Global Church meets to seek unity in face of persecution

Global Church meets to seek unity in face of persecution
Twenty-five years ago, on 4 Nov. 1990, a priest risked his life to hold a mass in a cemetery in Albania. In 1967 his president, Enver Hoxha, had declared that he had “abolished” the Christian faith, and that his country was henceforth the world’s first atheist state. On 4 Nov. . . . Read More

Six churches torched in Tanzania

Six churches torched in Tanzania
The Buyekera Pentecostal Assemblies of God church in Bukoba, after it was set on fire on 23 September.Courtesy Open Doors International   Six churches have been burnt down in northwest Tanzania within the past week. First, on 23 September, three churches were torched – the Living Waters International Church, Buyekera . . . Read More

A migrant’s story

A migrant’s story
So far this year, more than 200,000 migrants have landed on European shores. Almost two-thirds of them have come from Syria, Afghanistan and Eritrea – countries where pressure on Christians is intense. As European politicians squabble over how to respond to the world’s greatest refugee crisis since the Second World . . . Read More

Claim: Mistrust slows defeat of Boko Haram

Archbishop Idowu-Fearon, a Nigerian who is the new secretary-general of the Anglican Communion, that Christian leaders sceptical of Muslim motives have hurt the Nigerian campaign against the militant Islamist sect Boko Haram. He said they believed Muslim leaders supported the insurgency that has left thousands of Christians and Muslims dead. . . . Read More

Obama visit puts Ethiopia’s record in spotlight

Obama visit puts Ethiopia's record in spotlight
n Ethiopians walk past a poster of US President Barack Obama in Addis Ababa on 27 July. gettyimages.com U.S. President Barak Obama is visiting Ethiopia on 27 and 28 July, providing an opportunity for America to prod its ally on its human-rights record, which gets low marks from world capitals. . . . Read More

‘I need God to help me forget’

'I need God to help me forget'
The chairman of Garissa University College’s Christian Union, who survived the April 2 Al-Shabaab attack in which 148 students were killed, has pleaded for prayer for the physical and psychological healing of survivors. “Please pray for us… Many saw sights too horrible to describe,” said 21-year-old Frederick Gitonga. “Pray for . . . Read More

Hope – and anxiety – after Buhari’s win

Hope - and anxiety - after Buhari's win
Former Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, the All Progressives Congress candidate for president, at Chatham House in London in February 2015.Flickr / Chatham House / Creative Commons   Nigeria’s Christians, especially those in the troubled northeast, had a good reason to be worried that Muhammadu Buhari would be elected president. The former . . . Read More

The man who talks to Boko Haram

The man who talks to Boko Haram
One year after the kidnapping of 232 Nigerian girls, Australian Stephen Davis still says his contacts indicate complicity among Nigerian politicians. A year ago April 14, Boko Haram kidnapped 275 girls from the government secondary school in the Christian-dominated town of Chibok, Borno State. Students reported to the Chibok Government Secondary . . . Read More