Nine Filipinos were nailed to crosses in a gory re-enactment of the death of Jesus Christ, but a British man due to be crucified with them backed out at the last minute.
Thousands of spectators hoping to see Dominik Diamond cry out as nails the size of pencils were driven into his hands and feet were disappointed when the white-robed Glaswegian shook his head and knelt in prayer instead.
A Belgium nun and a Japanese man have previously been crucified.
The Japanese man later allowed footage of his ordeal be used in a pornographic film, much to the horror of organisers.
While some spectators booed Diamond's u-turn, others were more forgiving.
"I can understand his position," said Bill Duenas, 51. "Those guys have guts. I think he's got guts, too, but just not enough."
No one has ever died during the annual spectacle.
The nine men who went before him grimaced as they were nailed and hoisted up in the steaming Philippine heat.
The gruesome annual ritual in the small village of Cutud, about 80km north of Manila, attracts tourists from around the world, some of whom are splattered with blood from lines of men flagellating themselves.
The penitents, hooded and half naked, flay their back with bamboo whips en route to the crucifixion site and use paddles tipped with glass to rip their skin wider.
The country's dominant Catholic Church disapproves of the crucifixions and whippings as a misrepresentation of the faith.
But participants say they endure the pain to atone for their sins or to bring blessings on their families.
"I'm doing this for penance. I'm not worried about the pain because I have faith," Dionigio Dancil, a 30 year old pedicab driver, told Reuters. "I will go back to work tomorrow with bandages on my wounds."
Dancil, and the other penitents were nailed to crosses for about five minutes before being taken away on stretchers.
Started in Cutud in 1962 and copied in other parts of the country, the crucifixion ritual has become a big tourist draW
Along the village's dusty main street, hawkers sold ice-cream, beer and souvenir whips. Local travel agents have started offering 'crucifixion packages' for Philippine and overseas visitors.
"It's quite frightening really. It's not something I would like to see again. They must be deeply religious people," said Alan Tatum, an engineer from Suffolk, England.
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