This essay was originally published on Christianity Today on May 9, 2022
On April 14, 1521, the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan and his Spanish companions presided over the first Christian baptism in the Philippines. As Father Pedro de Valderrama performed the rite, 800 tribal inhabitants went down into the churning waters and arose as new Christian converts.
The local chieftain, Rajah Humabon, and his wife, Hara Humamay, were the first to receive new “Christian names.” After the ocean’s womb enveloped them, they were reborn as Carlos and Juana, bearers of Christ’s presence on the island. Their former identities were replaced. The names given by their tribe were rendered obsolete. They became the first of many in the Philippines whose conversion to Christianity would include the act of renaming.