Christians comprise 95% of the population of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Holy Archdiocese of Kinshasa and Central Africa is under the jurisdiction of the His Beatitude Theodore II, Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa.

Please pray for the safety and protection of our Orthodox Christian sisters and brothers in the DRC, as well as for all Christians there, that peace would come to this troubled land and that it would experience a new flowering of faith.

“70 Christians found beheaded in church in DRC,” Open Doors UK, February 18, 2025:

Christians in DRC have again been left reeling after a heinous act of violence that has left 70 believers dead. Please pray for our brothers and sisters in the country as they face escalating persecution.

Seventy Christians have been found beheaded in a church in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), in what’s the latest devastating attack on believers in the north east of the country.

According to field sources, at around 4am last Thursday (13 February) suspected militants from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) – a group with ties to so-called Islamic State (IS) – approached homes in Mayba in the territory of Lubero, saying: “Get out, get out and don’t make any noise.” Twenty Christian men and women came out and were captured.

Shaken by this incident, people from the local community in Mayba later gathered to work out how to release those held captive. However, ADF militants surrounded the village and captured a further 50 believers.

All 70 of those kidnapped were taken to a Protestant church in Kasanga where they were tragically killed.

Muhindo Musunzi, director of the Kombo primary school [which belongs to the CECA20 church], says that prior to this incident, churches, schools and health centres had all shut their doors because of the chaotic security situation. “We had to move all activities towards Vunying,” he said.

Field sources report that, until yesterday (Tuesday 18 February), some families had not been able to bury their dead because of insecurity in the area. Many Christians have now fled the area for their safety….