San Pedro Cutud Lenten Rites
Encyclopedia
Holy Week
Holy Week in Christianity is the last week of Lent and the week before Easter...
re-enactment of Christ’s Passion
Passion (Christianity)
The Passion is the Christian theological term used for the events and suffering – physical, spiritual, and mental – of Jesus in the hours before and including his trial and execution by crucifixion...
and Death which takes place in Barangay
Barangay
A barangay is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district or ward...
San Pedro Cutud
San Pedro Cutud
San Pedro Cutud is a barangay in City of San Fernando, Pampanga province in the Philippines, approximately 70 kilometers north of Manila. It is known for annual re-enactments of the crucifixion of Jesus...
, City of San Fernando, Pampanga
Pampanga
Pampanga is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. Its capital is the City of San Fernando, Pampanga. Pampanga is bordered by the provinces of Bataan and Zambales to the west, Tarlac and Nueva Ecija to the north, and Bulacan to the southeast...
in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
.
It includes a passion play
Passion play
A Passion play is a dramatic presentation depicting the Passion of Jesus Christ: his trial, suffering and death. It is a traditional part of Lent in several Christian denominations, particularly in Catholic tradition....
culminating with the actual nailing of at least three penitents to a wooden cross atop the makeshift Calvary.
Events
Every year on Good FridayGood Friday
Good Friday , is a religious holiday observed primarily by Christians commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary. The holiday is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum on the Friday preceding Easter Sunday, and may coincide with the Jewish observance of...
or the Friday before Easter a dozen or so penitents - mostly men but with the occasional woman - are taken to a rice field in the barrio
Barrio
Barrio is a Spanish word meaning district or neighborhood.-Usage:In its formal usage in English, barrios are generally considered cohesive places, sharing, for example, a church and traditions such as feast days...
of San Pedro Cutud, 3km (2 miles) from the proper of City of San Fernando, Pampanga and nailed to a cross using two-inch (5 cm) stainless steel nails that have been soaked in alcohol to disinfect them. The penitents are taken down when they feel cleansed of their sin. Other penitents flagellate themselves using bamboo sticks tied to a rope.
2008 Crucifixion
On March 21, 2008, Pampanga carpenter Ruben Enage, 47, was nailed to a wooden cross on Good FridayGood Friday
Good Friday , is a religious holiday observed primarily by Christians commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary. The holiday is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum on the Friday preceding Easter Sunday, and may coincide with the Jewish observance of...
for the 22nd time, since his first in 1985. 25 other penitents, including two women, were nailed on wooden cross on Good Friday in San Pedro Cutud
San Pedro Cutud
San Pedro Cutud is a barangay in City of San Fernando, Pampanga province in the Philippines, approximately 70 kilometers north of Manila. It is known for annual re-enactments of the crucifixion of Jesus...
. Central Luzon crucifixion
Crucifixion
Crucifixion is an ancient method of painful execution in which the condemned person is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang until dead...
reenactments were also held yearly, in Angeles City, Sto. Tomas, Pampanga, and in Bulacan.
Criticism
The Catholic ChurchRoman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
does not approve of the crucifixions and does not endorse them. The media has also turned against the rites, calling them "pagan and barbaric" but generally admitting they are still a good show.