there is a pattern among these Philippine churches.
Bautista is a licensed architect from the University of Santo Tomas and previously the in-house architect of the Heritage Sites Office of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts. His division used to oversee churches officially declared National Cultural Treasures.
The five religious orders were named after the saint they were devoted to, said Bautista, and the churches were likewise named following this train of thought. He said that if ever one finds himself wondering what church belongs to which order, there are tell-tale signs one can look out for.
