Christianity has been in India since apostolic times, brought there by St. Thomas the Apostle in A.D. 52, as attested by St. Ephraim, St. John Chrysostom and St. Gregory the Theologian, among others. St. Thomas was martyred in India in A.D. 72. Today the Malankara Orthodox Church of the East still survives there, an apostolic Church that broke with Holy Orthodoxy over the Council of Chalcedon in 451. There also remains a small number of Orthodox Christians under the jurisdiction of the the Holy Metropolis of Singapore.
For previous ChristianPersecution.com coverage of the persecution of Christians in India, see here.
“Christians Harassed and Imprisoned in India,” International Christian Concern, May 31, 2022:
05/31/2022 India (International Christian Concern) – ICC has been made aware of multiple incidents of harassment and false imprisonment in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh in recent weeks. A pastor and his wife were arrested after a mob of 100 radicals harassed them and their congregation during a worship service at their Church in the Azamgarh district. In another case, two pastors were visiting the home of a fellow Christian when an onlooker complained to the police that they were engaging in conversion activities. The two were arrested. In a third case, two Christians were attacked and arrested while teaching the Bible in the Lakhimpur Kheri district.
Harassment, attacks, and false imprisonment against Christians have escalated alarmingly in Uttar Pradesh. While the pastors suffer behind bars, the families of the wrongly convicted suffer on the outside. A Christian leader in the region, who requested to remain anonymous, told ICC that he is aware of 16 Christians currently imprisoned in the state. He lamented, “when the breadwinner in the family is arrested, the whole family suffers, as many pastors in the rural areas do not have reserves, and the family survival becomes difficult.” The persecution taking place in UP is unprecedented. The Christian community in the region is becoming increasingly afraid of the severe consequences of practicing their faith….
