China ‘Liquidates’ House Church as Part of Crackdown

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China ‘Liquidates’ House Church as Part of Crackdown

Authorities in China on Aug. 19 officially “liquidated” an historical house church in Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, as part of a crackdown on churches that refuse to join the state-controlled Three-Self Church, rights advocates said.

The Church of Abundance, which began about 30 years ago, had been targeted as a “cult” that allegedly collected illegal donations, but officials closed it as an “illegal social organization” – that is, one that refused to join the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-controlled Three-Self Church, according to Italy-based religious rights organization Bitter Winter.

The closure appeared to be part of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s call in December 2021 for action against “non-Sinicized” and “illegal” religious groups, Bitter Winter reported.

“Xi Jinping’s plan of compelling all Protestant Christians to join the government-controlled Three-Self Church or face arrest and ‘liquidation’ of their churches as xie jiao or “illegal” religious groups is being ruthlessly implemented,” the group stated.

The Church of Abundance was ordered to cease activities or its members and pastors would be subject to arrest and detention. Bitter Winter reported that Church of Abundance Pastor Lian Changnian and his son, Pastor Lian Xuliang, were placed under “residential surveillance at a designated place.”

The ban also targeted the China Gospel Association, part of the same house church network, the rights group stated.

Christian rights group China Aid reported that the Civil Affairs Bureau and the Religious Affairs Bureau announced the charges against the Church of Abundance personnel as illegal gathering, illegal fundraising and illegal venue registration.

The wife of one of the arrested pastors stated, according to China Aid, that Pastor Lian Xuliang had a large bruise from a beating on his forehead.

“His eyes were bloodshot, and there was dried blood in the corner of his eyes,” she stated. “His face-mask also had blood streaks. His arms and hands were bruised and swollen. There was undoubtedly physical abuse by these so-called law enforcement officers during their ‘law enforcement.’”

The pastors, their wives and other workers were arrested on Aug. 17, according to China Aid. The wives and most of the church workers were released, but not preacher Fu Juan, the group reported.

“The whereabouts of preacher Fu Juan is unknown, and her husband has not yet received any official written notice of detention,” one of the pastor’s wives reported.

Since President Xi’s call for a crackdown on unofficial religious organizations at the Dec. 3-4, 2021, CCP National Conference on Work Related to Religious Affairs, authorities have raided churches refusing to join the Three-Self Church in Beijing, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Jilin and Sichuan provinces, according to Bitter Winter.

On Aug. 19, about 100 armed police officers in Linfen, Shanxi Province, surrounded some 70 members of Covenant Home Church who were attending a parent-child camp, the group reported. Detaining the adults, police also searched the homes of church members Han Xiaodong, Li Jie and his wife Li Shanshan, and seized Christian books and documents.

On Sunday (Aug. 21) in Changchun city, Jilin Province, police raided a service of Changchun Sunshine Reformed Church, a house church, Bitter Winter reported.

“As demonstrated by videos circulated by the believers, those attending the service were beaten by the agents,” Bitter Winter stated. “Two women had heart attacks and had to be hospitalized.”

Officers detained nine Christians, including Pastor Guo Muyun, Elder Qu Hongliang, and Brother Zhang Liangliang, who were accused of running an illegal religious organization, the group reported.

On Aug. 14 in Beijing, the Mentougou branch of the Zion Church was raided.

“Computers were confiscated, and the pastor, Yang Jun, and nine devotees were detained, although they were later released,” Bitter Winter reported.

China ranked 17th on Christian support organization Open Doors’ 2022 World Watch List of the countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian.

If you would like to help persecuted Christians, visit https://morningstarnews.org/resources/aid-agencies/ for a list of organizations that can orient you on how to get involved.  

Christian Youth Corps Member Killed in Adamawa State, Nigeria

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Christian Youth Corps Member Killed in Adamawa State, Nigeria

ABUJA, Nigeria (Morning Star News) – A Christian posted in Yola, northeast Nigeria, as part of his youth service corps duty was killed on Aug. 26 in what was suspected as a targeted attack, sources said.

Samaila Sabo Awudu was assaulted by at least five men with machetes at about 1:30 a.m. in his room at living quarters for members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) stationed in the capital of Adamawa state. He was 28.

University and polytechnic graduates in Nigeria are required to provide one year of national development service with the NYSC, and Awudu, a resident of Taraba state, was serving at the Elkanemi College of Islamic Theology in Yola, his brother said.

Members of the NYSC have been targeted in violent crimes in various parts of Nigeria, but in Awudu’s case the killers somehow reportedly locked the doors of the other corps members before assaulting him with machetes and leaving him for dead.

Awudu’s brother, Ephraim Haruna Sabo, told sympathizers at the funeral at the family compound in Gindin Dorowa, Wukari County, Taraba state this week that corps members had told family members about the attack, according to a text message Morning Star News received from area resident Benita John, who was present in their home for the service.

“We were told by some of his colleagues, corps members, that a group of five armed Muslims attacked him when they broke into his residence at the NYSC lodge in Yola and cut him with machetes,” Sabo told sympathizers, according to John. “He was taken by police officers who went there to the Federal Medical Centre, Yola, where he died.”

Awudu had graduated from the Federal University, Wukari, Taraba state, with a biochemistry degree, Sabo said.

The Rev. Philip Agbu, pastor of the Christian Reformed Church-Nigeria (CRC-N) congregation in Gindin Dorowa, told mourners Awudu was a committed member of the church and had “lived an exemplary life, worthy of emulation.”

Awudu’s brother, Sabo, said at his funeral that he was an easygoing person who would not harm anyone.

Awudu “had endured the rigors of growing up and schooling, only for his life to be cut short just when we his family members were beginning to look up to him for support,” Sabo said. “His death will no doubt negatively affect us his family and the Christian community here.”

Jingi Denis, Adamawa state director of the NYSC, addressed mourners at the funeral. Awudu’s death “is a loss to the whole country,” Denis said. “It’s very sad, and we do not know why he was attacked because investigation is still ongoing.”

Suleiman Ngoruje, superintendent of police of the Adamawa State Police Command, said in a statement on Monday (Aug. 29) that officers are searching for the killers.

Danjuma Usman Shiddi, a member of Nigeria’s parliament, the National Assembly, said in a statement on Sunday (Aug. 28), “We are engaging with the relevant security services and the criminal justice administration players to ensure justice for the deceased, his immediate family, our community and constituents.”

Nigeria led the world in Christians killed for their faith last year (Oct. 1, 2020 to Sept. 30, 2021) at 4,650, up from 3,530 the previous year, according to Open Doors’ 2022 World Watch List report. The number of kidnapped Christians was also highest in Nigeria, at more than 2,500, up from 990 the previous year, according to the WWL report.

Nigeria trailed only China in the number of churches attacked, with 470 cases, according to the report.

In the 2022 World Watch List of the countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian, Nigeria jumped to seventh place, its highest ranking ever, from No. 9 the previous year.

If you would like to help persecuted Christians, visit https://morningstarnews.org/resources/aid-agencies/ for a list of organizations that can orient you on how to get involved.  

Pastor Matt Chandler asked to takes ‘leave of absence’ over inappropriate Instagram messages with woman

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Pastor Matt Chandler asked to takes ‘leave of absence’ over inappropriate Instagram messages with woman

Village Church pastor Matt Chandler announced on Sunday that he had an inappropriate online relationship with a woman and is taking an indefinite leave of absence from preaching and teaching.

Matt Chandler, lead pastor of teaching at The Village Church in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, assured his congregation Sunday that he planned on being their lead pastor “for the next 20 years” but had accepted a decision by his elder board to immediately take a “leave of absence” due to his use of inappropriate language in Instagram messages to a woman who is not his wife.

“We are strong proponents of brothers and sisters in Christ being friends, but there are boundaries around what’s appropriate in these kinds of friendships. A pastoral role requires a greater awareness of those boundaries,” The Village Church elders announced in an Aug. 28 statement.

“In this case, while the messages were not romantic or sexual in nature, the frequency and familiarity of the messages crossed a line. They revealed that Matt did not use language appropriate for a pastor, and he did not model a behavior that we expect from him.”

According to the elders, the Texas-based pastor revealed the inappropriate messaging between himself and the woman after being confronted about them several months ago by the woman’s friend in the church’s foyer.

The pastor said that shortly after the woman raised concern about the messages, he shared those concerns with Josh Patterson and elder Chairman Jasien Swords and “submitted to their leadership in addressing the situation.” He also informed his wife about the situation.

“I didn’t think I had done anything wrong in that,” Chandler explained as he faced his congregation. “My wife knew that. Her (the woman’s) husband knew that. And yet there were a couple of things that she said that were disorienting to me. “

After a review of the situation, The Village Church elders concluded that while the inappropriate messages “did not rise to the level of disqualification,” they, along with Chandler, agreed that his behavior “was a sign of unhealth in his life and that the best course of action would be for him to take a leave of absence from teaching and preaching at The Village Church.”

“The elders have decided, and I think they are right, that my inability to see what I was in probably … [revealed] some unhealth in me. And I don’t know if that’s tied to the pace I run or the difficulty of the last six, seven years, but I agree with them,” Chandler said.

The Church Elders at The Village Church said Instagram direct messages “revealed something unhealthy.”

Read more …

In Pakistan, Christians fled their homes when Muslim mob gathers to attack them

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In Pakistan, Christians fled their homes when Muslim mob gathers to attack them

On Sunday 7 August, hundreds of Christian families fled their homes when they saw a large Muslim mob marching towards their church and chanting against Christians.

Timely intervention from the police saved the only church and averted a potential attack on Christians’ houses.

According to the pastor Gulzar Gill, in charge of NCP Church, Karim Nagar, Daroghawala, Lahore, at about 1.30 o’clock he was informed that hundreds of Muslims were marching toward his church.

The mob was very charged and chanting slogans against Christians.

He said: “Instantly, I rushed towards the church, where already hundreds of people had gathered and were chanting slogans against Christians and pro Islam. They seem very agitated and eager to attack the church, and it seemed difficult to control the mob.

“Fortunately, after a few minutes the police had also arrived and immediately engaged the Muslim leader Hafiz Aslam, who was leading the mob. I informed the police that I am the priest in-charge of this church and not aware what had happened.

“The police said the mob was furious about a programme took place in the church on Saturday. It was youth seminar and people had misunderstood the topic “False Prophets”. which was considered sacrilegious.”

Pastor Gill added: “I told the police that it was a youth seminar, and we had no intention to hurt anyone’s feelings. I apologised on behalf of everyone if inadvertently we had hurt anyone’s feelings.

“The police acted very wisely, engaged the Muslim leaders and asked them to tell the mob to leave peacefully. Later on, the mob slowly started to disperse and that was big relief for me and other Christians.”

The police then called the local Christian and Muslim leader including, Imam Tanveer Madni, Hafiz Aslam, Pastor Gulzar Gill and lay leader Chaudhry Bhola Masih to sign an agreement and maintain peace in the area.

Chaudhry Bhola Maish a local lay leader said that NCP is the only church in this area and about 250 Christian families live here. Most of the families have been living there for years and have never had such a situation before.

He said: “When we saw the mob started gathering, everyone was concerned and scared.

“Many of us have sent our wives and children away to our relatives and they are not coming back until we believe the situation is completely back to normal and there is no more threat of attack on our houses and to our lives.”

He said although the Muslim and Christian leadership have signed an agreement in the presence of the police, they are still living in fear, and anything can happen at any time. It will take time to restore the situation to normal.

“Unfortunately, hatred and discrimination against Christians and other religious minorities continues to grow and the government has failed to address and control the situation and instead introducing policies which promote hate directly and indirectly against Christians and this is making religious minorities’ life hell in Pakistan. They are living in fear and worried about their children’s future.”

Report by : Dr Naeem Saleem, Director, Edge Foundation

Mounting Number of ECWA Christians Abducted, Slain

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Mounting Number of ECWA Christians Abducted, Slain

ABUJA, Nigeria (Morning Star News) – Suspected Fulani herdsmen and other terrorists in Nigeria have killed six pastors and kidnapped 27 Christians of the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) in the past seven months, according to an ECWA report.

Among the 27 Christians kidnapped from January to date were six pastors, including one abducted in Kaduna state on Monday (July 25), Pastor Moses Dikko Usman.

James Saleh, a coordinator of ECWA’s Evangelical Missionary Society (EMS), reported that among the six pastors slain was the Rev. Ezra Shamaki, an ECWA missionary killed on June 21 in the Kurmin Musa area of Kaduna state.

“Ask God to comfort the family of the late Rev. Ezra Shamaki, our missionary serving in Kurmin Musa DCC, who was shot dead by terrorists,” Saleh said. “The terrorists kidnapped his wife, and they are yet to make any contact.”

Mac Philips, another EMS coordinator, said that 15 other women and five men were also abducted in the June 21 attack.

“At about 7 a.m., one of our missionaries was leading a prayer meeting when herdsmen stormed the village, killing and destroying anything in sight,” Philips said. “The armed terrorists stormed the prayer house, met them praying and opened fire on the missionary.”

Though Shamaki was dead, one of the herdsmen shot him again with an AK-47 assault rifle, he said.

“The herdsmen then abducted all the women in the church, and many other men and women in the community, and left,” he said. “Continue to pray for God’s protection upon our missionaries who are constantly in the line of fire, yet they have remained courageous to continue serving Him in various mission fields.”

On July 5, terrorists killed the Rev. Adamu Buba in Iburu, Kasuwan Magani, Kaduna state, Philips said. Saleh added that Pastor Buba leaves behind a wife and seven children.

“Paul said in Romans that nothing shall be able to separate us from the love of God,” Saleh said. “As long as hell and heaven exist, the gospel must thrive.”

He said Pastor Nehemiah Ezekiel was killed in Unguwan Awallu of Kaduna state’s Kwassam area in an attack on the ECWA station there on April 5.

Philips said pastors Isma Dogari, Bulus Bayi and Yakubu Waziri were also killed for their faith this year.

“To preach the gospel for us is to die, to be safe is to stop preaching the gospel,” Philips told Morning Star News. “It’s a choice we all have to make – for us, we choose the former. The gospel in Nigeria cannot be preached without casualties. Our lives are increasingly on the line, but nothing compares to the excellency of sharing the gospel to a dying world without Christ.”

Northern Nigeria is engulfed in terrorist attacks by Muslim extremists who invade predominantly Christian communities, he said.

“While we mourn every day for these tragedies, we remain resolute with our weapons of love and peace, knowing that the battle before us is a mopped-up operation – because of the resurrection, we have won,” Philips said.

Two ECWA members in Kaduna state were also killed this year, one in Ungwan Busa and another in Ungwan Chiyaya, Saleh said.

Among those kidnapped, he said, were Pastor Ahmadu Maikudi and two other Christians abducted along with him. They were abducted on June 16 in Gidan Isa Giwa, Zaria, Kaduna state. The wife of the Rev. Emmanuel Bako of Kasuwan Magani DCC, Kaduna state, was abducted on July 13. On May 9, gunmen kidnapped the Rev. Matthew Moses in Katsina state, northwest Nigeria, Saleh said.

The Rev. Mamuda Lakwadon, serving in the Indache area of Abaji, Abuja, was wounded during an attack by the armed herdsmen, Saleh added.

“Many of our mission fields across the region are increasingly facing threats of attacks from terrorist herders/bandits and kidnap syndicates who continue to terrorize residents,” he said. “As the security situation in the country continues to deteriorate, our missionaries are increasingly facing grave danger.”

Numbering in the millions across Nigeria and the Sahel, predominantly Muslim Fulani comprise hundreds of clans of many different lineages who do not hold extremist views, but some Fulani do adhere to radical Islamist ideology, the United Kingdom’s All-Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom or Belief (APPG) noted in a recent report.

“They adopt a comparable strategy to Boko Haram and ISWAP [Islamic State West Africa Province] and demonstrate a clear intent to target Christians and potent symbols of Christian identity,” the APPG report states.

Christian leaders in Nigeria have said they believe herdsmen attacks on Christian communities in Nigeria’s Middle Belt are inspired by their desire to forcefully take over Christians’ lands and impose Islam as desertification has made it difficult for them to sustain their herds.

Nigeria led the world in Christians killed for their faith last year (Oct. 1, 2020 to Sept. 30, 2021) at 4,650, up from 3,530 the previous year, according to Open Doors’ 2022 World Watch List report. The number of kidnapped Christians was also highest in Nigeria, at more than 2,500, up from 990 the previous year, according to the WWL report.

Nigeria trailed only China in the number of churches attacked, with 470 cases, according to the report.

In the 2022 World Watch List of the countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian, Nigeria jumped to seventh place, its highest ranking ever, from No. 9 the previous year.

If you would like to help persecuted Christians, visit https://morningstarnews.org/resources/aid-agencies/ for a list of organizations that can orient you on how to get involved.  

Perfect Jubilee – RCCG 70th Annual Convention

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Perfect Jubilee – RCCG 70th Annual Convention

The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) is organising her Annual Convention for 2022, which is the 70th Annual Convention of the Christian denomination – titled PERFECT JUBILEE

Visit the RCCG website for more info about the event – rccg.org

Vision & Mission of the Church

1) To make heaven.
2) To take as many people with us.
3) To have a member of RCCG in every family of all nations.
4) To accomplish No. 1 above, holiness will be our lifestyle.
5) To accomplish No. 2 and 3 above, we will plant churches within five minutes walking distance in every city and town of developing countries and within five minutes driving distance in every city and town of developed countries.
6) We will pursue these objectives until every Nation in the world is reached for the Lord Jesus Christ

Queen Elizabeth says she lives by the message of Christ

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Queen Elizabeth says she lives by the message of Christ

Queen Elizabeth II issued a message to the Lambeth Conference in London this week, telling the Anglican Communion’s decennial gathering that the teachings of Christ have served as a “guide” in her life.

The queen’s message was sent to the conference on Wednesday, the same day bishops were set to visit Lambeth Palace to launch the Anglican Communion forest initiative.

The 96-year-old monarch sent “warm greetings” and expressed “great pleasure” that the Lambeth Conference could take place after a delay of two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Bishops from over 165 countries are attending the conference, which runs from July 26 until Aug. 8.

“As we all emerge from the pandemic, I know that the Conference is taking place at a time of great need for the love of God — both in Word and deed,” she wrote in the address.

“The bishops of the Anglican Communion set out a path for an ongoing commitment towards Christian unity in a changing world; a task that is, perhaps, even more important today, as together you look to the future and explore the role of the church in responding to the needs of the present age.”

“I send my warmest good wishes to you all for a successful Conference and may God bless you in your ministry and service in his world,” she concluded.

In early June, Queen Elizabeth celebrated her 70th year on the throne through her Platinum Jubilee commemoration.

“When it comes to how to mark 70 years as your Queen, there is no guidebook to follow. It really is a first. But I have been humbled and deeply touched that so many people have taken to the streets to celebrate my Platinum Jubilee,” the queen wrote in a message issued at the end of the commemorations. Read more ….

Muslim Extremists in Uganda Kill Evangelist at His Home

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Muslim Extremists in Uganda Kill Evangelist at His Home

NAIROBI, Kenya (Morning Star News) – Muslim extremists on July 29 came to the home of an evangelist who had held open-air events in eastern Uganda and killed him, sources said.

Cut with a sharp instrument that left his head and neck with deep wounds, Sozi Odongo was killed at his home in Omorio cell, Agule Town Council, Pallisa District, while his wife and four children hid in a room, she said. Odongo was 45.

The previous week, sources said, Odongo had received threatening text messages, including one from Nasuru Ongom, a Muslim sheikh (teacher) in Palissa town, that read, “Please stop preaching to our people using the holy Koran, or else you risk your life.”

Odongo had cited the Koran and the Islamic hadiths (sayings of Muhammad) in evangelistic events directed at mixed-race Arabs in several villages of Pallisa District, sources said.

After such an event on July 29, he arrived home and had eaten dinner with his family when they heard a group of people coming toward their house at about 7:15 p.m., said his wife, Stella Kilo. They locked the door.

“We heard them talk in the Arabic language and wondered what could be the matter,” Kilo said. “They then arrived and knocked at the door.”

She and their children went into the bedroom, but Odongo unlocked and opened the door, and the assailants began beating him on all parts of his body, she said.

“He screamed while mentioning the name of Nasuru, saying, ‘Leave me Nasuru, Nasuru, Nasuru, please don’t kill me, just tell your colleagues to leave me,’” Kilo told Morning Star News. “Then I heard a loud hit, and thereafter no more screaming.”

The assailants likely left, but she and the children remained in the bedroom for an hour, afraid that they were still there, she said.

Kilo opened the bedroom door and found her husband in a pool of blood, she said.

“I tried calling to my husband, but he was unable to talk, and I then rang a neighbor and informed him about the situation,” she said.

The neighbor arrived and informed the LC1 chairperson of the area, George Ochola, who came and found Odongo’s body cut several times in the head, neck and arm, Kilo said. Ochola called police, and officers immediately arrived.

Ochola filed a report with Agule police (CRB 434/2022), and sources said officers were searching for Ongom on suspicion of murder.

The attack was the latest of many instances of persecution of Christians in Uganda that Morning Star News has documented.

Uganda’s constitution and other laws provide for religious freedom, including the right to propagate one’s faith and convert from one faith to another. Muslims make up no more than 12 percent of Uganda’s population, with high concentrations in eastern areas of the country.

If you would like to help persecuted Christians, visit https://morningstarnews.org/resources/aid-agencies/ for a list of organizations that can orient you on how to get involved.  

Source : Morning Star News

Pope Francis may ‘step aside’ and retire, but only if it’s God’s will

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Pope Francis may ‘step aside’ and retire, but only if it’s God’s will

Pope Francis says he may ‘step aside’ and retire, but only if it’s God’s will.

Pope recalls visit to Canada at Angelus . Pope Francis thanks all those who made his visit to Canada possible, and says that while there, his thoughts were also with the people of Ukraine.

Speaking to journalists on a return flight from Canada, Pope Francis said he should slow down on his international travel and possibly consider retiring, but only if he discerns that it’s God’s will.

“I think that at my age and with this limitation, I have to save myself a little bit to be able to serve the Church. Or, alternatively, to think about the possibility of stepping aside,” Francis told journalists during an in-flight press conference on his return flight from Iqaluit, Canada, on Saturday, AFP reported.

“The Lord will say” when it is time to retire, the 85-year-old pope added, according to Catholic News Agency. “The door is open. It’s one of the normal options, but up to today I haven’t knocked on that door.”

He clarified that he wasn’t actively thinking of retiring and that he was just open to it. “But maybe that doesn’t mean the day after tomorrow I will start thinking.”

As a Jesuit, the pope said he will rely on “discernment.”

Speaking on Sunday after the recitation of the Marian prayer, the Pope thanked all those who had made his penitential pilgrimage possible, including civil authorities, heads of the indigenous peoples and the Canadian Bishops. He also thanked everyone who had accompanied him with their prayers, and said he would speak at length about his visit during Wednesday’s General Audience.

Prayers for the people of Ukraine

Despite being in Canada, Pope Francis noted that even during the trip, he never stopped praying for the Ukrainian people, “attacked and tormented, asking God to deliver them from the scourge of war.”

The Pope went on to say that “if one looked at reality objectively, considering the damage that each day of war brings to that population but also to the entire world, the only reasonable thing to do would be to stop and negotiate. May wisdom inspire concrete steps of peace,” he said.

On this, the feast of St Ignatius of Loyola, which also marks the conclusion of the Ignatian year, Pope Francis extended an affectionate greeting to his “Jesuit brothers,” inviting them to continue to walk with zeal, with joy in the service of the Lord.

Dozens of Christians Kidnapped in Northern Nigeria

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Dozens of Christians Kidnapped in Northern Nigeria

ABUJA, Nigeria (Morning Star News) – Suspected Islamic extremists on Monday night (July 25) kidnapped 36 people from a predominantly Christian village outside the city of Kaduna, in northern Nigeria.

The house-to-house abductions came after the kidnapping of 16 people from a nearby area in Kaduna state’s Chikun County on June 28.

Area resident Narin Barde said Muslim terrorists on Monday attacked the Keke B Community area of Millennium City, Chikun County, shooting randomly and capturing 36 Christians.

“The Muslim terrorists attacked the community at about 9 p.m., shooting at the people, and broke into their houses and forcefully took away the victims to an unknown place,” Barde said in a text message to Morning Star News.

On June 28 suspected Islamic terrorists attacked predominantly Christian Sabon Gero village, kidnapping 16 people, area residents said.

In northwest Nigeria’s Sokoto state, Roman Catholic leaders reported that one of their parishioners, Tony Udemezue, was kidnapped at gunpoint on Monday (July 25) at 2 a.m. from his home in Tambuwal, Tambuwal County.

The Rev. Chris Omotosho, director of communications for the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, said in a press statement that Udemezue called police before being taken away at gunpoint but received no help from officers.

“There was no police response to the distressed phone call by Udemezue at about 2 a.m.,” Omotosho said. “This is despite several phone calls he made to the police before he was taken away. Please let us keep him and his family in prayers.”

The kidnappings follow the abduction and killing of the Rev. John Mark Cheitnum of the Catholic Diocese of Kafanchan, Kaduna state. He was kidnapped on July 15 from the parish rectory of Christ the King Catholic Church in Yalding Garu, Lere County and later killed. His body was found on July 19.

Cheitnum served as priest at St. James Parish in Fori, Jema’a Local Government Area, according to the diocese.

The Rev. Julius Kundi, bishop of Kafanchan Diocese, said while addressing mourners at Cheitnum’s funeral on Thursday (July 21) that Christians will remain steadfast in spite of such attacks.

“I was crushed by the news of the death, but I am convinced that his death will prove to our enemies the genuineness and the beauty of our faith,” Kundi said at the Cathedral of St. Peter Claver, in Kafanchan town. “Those whose stock in trade is the abduction and the gruesome murder of members of the clergy should know that this will not stop us from  courageously carrying the torch of the gospel to the ends of the earth, notwithstanding the barrage of attacks on our faith.”

Gunmen attacked another village in Kaduna state, Janbaba in Giwa County, on July 19, killing one Christian, said area resident Philip Umar in a text message to Morning Star News.

“For two days, we were not able to sleep at night as the bandits visited us with horror,” he said.

The chairman of the Southern Kaduna Christian Leaders Association (SKCLA), Pastor Emmanuel Nuhu Kure, condemned the spate of attacks in a statement on July 20.

“The rising cases of priests being kidnapped and in some cases killed by their abductors, even after receiving ransoms, is worrisome,” Kure said. “We pray God to expose these killers and rescue all Christians in the den of their kidnappers.”

Nigeria led the world in Christians killed for their faith last year (Oct. 1, 2020 to Sept. 30, 2021) at 4,650, up from 3,530 the previous year, according to Open Doors’ 2022 World Watch List report. The number of kidnapped Christians was also highest in Nigeria, at more than 2,500, up from 990 the previous year, according to the WWL report.

Nigeria trailed only China in the number of churches attacked, with 470 cases, according to the report.

In the 2022 World Watch List of the countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian, Nigeria jumped to seventh place, its highest ranking ever, from No. 9 the previous year.

If you would like to help persecuted Christians, visit https://morningstarnews.org/resources/aid-agencies/ for a list of organizations that can orient you on how to get involved.  

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