{"id":103698,"date":"2025-02-11T17:09:59","date_gmt":"2025-02-11T17:09:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.opendoorsuk.org\/?post_type=news&p=103698"},"modified":"2025-02-11T17:10:54","modified_gmt":"2025-02-11T17:10:54","slug":"eritrea-paulos","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/connect.opendoorsuk.org\/ireland\/blog\/news\/latest-news\/eritrea-paulos\/","title":{"rendered":"Who will be arrested next in Eritrea?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Eritrea
In Eritrea, storage containers are used as prisons (illustrative image)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe all live in fear of who will be arrested next.\u201d Paulos* knows it could be him. Every day, he lives with that danger.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n

“Often, I have to run from the police.”<\/p> Paulos<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n <\/div>\n\n\n\n

Paulos is a Christian in Eritrea, which is number six<\/a> on the World Watch List. Being a Christian isn\u2019t illegal \u2013 but only if you belong to one of the denominations recognised by the government: the Orthodox, Catholic and Lutheran churches. If you\u2019re Protestant or Evangelical, then you\u2019re in extreme danger. Paulos is church elder in an Evangelical church and a convert from the Orthodox church. He has to watch his back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOften, I have to run from the police,\u201d he says. \u201cGod has protected me. There were times we were surrounded but weren\u2019t caught.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u2018North Korea of Africa\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Eritrean government demands complete obedience. Eritrea is often called the \u2018North Korea of Africa\u2019 due to its extreme censorship, and Christians are among those who face heavy scrutiny, including monitoring of phone calls and internet use. The authorities also conduct regular house raids, to arrest \u2018unsanctioned\u2019 Christians \u2013 particularly church leaders like Paulos. It\u2019s estimated that there are around 1,000 Eritrean Christians in prison for their faith, having committed no crime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And this isn\u2019t prison like you might imagine. Eritrea\u2019s prisons are notoriously inhumane. Some are underground, and prisoners rarely see daylight. Others are collections of shipping containers in the desert \u2013 ferociously hot during the day and brutally cold at night. Sometimes people die from these conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n

“They are in jail for Jesus and have been robbed from their families.”<\/p> Paulos<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n <\/div>\n\n\n\n

Paulos sees how this persecution is harming whole families and communities. \u201cThere are many children without a mother,\u201d he explains. \u201cThey are in jail for Jesus and have been robbed from their families. There are also many wives without a husband. Their husbands are in jail for Jesus. Meanwhile, the wives are mocked: \u2018How can you say your religion is the right one? Where is your husband? Why isn\u2019t he taking care of his family?\u2019\u201d The whole church is affected by these attempts to undermine it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pressure from village elders<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Sadly, persecution also often comes from other Christians. When believers choose to leave the sanctioned denominations, their families and communities often turn against them. \u201cI grew up in a family that was Eritrean Orthodox, although we lived in a region dominated by Muslims,\u201d says Paulos. As he grew up, he started attending some discipleship training courses and he realised he\u2019d never truly committed to following Jesus. When he gave his life to Jesus, he was drawn to a more evangelical expression of his faith.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Paulos\u2019s case, his closest relatives were open to his newfound faith \u2013 but that wasn\u2019t true of the wider community. \u201cMy family was alright with this, but some shunned me for breaking with the more traditional faith of the Orthodox Church I was a member of,\u201d he says. \u201cFortunately, nobody beat me, but my family and I were put under a lot of pressure by the elders of the village.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Determination despite fear<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

He hasn\u2019t been arrested yet, but lives with the danger every day. Is Paulos ever scared? \u201cYes, of course,\u201d he says. \u201cWill it be another brother in Christ arrested next? Will it be me? But we must continue to walk with God. We build upon what others have done before us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

\n

“I\u2019m determined to stay here and serve the Lord in Eritrea.”<\/p> Paulos<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n <\/div>\n\n\n\n

He adds: \u201cSometimes I think about leaving the country. But then I remind myself: who will preach the gospel? I\u2019m determined to stay here and serve the Lord in Eritrea. I have a \u2018gospel responsibility\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And Paulos is seeing the church standing strong \u2013 and growing. Even as Christians are arrested, churches are shut down and believers suffer in prison, God is at work. \u201cWhat I see is that while the persecution is intensifying, the number of believers increases,\u201d Paulos says. \u201cThis is how the gospel works. The gospel bears fruit in times of persecution and oppression.<\/p>\n\n\n

\r\n
\r\n
Every \u00a345<\/div>\r\n\r\n
could help give persecution survival and evangelism training to a Christian who has fled extreme persecution.<\/div>\r\n My gift<\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n\n\n\n

\u201cMany people thirst for God, thirst for salvation, thirst for the right way. Often, when believers share the gospel with their friends and family, God uses those words to win their hearts and souls.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your prayers and support are deeply valuable to believers from Eritrea, and from the other countries where Christians face the most persecution for their faith. You can show our brothers and sisters that they are not alone, as they shine the light of Christ in some of the world\u2019s darkest places. Thank you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Paulos in Eritrea risks arrest every day as he serves God in one of the darkest places in the world to be a Christian.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":103699,"parent":8268,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-103698","news","type-news","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWho will be arrested next in Eritrea? - Open Doors Ireland<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Paulos in Eritrea risks arrest every day as he serves God in one of the darkest places in the world to be a Christian.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Who will be arrested next in 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