Russia (MNN) — The Russian Orthodox Church has promised to help persecuted Christians in Africa. Orthodox leaders say roughly one in five African Christians experiences religious persecution, and thousands are killed each year. A press statement talked mentioned violence in countries across Africa, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Kenya, Mozambique, Mali, Somalia, and Burkina Faso.
In a late January attack, Islamic militants targeted a Christian majority area of Nigeria, killing 16 and destroying dozens of houses.
Denise Godwin with International Media Ministries says, “It seems like the last few years, we can all testify that pandemic conditions on the global scale have caused opportunity for persecution to open up in new ways.”
How to pray
The Russian Orthodox Church has contact with many denominations on the African continent. Ask God to strengthen all of these believers. Godwin says, “As believers in Jesus Christ, we believe in the resurrection, and its power (which is so contrary to anything this world believes in or offers). Who are we? And what can we offer? The believers in parts of the world that are experiencing persecution say, ‘Let me stand strong, Lord, and let my witness be true.’ I think that’s a really great prayer that we can pray alongside them.”
Christians have experienced persecution across Church history, and International Media Ministries creates videos to tell these stories. They recently completed a series on North Africa. Godwin says, “The road we’re on has many faithful people on it. But that also gives us a roadmap for the future of how to keep our faith strong in challenging times.”
Learn more about International Media Ministries’ projects here.
The header photo shows a Russian Orthodox Church. (Photo courtesy of Óðinn, CC BY-SA 2.5 CA <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/ca/deed.en>, via Wikimedia Commons)
