Three churches recently closed down by authorities in Algeria’s northern province of Oran were permitted to re-open on Sunday, 10 June.
The three churches, located in Oran city, Ain Turk (30km west of Oran), and El Ayaida (35km east of Oran), were closed between November 2017 and February 2018.
On Sunday, the three churches were allowed to re-open following a notification issued by the governor of Oran province.
Rachid Seghir, who is the pastor at the main church of Oran city and also oversees the other two churches, told World Watch Monitor about the moment he received the notification.
“It was about 1pm when I got a call asking me to get to the police station as soon as possible, without giving further details,” he recalled.
“I first informed some church members, before heading to the police station which is about 300 metres away from the church in Oran.”
At the police station, Pastor Seghir was handed a notification to sign.
“It was hard to believe, as I was not expecting such a positive surprise!” said Pastor Seghir, who could barely hide his emotions. “Honestly, I have not understood anything that happened: I had read the notification and understood it correctly, but I remained amazed. ‘Maybe it’s just a trap,’ I thought.”
The pastor then left the police station and went directly to the church to share the news with some church members, as…
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