February 28, 2018 – Please pray for Eritrea
Eritrea is a country in the Horn of Africa, with its capital at Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast. The northeastern and eastern parts of Eritrea have an extensive coastline along the Red Sea. The nation includes the Dahlak Archipelago and several of the Hanish Islands.\
The country is virtually bisected by a branch of the East African Rift. It has fertile lands to the west, descending to desert in the east. Eritrea, at the southern end of the Red Sea, is the home of the fork in the rift. The Dahlak Archipelago and its fishing grounds are situated off the sandy and arid coastline.
The climate of Eritrea is shaped by its diverse topographical features and its location within the tropics. The diversity in landscape and topography in the highlands and lowlands of Eritrea result in the diversity of climate across the country.
Eritrea’s population increased from 3.2 million to 5 million between 1990 and 2016.
According to the Pew Research Center, as of 2010, 62.9% of the population of Eritrea adheres to Christianity, 36.6% follows Islam, and 0.4% practices other or folk religion. The U.S. Department of State estimated that, as of 2011, 50% of the population of Eritrea adheres to Christianity, 48% follows Islam, and 2% observes other religions, including traditional faiths and animism.
Since May 2002, the government of Eritrea has officially recognized the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church (Oriental Orthodox), Sunni Islam, the Eritrean Catholic Church, and the Evangelical Lutheran church. All other faiths and denominations are required to undergo a registration process. Among other things, the government’s registration system requires religious groups to submit personal information on their membership to be allowed to worship.
The Eritrean government is against what it deems as “reformed” or “radical” versions of its established religions. Therefore, alleged radical forms of Islam and Christianity, Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Bahá’í Faith (though the Bahá’í Faith is neither Islamic nor Christian), the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and numerous other Protestant and Evangelical denominations are not registered and cannot worship freely.
In its 2017 religious freedom report, the U.S. State Department named Eritrea a Country of Particular Concern (CPC).
The above are from en.wikipedia.org. These statements have not been fact-checked and are only used here to help us gain a better understanding of this nation.
We should be thankful we have freedom of worship in our nation. As we are seeing there are many countries where Christians cannot worship freely. Let us pray for them.
1. Pray for the love of Gospel to penetrate the hearts of the people Eritrea.
2. Pray for the Church to multiply even in the face of opposition. Pray the hearts of the leaders will be changed to allow freedom of worship.
3. Pray for peace and safety of those who carry the message of the Gospel to this nation.
