Tag: Eritrean Orthodox Church

Eritrea: Orthodox Patriarch Antonios expelled for ‘heresy’

August 2, 2019 Eritrea Abune Antonios, Donald Trump, Eritrea, Eritrean Orthodox Church, UN

Abune Antonios, Patriarch, Eritrean Orthodox Church

Eritrea’s Orthodox patriarch, Abune Antonios, who was placed under house arrest by the government in 2007, has been expelled by pro-government bishops in his church on accusations of heresy, the BBC reported. The attempt to excommunicate is widely seen as symptomatic of Eritrea’s government push for more political control over . . . Read More

Eritrea: mental health challenges for Christian man freed after 13 years in prison

January 16, 2018 Eritrea Asmara, Barentu, Eritrea, Eritrean Orthodox Church, Prisons, Religious freedom, Seventh-day Adventists

Eritrea remains “one of the worst examples of state-sponsored repression of freedom of religion or belief in the world”, says USCIRF Commissioner. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

Shiden* was young and full of optimism for the future when he was imprisoned for his Christian faith. For the next 13 years he was exposed to torture of different kinds, including months in a very small cell in solitary confinement, and even his eventual release failed to bring about . . . Read More

Eritrea patriarch’s public appearances ‘a marketing exercise’

December 12, 2017 Eritrea Abune Antonios, Eritrea, Eritrean Orthodox Church

Public appearances of Abune Antonios, head of the Eritrean Tewahedo Orthodox Church, are “a marketing exercise to polish the face of the government”, according to advocacy group Christian Solidarity Worldwide. There has been “no significant improvement” in the patriarch’s circumstances, despite attempts to give the impression of progress, CSW said, . . . Read More

Call for Eritrea’s ‘black Tuesday’ to be day of prayer

September 18, 2017 Eritrea Abune Antonios, Eritrea, Eritrean Orthodox Church, Pentecostals

If they're not Lutheran, evangelical women in Eritrea have to pray together in secret. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

Eritrean Christians are calling for 18 September to be a special day of prayer and fasting, marking the Tuesday in September 2001 when the government began a clampdown on rights campaigners and journalists. “That was the day rights and freedoms were curtailed and comprehensive repression began in earnest in Eritrea,” said . . . Read More

Eritrean Patriarch’s first appearance in decade dismissed as ‘fig leaf’

July 21, 2017 Eritrea Abune Antonios, Asmara, Eritrea, Eritrean Orthodox Church

A brief public appearance from the Eritrean Orthodox Patriarch after ten years under house arrest has been dismissed as a “fig leaf” to cover over the regime’s “appalling human rights record”. Patriarch Abune Antonios participated in a Mass at St Mary’s Cathedral in the capital, Asmara, on Sunday (16 July), . . . Read More

European Parliament condemns ‘in strongest terms’ Eritrea’s human rights record

July 13, 2017 Eritrea Abune Antonios, Eritrean Orthodox Church, Europe, Human rights, UN

The European Parliament (EP) has passed a resolution condemning in “the strongest terms” the “systematic, widespread and gross human rights violations” in Eritrea, reports CSW. It follows 2016’s report by the UN that the country’s “crimes against humanity” should be investigated by the International Criminal Court. The EP resolution describes . . . Read More

Eritrean Christian women detained in ‘notoriously harsh prison’

June 30, 2017 Eritrea Asmara, Catholics, Eritrean Orthodox Church, Protestants, Sunni

Thirty-three Eritrean women, detained during a series of raids on churches by the military, are being held in a “notoriously harsh prison”, according to Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW). The women are among a growing number of Eritrean Christians arrested since the beginning of May. CSW says at least 170 have . . . Read More

US Commission urges Trump administration to prioritise international religious freedom

May 18, 2017 Global News -- No Particular Country Abune Antonios, Andrew Brunson, Central African Republic, China, Donald Trump, Eritrea, Eritrean Orthodox Church, Iran, Mike Pence, Myanmar, Nguyen Cong Chinh, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Religious freedom, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, USA, Uzbekistan, Vietnam

An influential US government commission that monitors religious freedom around the world is urging President Donald Trump and his new administration to take concrete steps to make advocacy of universal religious rights a priority in American foreign policy. “Our foreign policy should not simply be about US self-interest – you know, . . . Read More

Two Eritrean Christian women die after hunger strike

March 29, 2017 Eritrea Abune Antonios, Asmara, East Africa, Eritrea, Eritrean Orthodox Church, Pentecostals

Two Pentecostal Christians are reported to have died in Eritrea on 17 March, days after being transferred to a hospital from detention, where they had been on hunger strike. According to Christian Solidarity Worldwide the two women were detained in Wi’a military camp before being transported to Massawa Hospital in . . . Read More

‘Refer Eritrea to ICC for crime against humanity of persecution’

June 10, 2016 Eritrea Eritrean Orthodox Church, Europe, International Criminal Court, Migrants, Mussie Zerai, Refugees, UN

In 2015, Eritreans made up 25 per cent of the migrants attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Europe. gettyimages.com A new report from the United Nations says “systematic, gross and widespread crimes against humanity”, including abuses of religious freedom, have been committed in Eritrea and should be investigated by . . . Read More

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