New York, NY – December 14, 2016
The World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) condemns the devastating and senseless act of violence targeting the Church of St Peter and St Paul, located next to St Mark’s Coptic Orthodox Cathedral, the main Coptic Church in central Cairo on Sunday, December 11.
The bombing, which occurred during Sunday mass, killed 24 and injured 49 people. “We deplore Sunday’s attack and call upon the government led by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to ensure the protection of Christians in Egypt,” the Executive Director of the WEA Religious Liberty Commission and Associate Secretary General of the WEA, Godfrey Yogarajah said.
The bombing, the worst attack against Christians in the country’s history, comes in the wake of 2 bombs that killed 7 people on Friday (Dec 9), including 6 police officers in Giza’s Haram District. Coptic Christians who make up 10 percent of Egypt’s 91 million-population have faced a surge in persecution and discrimination since 2011. On January 1, 2011, 23 people were killed when the Saints Church in Alexandria was bombed during New Year’s Eve service. Disturbingly, according to reports, there have been no arrests on the attack.
“While we condemn the bombing in the strongest possible manner, we also call upon all Christians in Egypt to remain calm and united in the aftermath of the attack,” WEA Secretary General Bishop Efraim Tendero said, and added: “In this moment of distress, we urge the global Church to intercede for Christians in Egypt, especially those who have lost loved ones in this inhuman act of violence.”
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Over two billion Christians in the world today are represented by three world church bodies. The World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) is one of those, serving more than 600 million evangelicals. Launched in 1846 to unite evangelicals worldwide, the WEA continues to be a dynamic movement with 7 regional and 129 national Evangelical Alliances, and over 150 member organizations. WEA's mission is to establish and strengthen regional and national Evangelical Alliances, who in turn enable their national Church to advance the Good News of Jesus Christ and effect personal and community transformation for the glory of God. For more info, e-mail [email protected] or go to Worldea.org.
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