We’ve made mention of the World Watch List numerous times, most recently in reference to Christians who live in heavily Islamic contexts. As you read through the list of countries in which Christians are most persecuted, you’ll probably do a double when you round off the Top Ten with Eritrea. After seeing North Korea at number 1 with it’s atheistic hatred for Christianity, and Somalia in chaos at number 3 with its unstable Islamist influence, seeing Eritrea at number 10 with a population that is about 50% Christian definitely seems a little strange.
Here’s the catch: the state only recognizes a select few religious institutions – the Catholic Church, the Orthodox Church, the Lutheran Church, and Islam. Individuals that stray from what the government deems acceptable subject themselves to harsh mistreatment, imprisonment, and oftentimes even death. This means that evangelicals seeking to live out their faith in holy obedience to Christ are frequently persecuted.
Yosief Kebedom Gelai is one such disciple. He recently became a believer, and about eight months ago, he was arrested and taken to a secret detention center because officials had taken notice of “his devotion to Bible study and prayer.” On July 5, due to a disease he had and the terrible conditions in which he was confined, Gelai passed away. "Christians should be greatly encouraged to see how God, through His Holy Spirit, enables His children, even new and isolated ones like Yosief, to remain firm in their devotion to Christ no matter the circumstances," said an Open Doors team member.
Eritrea’s latest arrests have targeted single, Christian women – at least 14 in the last month. They, among others, have had to face “incarceration in stifling metal shipping containers, overcrowded cells and dungeons.” This is after the government’s recent call at a women’s conference to stop the influence of evangelicals by “all possible means.”
According to church leaders in Eritrea, around 1,500 Christians are currently imprisoned. They suffer in brutal conditions and are sometimes even tortured. Their whereabouts are often unknown and communication with them is usually closed. What is more, stuck in a seemingly inescapable quandary, these believers haven’t even been formally charged with a crime.
With 3 of the 4 government-recognized organizations being of a Christian tradition, it would be easy to overlook Eritrea, neglecting to pray for Eritrean Christians who are being persecuted. But we must not forget them. Our brothers and sisters in Christ are in desperate need of our prayers. And as we remember them, let us be encouraged by them. Said one anonymous, evangelical pastor in Eritrea,"The persecution in Eritrea is a sweet and bitter providence of God. The number of people [from all walks of life] who are receiving Christ attests to the fact that our suffering is God's strategy to have the Good News of Jesus Christ proclaimed to the Eritrean population through the suffering of the nation's Christians. I see Philippians 1:12-14 as being fulfilled in Eritrea through our suffering. This indeed is our great comfort and source of strength to keep going until the Lord brings all our sufferings to an end."
Information for this post was gathered from two Open Doors Prayer Updates:
Eritrean Prison Claims The Life Of a New Convert
Eritrea Continues Campaign Against Church, Arrests Fourteen Women
