This paper is a product of a joint research project on the popular millenarian movements in Asia conducted under the leadership of the late professor Chusei Suzuki and Professor Yoneo Ishii from 1978 to 1983. The aim of this paper is to clarify the typological characteristics of this kind of movements in the Catholic societies of the Philippines.Two cases will be discussed: the movement of Cofradia de San Jose and that of Santa Iglesia, both Catholic brotherhoods. The Cofradia de San Jose, organized in 1832 in the province of Tayabas (now Quezon), spread to the adjacent provinces of Laguna and Batangas and broke out into a millenarian uprising in 1841 only to be defeated devastatingly. Full scale documentation of this movement with the use of original sources of the Philippine National Archives may be seen in [Ikehata, 1985]. On the other hand, the Santa Iglesia was popular in the Central Luzon provinces of Pampanga, Bulacan and Nueva Ecija from about 1887 to 1910. Most of the factual data of this movement rely on the previous works of [Ileto, 1979], [Guerrero, 1977], [Robles et al., 1976] and [Coats, 1968].Through the analysis of the two movements on such aspects as their historical development, characters of participants, organization and leadership, and doctrines and prophecies advocated by their leaders, we can point out the following common characteristics of the two. First, the two movements did not embrace millenarianism from the beginning. They started as peaceful spiritual movements to pray for the happiness in this world and the salvation of souls after death. However, the leaders of the two movements started to propose millenarian uprising when they were faced with the annihilative oppression of the colonial authorities. In other words, the intensification of the oppression of the authorities compelled the two brotherhoods to take the millenarian stand. Second, the leaders could make a sudden proposal of millenarian uprising because through the Pasyon (Passion) the people were familiar with the apocalyptic vision. The followers believed their leaders' millenarian prophecies were realizable on the basis of this knowledge so, they confidently joined the uprising. Third, the Pasyon also influenced the character of the leadership. It was the people's common belief through the Pasyon that Hesukristo was the Savior of the poor. Therefore the two leaders likened themselves to the image of Hesukristo to obtain the people's respect and support. And last, the two movements were supported by the people of the lower strata who felt strongly the relative deprivation brought about by the economic and political ruling classes. In its essence, the movements were anti-colonial protests to liberate themselves from colonial exploitation and suppression. However, the participants did not think of their liberation in modern concepts. They comprehended their situation in accordance with the Catholic frame of meaning, seeking their liberation by the mercy cf God. They wanted a society where everybody was perfectly equal. The brotherhood was an exemplary model. One of the main reasons why the colonial authorities oppressed them to the extent that they were forced to advocate millenarian uprising was this egalitarianism.