A Filipino villager has been nailed to a wooden cross for the 35th time to reenact Jesus Christ’s suffering in a brutal Good Friday tradition he said he would devote to pray for peace in Ukraine, Gaza and the disputed South China Sea.

On Friday, over a hundred people watched on as 10 devotees were nailed to wooden crosses, among them Ruben Enaje, a 63-year-old carpenter and sign painter. The real-life crucifixions have become an annual religious spectacle that draws tourists in three rural communities in Pampanga province, north of Manila.

The gory ritual resumed last year after a three-year pause due to the coronavirus pandemic. It has turned Enaje into a village celebrity for his role as the “Christ” in the Lenten reenactment of the Way of the Cross.

Ahead of the crucifixions, Enaje told The Associated Press by telephone Thursday night that he has considered ending his annual religious penitence due to his age, but said he could not turn down requests from villagers for him to pray for sick relatives and all other kinds of maladies.

  • @BaroqueInMind
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    33 months ago

    Thank you for your clarification. Can you please provide me resources where I can read up more on the details of Roman crucifixion in regards to it being used as a form of criminal punishment used by law enforcement?

    • FfaerieOxide
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      13 months ago

      Can you please provide me resources where I can read up more on the details of Roman crucifixion in regards to it being used as a form of criminal punishment used by law enforcement?

      I could, but as I would have to look it up myself first I don’t want to.

      Half a Denarius says @PugJesus would have some ideas thereabout; Rome seems to be a special interest about which PJ enjoys infodumping.

      That or there’s always Wikipedia.