BACLAYON CHURCH is the second oldest* “still operational” church in the entire Philippines according to Ben. Ben was our tour guide and driver during our one-day Bohol Island Tour on Valentine’s Day. I am yet to confirm the veracity of Ben’s claim. Quite frankly I have no reason to doubt Ben. He does guided tours in Bohol for a living and he seems to know his history. So I think I’ll leave it at that, at least for now.
I like visiting churches. The older the church the better. So when Ben told us that Baclayon Church is THE second oldest church in the Philippines I knew there’s no way we’d skip it in our itinerary.
Churches give me a feeling of being protected. I feel at peace and secure in and around a church. There’s really nothing surprising about that. After all a Church, being the House of God, is a holy place so peace should naturally inhabit it. The feeling of being protected when in or around a church is no mystery either. It comes from two sources, one spiritual and the other historical.
Historically churches have always been a place of refuge. In the olden days, townsfolk retreat to their churches whenever there was a threat from marauding pirates attacking from the sea. Baclayon Church have been a refuge to the people in its surrounding communities for several centuries. Today it continues to offer refuge to the weary visitors’ souls.
* – If Baclayon Church is the second oldest “still operational” church in the Philippines, then which one is THE oldest? According to Ben it is San Agustin Church in Intramuros, Manila. That information came to me as a big surprise. Big enough to have tickled my curiosity. I guess I will have to check on Ben’s claims after all.
