Overflowing Church In Middle East Proves Christianity Is Alive
Source: JOSEPH EID / Getty Images [Source: AtlantaDailyWorld] Christanity is not dead in the middle east. One place that is showing this is Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Pew Research Center numbers Christians in the Arabian Peninsula at 2.3 million—more Christians than nearly 100 countries can claim. The Gulf Christian Fellowship, an umbrella group, estimates 3.5 million. Foreigners now make up more than 70 percent of the more than 4 million inhabitants, coming from other Arab countries, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, the Philippines. More than half of these foreign workers are Christians. Adding up the figures, Christians account for more than 35 percent of the population of the United Arab Emirates. Around a million of them are Catholic. And it’s not only in the UAE – in Saudi Arabia, too, it is estimated that there are already about a million Catholics from the Philippines.One of the things proving that ministry is growing is the creation of a new church. Located in Mussafah, a satellite town of Abu Dhabi, St. Paul parish overflowed with 5,000 Christian worshippers gathering for the Thanksgiving Mass, far more than its 1,200-capacity. It is set to cater to the 60,000 to 70,000 Christians working and living in the surrounding area, many of whom are migrant workers from Africa, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and the Philippines. Some local Arabs have also joined in.Mubarak Al Nahyan, UAE’s minister for culture, youth, and community development, said the opening of the church—the second in Dubai after St. Joseph’s Cathedral in the center of the city—underlines the religious tolerance of religious leaders. He lauded Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the previous president and father of the current president, for his wisdom, courage, prudence, temperance, loyalty, justice, and generosity.Mubarak Al Nahyan says:‘Our leadership knows its true wealth and accepts the obligation to respect and understand the many religious beliefs of the people living in this country. I believe that each of you can provide evidence that the leaders of the UAE are fulfilling that obligation.’In the history of Christianity, both the apostles St. Peter and St. Paul had long intense missions in the middle east. The former founded the church of Antioch. St. Paul’s great mission to the gentiles began at Antioch, where the term “Christians” came to life to denote the followers of Christ. The name was first heard for the first time here. The apostle St. Thomas brought Christianity to Mesopotamia, now Iraq, and the three main Iraqi denominations—Chaldean, Assyrian, and Orthodox—still survive from that early period. The Chaldean and Assyrian churches use Syriac in their respective liturgies, a tongue close to Aramaic, which Jesus is said to have spoken.
DOJ to summon Iglesia ni Cristo leaders
[PhilStar] MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Justice (DOJ) will summon leaders of the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) for a preliminary investigation into criminal charges – including serious illegal detention – filed against them by expelled members of the religious sect.
Sec. Leila de Lima (DOJ)
Justice Secretary Leila de Lima vowed fairness in the conduct of the preliminary investigation, wherein the eight respondents are expected to file counter-affidavits “as part of the process.”
Aside from serious illegal detention – a non-bailable offense – the eight INC ministers are also facing charges of harassment as well as threats and coercion. The eight are members of the 10-man Sanggunian, the INC’s highest administrative council.
Expelled INC members Isaias Samson Jr. and Lito Fruto filed the complaints.
De Lima said investigating prosecutors would issue subpoena requiring the respondents to appear in a hearing.
It was her order to have the complaints investigated that prompted the INC leadership to call for street protests and demand the resignation of De Lima.
ABS-CBN cameraman assaulted at Iglesia ni Cristo EDSA protest – report
August 29, 2015 3:15am
Unidentified assailants reportedly mauled ABS-CBN cameraman Melchor Pinlac while he was filming the Iglesia ni Cristo protest at the EDSA Shrine.
Pinlac said that he was grabbed by the neck, then he was punched on the jaw, the body, and the back of the neck, according to a dzMM radio report. All the while, the crowd around him was chanting “biased, biased.”
According to Super Radyo dzBB, their reporter Olan Bola was shoved around during the encounter while trying to appease protesters. Bola was not injured. — GMA News
