The Voice of the Martyrs Canada :: Church burned in Andhra Pradesh :: Providing Information and Support for Persecuted Christians

Language:
English enjoys associate status but is the most important language for national, political, and commercial communication; Hindi is the national language and primary tongue of 30% of the people; there are 14 other official languages: Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Urdu, Gujarati, Malayalam, Kannada, Oriya, Punjabi, Assamese, Kashmiri, Sindhi, and Sanskrit; Hindustani is a popular variant of Hindi/Urdu spoken widely throughout northern India but is not an official language.

Religion:
Hindu 80.5%, Muslim 13.4%, Christian 2.3%, Sikh 1.9%, Other 1.8% (2001)

Government Type:
Federal Republic

Capital:
New Delhi

Population Below Poverty Line:
25% (2007 est.)

Country Reports

Church burned in Andhra Pradesh

August 26, 2009

Photo from GCIC

The Best Friends Church building in the village of Mahasamudram in Andhra Pradesh, India was burned to the ground at approximately 10:30 p.m. on August 20 by suspected Hindu activists. A dedication service for the newly constructed church building had been scheduled for August 30. The structure was built by the church's pastor on his own property after seven years of hosting worship services in his home.

Pray that the believers of this church will continue to gather together for worship. Pray that those responsible will experience repentance and salvation, just as Paul did (Acts 9:1-19).

To find out more about the suffering of our Indian brothers and sisters, go to the India Country Report.