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DR JOHN SENTAMU
ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT
Dr John Sentamu has announced
that he will retire from his post as
Archbishop of York on 7 June 2020, 3
days before his 71st birthday.
In a statement, Dr Sentamu said:
“I will be retiring from my post as
Archbishop of York in June 2020.
I have decided to announce my
retirement now in order to provide
the Church of England with the widest
possible timeframe to pray, discern
with wisdom and insight and put in
place a timetable for my successor
and to consider fully the work they
will be called to do in service to
the national church, the Northern
Province and the Diocese of York.”
Source: premier.org.uk/news
THREE INDONESIAN
CHURCHES SHUT DOWN
On September 27 officials in western
village of Alam Barajo district closed 3
churches for “administrative reasons.”
Indonesia ensures freedom of religion
to all citizens in its constitution and
therefore cannot close churches
based on religious purposes. Prior
to the last decade, Indonesia had
a strong reputation of religious
tolerance. Yet, over the last decade
alone, there have been over 1,000
churches that closed as the Muslim
community is pushing for stronger
Islamic laws.
Source: persecution.org
CHINESE BISHOPS
ATTEND VATICAN SYNOD
FOR FIRST TIME
Catholic bishops from China
have for the first time attended a
major Vatican meeting, following a
landmark agreement between the
Holy See and Beijing.
The bishops have taken part in
a month-long meeting, known as a
synod, in October, to discuss the role
of young people in the 1.2 billion-
member Church. It was the first time
the Beijing government has allowed
bishops to leave the country to attend
a Vatican synod, meetings which
take place every few years on a
different topic.
Source: christiantoday.com
SUDAN RELEASES
THOUSANDS OF BIBLES
HELD FOR YEARS
A shipment of Bibles believed to have
been held in a Sudanese port for six
years has been cleared for distribution.
The Bibles were held at Port Sudan
and were “decaying” in shipping
containers, but were released a
fortnight ago and transported to
Sudan’s capital, Khartoum. Sudan
is an Islamic state where Christians
routinely face discrimination and
harassment. The government had
delayed clearing the Bibles since
2011, though the country’s 2 million
Christians were short of Bibles and
teaching materials.
The release of the Bibles came
after Sudanese authorities returned
19 properties to the Sudanese
Church of Christ, two years after it
confiscated them in a long-running
dispute between the government and
the church over the ownership of the
properties. A court ruled against the
government in August and ordered
the return of the properties. Sudan
is fourth on the 2018 Open Doors
World Watch List of the 50 countries
where it is most difficult to be
a Christian.
Source: christiantoday.com
LOCAL MUSLIMS STONE
THREE CHRISTIANS TO
DEATH IN KENYA
Three Christians were stoned to death
in September by an angry mob in
Elwak, Mandera, a town close to the
Kenya-Somalia border.
The Muslim residents of Elwak
were engaging the police after three
suspected al-Shabaab militants were
found killed outside of town. In
retaliation, the irate protesters turned
their anger toward three non-local
Christians at the construction site.
A witness, who requested to
remain anonymous, told, “[He] was on
top of a new house he was contracted
to build. His two assistants were on the
ground mixing mortar when the mob
arrived in [a] hurry, chanting ‘takbir,
takbir, takbir’. From a distance, I saw
the men hurling construction stones
towards Fredrick and his coworkers.”
He continued, “The three managed
to flee into a nearby hotel for safety,
although they had been badly injured.
The Muslims relentlessly followed them
up and stoned them to death.”
Source: persecution.org
NETFLIX TO PRODUCE
‘THE CHRONICLES OF
NARNIA’ IN NEW FILM AND
TELEVISION SERIES
Netflix has closed a multi-year
deal with The C.S. Lewis Company
to develop new series and film
projects based on Lewis’ popular
The Chronicles of Narnia books.
Under the pact, Netflix, working
with Entertainment One, will develop
stories from across the Narnia
universe into series and films with
eOne’s Mark Gordon as well as
Douglas Gresham and Vincent Sieber
serving as executive producers for
series and as producers for features.
Netflix is the studio. The deal marks
the first time that rights to the entire
seven books of the Narnia universe
have been held by the same company.
Source: deadline.com
Revival Times November 2018
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