Young Ethiopian Christians ‘bribed’ to convert to Islam, says charity

Ethiopia Orthodox Church
Young Ethiopian Christians are bribed with jobs and education prospects if they convert to Islam, according to the UK-based charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN). A Christian religious leader who wished to remain anonymous told ACN that Christians who are poor were especially targeted. “The [Muslim employers] are . . . Read More

Ethiopian PM sends condolences to Orthodox Church after 15 priests killed

Ethiopian PM sends condolences to Orthodox Church after 15 priests killed
Ethiopia’s prime minister visited the leader of the country’s Orthodox Church on Saturday to express his condolences after 15 priests were killed and ten Orthodox churches damaged in the eastern Somali region last week. Among the priests killed were Rev. Kidane Mariam Nibretu, Rev. Yared Hibu, Father Gebiremariam Asfaw, and . . . Read More

Ethiopian Evangelical sent back to prison for ‘causing outrage to religious feeling’

Women sitting in front of the Holy Saviour Orthodox Church in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)
An Ethiopian court of cassation has rejected an appeal by an Evangelical Christian sentenced to seven months in prison for “causing outrage to religious peace and feeling”. Temesgen Mitiku Mezemir, 24, the leader of an Evangelical fellowship group, was taken back to prison in the southern city of Arba Minch, . . . Read More

Ethiopian Protestant loses appeal against prison sentence for ‘causing outrage to religious peace and feeling’

The Holy Saviour Orthodox Church in Addis Ababa. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)
An Ethiopian court has turned down the appeal of an Evangelical Christian sentenced to seven months in prison for “causing outrage to religious peace and feeling”. In its verdict, published on 19 March, the court upheld an earlier sentence given by a judge in the southern city of Arba Minch . . . Read More

Ethiopian Evangelical sent to prison for ‘insulting’ Orthodox Church

Ethiopia Orthodox Church
A judge in southern Ethiopia has sentenced an Evangelical Christian to seven months in prison for “causing outrage to religious peace and feeling” following accusations believed to come from members of the predominant Ethiopian Orthodox Church (EOC). The judge in the city of Arba Minch handed down the sentence on . . . Read More

Ethiopian Christians arrested for ‘praying against government’

Christians worship during a church service in a town in central  Ethiopia. (Photo: World Watch Monitor, 2016)
Seven Ethiopian Christians have been arrested and detained in the north-western town of Chagni on suspicion of praying against the government. A local source told World Watch Monitor the seven men, members of the Meserete Kiristos church, were followed and overheard by a local militia group when they went up a . . . Read More

Ethiopia: church attacked, then told to close and member arrested for ‘inciting religious clashes’

Ethiopia: church attacked, then told to close and member arrested for ‘inciting religious clashes’
A Pentecostal church in Ethiopia has been ordered to stop meeting in a residential area, in the wake of a mob attack on the church, after which a church member was arrested for “illegal activities” that “incited religious clashes”. The Full Gospel Church in Tikil Dingaye, 20km from the historic . . . Read More