Persecution at record levels

More than 380 million Christians around the world now face high levels of persecution and discrimination, according to the compilers of this year’s World Watch List (WWL).

The figure represents one in seven Christians around the world, and is an increase of 15 million on last year’s figures and 140 million since 2018.

Open Doors International, which compiles the WWL, blames a combination of ‘chaos’ – ongoing conflicts and areas of lawlessness – and ‘control’ – authoritarian regimes that systematically persecute Christians – for the worsening figures.

Each year WWL ranks the 50 nations where Christians face the most extreme persecution and discrimination.

The worst country in the world to be a Christian remains North Korea, where Christians face possible summary public execution if they are discovered. Somalia stays at number two on the list, while the rest of the ‘top ten’ countries also remain the same from last year, in a different order – Yemen, Libya, Sudan, Eritrea, Nigeria, Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan.

Further down the list, the sharpest rises are seen in Central Asia. The largest rise is in Kyrgyzstan (up 14 places to 47th), where restrictions on religious freedoms and violence against churches have increased. Kazakhstan (38th) and Tajikistan (39th) also rose in the ranking.

“The threat from authoritarian regimes in Central Asia has intensified to the point where many Christians in the region are in a state of fear,” says Frans Veerman, Managing Director of Open Doors World Watch Research.

The most violent place in the world for Christians is Sub-Saharan Africa, with Nigeria (7th), Mali (14th), Burkina Faso (20th), Central African Republic (27th), Niger (28th) and Democratic Republic of the Congo (35th) all appearing on the list. Open Doors states that government instability and civil conflict in these areas has created a vacuum in which Islamic militant groups can target Christians. The growing violence is also causing a refugee crisis as millions of people are forced to leave their homes.

In the Middle East, the report warns that several Christian communities are ‘on the verge of extinction’. Syria (18th on the list) has seen a continuing exodus of its Christian communities, which now face an uncertain future under the country’s new leaders.

Released at the beginning of each year, the WWL uses extensive research, data from Open Doors field workers, their in-country networks, external experts, and persecution analysts to quantify and analyse persecution worldwide. They take into account pressures faced by Christians in private, family, community and national life, and the threat of violence.

Sudan Archbishop’s pilgrimage

In a pilgrimage amidst deadly war, Episcopal Archbishop Ezekiel Kondo of Sudan, undertook a pastoral visit to Khartoum, where he witnessed full churches and thriving ecumenism.

Kondo has been living in Port Sudan, the Red Sea City, where he was forced to flee in April 2023, after the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces seized the All Saints Cathedral, the seat of the Episcopal Church in the city.

But on Christmas Eve, the prelate returned to the capital, travelling to the

Kararey area, in the West Nile city of Omdurman, one of the three that make the larger Khartoum City.

Travelling there for the first time since 15 April 2023 when the war exploded, the archbishop said he wanted to see and encourage church leaders and Christians in the city, confirm believers, and celebrate Christmas, as well as see church institutions.

According to the archbishop, there is relative peace in Kararey and the people are doing their normal businesses in the markets. In addition, food, fruits, and vegetables are available, but the foods were too expensive for the people, who the war had left without money.

“The churches are full of Christians during worship and all the denominations work together in the spirit of ecumenism,” he said in a briefing.

Kondo explained that in the spirit, the church leaders were organising prayers and fasting together from time to time.

On Christmas day, the prelate had joined celebrations at the Emmanuel Church, where he praised pastors and the people for their firm faith in God, despite the war. On December 29, the team joined the annual Christmas celebration in the locality.

“I planned the visit well in advance because in 2023, I visited the Northern States, as part of the Diocese of Khartoum, and I thought this time, I must go to Khartoum no matter what the challenges,” Kondo said in an interview. “Fear was there, but I felt that God was with me and the team. It was an encouragement for me and the people as well.”

(WCC)