Tag: Pentecostals

Ethiopian Christians arrested for ‘praying against government’

January 10, 2018 Ethiopia Addis Ababa, Chagni, Churches, Ethiopia, Ethiopian Orthodox Church, House churches, Pentecostals, Tigray

Christians worship during a church service in a town in central Ethiopia. (Photo: World Watch Monitor, 2016)

Seven Ethiopian Christians have been arrested and detained in the north-western town of Chagni on suspicion of praying against the government. A local source told World Watch Monitor the seven men, members of the Meserete Kiristos church, were followed and overheard by a local militia group when they went up a . . . Read More

Pope meets evangelical leaders to strengthen religious freedom

December 18, 2017 Global News -- No Particular Country Churches, Pentecostals, Pope Francis, Religious freedom

A burned church in a village in Southern Kaduna, northern Nigeria. Violence attributed to militant Fulani herdsmen in Nigeria reached a record high last year.(Photo: World Watch Monitor)

Pope Francis and leaders from the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) met last Thursday (14 December) in Rome to discuss further collaboration in promoting religious freedom in a world where persecution of Christians is on the rise. The church leaders also talked about strengthening their partnership in Bible distribution and confronting . . . Read More

India: allegations of false conversions by Christians ‘baseless’

December 13, 2017 India Hindu nationalism, India, Pentecostals, Uttar Pradesh

Known for its famous mausoleum, the Taj Mahal, India's most populous state of Uttar Pradesh hosts a Christian population of only 0.18 per cent.

Seven Pentecostal Christians in Uttar Pradesh, northern India, have been arrested for “forced conversions”, reports Asia News. The seven, who also allegedly insulted Hindu deities, appeared in court on Monday (11 December) and have been remanded in custody for 14 days. “The allegations are baseless,” said Sajan George, President of . . . Read More

Egypt: 21 churches receive long-delayed government approval to build

November 29, 2017 Egypt Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Al-Azhar, Anba Macarius, Cairo, Churches, Copts, Egypt, El-Arish, Islamic State, Minya, Pentecostals, Port Said, Protestants, Religious freedom, Samalut, Sinai, Sohag, Sunni, Upper Egypt, USA

Twenty-one churches in Egypt’s southern rural Minya governorate can restore, expand and rebuild their churches after receiving approval from the Minya Governor. Governor Essam al-Bedeiwi approved the 21 applications over the last six months. Some of the churches had been waiting for more than 20 years for a permit to come . . . Read More

US tells Sudan to ‘immediately suspend’ church demolitions

November 20, 2017 Sudan Censorship, Churches, Mariam Ibrahim, Minorities, NISS, Pentecostals, Religious freedom, Sanctions, Sudan, Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church, Sudanese Church of Christ, USA

The US Deputy Secretary of State has called on Sudan to “immediately suspend” its demolition of churches and to hold a roundtable discussion with Christian leaders to resolve disputes. John J. Sullivan, speaking at the Al-Neelain Mosque in Omdurman on Friday (17 November), said “the treatment of members of religious . . . Read More

Refugees call for African Union to stop Eritrea’s ‘reign of terror’

November 17, 2017 Eritrea African Union, Eritrea, Human rights, Pentecostals, Religious freedom

Approximately 250 Eritreans took part in a protest in Addis Ababa ear. (Photo: Getty Images)

Eritrean refugees and representatives of the opposition living in Ethiopia staged a protest at the African Union headquarters in the capital, Addis Ababa, earlier this week to call for an end to Eritrea’s “reign of terror”. The approximately 250 protestors handed a petition to the Chairperson of the African Union . . . Read More

India: 10 churches closed, Hindu nationalists seek closure of 20 more

November 7, 2017 India Alphons Kannanthanam, BJP, Churches, Hindu nationalism, India, Pentecostals, RSS, Tamil Nadu

Preparations for an Hindu festival. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

Ten Protestant churches in Coimbatore district in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu have been ordered to stop their worship meetings, while Hindu nationalists want another 20 churches to be closed. They claim the Christian places of worship have not been authorised by the Collector’s Office, the district’s magistrate . . . Read More

Egypt church reopened after 22 years seen by some as gesture to US

November 3, 2017 Egypt Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Anba Macarius, Churches, Copts, Egypt, Minya, Pentecostals, USA

After 22 years, the doors of the Pentecostal church in Minya City were reopened on 29 October 2017. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

A Pentecostal church in Minya City, Egypt, reopened its doors on Sunday (29 October) after 22 years without a permit, a move some see as a goodwill gesture from the government ahead of the visit of US Vice President Mike Pence. Pence announced last week that he hoped to visit . . . Read More

Eritrean Christians told to remove crosses as schools forced to go public

November 3, 2017 Eritrea Abune Antonios, Asmara, Catholics, Education, Eritrea, Pentecostals, Religious freedom

People running in the streets of Asmara while gun shots can be heard.

Eritrea’s security forces shot at protesters, using live ammunition, in the capital Asmara on Tuesday (31 October) during a protest against the government’s plans to turn all schools public. This would mean forbidding students from wearing religious items such as Christian crosses or Muslim headscarves. A local source told World . . . Read More

Sudan Church of Christ leaders charged with sound pollution for ‘noisy’ services

October 27, 2017 Sudan Churches, Islamic extremism, Kuwa Shamal, Pentecostals, Port Sudan, Sadiq al-Mahdi, Sanctions, Sudan, Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church, Sudanese Church of Christ

A 2015 church service in Sudan's Nuba Mountains (World Watch Monitor)

Five Sudanese Christians arrested, but later released, last Sunday (22 October) have now been charged with causing sound pollution through overly loud church services. The five church leaders – Ayouba Telyan, Abdelbagi Tutu, Ali El Hakim, Ambarator Hamad and Haibil Ibrahim – were summoned to court yesterday morning (26 October), but . . . Read More

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