Eritrea: Christian Leader Dies in Captivity

An 83-year-old church leader has passed away in prison in Eritrea. Please continue to pray for our brothers and sisters in the country.

It’s 22 years since the government closed all churches that are not Orthodox, Lutheran or Catholic. This includes the Full Gospel Church, and one of its founders recently passed away whilst serving a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence for his faith.

Reverend Ghirmay Araya was arrested in 2021 and had been held in a maximum-security prison. He suffered from diabetes and other related illnesses. He was aged 83, and leaves behind a wife, five children and 13 grandchildren.

One of his children, Samuel, who’s a Lutheran minister, has been in prison for the last seven years in the same facility where his father was held, but there was no opportunity to meet and it’s unclear whether he’s yet been informed of his father’s death. It’s believed that Samuel is being held in one of the country’s notorious shipping containers.

Imprisoned for more than ten years

In Eritrea, anyone who follows Jesus outside of the three recognised denominations – such as Evangelicals or Pentecostals – is at constant risk of arrest. They have no right to gather for worship, publish Christian books and magazines, produce Christian music or distribute Bibles and Christian tracts. They are not allowed to share their Christian faith with any other Eritrean at work, school or military camps.

Current estimates suggest around 1,000 Eritrean Christians are imprisoned, without having been charged with any crime. Members of some house churches have been in prison for more than ten years, enduring shocking conditions, including solitary confinement in tiny cells. Like Reverend Ghirmay, many of those still held are getting older and suffer from various health conditions.

Details of those imprisoned, including names, are scarce. Some prominent pastors who have spent nearly two decades in prison and whose names are public include:

Dr. Kilfu Gebremeskel (imprisoned since May 2004)

Pastor Haile Nayzgi (imprisoned since May 2004)

Pastor Million Gebreselasie (imprisoned since June 2004)

Futsum Gebrenegus (imprisoned since November 2004)

Gebremedhin Gebregiorsis (imprisoned since November 2004)

Tekleab Menghisteab (imprisoned since November 2004)

Kidane Weldou (disappeared in 2005, still thought to be imprisoned)

Rev. Ogbamichael Teklehaimanot (imprisoned since January 2005)

Four ways to pray

1. Prisoners Ask God to strengthen and sustain those in prison. Pray that they will experience His peace, presence and power in deeply profound ways. Pray for opportunities to share their faith. Pray for their release.  “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.” (2 Corinthians 4:7-10)
2. Government Pray that the authorities will recognise their responsibility to look after all Eritreans. Ask God to raise up individuals who speak up for religious freedom. Pray for breakthroughs.  “I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people – for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.” (1 Timothy 2:1-2)
3. Church Praise God that the church in Eritrea, despite persecution, is growing. Pray that this will continue. Ask God to empower and encourage church leaders. Pray for unity among different church groups.  “We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father...” (Colossians 1:9-12)
4. Martyrs Praise God for the faithful witness of martyrs, like Reverend Ghirmay. Ask God to comfort their families. Pray that God will use their witness to draw persecutors to Jesus.  “Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.” (John 12:24)

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