“Endure .. We are children of the martyrs”

As Sudan Council of Churches condemns attacks against churches … five churches were attacked, three of them Coptic … Anba Eliya sends moving spiritual message to the suffering Copts in Sudan

In a statement issued on 20 May 2023, Sudan’s Council of Churches condemned ongoing attacks by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) against churches of various Christian sects in Khartoum. The statement said that the RSF seize the churches and use them as operations centres to run their military actions.

The churches attacked by the RSF, the statement said, were the Coptic Orthodox bishopric churches of Mar-Girgis (St George) and the Holy Virgin; also the Coptic church of Mar-Girgis in Bahari. The Anglican Episcopate church was also attacked, as was the Evangelical church.

In all the attacks, the RSF militias broke through the church gates and doors, looted all the belongings and vehicles, all the while terrorising, beating up, or shooting those present, forcing them to evacuate the building regardless of injuries sustained or scarcely available medical care needed.

The statement concluded with an appeal by Sudan’s Council of Churches to humanitarian and human rights organisations to condemn these violations.

Anba Sarapamon: “We are all fine”

“Dear beloved, we thank our Lord for everything; we are all fine, and all the beloved ones in the diocese.” Anba Sarapamon, Bishop of Atbara and Omdurman in Sudan, sent these words to the Coptic congregation to assure them about the safety of the Copts injured in an attack against the Coptic Orthodox church of Mar-Girgis in the neighbourhood of Masalma in Omdurman, Sudan a few days earlier.

“We pray for an end to the conflict in our beloved Sudan, and for God to bestow peace on the coun- * try. With the blessed intercession of the Holy Virgin, Mar-Girgis, and Mar-Mina, and the prayers of the saints, and all your prayers as well.”

During the early hours of Sunday 14 May, the Coptic Orthodox church of Mar-Girgis in the neighbourhood of Masalma in Umm Durman, Sudan came under an attack which left five injured. The priest Fr Arsanius Zakariya, his son Girgis, the church cantor who goes by the name of Seifein, the guard Habashi, and the Church servant Safwat Shawqy were shot at and beaten; and the church building suffered damages. The injured were moved to hospital during the day, but got no adequate care because of overcrowding and shortage of services. They were treated, however, by members of the Coptic congregation, and are doing well, Anba Sarapamon said.

Official condemnations

According to a statement by the Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the RSF beat the priest and attacked the Christians. They broke into a home for elderly women and a girls’ boarding school attached to the church looking for money. “When they could not find any,” the statement read, “they stole the mobile phones and laptops they found.” The attackers stole the money in the donations boxes and all the content of the bishop’s room as well. They also caused damage to the building.

The Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the “criminal behaviour and flagrant violation of human rights and international law”, and called on the international community and human rights organisations to condemn this “barbaric behavior by the rebel militia”, and to designate it a terrorist organisation. The Sudanese Army issued a statement accusing the RSF of the attack, describing the incident as an extension of the RSF violations of international law and established norms.

The RSF, however, rejected the Army’s accusations, and reciprocated by a statement it posted on Twitter stating that an extremist terrorist group affiliated with the coup forces opened fire on Mar-Girgis church, which caused serious injuries among the Christians. “Our forces include not a few Christians,” RSF said.

For its part, the Coptic Church in Sudan has been closely following all developments, and has advised Copts in Sudan to stay away from conflict districts. A number of Coptic residents of Khartoum had lost their lives, among them two sisters, both doctors. The Coptic Church had halted all church services once the war broke out on 15 April.

Spiritual message from Anba Eliya

On another note, the Coptic Orthodox Bishop of Khartoum and the Southern State, Anba Eliya, wrote a spiritual message of assurance and encouragement to his congregation, especially given that they have been posting messages on social media voicing their sense of abandonment and fear.

Anba Eliya said that suffering and tribulation are not new to Christians, and encouraged the congregation to endure it without complaint, exercising courage and patience with God’s grace. “We are the children of the confessors and martyrs,” he wrote. “They endured harsh tribulation but never reproached God; rather, they honoured the teaching of Christ to love their enemies. It grieves me to see posts of grumbling against God, because we thus lose our forefathers’ greatness and sadden the heart of Christ who endured so much on the Cross for our sake.

“My beloved, let us forego the spirit of protest, and instead purchase the wisdom and eternal peace gifted to us by the Lord.

“May God take care of you and bless Sudan.”