Persecution of Christians worldwide – new World Watch List coming
On 15th January Open Doors publishes its well-known World Watch List for 2025, naming the countries where it is most dangerous to be a Christian.
More than 365 million Christians worldwide face persecution and discrimination for their faith – that’s a staggering one in seven believers.
The Open Doors website shares the following data from around the world:
North Korea remains at number one as the most dangerous country. It has been at the top 23 times in the past 24 years.
In 2023, 4,998 Christians were killed for their faith. According to Open Doors research, around 90% of these were in Nigeria (just over 4,000), where Christian communities are attacked by armed bandits and Islamic militants. The country with the next highest number of deaths is DRC, with 261.
Militant Islamists are exploiting the chaos in Africa. The sweeping violence against Christians in sub-Saharan Africa is being aided by economic instability, climate change and fractures in governance and security across the region.
But right across the world, as autocratic governments increase their control, Christians are being targeted: in China, Iran, and now Nicaragua, Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia.
An alarming rise in the closure of churches and buildings. Some 15,000 churches or public Christian properties were attacked or closed in 2023 – that’s seven times the number recorded in 2022. Two-thirds of these were in China (around 10,000).
Christians squeezed out of the Middle East and North Africa. The situation in Syria has worsened, and believers face extreme persecution. Ongoing conflict, pressure from the Islamic majority, the influence of extremist groups and a collapsed economy contribute to the vulnerability of Christians.
Meanwhile, Libya has reached third on the World Watch List, due to an increase in violence against Christians. And in Tunisia, pressure on Christians continues to grow as President Kais Saied’s rule drifts into authoritarianism.
More at: https://www.opendoorsuk.org
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Buckingham Palace opens its front gates to tourists
Next time you are in London, you can pop into Buckingham Palace. And for the first time, starting this month (January) tourists visiting the iconic building will be welcomed to walk in through the front gates and then proceed across the famous forecourt.
It is part of the King’s vision to give people greater access to Buckingham Palace. You can also now book a 90-minute guided tour, from January to May, to have a more in-depth look at the history of the rooms in the East Wing.
For more information go to: https://www.buckinghampalace.co.uk/buckingham-palace-tours.php
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Rome bracing to welcome 60 million visitors this year
If you like peace and quiet, it is best to avoid Rome this year.
For 2025 is a Jubilee Year for the city, and tens of millions of visitors worldwide are expected to converge on Rome. In all, a staggering 60 million are expected.
As Pope Francis has recently explained: “Once again, Rome will welcome pilgrims from across the globe, as it did in 1300 during the first Church Jubilee.” Many religious and cultural events on the theme of ‘Pilgrims of Hope’ are planned.
The Pope foresees that this year Rome will be a “place of hospitality, a melting pot of diversity and dialogue, a multicultural hub where the world’s colours come together like a mosaic. Rome can embody an eternal spirit, rooted in its glorious past yet committed to building a future without barriers, discrimination or mistrust.”
The Jubilee tradition harks back to Old Testament Jewish practices. The modern tradition of Jubilee began with Pope Boniface VIII. It was seen as a time of grace, “offering freedom to those imprisoned by sin, resignation, and despair.”
The 2025 Jubilee coincides with the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, as well as a rare common celebration of Easter by all the Churches.
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C of E is “glad to play its part” in the rural economy
So says the Bishop of St Albans, Dr Alan Smith. He was speaking in a recent House of Lords debate.
He said that local churches are “at the heart of many of our rural communities across the country, wanting to contribute to their flourishing and thriving.”
Dr Smith, declaring his interest “as president of the Rural Coalition and as a vice-president of the Local Government Association”, went on to say: “Nearly 20 per cent of the population of this country live in the countryside, and over half a million businesses are registered in rural areas, employing 3.8 million people.
“The rural economy contributes over £315 billion a year to England alone. It is vital, then, that the Government’s missions not only deliver for rural communities but enable the rural economy to play its part in helping to deliver them.”
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Should the Churches agree on a common date for Easter?
That is the question for the leaders of the Roman Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox Churches, as this year (2025) marks the 1700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea.
Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople believes that 2025 is a ‘golden opportunity’ for Catholic and Orthodox believers to finally agree on a joint date for Easter, because this year also brings a ‘fortunate alignment’ of the Easter dates of both churches.
“It is indeed regrettable that 1700 years later, we are still debating this issue,” he says.
Any agreement would only pertain to the date of Easter’s celebration. It would not involve any joint liturgical practices. Those would require ecclesial communion between the churches, something which does not yet exist.
In 2016 the Archbishop of Canterbury held talks with Coptic Pope Tawadros II in Cairo, when he hoped that a unified date for Easter might be achieved within ten years. He commented that, for the C of E, either the second or third Sunday in April would be acceptable.
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Love the children
The original St Valentine gave love in the form of compassion for some needy children.
That sort of love is still needed today, as UNICEF says that about 1 billion children worldwide are currently facing ‘multidimensional poverty.’ That means they lack necessities like food, water, shelter, education and health care.
No one can get their minds around the needs of one billion children, but most of us could do something to help at least one child in need.
With World Vision’s Sponsor a Child campaign, you can choose how much to give. It could be as little as £5 a month. It could be as much as £26.
Whatever you can give, you will be joining an “incredible community” of child sponsors who, like you, simply want to give the most vulnerable children a brighter future.
To learn more, visit: https://www.worldvision.org.uk/sponsor-a-child/
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Visit the C of E online page
There is now a range of digital resources for to you connect with God at this difficult time. These include:
Time to Pray app (https://www.chpublishing.co.uk/apps/time-to-pray) which is free and has an accompanying daily audio offering on SoundCloud and iTunes.
Mental health reflections (https://www.churchofengland.org/faith-action/mental-health-resources/supporting-good-mental-health)
Tips to tackle isolation (https://www.churchofengland.org/faith-action/mental-health-resources/dealing-loneliness-and-isolation-five-top-tips)
Finally, there are the Church’s smart speaker apps, which provide a range of Christian resources. https://www.churchofengland.org/our-faith/our-smart-speaker-apps In March alone, the number of people using the Alexa app rose by more than 70 per cent.
More details at: https://www.churchofengland.org/more/media-centre/church-online
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