Source: www.csw.org.uk
Date: January 13, 2023
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)
Pray the encouragement of this verse over Christian communities in Egypt. There has been a concerning rise in attacks on churches and Christian homes in areas of Upper Egypt.
Last Saturday, a church building was destroyed after being set on fire by a local mob in the early morning of 6 January. The attack took place in the village of Misha’at Zaafaranah in Abou Qarqas, Minya Province.
The temporary church building had been built on land belonging to the church, and local Christians had been using it as a place of worship for the past four months.
A similar incident took place just a few months ago, when a mob attacked a Christian man in November, burning down his house which was under construction. This incident took place in Beni Khyar, which is another village in Abou Qarqas.
Then on 18 December, an extremist mob attacked a church building site in Al-Azeeb village, Minya Province, where workers were digging to lay foundations. The Coptic Christian community had recently received a permit from the government to build a church, as they did not have one and had to commute elsewhere to worship. The attackers clashed with police and threw stones and Molotov cocktails, which set fire to several houses and injured livestock belonging to Christians.
Please pray:
- That the God of all comfort would be close to Christians in these villages – some of whom were fearful to go outside following the incidents.
- That the authorities would hold the perpetrators to account and to ensure that justice is upheld.
- That other churches, homes, communities and places of worship in Egypt would be protected from further attacks or harassment because of their beliefs.
- For a change in heart for those who are protesting against and attacking new churches, or attacking newly-built or under construction homes if they suspect that such properties might be used for any form of worship.