[1] Manalo is believed by INC adherents to be the last prophet of God in the final days, sent to reestablish the church that Jesus founded, which they claimed to have fallen into apostasy following the deaths of the apostles.

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.

[2] 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.

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.

[4][7] In November 1913, Manalo began a three-day fast and meditation at a friend's house in Pasay, writing his core doctrine.

Leadership of the church was passed two weeks later to his son, Eraño, who was chosen unanimously by the district ministers as his successor in 1953.

[1] The Genius Divinical College of Manila on Avenida Rizal, a non-sectarian institution headed by Eugenio Guerero, conferred on Felix Manalo the degree of Master of Biblo-Science honoris causa on March 28, 1931.

[11] On July 27, 2007, coinciding with the 93rd anniversary of the Iglesia ni Cristo, the National Historical Institute (NHI) unveiled a marker on his birthplace in Calzada, Taguig, declaring the site as a National Historical Landmark, with the executive director of the institute, Ludovico Badoy, giving remarks.

[16] On May 10, 2014, coinciding with his 128th birth anniversary, Philpost controversially released a commemorative stamp celebrating the 100th year of the church's registration in the Philippines, which featured a portrait of him against the backdrop of the INC Central Temple.