AP

A FAMILY OF NEW ANGLICANS FORMED IN AUSTRALIA

The Diocese of the Southern Cross is a new Anglican diocese in Australia unaffiliated with the Anglican Church of Australia or the Anglican Communion. It is led by a former Archbishop of Sydney, Glenn Davies. The diocese was formed by Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) Australia in August 2022, following a split from the Anglican Church of Australia over same-sex marriage among other issues. The diocese is backed by the Archbishop of Sydney, Kanishka Raffel, and the Bishop of Tasmania, Richard Condie. It has as its Vision: “To faithfully proclaim the gospel across Australia, seeing thousands of disciples made in Anglican churches that love and serve Jesus Christ in all they do.”
Initially, the diocese had three congregations. The first congregation was in Beenleigh, Queensland, while a second in Brisbane joined in September 2022. A third congregation joined the diocese in January 2023. A former Uniting Church in Australia congregation, Faith Church in Mooloolaba, led by the Rev. Hedley Fihaki (former head of the UC’s Assembly of Confessing Congregations) has joined the Diocese of the Southern Cross. The Diocese of the Southern Cros has now a further three congregations, one in Perth (WA), and two more in Queensland – Calamvale and Mackenzie – making a total of 7. [Source: Diocese of the Southern Cross]

TWO CHRISTIANS IN EGYPT RELEASED AFTER THREE YEARS IN JAIL
Two Christian converts from Islam who were locked in an Egyptian prison for three years without trial have been released, religious rights advocates said. Abdulbaqi Saeed Abdo and Nour Girgis were released on Jan. 25. Both had been held in “pre-trial detention” since 2021 on blasphemy charges. Abdo, who is from Yemen and had UN refugee status because of persecution he suffered there, has fled to Canada where he has been reunited with his family. Human rights activists have not publicly released the location of Girgis, who still has charges against him.
Agents from Egypt’s National Security Agency (NSA) raided Abdo’s home in December 2021, after he appeared on a Christian television channel to discuss persecution of Christians in Yemen, and charged him with “joining a terrorist group with knowledge of its purposes” and “contempt of the Islamic religion.” Police also identified Girgis as a member of the alleged group and arrested him under the same charges.
Human rights advocates said the charges against the two Christians were illegal, and the illegality of the charges was compounded by the length of time the men were held, awaiting trial. In response to his legal limbo, and perhaps in desperation, Abdo had wrote to his five children and wife saying he would start refusing medical attention and go on a hunger strike to protest his detention. This garnered attention world-wide, which finally led to their release. The Egyptian government has a history of persecuting converts who have left Islam. According to evangelical leaders in Egypt, the government routinely monitors church bodies looking for Muslims who may be in the process of religious conversion. The Egyptian NSA harasses converts who come to their attention, especially those who have gained any kind of public recognition.
Since the Egyptian constitution was passed in 2014 by referendum (Article 98(f) of Egypt’s penal code outlaws insulting a “heavenly religion,” namely Islam, Christianity and Judaism), there have been numerous, high-profile blasphemy cases filed against Coptic Christians and converts on charges that were either fabricated or false, human rights activists said. Egypt ranked 40th on Open Doors’ 2025 World Watch List of the 50 countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian. [Source: Morning Star News]

CHRISTIANS CONTINUE TO SUFFER DEADLY ATTACKS IN NIGERIA
Morning Star News reported that Pastor Ezekiel, pastor from the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) in Kauru State, central Nigeria. was ambushed and killed by “bandits,” and that his corpse was found two days later after an extensive search by his family. The gruesome killing of Pastor Ezekiel  has left the community in shock and mourning. Pastor Ezekiel had gone to his farm to harvest crops when his vehicle engine ran out of fuel, prompting him to leave to buy gas. It was then the killers struck.
On February 6, 2025, Muslim bandits killed one Christian and in the early hours of the next day, killed two others in the same State. Five other people were abducted in the predominantly Christian village.  Christian leaders called on the Kaduna state government, security agencies, and all relevant authorities to take urgent and decisive action to secure the immediate and safe release of those abducted; bring the perpetrators of this heinous crime to justice; and increase security presence in their State and and other vulnerable communities to prevent further attacks. Other residents of the area, called for urgent intervention by the Nigerian government to end the bloodshed.
Sunday Marshall Katung, a senator from the southern part of Kaduna State, recently told a session of the National Assembly that bandits have taken over most of the communities in southern Kaduna state. He called for immediate military intervention, but it remains to be seen if the government will do anything to protect Christians here, or in other parts of Nigeria. Nigeria remained among the most dangerous places on earth for Christians, and ranks seventh on the 2025 WWL list of the 50 worst countries for Christians.

CHURCH PLANTER TAKES INDONESIA’S ACEH PROVINCE AS HIS MISSION FIELD
Indonesia) — As the month of Ramadan draws near, one place where it will be strictly observed is the province of Aceh (pronounced AH-chay) in northern Sumatra. This Indonesian province is nearly 100% Muslim and has been governed in increasing measure under Sharia law since 2001. That means sharing the good news about Jesus in Aceh is deeply needed but difficult. “Aceh has a nickname throughout Indonesia,” says Brian Dennett with Advancing the Ministries of the Gospel (AMG) International. “They actually refer to it as ‘the second porch of Mecca’. [It’s] a very devout Muslim area, so this is a challenge for AMG, and also provides so much opportunity for the gospel.”
But one Christian man we’ll call Dodi took the people of Aceh’s spiritual state to heart. He travels from village to village to share the gospel and eventually plant churches. “These brave planters, armed with Bibles and the good news, are facing opposition, persecution and also the joy of seeing their own people come to faith,” Dennett says of Dodi and others like him in Indonesia. Already through Dodi’s ministry, God has brought one Acehnese family to know Christ! “We’re very excited about this [family],” Dennett says. “This is part of a larger effort within AMG this year to reach not just Indonesians, but other closed countries as well with the gospel by training [church planters] in Bible schools and then sending out as many [of them] as we can.”
Indonesia is the world’s largest Muslim majority country, and as a result of that, they have nearly 200 million unreached people who desperately need Jesus.  AMG are looking to do a big push in 2025 at planting churches in Indonesia, which is extremely challenging. [Source: AMG International]

PUBLIC TO HELP CHOOSE NEXT ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY
ENGLAND – In an unprecedented move the Crown Nominations Commission (CNC) has invited the public to share their views on potential candidates for the next Archbishop of Canterbury. The CNC was formed in 1974 when the Prime Minister agreed to its creation as a means of supplying the Prime Minister with the names of candidates for the position of Archbishop of Canterbury
The Church of England has emphasised that the consultation, running until 28th March, provides an opportunity for a broad range of perspectives on the skills and qualities needed for the role. The CNC panel, consisting of 20 members, has yet to be fully assembled, but for the first time, it will include five representatives from Anglican churches abroad. The commission is set to meet in May, July, and September to deliberate and nominate a candidate. The chosen individual must secure the approval of two-thirds of the 17 voting members before their name is presented to the prime minister, who will then seek formal approval from the King.
Former Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby resigned in the wake of a report which concluded that he bore “personal and moral responsibility” for over 120 children and youth  being sexually molested, and that he “could and should have done more” to address the issue. Before leaving office, Mr Welby refrained from delivering his usual Christmas Day sermon at Canterbury Cathedral and did not broadcast a New Year’s Day message on the BBC. [Source: Premier Christian News]

OVER ONE MILLION HAITIANS NOW DISPLACED; MINISTRIES OFFER RELIEF
Haiti) — The number of internally displaced people (IDPs) in Haiti has now passed the one million mark – a threefold increase from the previous year. Over half of those displaced are children. Most of the people fleeing gang violence are escaping the capital city, Port-au-Prince, for more rural areas. Greg Yoder, President of Christian World Outreach (CWO), says some of their own local staff in Haiti have been affected. “The staff there, some of them, the gangs have come in and taken over their neighbourhoods,” Yoder explains. “So they’ve pretty much just taken off without any of their belongings, and they’ve had to find another place to live. So that’s what’s been causing this displacement from people to go outside of Port-au-Prince.” Yoder says: “They’re seeing a lot more people in areas that were not very heavily populated.”
Yoder asks: “Pray that the resources [are] there to continue to help people, and that they (Christians) will be able to continue to share the Gospel even during these real difficult times.” [Source: Missionary Network News

 – compiled by Guido Kettniss