At least nine people were killed and roughly 40 others wounded when gunmen opened fire on mourners outside St. George’s Greek Orthodox Church in Karak, Jordan, according to reports published by cbn.com. The October 23 attack in southern Jordan coincides with a separate wave of violence in Ethiopia’s Oromia region, where at least 60 Orthodox Christians were killed in two separate raids, highlighting the dangers Christians worldwide face because of their faith.
The funeral service at St. George’s descended into chaos when assailants carrying automatic weapons targeted the gathering. “The gunfire was extremely intense,” said Khaled al-Borqan, a relative of one of the victims. “I could clearly distinguish that there were two automatic weapons and a handgun; one of the individuals had a Kalashnikov and was firing indiscriminately.”
Violence of this scale remains extremely rare in Jordan, where Christian and Muslim populations have generally lived peacefully alongside one another. Mark Halawa, a Jordanian-Israeli citizen, emphasized the deep roots of the local population, noting that Karak is home to “an ancient Christian community that existed before Jordan or the mandate of Palestine existed, or even before Islam itself.”
Jordanian authorities arrested three suspects, while King Abdullah issued a strong condemnation of the attack and declared three days of national mourning. Interior Minister Mazen Al-Faraya asserted that the shooting was premeditated. “This crime did not happen in the spur of the moment,” Al-Faraya stated. “It is the product of an extremist, terrorist ideology that has taken root among some citizens. If this ideology persists, if it remains unaddressed, we will see an incident like this happen again.”
Fadi Halaseh, who lost a relative in the attack, expressed appreciation for the state’s intervention. “We take great pride in our security services and our Hashemite leadership; they have avenged the families of the martyrs and those who were wounded,” Halaseh said. King Abdullah subsequently visited injured survivors in hospital and offered condolences to grieving families.
Christian advocacy groups noted the significance of the government’s official reaction. Todd Nettleton of Voice of the Martyrs remarked, “It’s somewhat encouraging to see the Jordanian government take it so seriously, even the fact that they would declare three days of national mourning for a group of Christians who have been killed, I think is a very significant statement, that Christians do have a place in Jordan.”
Parallel Violence in Ethiopia
In Ethiopia’s Oromia region, some 160 miles south of the capital, Addis Ababa, at least 60 Orthodox Christians were killed in two separate attacks. Ethiopia’s highest Christian Orthodox governing body reported that 20 people were seriously wounded and around 20 homes destroyed during house-to-house assaults executed with guns and knives. According to BBC News, the government has accused an armed opposition group for carrying out the attacks.
Nine Christians were killed in Jordan and at least 60 more in Ethiopia over the past week. The two separate massacres in the Middle East and Africa underscore the dangers Christians worldwide face because of their faith. In Jordan, gunmen opened fire on Christian mourners… pic.twitter.com/IVN96976KD
These developments unfold as congregations across the United States and international jurisdictions prepare to observe the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. Citing Hebrews 13:3, Nettleton urged believers to acknowledge global repression: “Remember those in prison as if you were in prison with them. We want to remember them this Sunday, and we want to lift them up in prayer.”
According to data compiled by Open Doors, more than 388 million Christians globally encounter high levels of persecution and discrimination because of their faith. In Africa, the situation is especially severe, with one in five Christians facing persecution. Nettleton pointed to violence in the DRC, in northern Nigeria, and in Burkina Faso, alongside restrictions in China, North Korea, and more than 70 countries where individuals face a price for following Jesus.
