Felix Manalo (born Félix Ysagun y Manalo; May 10, 1886 – April 12, 1963), also known as Ka Felix, was a Filipino minister who founded Iglesia ni Cristo (INC), a restorationist nontrinitarian Christian new religious movement in the Philippines officially registered in 1914 (as Iglesia ni Kristo). Manalo is believed by INC adherents to be the last prophet of God in the final days (Ang Tanging Sugo na may Dalawang Pagkahalal sa Karapatan) sent to reestablish the church that Jesus first founded, which they claimed to have fallen into apostasy following the deaths of the apostles. He served as the church's first Executive Minister until his death in 1963, and was succeeded by his son, Eraño Manalo.
Born in a devout Catholic family, Manalo began questioning Catholic teachings during the Philippine Revolution in the 1890s, ultimately converting first as a Methodist in 1904, then as a Seventh-day Adventist in 1911 before he began preaching what was to become the doctrine of the Iglesia ni Cristo at a neighborhood in Santa Ana, Manila, which he formally registered to the Philippine government on July 27, 1914 as a religious corporation. He was seen as the "angel ascending from the East" as mentioned in by his early followers. During his tenure as Executive Minister, he oversaw the church's early growth and rapid expansion following the Japanese occupation of the country during World War II. By the 1950s, Manalo's health had deteriorated, leaving most of his official church duties to his son Eraño. He died of peptic ulcer disease in 1963.
Biography
thumb|left|Manalo in 1920
thumb|Cover of the August 1939 issue of the Pasugo, the official publication of the [[Iglesia ni Cristo, featuring an artist's depiction of the "angel from the East" which INC members believe to be Manalo himself.]]
Manalo was born as Felix Ysagun in Barrio Calzada, Tipas, Taguig, Manila province (now Calzada, Taguig, Metro Manila) on May 10, 1886, the eldest child of Mariano Ysagun y Villanueva and Bonifacia Manalo y Cruz. While records of his baptismal was lost, because parish records would only go back as early as June 1886, it is believed that he was christened on May 18, the feast day of Felix of Cantalice, most likely his namesake given the common practice of Catholic Filipino families during that period to name their child after saints whose feast fall on the date of birth or baptismal. At the age of seven, Manalo was said to have attended classes under a certain "Maestro Cario" in Manila. His studies were interrupted by the Philippine Revolution in 1896, prompting him not to pursue further formal education, and turn to farming and hatmaking instead.
Manalo began questioning Catholic teachings by the late 1890s. He resided in Manila at his uncle Mariano Borja, a Catholic priest assigned to a local parish in Sampaloc. During this period, Manalo started becoming disillusioned with mainstream Catholic faith and began believing in colorumism, a syncretism of Christian and animist beliefs popular among Filipino peasants during the revolution, making secret trips to Mount Banahaw and Mount San Cristobal in southern Luzon. During the early years of the American period, Manalo became interested in Protestant doctrine that entered the country through American missionaries. In 1904, he became a Methodist, After being antagonized by fellow Adventists for his colorum past, and being reprimanded for his elopement with his future wife (they were married in a different church), Manalo left Adventism in 1913, and associated himself with atheist and agnostic peers. Frustrated with the doctrines of foreign denominations, he soon began personally studying the Bible which culminated in November 1913 when he concluded that a fresh examination of the Bible is needed from a non-Western perspective.
Iglesia ni Cristo
220px|thumb|Built in 1937, the former chapel of the congregation of Punta in Santa Ana, Manila is now an [[Iglesia ni Cristo Museum (Santa Ana, Manila)|INC museum. Notable is the fence design featuring the letters "INK", the abbreviation of the church's original registered name Iglesia ni Kristo.]]
thumb|Completed in 1954, the Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC) Lokal ng Cubao in [[Quezon City is the first major chapel designed by Filipino Architect Carlos A. Santos-Viola for the INC. It is believed to have inspired future designs of INC chapels all over the Philippines.]]
In November 1913, Manalo began a three-day fast and meditation at a friend's house in Pasay, writing his core doctrine. while the Amended Articles of Incorporation filed in 1948 indicated the registration date is June 27, 1914 (as Iglesia ni Cristo or INC). The Amended Articles of Incorporation filed in 1973 already indicated the registration date of the church as July 27, 1914. The last mentioned date is carried over by the SEC in its website. This date of registration (July 27) is currently commemorated by the church as its anniversary date. the date now officially acknowledged by the INC as its foundation date. Expansion followed as the INC started building congregations in the provinces as early as 1916.