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Union Espiritista Cristiana de Filipinas, Incorporada [1] (Union of Christian Spiritists in the Philippines) is a religious Association with more than a thousand affiliated local and foreign based centers (churches), [2] and considered as the biggest association of Christian spiritists in the Philippines. [3] Foreign based centers are located in California, Texas, Canada, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Singapore, Greece, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Hawaii, Germany, Italy, and Russia, where there are large Filipino communities. Union members are called "Christian Spiritists". [4]
Spiritism had been practiced in the Philippines [5] before the arrival of Ferdinand Magellan to the country in 1521. [6] The Unión Espiritista Cristiana de Filipinas was founded on 19 February 1905, when a group of spiritists in Pangasinan joined another group in Manila intending to organize a congregation uniting all spiritists in the Philippines. On 19 February 1909, the founders executed the Escritura social (articles of incorporation) and named the religious association "Unión Espiritista Cristiana de Filipinas, Inc."
In 1925, officers and members of the Union began holding sessions in Baliwag, Bulacan. The center was formally inaugurated in 1927.
In the later part of 1945, a member and medium of the Union from Malabon, Rizal, visited the center. Members claim that the medium experienced a direct revelation from the Archangel Michael supporting the belief of the members in spiritism, and introduced direct mediumship.
The aims of the Union can be generally described as evangelical, ministerial, and administrative. [7]