Persecution of Christians in India: Radical Hindu nationalists frequently target Christians, as they did in this incident, contending that Christianity is a foreign faith that has no place in India. This despite the fact that the Christian presence in India goes back to the time of the apostles, when St. Thomas brought the Holy Gospel there.
As Christianity continues to grow in the country, Hindu radicals are feeling increasingly threatened, and are lashing out more frequently, often with little or no pushback from law enforcement officials. Please pray that peace would prevail for the Christians in India, and that the light of Holy Orthodoxy would again dawn in this land.
For previous ChristianPersecution.com coverage of the persecution of Christians in India, see here.
“Church in India Set on Fire by Suspected Radical Hindu Nationalist,” International Christian Concern, June 15, 2020:
06/15/2020 India (International Christian Concern) – On June 12, 2020, an independent church in the state of Tamil Nadu, southern India, was set on fire on Friday night by unknown aggressors. The fire brought down the entire roof, affected the building structure, furniture, speaker boxes, and amplifier, causing damages estimated around US $2,700. While the reason for the attack is not yet apparent, members of the church suspect radical Hindu nationalists, who have been egregious in that region in the last few years.
According to local sources, on the morning of June 13, Pastor Ramesh saw the flames and thick smoke coming out of the church. By that time, the roof, made of coconut leaves and bamboos, was completely burnt.
“I was shocked for a moment looking at the church engulfed with flames and smoke. I was broken, and it was so painful, there was absolutely no way to save anything from inside the church. The church structure, instruments, and furniture inside the church are ten years of hard labor,” Pastor Ramesh told ICC.
Pastor Ramesh leads 100 members of the ‘Real Peace Church’ in Vaylur, Changalpattu district, for the last ten years. He explained this incident is part of persecution against Christians and their work in the district, as he also has been threatened to stop Christian practice in the region….
