The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church has issued a solemn call for justice and protection after at least 60 of its faithful were killed in two brutal attacks in the Oromia region.
According to the church, 14 people lost their lives in Merti district on Oct. 20, followed by a far deadlier assault in Shirka district on Oct. 24 that claimed 46 more lives. More than 20 others were seriously wounded, and around 20 homes were burned to the ground.
Thousands of people gathered at St. George’s Greek Orthodox Church in Hamoud, Karak, Jordan, on Sunday, as eight of the nine Christians killed in Friday’s attack on the church were laid to rest. The ninth victim, Mohammed al-Qasous, was buried on Monday.
A pastor in northeastern Nigeria said suspected Boko Haram militants have threatened to execute his wife and sell his young daughter into slavery unless he pays a ransom, nearly a year after they were abducted in Borno state.
The release earlier this year of Pastor Ezra Jin Mingri after nine months in Chinese detention marked a significant victory for religious freedom advocates, but it has done little to change the circumstances facing Christians who refuse to submit to government control.
Today, our hearts are heavy for our brothers and sisters in Jordan. A terrorist attack during a church funeral service killed at least nine and injured 40 others. A gathering meant for mourning and celebration of a good and faithful servant became a scene of even deeper grief. Some of those affected are connected to ministry partners and colleagues we know personally.
Tragedies like this remind us how quickly the ground beneath us can seem to give way. Security can disappear. Plans can be shattered. Families can be changed in an instant. Yet Scripture points us to a truth that violence cannot overturn: Jesus Christ is our Rock.