Christianity in Sudan
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The Coptic Church was later influenced by
Christianity has a long and rich history in Sudan, dating back to the early centuries of the Christian era. [1] Ancient
Southern Sudan (including what is now
History
Coptic Christianity
Christianity reached the area of present-day northern
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
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
- Africa Inland Church
- Apostolic Church
- Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria
- Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church
- Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church
- Greek Orthodox Church
- International church of the Nazarene
- Jehovah's Witnesses[16]
- New Apostolic
- Presbyterian Church of the Sudan
- Seventh Day Adventist Church
- Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church
- Sudan Pentecostal Church
- Sudan Interior Church
- Sudan Church of Christ
Roman Catholic missionaries began work in Sudan in 1842; both Anglicans and American
As of 2011[update], prior to the independence of
About 100,000 people or 0.25% of the population belong to various Protestant denominations in northern Sudan.
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
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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
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
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
- Early history of Sudan
- Nubia
- Josephine Bakhita
- Religion in Sudan
- Orthodoxy in Sudan
- Catholic Church in Sudan
- Protestantism in Sudan
- Religion in South Sudan
References
- ^ Wheeler, Andrew C. "Christianity in Sudan". Dictionary of African Christian Biography. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
- ^ "Baba 12 : Lives of Saints : Synaxarium - CopticChurch.net".
- ^ "Christianity in Nubia". Nubianet.org. Archived from the original on 3 March 2012. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
- ^
Mileham, Geoffrey S. (11 August 2010). Photos of Christian Nubia churches. University Museum. ISBN 9780598775665.
- ^ "Christian Nubia and the Eastern Roman Empire". Rumkatkilise.org. Archived from the original on 3 January 2018. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
- ^ Sheen J. Freedom of Religion and Belief: A World Report. Routledge, 1997. p. 75.
- ^ "The Martyrs of Sudan: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow". 16 May 2013. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
- ^ "Sudan Overview". UNDP Sudan. Archived from the original on 5 June 2012. Retrieved 20 June 2012.
- ^ "South Sudan's Muslims welcome secession". The Daily Star. 9 January 2011.
- ^ "South Sudan profile". BBC News. 8 July 2011. Retrieved 9 July 2011.
- ^ "South Sudan's Muslims welcome secession". Agence France-Presse. 9 January 2011. Retrieved 15 August 2011.
- ISBN 0203563395.
- ISBN 0313323844.
- ^ Arnold, G (2003). "Book Review: Douglas H. Johnson, The Root Causes of Sudan's Civil Wars". African Journal of Political Science. 8 (1): 147.
- ^ a b US State Dept 2022 report
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Sudanese Dioceses and Archdiocese". GCatholic.org. 15 January 2012. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
- ^ "Cathedrals in the Republic of Sudan". GCatholic.org. Archived from the original on 4 February 2014. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
- ^ Johnstone, Patrick; Miller, Duane (2015). "Believers in Christ from a Muslim Background: A Global Census". IJRR. 11: 14. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
- ^ "Pope urges end to ethnic hatred at open-air mass in South Sudan". 6 February 2023.
- ^ BBC website, article by Mercy Juma dated February 4, 2023
- ^ Catholics and Culture website, retrieved 2023-08-08
- ^ a b VOMC. "Sudan". The Voice of the Martyrs Canada -. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
- ^ a b "Martyrs of Sudan". satucket.com. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Sudan woman faces death for apostasy". BBC. 15 May 2014. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
- ^ Open Doors website, retrieved 2023-06-24
Bibliography
- Maria Alloisio. Bakhita. Editrice La Scuola. Brescia, 1970.
- ISBN 9780664223007.
- Jakobielski, S. Christian Nubia at the Height of its Civilization (Chapter 8). UNESCO. University of California Press. San Francisco, 1992 ISBN 978-0-520-06698-4
- Pierli, Francesco, Maria Teresa Ratti, and Andrew C. Wheeler. 1998. Gateway to the Heart of Africa: Missionary Pioneers in Sudan. Nairobi: Paulines Publications in Africa.