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Holy Virgin Mary Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Khartoum
Christianity in Sudan has a long and rich history, dating back to the early centuries of the Christian era.[1]
Ancient Nubia was reached by Coptic Christianity by the 1st century.
The Coptic Church was later influenced by Greek Christianity, particularly during the Byzantine era. From the 7th century, the Christian Nubian kingdoms were threatened by the Islamic expansion, but the southernmost of these kingdoms, Alodia, survived until 1504.
A fresco showing the birth of Jesus, in Faras cathedralReconstruction of a church in Old Dongola
Christianity reached the area of present-day northern Sudan, then called Nubia, by the first century after Christ. By tradition it was St. Matthew the Apostle was said to have visited the region and been active in the establishment of the church south of Aswan.[2] It greatly developed under the influence of the bishops of Alexandria and missionaries form the Eastern Roman Empire.[3]
Indeed, Byzantine architecture influenced most of the Christian churches in lower Nubia.[4]
The Byzantine Emperor Justinian I (reigned 527 to 565) helped to make Nubia a stronghold of Christianity during the Middle Ages by securing the region with strategic alliances.[5]
By 580 AD Christianity had become the official religion of the northern Sudan, centered around the Faras cathedral.[6]
Modern missionary activity
During the 19th century, British missionaries re-introduced the Christian faith into South Sudan. British imperial authorities somewhat arbitrarily limited missionary activity to the multi-ethnic southern region.[7] The Church of England and other parts of the Anglican Communion continued to send missionaries and other assistance after the country became independent in 1956, although that also precipitated decades of civil war and persecutions as discussed below.
At the 2011 division which split off South Sudan, over 97% of the population in Sudan in the north, adheres to Islam.[8] Religions followed by the South Sudanese include Christianity (over 60%), traditional indigenous religions and Islam although many Muslims from the south migrated to North Sudan after the independence of South Sudan in 2011.[9][10] The last census to mention the religion of southerners dates back to 1956 where a majority were classified as following traditional beliefs or were Christian while 18% were Muslim.[11]
Roman Catholic missionaries began work in Sudan in 1842; both Anglicans and American Presbyterians began in Sudan in 1899.[citation needed] The Anglicans through the Church Missionary Society had their base in Omdurman, while the Presbyterians began in Khartoum but developed ministry both in the north and in the south. The Sudan Interior Mission began working in the country in 1937. The Africa Inland Mission launched the Africa Inland Church in 1949. In 1964 all foreign missionaries were made to leave southern Sudan because of the civil war. A few groups maintained missionaries in the north. The Sudan Pentecostal Church, which has grown significantly in the south, was started later by the Swedish.
As of 2011[update], prior to the independence of South Sudan, about 2,009,374 Sudanese practiced Roman Catholicism, mainly in the south (5% of the population were devout Roman Catholics).[citation needed] Nine catholic dioceses include two archdioceses in modern Sudan,[17] with five Cathedrals.[18] The patron saint of the Sudan is the former slave Saint Josephine Bakhita, canonized in 2000.
About 100,000 people or 0.25% of the population belong to various Protestant denominations in northern Sudan. Catholicism is practised by some thousand followers north of Sudan's capital. A 2015 study estimates some 30,000 Muslims converted to Christianity in Sudan, most of them belonging to some form of Protestantism.[19]
Pope Francis visited South Sudan in February 2023. On the final day of his pilgrimage to the country, the pontiff delivered a powerful message of peace and reconciliation, calling on the people of South Sudan to lay down their weapons of hatred. The visit was well received by the largely Christian population, who hoped for change in a country struggling with conflict and poverty.[20][21]
Christianity in the 2020s
In 2022, Christians made up 5.4% of the country's population.[15] Catholics made up 3.16% of the population.[22]
Sudan's Christians have been persecuted under various military regimes. Sudan's civil wars temporarily ended in 1972, but resumed in 1983, as famine hit the region. Four million people were displaced and two million people died in the two-decade long conflict, before a temporary six-year ceasefire was signed in January 2005.[23]
In May 1983, Sudan's Anglican and Roman Catholic clergy signed a declaration that they would not abandon God, as God had revealed himself to them under threat of Shariah Law.[24] Anti-Christian persecutions grew particularly after 1985, including murders of pastors and church leaders, destruction of Christian villages, as well as churches, hospitals, schools and mission bases, and bombing of Sunday church services. Lands laid waste and where all buildings were demolished included an area the size of Alaska.[24]
Despite the persecutions, Sudanese Christians increased in number from 1.6 million in 1980 to 11 million in 2010. This was despite 22 of the 24 Anglican dioceses operating in exile in Kenya and Uganda, and clergy being unpaid. Four million people remain internally displaced, and another million are in the Sudanese diaspora abroad (of which 400,000 - 600,000 are of the South Sudanese diaspora).
In 2011, South Sudan voted to secede from the north, effective 9 July.[23] Persecution of Christians there had resumed by then.[16]
The Naivasha Agreement technically protects non-Muslims in the north. Some interpretations of Muslim law in Sudan refuse to recognize conversions out of Islam, considering apostacy a crime, and refuse to recognize marriages to non-Muslims.[25]
Jakobielski, S. Christian Nubia at the Height of its Civilization (Chapter 8). UNESCO. University of California Press. San Francisco, 1992 ISBN978-0-520-06698-4
Pierli, Francesco, Maria Teresa Ratti, and Andrew C. Wheeler. 1998. Gateway to the Heart of Africa: Missionary Pioneers in Sudan. Nairobi: Paulines Publications in Africa.
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