According to tradition, St. Thomas the Apostle brought Christianity to Sri Lanka, but Holy Orthodoxy no longer has a presence there. There are in Sri Lanka some members of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, which is among the Churches that separated from the Holy Orthodox Church in the fifth century over issues regarding the divine and human natures of our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ. Today there is a growing Evangelical Protestant community in Sri Lanka, which is subject to increasing harassment and discrimination from Hindus and Buddhists. Both of those communities have at times resorted to violence in attempting to prevent the growth of Christianity there. May the Holy Spirit continue to move in the people of Sri Lanka, and ultimately make for a restoration of the Orthodox Faith that St. Thomas the Apostle brought to that beautiful island in the early days of the Church.
“Christian Pastor in Sri Lanka Abducted and Tortured by Unknown Assailants,” International Christian Concern, December 19, 2018:
12/19/2018 Sri Lanka (International Christian Concern) – According to a report by the National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka (NCEASL), a Christian pastor was abducted and tortured by unknown assailants after being stopped by a policeman in October.
On October 29, 2018, the pastor was traveling to his home in Avissawella, near Colombo, by motorbike when he was flagged down by a policeman. According to the pastor, he was grabbed from behind when he stopped. His mouth was covered with piece of cloth and he was loaded into a vehicle before losing consciousness.
The pastor’s abductors took him to an unknown location where they then tortured him with electric shocks until the following day. Unconscious, the pastor was dumped by his attackers and was later found by a passer-by who took him to the hospital.
Earlier this year, NCEASL reported a sharp increase in attacks on Christians. Between January and September, NCEASL documented 67 attacks on the Christian community in Sri Lanka. Twelve of those attacks were recorded in September….
Photo by Daibo Taku, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=54491784
