Christianity in Sudan

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Coptic Christianity
by the 1st century.

The Coptic Church was later influenced by

Islamic expansion, but the southernmost of these kingdoms, Alodia
, survived until 1504.

Christianity has a long and rich history in Sudan, dating back to the early centuries of the Christian era. [1] Ancient

Coptic Christianity
by the 1st century. The Coptic Church was later influenced by
Islamic expansion, but the southernmost of these kingdoms, Alodia
, survived until 1504.

Southern Sudan (including what is now

traditional (tribal) religions of the Nilotic peoples, with significant conversion to Christianity
during the 20th and 21st centuries.

History

Coptic Christianity

A fresco showing the birth of Jesus, in Faras cathedral
Reconstruction of a church in Old Dongola

Christianity reached the area of present-day northern

Eastern Roman Empire.[3]
Indeed, Byzantine architecture influenced most of the Christian churches in lower Nubia.[4]

The Byzantine Emperor Justinian I (reigned 527 to 565) helped to made Nubia a stronghold of Christianity during the Middle Ages by securing the region with strategic alliances.[5] By 580 AD Christianity had become the official religion of the northern Sudan, centered around the Faras cathedral.[6]

Modern missionary activity

During the 19th century, British missionaries re-introduced the Christian faith into South Sudan. British imperial authorities somewhat arbitrarily limited missionary activity to the multi-ethnic southern region.[7] The Church of England and other parts of the Anglican Communion continued to send missionaries and other assistance after the country became independent in 1956, although that also precipitated decades of civil war and persecutions as discussed below.

At the 2011 division which split off

Muslim.[11]

Scholarly[12][13][14] and some U.S. Department of State sources[15] state that a majority of southern Sudanese maintain traditional indigenous animist beliefs.

The majority of Christians in Sudan adhere to the

Episcopal Church of the Sudan), but there are several other small denominations represented there including: [citation needed
]

Roman Catholic missionaries began work in Sudan in 1842; both Anglicans and American

Pentecostal Church
, which has grown significantly in the south, was started later by the Swedish.

As of 2011, prior to the independence of

Roman Catholicism, mainly in the south (5% of the population were devout Roman Catholics).[citation needed] Nine catholic dioceses include two archdioceses in modern Sudan,[17] with five Cathedrals.[18] The patron saint of the Sudan is the former slave Saint Josephine Bakhita, canonized
in 2000.

About 100,000 people or 0.25% of the population belong to various Protestant denominations in northern Sudan.

Catholicism is practised by some thousand followers north of Sudan's capital. A 2015 study estimates some 30,000 Muslim converted to Christianity in Sudan, most of them belonging to some form of Protestantism.[19]

Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation, Khartoum

Pope Francis visited South Sudan in February 2023. On the final day of his pilgrimage to the country, the pontiff delivered a powerful message of peace and reconciliation, calling on the people of South Sudan to lay down their weapons of hatred. The visit was well received by the largely Christian population, who hoped for change in a country struggling with conflict and poverty.[20][21]

Christianity in the 2020s

In 2022, Christians made up 5.4% of the country's population.[15] Catholics made up 3.16% of the population.[22]

Persecution

Sudan's Christians have been persecuted under various military regimes. Sudan's civil wars temporarily ended in 1972, but resumed in 1983, as famine hit the region. Four million people were displaced and two million people died in the two-decade long conflict, before a temporary six-year ceasefire was signed in January 2005.[23]

In May 1983, Sudan's Anglican and Roman Catholic clergy signed a declaration that they would not abandon God, as God had revealed himself to them under threat of

Shariah Law.[24] Anti-Christian persecutions grew particularly after 1985, including murders of pastors and church leaders, destruction of Christian villages, as well as churches, hospitals, schools and mission bases, and bombing of Sunday church services. Lands laid waste and where all buildings were demolished included an area the size of Alaska.[24]

Despite the persecutions, Sudanese Christians increased in number from 1.6 million in 1980 to 11 million in 2010. This was despite 22 of the 24 Anglican dioceses operating in exile in Kenya and Uganda, and clergy being unpaid. Four million people remain internally displaced, and another million are in the Sudanese diaspora abroad (of which 400,000 - 600,000 are of the South Sudanese diaspora).

In 2011, South Sudan voted to secede from the north, effective 9 July.[23] Persecution of Christians there had resumed by then.[16]

The

conversions out of Islam, considering apostacy a crime, and refuse to recognize marriages to non-Muslims. Sudan is one of the nations where being a Christian is hardest in the world. Freedom of religion and belief are systematically violated.[25]

In 2014, there was controversy over the planned execution of Maryam Yaḥyā Ibrahīm Isḥaq for apostasy. She was later released and after further delays left Sudan.[25][26]

In 2022, Sudan was ranked as the 10th most dangerous country to be a Christian.[27]

See also

References

  1. ^ Wheeler, Andrew C. "Christianity in Sudan". Dictionary of African Christian Biography. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  2. ^ "Baba 12 : Lives of Saints : Synaxarium - CopticChurch.net".
  3. ^ "Christianity in Nubia". Nubianet.org. Archived from the original on 3 March 2012. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
  4. ^ Mileham, Geoffrey S. (11 August 2010). Photos of Christian Nubia churches. University Museum. .
  5. ^ "Christian Nubia and the Eastern Roman Empire". Rumkatkilise.org. Archived from the original on 3 January 2018. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
  6. ^ Sheen J. Freedom of Religion and Belief: A World Report. Routledge, 1997. p. 75.
  7. ^ "The Martyrs of Sudan: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow". 16 May 2013. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
  8. ^ "Sudan Overview". UNDP Sudan. Archived from the original on 5 June 2012. Retrieved 20 June 2012.
  9. ^ "South Sudan's Muslims welcome secession". The Daily Star. 9 January 2011.
  10. ^ "South Sudan profile". BBC News. 8 July 2011. Retrieved 9 July 2011.
  11. ^ "South Sudan's Muslims welcome secession". Agence France-Presse. 9 January 2011. Retrieved 15 August 2011.
  12. .
  13. .
  14. ^ Arnold, G (2003). "Book Review: Douglas H. Johnson, The Root Causes of Sudan's Civil Wars". African Journal of Political Science. 8 (1): 147.
  15. ^ a b US State Dept 2022 report
  16. ^ a b Benham, Jason; McDoom, Opheera; Roddy, Michael (8 January 2011). "Jehovah Witnesses say harassed in south Sudan". Reuters. Juba, South Sudan. Archived from the original on 16 May 2014. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
  17. ^ "Sudanese Dioceses and Archdiocese". GCatholic.org. 15 January 2012. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
  18. ^ "Cathedrals in the Republic of Sudan". GCatholic.org. Archived from the original on 4 February 2014. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
  19. ^ Johnstone, Patrick; Miller, Duane (2015). "Believers in Christ from a Muslim Background: A Global Census". IJRR. 11: 14. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
  20. ^ "Pope urges end to ethnic hatred at open-air mass in South Sudan". 6 February 2023.
  21. ^ BBC website, article by Mercy Juma dated February 4, 2023
  22. ^ Catholics and Culture website, retrieved 2023-08-08
  23. ^ a b VOMC. "Sudan". The Voice of the Martyrs Canada -. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
  24. ^ a b "Martyrs of Sudan". satucket.com. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
  25. ^ a b Abdelaziz, Salma; Shoichet, Catherine E.; Burke, Daniel; Payne, Ed (15 May 2014). "Christian woman in Sudan sentenced to death for her faith". CNN.
  26. ^ "Sudan woman faces death for apostasy". BBC. 15 May 2014. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
  27. ^ Open Doors website, retrieved 2023-06-24

Bibliography