“Ekhristos Anesti!” “Alithos Anesti!” These are words commonly heard in Egyptian Christian circles at this time: “Christ is risen!” we greet one another, “He is risen indeed!” we reply. Happy Easter! It’s a busy time for Christians in Egypt. Coptic Orthodox Christians, who make up about 90 per cent of the Christian population here, spend Passion Week, the last week […]
Article 1 in a new series: The Ethics of Global Engagement A Middle East contributor highlights some of the issues we need to be mindful of as we engage with the church in the Middle East and North Africa. The Body of Christ is not simply a local church that meets on Sundays, but a global body of all those […]
2011 began with high expectations for new freedoms and prosperity across much of the Arab World. Three years on there is a palpable sense of disappointment and frustration. SAT-7 CEO, Dr Terence Ascott, offers a country-by-country overview of what has happened since and untangles a confusing picture. Beginning in January 2011, a wave of uprisings swept away dictators in Tunisia, […]
An arduous journey and close surveillance faced the wise men who came seeking the birth of Jesus. Traditionally thought to be Persians, their challenges are echoed in the monitoring and risks faced by Iranians who celebrate Christ’s birth today. Everyone who has ever watched or taken part in a Nativity play knows that some of the first people to recognise […]
Rev Edward Hovsepian-Mehr pastored churches in Iran for 35 years. Since 2003 he has led the Iranian Church in London and is superintendent of a network of Iranian churches in the UK and Europe. He is one of the most influential teachers in the Iranian church and a regular broadcaster on SAT-7 PARS. We asked Edward how he became involved […]
Women are playing a crucial role in what is one of the most unexpected stories of our generation: the growth of the Church in Iran. Dr Mojdeh Shirvanian from Elam Ministries has served the Church in Iran for over thirty years. Here she identifies three ways in which this is happening. Before the Iranian revolution in 1979 there were a […]
On Sunday 8th September, Middle East Christian broadcaster SAT-7 aired footage of Egyptians worshipping in the remains of the Evangelical Church of Beni Mazar. Located in the town of Minia, Upper Egypt, it was one of over 80 Egyptian churches targeted in violent attacks during August. This special episode aired as part of the SAT-7 programme, My Church. Dark smears […]
In little more than 50 years, Abu Dhabi – capital of the United Arab Emirates – has become a glittering, cosmopolitan metropolis of commerce, government and culture. Tens of thousands of expatriate Christians from all over the globe have also come to live, work and worship here, as Canon Andrew Thompson explains. St Andrew’s Anglican Church began because of the discovery […]
The growth and resilience of an indigenous Iranian church has been one of the most remarkable signs of God at work in the Middle East in recent decades. An online seminary and a partnership with SAT-7 are playing an essential part in discipling these emerging churches. Wazala spoke to one of the pioneers of this programme. Despite increasing restrictions upon […]
