INC Central Temple

INC Central Temple also known as Templo Central is the largest and the most recognizable house of worship of Iglesia ni Cristo (Church of Christ) in the world it is also the world’s third largest church and Asia's largest ever built church.

The Iglesiani Cristo employing a workforce of 1,300,finished the Central temple in two years, utilizing more than 800,000 board feet of lumber, 3,677 tons of steel, 178,300 board feet of first class mahogany, 126,765 bags of cement, 1,095 square meters of stained glass, and 3,527 square meters of glass mosaic tiles.
This fully air-conditioned temple is in itself a veritable gallery of art that befits an important landmark in a modern mold of Philippine Artville.
The temple is principally designed by Carlos Antonio Santos- Viola, he is best known for designing and building churches, Santos-Viola was one of the very first graduates of the College of Architecture of the University of Santo Tomas in 1935.
The Central Temple dedicated by the late Executive Minister Erano G. Manalo on July 27 1984 as a major feature in the celebration of the Church’s 70th anniversary. It is a crown jewel of Iglesiani Cristoarchitecture, is first and foremost the house of the Lord a holy place built for honor and glory of God and belief inside its sacred halls, that the faithful shall ever dwell not only as congregation gathering to worship.
Central Temple characterized by simples, elegant lines and towering spires pointing towards the heavens and seemingly reaching for the heavens, these structure manifest the Church’s dedication to building edifices and become landmark that serve as a monument of faith. Central Temple uniquely designed which inspired by Neo-Gothic architecture, these mega structure continues to leave one awestruck by its imposing brilliance and un-ignorable majesty.
A Japanese architect was driving in Quezon City and saw the Central Temple says “It’s like a jewel sparkling in the sun. …I have traveled to many places, but I have not seen anything like it”.

Architectural and Details
Central Temple is the Iglesia ni Cristo's main house of worship. It is a part of the Iglesia ni Cristo Central Office complex which is a large, secured complex nearly the size of St. Peter’s Basilica. The Central
The Temple is the centerpiece of the INC’s headquarters which occupies a large tract of land located on Commonwealth Avenue, New Era, Quezon City, Philippines, just north of U.P. Diliman. Temple can hold less than 40,000 worshipers. Temple consists of eight main areas where worship services can be held, the Main Hall located in the center of the building, has a total seating capacity of approximately 3,000: Main Nave, 1652; Balcony, 720; Choir Loft, 200; Nursery, 104; Side Chapels, (east and west wings) have a combined seating capacity of 1,931; Sanctuary which can seat a total of a little less than 2,000 faithfuls and the largest Central Pavilion that has 30,000 seat. The coffering of this Main Hall, which is festooned with five crystal chandeliers dangling from the ceiling, catalogues a luxurious blend of craftsmanship. Observe at close range the horizontal lines provided by the neat rows of upholstered sets and the arabesque of geometric swags punctuate an inspiring chemistry of lines and forms. The center chandelier alone – 5.5 metres (18.04 ft) in width and 6.5 metres (21.32 ft) in height – is an awesome pendant luminaire that cannot escape one’s shrewd eye sight.
The 200-seater main Choir loft, equipped with a Hammond electric organ hymnal page indicator and in the back wall of the loft it has a huge wide LCD TV. The area is brightened up by well-appointed sunburst, sending its golden ebullience against the muted subtlety of its hand-carved ring of stained mahogany. And with added glitter from circular incandescent lamps, dotting
the girth of the sunburst against the grayish ceiling, the area is toned with sweeping vitality. The glass enclosed observation rooms are fully air-conditioned and equipped with translator equipment intended for foreign members and visitors who are not at ease with the local language, and dignitaries as well who are invited during special occasions. Reflecting the various sections of the Main Hall, the observation rooms are elaborately bedecked with fret patterns of polished mahogany that suggest an atmosphere of ethical seriousness. Ornate wood carvings stamp the doors of the wing chapels. Rich in decorative acoustic materials, the impressive effect of running vignettes in the in the background blend well with the strong lines of row seats in the foreground. The Choir Lofts of the side chapels, which can seat 42 choristers each, are garnished with distinguished blind arcade replete with ogee arches.
The Nursery Room, which can hold over a hundred people during worship services, is a glass-en-cased, fully-air conditioned area with deep mahogany finish punctuated by ivy motif.
Another worship area, located at the ground floor of the building, is the Sanctuary. It serves as a holding area in the event of an overflow in the Main Hall from which the service will be transmitted through a video circuit installed down in area on such eventualities. A colonnaded area, the Sanctuary teems with continuous rows of proto-doric columns embellished with vertical golden strips. It has also a built-in Baptistery Pool that can accommodate roughly 600 converts. Another impressive piece of handiwork within the Sanctuary is the chandelier with its resplendent beam that mixes with the beautiful details of its classical floral base fraught with geometric tracery.
The main entrance to the temple is through the escutcheoned breakfront door that leads to the Sanctuary. The marbled vestibule and slightly elevated floor level are easy focal points for entrants to this propylaeum. To reach the Main Hall, one has to ascend to solid newel stair house inside the front towers or via the elevators.
The Central Temple’s towers, finials and spires are the identifying external marks of the structure. The distinctly embody the character of a house of worship similar to period style of architectures where ancient churches were adorned with belfries. The finials and fenestrations were adopted to create Gothic impressions that are regarded as the most fitting religious art.
There are six major towers and 22 spires that crest the rooftop of the Central Temple. The most prominent of these is the middle tower that has a rounded terrace where you can see the panoramic view of the whole Metro Manila. This middle tower, with a diameter of 10.15 metres (33.30 ft), constitutes the tallest point of the building – a height of 86.97 metres (285.36 ft) from the ground.
A bit lower but larger in diameter, are the east and west wing towers – each measuring 12.01 metres (39.40 ft) in diameter – the rise from the hexagonal top of the side chapels. The two octagonal front towers sand proudly upright keeping their guard on the majestic façade of the temple.
The Central Temple covers some 11,760.03 square meters of the promontory ground of the Church’s 10 hectare property. The Central Temple is virtually visible within a 10-kilometer radius – an eye catching architectural paragon in its own right!
Following land topography, a Gallery Building to make full use of the low-lying area of the property. The Gallery, on the other hand, keeps the Church’s historical paraphernalia and crafted dioramas that chronologize the stages of the Iglesia ni Cristo.
An author wrote “viewed from above, the Central Temple takes the visual form of an eagle with the dominant resembling effect of the side chapels and the shape of its wings and head, respectively.” At night, the whole structure is illuminated by an exterior lighting system made up of high-powered sodium lamps that emit a well-distributed amber color. Since its completion and dedication to God, the Central Temple today remains as beautiful and magnificent as ever, well-preserved through the years. For almost 3 decades the temple has borne witness to various events in recent Church’s history.