The Church Paoay, dedicated to St. Augustine, is a Roman Catholic Church located in the town Pay in the province of Ilocos Norte on the island of Luzon. The construction of the Church began in 1694, was completed in 1710, and since then, she invariably attracts the attention of the original architecture – 24h enormous buttresses on the sides and rear of the building. While the facade of the Church you can see an explicit reference to Javanese architecture, primarily to the Borobudur temple on Java island. In 1993 the Church was listed as a world Cultural Heritage by UNESCO as one of the best examples of Baroque architecture in the Philippines, adapted to complex seismic conditions of the country.

A few metres from the main building, the Church is a three-storey bell tower, built from coral. And it is worth it at this distance, so that in case of collapse not to damage the Church itself. During the Philippine revolution of 1898, and during the Second World war, the bell tower was used by local partisans as an observation post. In addition, it is also a kind of status symbol for the locals: during the wedding of a wealthy inhabitants of Paia the bell rings louder and longer than during the wedding of the poor.

Part of the Church was destroyed during the earthquakes of 1865 and 1885. And when in the early 2000s, it has been excavated and inside the Church were discovered prehistoric human skeleton and fragments of pottery. Today these artifacts can be seen in the National Museum of the Philippines in Manila.

The Church combines the features of Gothic, Baroque and Oriental styles. The facade had a strong Gothic elements, the front part is made in traditional Chinese style, and the nave, as mentioned above, made under the influence of Javanese architecture. The Church walls have a thickness of 1, 6 meters and can withstand powerful tremors, not to mention the constant in these places typhoons.