Christians make up about 50% of the population of Eritrea, but are still subject to persecution. Most Christians in Eritrea are members of the Ethiopian Tewahedo Orthodox Church, which separated from Holy Orthodoxy over the definition of the divine and human natures of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ at the Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon in 451.
For previous ChristianPersecution.com coverage of the persecution of Christians in Eritrea, see here.
“Eritrean Government Takes Over Religious College,” International Christian Concern, September 3, 2022:
09/03/2022 Eritrea (International Christian Concern) – The government of Eritrea has taken over a Catholic-run technical college, according to the BBC. To support this encroachment, Eritrea is citing a 1995 regulation giving it authority over religious institutions in the country.
Known as a or the worst governmental violator of religious freedom in Africa, Eritrea has seized other Catholic-run educational institutions in the past, including a number of religious secondary schools and healthcare facilities. It is set to take over the Catholic-run Don Bosco Technical School in Dekemhare later this month.
Analysts believe the recent seizures are in retaliation for the Catholic church’s calls for reform in the country, according to the BBC.
Eritrea has long operated as a sort of pariah state for its blatant disregard for human rights, including religious freedom. Though it occasionally releases prisoners of conscience, it is known to keep a large number of Christians and other religious minorities in abysmal conditions. Survivors of Eritrea’s several prison camps report the worst abuse imaginable, including severe torture and grossly inhumane living quarters….
In 2021, the European Union sanctioned Eritrea for its “serious human rights violations in Eritrea, in particular arbitrary arrests, extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances of persons and torture committed by its agents.”…
