Toribio Sabandija Quimada (April 27, 1917- May 23, 1988) was a Filipino religious leader and the founder of the

Unitarian Universalist Church of the Philippines The Unitarian Universalist Church of the Philippines (UUCP), formerly the Universalist Church of the Philippines (UCP) until 1985, is the association of Unitarian Universalist (UU) congregations in the Philippines. Organization and demographics ...

Biography

Quimada was born in

Cebu Cebu ( ; ), officially the Province of Cebu (; ), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 167 surrounding islands and islets. The coastal zone of Cebu is identified as a ...

, into a Roman Catholic family, and was the second of thirteen children. The family was poor, and his father worked as a carpenter. At the time, the Catholic Church discouraged individual study of the Bible. In 1935, in response to the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, the family moved from

to Nataban, San Carlos. In 1937, Quimada and his wife moved in with a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

cousin, which exposed Quimada to personal reading of the

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

for the first time. Quimada and his family decided to convert to Protestantism in 1943. He was ordained in the Iglesia Universal de Cristo in 1948, and began serving a congregation in Navididan, Prosperidad, San Carlos. As a minister in Iglesia Universal, Quimada led nine conversations on

Negros Negros (, , ) is the fourth largest and third most populous island in the Philippines, with a total land area of . The coastal zone of the southern part of Negros is identified as a site of highest marine biodiversity importance in the Coral Tr ...

with limited resources. While searching for external support, in 1951 he began exchanging correspondence with the Universalist Church of

Gloucester, Massachusetts Gloucester ( ) is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. It sits on Cape Ann and is a part of North Shore (Massachusetts), Massachusetts's North Shore. The population was 29,729 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. Census. ...

, who in turn connected him with the Universalist Service Committee (USC). Quimada began incorporating USC materials into his ministry, drawing ire from Iglesia Universal officials. In 1954, Quimada was officially expelled from the ministry.

Unitarian Universalist Church of the Philippines

Quimada founded the Universalist Church of the Philippines (UCP) in 1954, in response to his expulsion from Iglesia Universal. The new church was joined by "several hundred members" of the nine congregations he had formerly served. He requested aid from the Universalist Church of America in May of that year. The following year, he established contact with Carlton Fisher, an American Universalist, who helped Quimada with resources. On April 25, 1955, the UUCP was officially recognized by the Philippine government. The Universalist Church of America sent Quimada aid to fund his education. He attended Calatrava Public High School for two years, and then entered Foundation University in

Dumaguete Dumaguete, officially the City of Dumaguete (; ; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city and capital of the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Negros Oriental, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it h ...

after graduating. Throughout his career, Quimada remained in contact with American Unitarian organizations, and later the Unitarian Universalist Association. The UCP's congregants were largely rural farmers, and as such the UCP worked for the interests of peasants and advocated for land reform, often contrary to the interests of government officials. In 1984, the

International Association for Religious Freedom The International Association for Religious Freedom (IARF), formerly the International Association for Liberal Christianity and Religious Freedom, is a charitable organization that works for religious freedom around the world. It was founded in B ...

gave Quimada the Albert Schweitzer Award for Distinguished Service to the Cause of Liberal Religion. In 1985, the UCP changed its name to the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Philippines. During his career as a minister, Quimada wrote a number of church songs based on

Visayan Visayans ( Cebuano: ''mga Bisayà'' ) are a Philippine ethnolinguistic family group or metaethnicity native to the Visayas, to the southernmost islands south of Luzon, and to a significant portion of Mindanao. They are composed of numerous di ...

folk music, some of which have since been published in UU and interfaith songbooks.

Death

On May 23, 1988, Quimada was shot and killed in his home. According to his daughter, he was killed by a right-wing paramilitary group, who proceeded to burn his body, "along with...UUCP records, hymn books, and worship materials". He was 71 years old. His death came several weeks before Quimada planned to travel to the United States for the UUA General Assembly in

Palm Springs, California Palm Springs (Cahuilla language, Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Rivers ...

. Two other UUCP members attended in Quimada's stead. His daughter, Rebecca Quimada-Sienes, took over leadership of the UUCP.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Quimada, Toribio Sabandija 1917 births 1988 deaths 1988 murders in the Philippines 20th-century Christian clergy 20th-century Filipino people Converts from Protestantism Converts to Protestantism from Roman Catholicism Converts to Unitarianism Filipino clergy Filipino songwriters People from Cebu People murdered in the Philippines Unsolved murders in the Philippines Unitarian Universalist clergy