Tunde Bakare

Tunde Bakare is a Nigerian Prophetic-Apostolic pastor. He was reportedly arrested in March 2002 after preaching sermons critical of then-president Olusegun Obasanjo. He was the running mate of the Nigerian presidential candidate Muhammadu Buhari in the 2011 Nigerian presidential election. He was formerly a pastor at the Deeper Life Bible Church before he left to join the Redeemed Christian Church of God which he soon left to form his own.
Bakare was described by "The Guardian" as being one of the most politically influential pastors in Nigeria.
Early life.
Bakare has said that he was born a Muslim, but converted to Christianity in 1974.
Bakare attended All Saints Primary School, Kemta, Abeokuta and subsequently Lisabi Grammar School, Abeokuta, after which he studied law at the University of Lagos between 1977 and 1980. He was called to the Bar in 1981 and following his NYSC, he practiced law with Gani Fawehinmi Chambers, Rotimi Williams & Co and Burke & Co, Solicitors. He established his own law firm Tunde Bakare & Co (El-Shaddai Chambers) in October 1984.
In May 1988, at the peak of his legal career he was called into ministry and he founded The Latter Rain Assembly (End-Time Church) on 1 April 1989 and is currently the Serving Overseer of the church.
He presides over Global Apostolic Impact Network (GAIN) – a network of churches, ministries and kingdom businesses committed to advancing the Kingdom of God on earth. Dr. Bakare is also the President of Latter Rain Ministries, Inc. (Church Development Center) in Atlanta, GA, USA, a ministry committed to restoring today's church to the scriptural pattern. He was given a Doctor of Ministry degree by the Indiana Christian University under the leadership of his mentor, Dr. Lester Sumrall in 1996.
Views.
Bakare is critical of Miyetti Allah and their leader Garba Shehu, saying that the Fulani herdsmen are a group of terrorists who rape, murder, and kidnap innocent civilians. Several Fulani Islamic scholars criticized Bakare's comments of Fulani herdsman as Islamophobic. Bakare had said in the past that Fulani herdsmen were driving Nigeria towards a civil war.
After the 2019 Nigerian general election, Bakare stated that he would run for president after the expiration of Muhammadu Buhari's second term in 2023. Bakare is a supporter of political Pan-Nigerianism. In 2018, Bakare announced that he would be starting his own political movement, titled "New Nigeria Progressive Movement".
Bakare has claimed that many pastors in Nigeria get away with "fake prophecies" because their followers often do not hold them accountable. Bakare was criticized however for claiming in a sermon in 2006, that Muhammadu Buhari would be a bad leader for Nigeria, yet he accepted the offer to be Buhari's vice-presedentical candidate in the 2011 election.
Thunder Bakare made his intentions of becoming the next president of Nigeria to church members in 2019 when he said “I will succeed Buhari as President of Nigeria, nothing can change it. I am number 16, Buhari is number 15. I never said it to you before. I am saying it now and nothing can change it. In the name of Jesus, he (Buhari) is number 15. I am number 16. To this end was I born and for this purpose came I into the world. I have prepared you for this for more than 30 years”. This led to various reactions from some politicians like Ikechukwu Amaechi who claimed the pastor had come up with a prophecy in the past saying Olusegun Obasanjo would not become the next president in 2003 and yet the opposite was the case


Andrea Tornielli

Andrea Tornielli (born Chioggia, 19 March 1964) is an Italian journalist and religious writer. He is married and has three children. He has been the editorial director of the Dicastery for Communication since December 2018.
Biography.
A graduate in History of the Greek language, at the University of Padua, in December 1987, Tornielli became a Roman Catholic journalist and writer. He collaborated at the Catholic newspaper "Il Sabato" and at the monthly "30Giorni", from 1992 to 1996. He was a journalist at the conservative daily "Il Giornale", from 1996 to 2011. He started collaborating at "La Stampa", in March 2011, as a Vaticanist, and he is the coordinator of their website "Vatican Insider", published in three languages and entirely dedicated to information related to the Vatican and the Catholic Church. He also has a monthly program at Radio Maria.
He has a large quantity of books published, mostly on religious matters, which have been translated to several languages, including several biographies and on subjects like Pope Pius XII and the Holocaust, the historical Jesus and Padre Pio.
On 18 December 2018, he was appointed editorial director of the Dicastery for Communication by Pope Francis.
Books.
This is the complete list of his books published in Italian:


Fo Guang Shan Temple, Auckland

The Fo Guang Shan Temple of Auckland is a temple and community centre of the Fo Guang Shan Chinese Buddhist movement in the East Tamaki/Flat Bush suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. The temple and complex were built over seven years. It was designed in the architectural style of the Tang Dynasty. The temple also includes a large Buddha statue and a two-tonne bell.
Opened in late 2007, the mission of the new temple is to promote Humanistic Buddhism. But it is also intended to benefit (and is open to) non-Buddhists, "through education and teaching people how to lead good lives." Even before its official opening, the temple had provided community courses such as Chinese calligraphy, Chinese language, yoga and martial arts, as well as providing a venue for crime prevention talks and meetings.
Facilities.
The temple grounds are open six days a week (closed Monday) and are open on most public holidays. Hours are normally 9 am until 5 pm but some parts of the temple (notably the exhibition hall and the external shrine) may open later and close earlier. During festivals, the temple may be open later in the evening and occasionally will be open past midnight such as on the Lunar New Year.
Main Buddha hall.
The main Buddha hall contains a single large Chinese-style statue of the Buddha Gautama in Calling the Earth to Witness pose. On the walls are thousands of bas-relief Buddha images.
Exhibition hall/Art gallery.
Adjacent to the Buddha Hall is an exhibition hall. Exhibits are often, though not always, works of art about Buddhism, such as paintings, calligraphy and woven art. Several exhibits are shown throughout the year with each exhibit lasting for a few months but sometimes there are special exhibitions of a shorter duration. Occasionally, there will be activities for children, such as calligraphy writing during a calligraphy exhibition.
Exhibitions by local artists are also held, such as the late 2019 - early 2020 exhibition by Dean Buchanan inspired by bicycling through the Waitākere Ranges.
The exhibition hall is open slightly shorter hours than the rest of the temple grounds. (As of 2020, the hall is open from 10 am to 4 pm, while the rest of temple is open from 9 am to 5 pm.) Entry is free.
Other areas.
The entrance hall contains a statue of Avalokitesvara. A desk to the left is manned by a volunteer member of Buddha's Light International Association (BLIA) and/or a resident nun to assist visitors and worshippers.
Outside and to the left of the main temple structure and below ground is a shrine to Ksitigarbha. This shrine shuts earlier than the rest of the temple.
The central area of the courtyard is divided into large flagstones separated by a grid of several inch high plants which lends itself to a slow walking meditation practice. (There is clear space to either side as well as level pathways for those with mobility concerns.)
To one side of the central courtyard is a series of short raised wood paths amongst cherry and other trees that lends itself to fast-walking meditation practice.
Other rooms off the central courtyard are often used for various services and activities such as language and calligraphy, sutra-chanting, and study groups.
A substantial area of the property is given over to car-parking. During larger festivals (notably Chinese New Year) portions of the front grounds will be covered with various food and activity stalls.
Water Drop Teahouse.
On site is a tea house providing vegetarian food and a variety of teas or tizanes.
Gift shop.
Sharing the same room as the tea house is a small gift shop providing a number of works of literature about Buddhism, particularly the writings of Hsing Yun (Fo Guang Shan's founder), a variety of religious objects (such as statues, mala, icons) and similar.


Javanese Sri Lankans

Javanese Sri Lankans (Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලාංකා මැලේ, "Ja Minissu") are Sri Lankan people with full or partial ancestry of Javanese descent. They have originated from the island of Java (particularly Central Java), Dutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia). There are approximately 8,500 Javanese Sri Lankan lives in Sri Lanka.
History.
The Javanese immigrants came to Sri Lanka when both Sri Lanka and Indonesia were Dutch colonies. These immigrants including convicts and members of noble houses from the Dutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia), who were exiled to Sri Lanka and who never left.


Islam in Belgium

Islam is the second largest religion in Belgium after Christianity. The exact number of Muslims in Belgium is unknown but various sources estimate that 4.0% to 7.6% of the country's population adheres to Islam. The first registered presence of Islam in Belgium was in 1829, but most Belgian Muslims are first-, second-, or third-generation immigrants that arrived after the 1960s.
History.
The first registered presence of Islam in Belgium was in 1829, a year prior to the country's independence in 1830. A report by the Turkish consul in Antwerp estimated roughly 6,000 Muslims in Belgium at the time. During WWII, French Muslim soldiers from French West Africa were stationed in the southeast. In 1964, bilateral labour immigration agreement were signed between Belgium, Turkey, and countries in the Maghreb. Over 10,000 workers from these countries moved to Belgium and mostly worked in low-skilled jobs such as coal mining, steelmaking, the automobile industry, etc. This stopped in 1974 when all foreign manual labour was banned from entry into the country and, in the same year, Islam was officially recognised as a religion in Belgium.
According to a 2006 opinion poll, 61% of the Belgian population thought tensions between Muslims and other communities would increase in the future.
In 2011, Belgian authorities instituted a ban on face-covering attire in public, which meant the wearing of the niqāb and burqa were considered incompatible with Belgian society. The ban was challenged by two Muslim women in first the Constitutional Court and then the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), but was upheld.
Demographics.
The Belgian government does not collect or publish statistics on religious affiliation, so the exact number of Muslims in Belgium is unknown. In 2014, various sources estimated Muslims to be 4.0% to 6.5% of the country's population. The Centre de Relations Européennes estimated in 2000 that there were around 30,000 converts to Islam in Belgium. The Pew Research Center estimated in 2016 that Muslims represented 7.6% of Belgium's population.
Muslims are unevenly distributed around Belgium with the majority concentrated in the working class districts of major cities around the country. Almost 40% of Belgian Muslims live in the capital, Brussels. Approximately 39% live in Flanders and 21% live in Wallonia.
Religious and ethnic censuses are forbidden in Belgium, so no accurate numbers about the ethnicity of Belgian Muslims can be given. Nationality cannot be used as an indicator of religion, since most people with roots in Islamic countries have taken on Belgian citizenship. Their children are born Belgian citizens and hence cannot be distinguished from non-Muslims in the statistics.
Branches and denominations.
The overwhelming majority of Muslims in Belgium are Sunni. Isabelle Praille, vice-president of the Executive of the Muslims of Belgium, estimated in 2010 that roughly 10% of the Muslim Belgians were Shia. There is also a small Ahmadi presence.
Identity.
A 2011 Open Society Foundation report titled "Muslim in Antwerp" found that Muslims felt a "strong sense of belonging" to the neighborhood they lived in and the city of Antwerp but less to the country of Belgium in general.
Religiosity.
Surveys conducted 1994 and 1996 observed a decrease in religiosity based on lowering mosque participation, less frequent prayer, dropping importance attached to a religious education, etc. This decrease in religiosity was more visible in younger Muslims; however, other more recent studies show that while participation in religious activities among young Muslims is reducing, they are more likely to identify with Islam culturally.
A 2005 Université Libre de Bruxelles study estimated that about 10% of the Muslim population are "practicing Muslims" A 2009 survey found that the majority of Muslims in Belgium supported "separation between religion and state." A 2010 study found that while Muslims put great emphasis on religious freedom and the overwhelming majority stated people should be free to leave Islam if they wanted, they were less comfortable with the idea of Muslims marrying non-Muslims.
Culture.
The three most popular music styles among Muslims in Belgium in 2011 were Nasheed, Al-Andalus (a Moroccan musical genre), and hip hop.
Education and income.
Various studies have concluded that the economic status of Muslims in Belgium is lower than that of non-Muslims. For instance, a 2007 study found unemployment among Turkish Belgians and Moroccan Belgians as 29–38%. A similar study in 1997 observed an under representation of these populations in higher earning jobs (3–17% compared to 25–31% for ethnic Belgians) and an over representation in lower paying jobs (59–60% compared to 38% for ethnic Belgians). Muslims also have less access to higher education with only 6–13% having a university degree. A 2009 analysis of the European 2006 PISA survey concluded inequality between minorities (including Muslims) and native Belgian students was one of the highest in all of Europe. The same analysis observed a “high degree of segregation in Belgian cities,” which they stated was the main cause for the difference in school performance. Several studies have also concluded that high levels of discrimination in the work market is one of the leading causes of economic inequality among minorities in Belgium. Some politicians and commentators have implied economic differences between Muslims and non-Muslims were primarily the result of cultural failing or religion but a 2011 study by Agirdag et al. found no correlation between "religiosity" and "school performance."
Politics.
Two members of governments formed after the 2014 Belgian federal election have a Muslim background but neither are practicing Muslims: and . Both are members of the Socialist Party. In 2009, Muslims occupied 19 out of the 89 seats in Brussels Regional Parliament.
In, 2008 Le Centre d'Etude de la Vie Politique (CEVIPOL) published a study using exit polling data following the 2007 Belgian federal election. The study found that among Muslims in Brussels, 42.3% voted for the Socialist Party, 16.7% for the Humanist Democratic Centre, 14.7% for the Reformist Movement and 12.2% for Ecolo. The study also concluded that religiosity among Muslims did not have "a strong impact on their voting behaviour." In addition, the variable related to religious belonging or practice was not enough to explain the vote of the Muslim electorate. Other determining factors related to an often relatively low socioprofessional status, age (more than half of the Muslims interviewed were under age 34) and level of education (lower than the average of the other groups) were more integral to the firm attachment to the political left.
A 2009 study published the journal, "Brussels Studies", concluded secondary school students in Brussels of Moroccan and Turkish origin showed a tendency to vote for the Socialist Party.
A September 2016 iVOX survey asked Belgian Muslims in Brussels and Flanders how they would vote in a hypothetical 2016 Belgian federal election. In Flanders, 26.8% of Muslims would vote for the Socialist Party Differently, 16.4% for Groen, 7.3% for the Workers' Party of Belgium, 6.9% for Christian Democratic and Flemish, and 6.9% for the New Flemish Alliance. In Brussels, 14.2% of Muslims would vote for Ecolo, 13.3% for the Socialist Party, 5.0% for the Reformist Movement, 4.2% for the People's Party, and 3.3% for the Humanist Democratic Centre.
A September 2016 iVOX survey of Belgian Muslims found that 53% agreed with the statement: "I have no issues with homosexuality." Approximately 30% disagreed with the statement while the rest refused to answer or were unsure.
Islam party.
In 2012, a new political party named "Islam" was established with four candidates, which at the local elections of 2012 gained 2 seats, in the Molenbeek and Anderlecht districts of Brussels. Its goals are an Islamic state. Its policies include men and women to be separated on public transport, schools to be forced to offer halal meat and forcing the wearing of headscarves. Its policy is to replace the civil and penal laws of Belgium with Sharia law. In the local elections of 2018, the party lost its Molenbeek seat after winning less than 2 percent of votes there while its list in Anderlecht was ruled out, leaving the party with no more councillors.
Religious infrastructure.
In 1974, Islam was recognised as one of the subsidised religions in Belgium and the Muslim Executive of Belgium was founded in 1996. In 2006, the government gave €6.1 million (US$7.7 million) to Islamic groups. There are an estimated 328–380 mosques in the country.
In 2017, the Belgian department of justice commenced an investigation into the finances of mosques in Belgium and stated this was a priority.
Controversies.
Antisemitism.
Over a hundred antisemitic attacks were recorded in Belgium in 2009, a 100% increase from the year before. The perpetrators were usually young males of immigrant Muslim background from the Middle East. In 2009, the Belgian city of Antwerp, often referred to as Europe's last "shtetl", experienced a surge in antisemitic violence. Bloeme Evers-Emden, an Amsterdam resident and Auschwitz survivor, was quoted in the newspaper Aftenposten in 2010: "The antisemitism now is even worse than before the Holocaust. The antisemitism has become more violent. Now they are threatening to kill us."
A 2011 study of elementary school children in on Dutch-language schools in Brussels by a Belgian sociologist showed that about 50 percent of Muslim students in second and third grade could be considered anti-Semites, versus 10% of others.
The increased frequency of antisemitic attacks started in May 2014, when four people were killed in a shooting at the Belgian Jewish Museum in Brussels. Two days later, a young Muslim man entered the CCU (Jewish Cultural Center) while an event was taking place and shouted racist slurs. A month later, a school bus in Antwerp, that was driving 5-year-old Jewish children was stoned by a group of Muslim teens. Towards the end of August 2014, a 75-year-old Jewish woman was hit and pushed to the ground because of her Jewish-sounding surname.
Headscarf.
In December 2004, the Belgian government said it was considering a ban on the wearing of any conspicuous religious symbols for civil servants.
In June 2005, the Antwerp court of appeal ruled that it was outside the jurisdiction of the state to determine whether Islam requires women to wear a headscarf and that girls in public schools have the right to do so. However, the school board also has the authority to restrict that right for organisational reasons, or for the good functioning of the school, though it must justify any such restrictions.
At the end of 2005, approximately twenty municipalities had issued a ban on walking the streets completely veiled. In a few cases women were fined €150 (US$190) for ignoring the ban. Under a 1993 executive order, persons in the streets must be identifiable. A veil which does not completely cover the body is however allowed.
Two Belgian Muslim women, Samia Belcacemi and Yamina Oussar, challenged a 2011 veil ban, asserting the law infringed on their freedom of religion. Both women said they voluntarily wore the niqab. In 2017, the European Court of Human Rights found that Belgium's ban on clothes that partially or fully cover the face in public was legal under the European Convention on Human Rights, "necessary in a democratic society," and that the law tried to protect "the rights and freedoms of others." In response to the upholding of the law, Belcacemi told the court that she continued to wear the niqab after it was banned but had eventually stopped because she could not afford fines or jail time. Ousser told the court that she had decided to stay at home and not go out in public anymore following the ban.
Salafism.
In 2019, the State Security Service listed 100 organisations in Belgium which promoted Salafist ideology including mosques, community centers and educational establishments. These represented a minority in the Muslim community. Salafist ideology is considered extremist in Belgium. The security service also noted that espousing Salafist ideology does not imply involvement or support for terrorism.
According to the State Security Service (VSSE), salafist ideology is considered a threat against Belgian society in three ways:
Radicalization.
In March 2012 Alain Winants, the head of State Security Service in Belgium, estimated there were 1000 jihadist sympathizers in the country, of which about 100 were hardcore supporters.
Jihadists travelling abroad to wage jihad.
In March 2012, the head of the security services stated that about a dozen had travelled to fight in jihadist groups overseas. In 2016, Belgium had more "foreign fighter" travellers per capita than any other Western nation.
Moroccan-born IS recruiter Khalid Zerkani recruited 72 young individuals with migrant backgrounds of whom most were petty criminals. He encouraged them to steal from non-Muslims in order to finance their journeys to join the caliphate.
Up to 2018, an estimated 450 individuals had travelled from Belgium to join the civil war in Syria and Iraq. Of those, 75 were linked to the Sharia4Belgium network. In July 2018, courts announced that Belgium had no obligation to bring children of Islamic State members to Belgium.
Terrorism.
On 30 September 2003, a Belgian court convicted 18 men for involvement in a terror cell. Nizar Trabelsi was sentenced to 10 years for plotting a suicide attack against the NATO air base at Kleine Brogel. Tarek Maaroufi, of the Tunisian Combat Group, was sentenced to six years in prison for his role in a Brussels-based fake passport ring that supplied fake Belgian passports to the men who assassinated former Afghan Northern Alliance commander Ahmed Shah Massoud two days before the 11 September attacks.
In October 2004, a Belgian court sentenced eight Sunni Islamic militants to prison terms of up to 5 years for plotting attacks and for links to Al Qaeda. According to prosecutors, Saber Mohammed received three phone calls from senior Al Qaeda figure Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, which he was believed to be forwarding for colleagues. Also convicted was Tarek Maaroufi.
On 9 November 2005, Muriel Degauque, a Belgian convert to Sunni Islam, committed a suicide car bomb attack against a U.S. military convoy south of Baghdad.
On 24 May 2014, the Jewish Museum of Belgium in Brussels was attacked in an act linked to terrorism, with four casualties.
On 14 November 2015 Belgian police arrested 'several people' after searches linked to the attacks in Paris, more arrests expected as links to terrorists Investigation continues.
In July 2018, courts announced that Belgium had no obligation to bring children of Belgian Islamic State members to Belgium.
2016 Brussels bombings.
On the morning of Tuesday, 22 March 2016, three coordinated nail bombings occurred in Belgium: two at Brussels Airport in Zaventem, and one at Maalbeek metro station in Brussels. In these attacks, 35 victims and three suicide bombers were killed, and 316 people were injured. Another bomb was found during a search of the airport. Two suspects are on the run. The organisation Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) claimed responsibility for the attacks. The bombings were the deadliest attack on Belgium since World War II. The Belgian government declared three days of national mourning.
Discrimination.
A 2011 survey by the Open Society found that 74% of Muslims were subject to “large to relatively large amounts of prejudice.” In February 2008, two young women of Maghreb origin were attacked in Liège after being verbally assaulted with ethnic slurs. One of the perpetrators had right-wing extremist affiliations. In 2011 the far right party Vlaams Belang organized a demonstration against the projected building of an Ahmadi mosque in the Brussels municipality of Uccle, allegedly out of fear for a "war of religions" between radical Sunnis and Ahmadis in the streets of the municipality. In the month following the 2016 Brussels bombing, the Belgian Counter-Islamophobia Collective (CCIB) recorded 36 hate crimes against Muslims. Belgian Muslim women are more subject to discrimination in areas of employment and education than men.
Opposition.
The Brussels-based group, "Bruxelloise et Voilée" was founded in March 2015 and is led by young Belgian Muslim women. It lists its goal as "promot[ing] a multicultural society by fighting against discrimination and stereotypes, in particular against Muslim veiled women." The CCIB records and reports rates of Islamophobia, and campaigning against anti-Muslim bigotry in Belgium.
The "Open Schools 4 Women" campaign led by the CCIB was launched in September 2016, represented via the hashtag #OpenSchools4Women, and aims to promote Muslim women to wear the headscarf in schools. Similarly, the "Open Job Testing" project, backed by Brussels MP Didier Gosuin, was launched by CCIB in October 2016 with aims to address the obstacles to employment faced by individuals when accessing the job market and compile statistical evidence pertaining to discrimination in the labour market. The European Network Against Racism presented its work to combat growing anti-Muslim prejudice.
Following the passage of Executive Order 13769 by U.S. President Donald Trump, a student protest took place in Brussels at the Brussels Stock Exchange in solidarity with Muslim refugees and Muslim Belgians.


Henriette H. Lannes

Henriette H. Lannes or "Madame Lannes" (12 November 1899, in Puyoô, France – 28 May 1980, in Paris) Pupil of G. I. Gurdjieff and teacher of Gurdjieff's system, mainly to English pupils in the Gurdjieff Foundation of Paris and London. She met Jeanne de Salzmann in 1938.
Bibliography.
Beatley, William and Betty Beatley: "Inside a question - Works of Henriette Lannes - Pupil of G. I. Gurdjieff" Paul H. Crompton Ltd, London 2002.
Lannes, Henriette: "This Fundamental Quest: The Journey of a Pupil of G. I. Gurdjieff" Far West Institute, San Francisco 2006.


Gaspar Lefebvre

Dom Gaspar Lefebvre (June 17, 1880 Lille, France – April 16, 1966 in Bruges, Belgium) was a French churchman.


Banchette Sanctuary

The Banchette sanctuary (Italian "santuario di Banchette") devoted to the Virgin Mary situated in the Banchette hamlet, in the comune of Bioglio, near the village of Pettinengo.
Together with the Brugarola sanctuary in Ailoche, the Mazzucco Sanctuary in Camandona and the Brughiera sanctuary in Trivero it is one of the minor sanctuaries of the Biellese territory, all connected by the ways CoEur - In the heart of European paths and Path of Saint Charles.
It is built at 675 m altitude and it is an extradiocesan sanctuary run by Barnabites. Behind the church there is a building, dating to the first half of the 18th century, destined to the pilgrims. This hostel was built thanks to the donation of a Spanish military officer.
According to the legend, the sanctuary was built in order to remedy to the profanation of the fresco of the Virgin Mary perpetrated by a fool who threw stones against the image painted on a column. This gesture origined the surname of "Madonna dal bull", the Virgin with a bruise. The ruined fresco is still visible today inside the church.
The actual building has been erected by the Barnabites around the ancient church which was used as leper hospital in 1630 during a plague.
The structure has been restored at the beginning of the 20th century. The parts of the original church are the façade and part of the lateral aisles.


Ralph Waller

Sir Ralph Waller KBE (born 11 December 1945) is Director of the Farmington Institute at Oxford, former Principal of Harris Manchester College, Oxford (1988-2018) and a Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford (2010-2018). He is a British Methodist Minister.
Ralph Waller was born in Lincolnshire and educated at the University of London (BD) and the University of Nottingham (MTh) and completed a PhD at King's College London.
He has been awarded honorary doctorates from universities in the United States, Europe and Great Britain, including Doctor of Divinity from the University of Wales and Doctor of Theology from the Uppsala University.
He is the MacWilliams Fellow in Divinity in the University of Wales, Trinity St David. He is a trustee of several charitable trusts, Chair of the Kalisher Trust, the Westminster College Trust, The St Benet's Hall Trust and Vice-Chair of the governors of Harris Westminster Sixth Form Academy. He is an ecumenical canon of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford.
He was knighted in the Queen's Birthday Honours of 2018 for services to education.


List of mosques in Papua New Guinea


Islam in Puntland

The main religion of Puntland is Islam. All the inhabitants of the region are Sunni Muslims. Puntland's state constitution states that "Islam shall be the only religion of Puntland State of Somalia. No any other religion can be propagated in Puntland State, while the Islamic Religion and the traditions of the people of Puntland are the bases of law." Also, Muslims in Puntland are not allowed to renounce their religion. Furthermore, the constitution of Puntland restricts the formation of political parties based on a particular faith, religious beliefs, or interpretations of religious doctrine.


Christian Council of Ghana

The Christian Council of Ghana (CCG) is an umbrella group that unites 31 churches in Ghana. The council has its members from Charismatic, Pentecostal, Orthodox and other churches.
History of the Council.
The CCG was formed on 30 October 1929. Five churches, namely:
united aiming to work with various congregations on social matters and to speak for the voiceless in society.
Membership of the council.
The council has been restructured several times since its formation. It currently includes 29 churches and two Christian organizations.
The council executives are Rev.Dr Ernest Adu-Gyamfi (Chairman) and Rev.Dr. Kwabena Opuni - Frimpong (General secretary).
Projects.
The council undertakes various projects in Ghana. One of its major goals is the elimination of stigma and discrimination of people living with HIV/AIDS. The project trained community members in areas of the country that had high HIV/AIDS prevalence of 8–9%. The training involved basic facts about HIV/AIDS, stigma and discrimination among others.
The council has also set up an Interfaith Unit to educate Christians on the need for peaceful existence and tolerance among members of different faiths. The School Dropout Scholarship Programme promotes education among Liberian refugees in the Buduburam refugee settlement near Accra. The programme also identifies the causes and consequences of school dropout among the refugees.
In governance and nation building, the council monitors the activities of political parties and professional bodies in the country and offers advice to them. In 2005 the council appealed to Ghanaians and professional bodies to put the country's economy nation first and spend more time discussing issues of national interest concerning education, health and poverty. In 2011 the council encouraged political party leaders and their followers to avoid the use of provocative language in their speeches.


National Council of Churches of Singapore

The National Council of Churches of Singapore (NCCS) is an ecumenical fellowship of Churches and Christian organisations in Singapore. This duty was initially carried out by the Malayan Christian Council which was then succeeded by the Council of Churches of Malaysia and Singapore. Following the expulsion of Singapore from Malaysia, a new, separate Council of Churches in Singapore was then constituted on 24 July 1974. It represents over 250 churches in Singapore.
The current president of the NCCS is Terry Kee Buck Hwa.
The Council has been noted to be "socially conservative and theologically evangelical", embracing denominational and liturgical diversity. This has led several independent churches to seek membership in the council.
In recent years, it has also taken a more active stance, issuing statements on issues that the Council feels are of grave concern. These include the Pink Dot Movement and the new online gambling laws.
Controversies.
Adam Lambert's performance at The Star Performing Arts Centre.
In May 2013, the National Council of Churches of Singapore (NCCS) said it was looking into a complaint about Adam Lambert performing at The Star Performing Arts Centre, a commercial entity fully owned by Rock Productions, the business arm of New Creation Church. Lim K. Tham, general secretary of the council said it had received a complaint that "the gay lifestyle may be promoted at the concert" and that "The NCCS has conveyed this concern to New Creation so that it can make a response."
In a statement, the church said that according to stipulations from the authorities before the tender was awarded to Rock Productions, the venue had to operate "on a purely commercial basis and will not implement any leasing or pricing policies that will discriminate between religious groups, institutions or organisations from hiring the venue". The church said all public events require a public entertainment licence from the police, and it had "utmost confidence" in the policies and ability of government bodies such as the Media Development Authority to "protect the interest of the general public". The statement added that any event at the performing arts centre "should not be misconstrued or misunderstood" as the church "approving of its artistic presentation or endorsing the lifestyle of the performer".


Christianity in Oman

Christianity is the religion of 6.5% of the population of Oman, which equals to about 300,000 people. Ninety Christian congregations exist in the country. There is little official record of Christianity in Oman until the arrival of the Portuguese in 1504, but ruins from what is thought to have been a church were located in Suhar. Additionally, "Chronicle of Arbela" tells of a diocese at Bet Mazunaye, an area which included Oman. However, the authenticity of the sixth-century text is disputed amongst scholars.
Almost all Christians in Oman are from other countries. Most of them are from the Philippines, India or Western countries, and they are concentrated in the country's urban areas: Muscat, Sohar, and Salalah. For many Christians living and working outside of these areas, going to church is inaccessible and therefore only happens on occasion. At least one St. Thomas Christian church is present in Oman, and more than 50 different Christian groups, fellowships, and assemblies are active in the Muscat metropolitan area. The Protestant Church of Oman, the Catholic Diocese of Oman and the al Amana Center (interdenominational Christian) are recognized by the Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs. There is also a Christian cemetery located in Muscat, operated by the Petroleum Development Oman.
Islam is the official state religion, but Article 28 of the Omani constitution protects freedom of religious practices as long as they do not violate Islamic law. Therefore, Christians in Oman enjoy a considerable amount of religious freedom, although they are bound to strict rules. For example, Christians must practice on specific land that the government has allocated for them. It is also difficult for churches to get permits for construction and permission to host public religious gatherings is challenging to attain. Private gatherings are prohibited, although this law is not always strictly enforced.
Proselytizing Muslims is forbidden. There are, however, cases in which a Muslim will adopt the Christian faith, secretly declaring their conversion. In effect, they are practicing Christians, but legally Muslims; thus, the statistics of Omani Christians does not include Muslim converts to Christianity.
Instruction in Islam is compulsory in public schools, but there are Christian schools in Oman. A 2015 study estimates a mere 200 believers in Christ from a Muslim background live in the country, and not all of those are necessarily citizens.
Evangelism.
Christian missionaries from the New Jersey-based Arabian Mission established a station in Muscat in November 1893. After the Portuguese left Oman in the mid-seventeenth century, this is considered to be the most significant interaction Omanis have had with Christianity. Their objective was to evangelize the Muslim population of the Arabian Peninsula through the teachings of the Bible and other Christian literature. As such, a printing press was opened in Muscat in 1900 with the intention of printing polemical and devotional literature. One of the pieces printed, "Jesus or Mohammed", portraying the Prophet Mohammed as sinful and Jesus Christ as sinless.
Because their methodology was through the spread of literature, missionaries also provided educational services to Omanis. They would teach literacy through teaching the Bible, which they translated into Arabic. Missionary teachers also taught children other subjects, like math and writing. Missionaries set up medical facilities, as well. The obvious reason for this was delivering the power of Christ through healing, but it was also an additional chance to evangelize the population. Omanis saw the missionary doctors in more favorable terms than priests and educators, therefore allowing them access to spaces usually forbidden to missionaries. Thus, while there was no requirement for doctors to evangelize, they oftentimes took advantage of their privileged position among Omanis to proselytize. For more rural populations that had no access to modern medical services, this could entice them to convert.
Eastern Orthodoxy.
Eastern Orthodox Christians in Oman are under the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of Archdiocese of Baghdad, Kuwait and Dependencies, that belongs to the Eastern Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East. The main center of Eastern Orthodoxy in Oman is the Parish in Masqat, headed by priest Michael Ajram.
There are currently 24,000 Orthodox Christians, 12.5% of the overall Christian population in the country. The first Orthodox church in Oman, Sts. Constantine and Helen Church began construction in April 2019 in Muscat.
Roman Catholicism.
According to recent estimates, there are 138,000 Catholics in Oman, making up almost 70% of all Christians in the country. Oman belongs to the area of the Apostolic Vicariate of Arabia, which handles 4 parishes in Oman in Sohar, Salalah, and two in Muscat. The oldest standing Catholic church is Sts. Peter and Paul Church in Muscat, built in 1977. The church in Salalah, The St. Francis Parish Church is the most recent and opened its doors in September 2019.
21 Catholic congregations exist in Oman. According to Father Raul Ramos of Sts. Peter and Paul Church, most of the Christians he has encountered are from India and the Philippines, as well as expats from Nepal, Pakistan, Sri-Lanka, and Bangladesh. He also says that non-Muslim expats sometimes convert to Catholicism, but in order to respect Oman's laws, expats seek baptism during holiday breaks in their home countries.
Protestantism and Pentecostalism.
5.8% of the persons in Oman are Protestants, approximately 11,500 people. Oman belongs to the area of the Diocese of Cyprus and the Gulf of the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East. 21 Protestant denominations are present in Oman and they all fall under the umbrella of the Protestant Church of Oman (PCO). There is a campus in Salalah, one in Sohar, and two campuses in Muscat. There are four actual congregations in Muscat, all in different languages: Korean, English, Arabic, and Tagalog.
There is a Pentecostal Assembly located in Muscat. It's congregants are largely Indian expats, and it is the largest Malayali congregation in the Middle East. There are over 1,500 members, and service is conducted in four different languages: Hindi, English, Malayalam, and Tamil.


A Beautiful Prayer

 'A Beautiful Prayer' is the best-known work of Nauruan poet Joanne Gobure.
Structure and influences.
The poem shows the influence of Christian, particularly Biblical, theology, and a certain maturity of outlook, given the youth of the writer. It testifies to the writer's evident meditation on the 15th chapter of the Gospel of John, on the 8th chapter of Paul's Epistle to the Romans, and to her experience of life.
It is composed mainly of similar, recurring stanzas, principally consisting of the writer's faith dialogue and the witness to her growth in spiritual understanding, in response to her various prayer petitions.
Themes.
Children with disabilities.
The second stanza raises an issue commanding practical human and family interest: the challenge posed to parents by, but also the prior importance of the spiritual wholeness of, children with disabilities: 'I asked God to make my handicapped child whole'. The poet subsequently attributes to God a growing appreciation of the primacy, and possibility, of her handicapped child's spirit being whole: 'His spirit is whole, his body is only temporary'.
Personhood/world paradigm.
The final lines of the poem differ somewhat from the preceding stanzas, and arguably even move beyond the strict theme of prayer: 'To the world you might be one person,
But to one person you just might be the world.' In terms of broader thematic parallels, such a play on the words 'one person' and 'world' can be compared with the notion of microcosm in universality, which also expresses something of the cultural contribution of, and human interest in, the small nation of Nauru. The personhood / world dichotomy, pithily expressed here by Gobure, is also a theme taken up in writing commanding universal interest. The Evangelist John's words are apposite: 'He came into the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.' (John 1.10)
Relevance to themes in world literature.
The simplicity of this young Nauruan writer's poem thus echoes themes in world literature in a striking manner in which comparativists in the school of Lionel Trilling and others will be able to identify.
Some literary critics who see secular humanism in terms of the very nature of things would also discount the relevance of the religious imagery in this contemporary poem of Gobure. Others would recall the religious background of Nauruan society with which Gobure is identified.


Christianity in Malta

In the small Mediterranean island nation of Malta the predominant religion is Roman Catholicism.
History of Christianity in Malta.
Saint Paul.
The apostle Paul's time in Malta is described in the Book of Acts (; ). Tradition holds that the church was founded by its patrons Saint Paul the Apostle and Saint Publius, who was its first bishop. The Islands of St. Paul (or St. Paul's Islets), in effect only one island during low tide, are traditionally believed to be the site where Saint Paul was shipwrecked in the year 60 AD, on his way to trial and eventual martyrdom in Rome.
Establishment of the Archdiocese of Malta.
According to tradition, Publius, the Roman Governor of Malta at the time of Saint Paul's shipwreck, became the first Bishop of Malta following his conversion to Christianity. After ruling the Maltese Church for 31 years, Publius was transferred to the See of Athens in 90 AD, where he was martyred in 125 AD. There is scant information about the continuity of Christianity in Malta in subsequent years, although tradition has it that there was a continuous line of bishops from the days of St. Paul to the time of Emperor Constantine. The Acts of the Council of Chalcedon record that in 451 AD, a certain Acacius was Bishop of Malta ("Melitenus Episcopus"). It is also known that in 501 AD, a certain Constantinus, "Episcopus Melitenensis", was present at the Fifth General Council. In 588 Tucillus, "Miletinae civitatis episcopus", was deposed by Pope Gregory I, and his successor Trajan elected by the clergy and people of Malta in 599 AD. The last recorded Bishop of Malta before the Arab invasion of the Islands was a Greek by the name of Manas, who was subsequently incarcerated at Palermo, Sicily.
Sovereignty of the Order.
While the Maltese Islands were under the dominion of the Knights of Malta, from the 15th century through to the late 18th century, the Grand Master had the status of a prince of the Catholic Church, and enjoyed a special relationship with the Pope, which occasionally led to a considerable amount of friction with the local Bishops. Occasional attempts to implant Quakerism and other forms of Protestantism in the 17th century were unsuccessful.
French occupation.
Over the years, the power of the Knights declined; their reign ended when Napoleon Bonaparte's fleet arrived in 1789, en route to his expedition of Egypt. As a ruse, Napoleon asked for safe harbor to resupply his ships, and then turned his guns against his hosts once safely inside Valletta. Grand Master Hompesch capitulated, and Napoleon stayed in Malta for a few days during which he systematically looted the moveable assets of the Order and established an administration controlled by his nominees. He then sailed for Egypt leaving a substantial garrison in Malta. Since the Order had also been growing unpopular with the local Maltese, the latter initially viewed the French with optimism. This illusion did not last long. Within months the French were closing convents and seizing church treasures. The Maltese people rebelled, and the French garrison of General Claude-Henri Belgrand de Vaubois retreated into Valletta. After several failed attempts by the locals to retake Valletta, they asked the British for assistance. Rear Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson decided on a total blockade, and in 1800 the French garrison surrendered.
Establishment of the Diocese of Gozo.
Historically part of the Diocese of Malta, Gozitans brought forward several petitions for the creation of an independent diocese, including in 1798, during the French occupation, and again in 1836. A third petition, brought directly to Pope Pius IX in 1855, met with success. Instrumental in this effort were a young priest named Don Pietro Pace, who would several years later serve as Bishop of Gozo, and Sir Adriano Dingli, Crown Advocate. The British Colonial Office signalled its approval in October 1860.
In 1863, Archpriest Michele Francesco Buttigieg was elected Auxiliary Bishop of Malta with instructions to reside in Gozo. One year later, on September 16, 1864, the Pope issued a Bull entitled "Singulari Amore" (With remarkable Love), which decreed that the islands of Gozo and Comino were separated from the Diocese of Malta. On September 22, 1864, Bishop Buttigieg was elected the first bishop of Gozo, with the "Matrice" in Victoria, dedicated to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin (Maltese: "Marija Assunta"), serving as his Cathedral.
British Empire.
In 1814, Malta became part of the British Empire in accordance with the Treaty of Paris. British rule lasted 150 years until 1964 when Malta gained independence. British rule brought the first sizeable population of members of the Anglican Church and Protestant denominations in the form of civil servants and retirees. British rule was typified by a condition of religious tolerance.
Patron saints.
Saint Paul.
St. Paul is venerated as the patron saint of Malta. A number of parishes throughout Malta and Gozo are dedicated to him, including: the Cathedral Church at Mdina, the Collegiates of Rabat and Valletta, and the parishes of Ħal-Safi and Munxar.
Saint Publius.
Saint Publius is the first Maltese Saint, a patron saint of Malta and Floriana, and also the first Bishop of the Maltese Islands. The Floriana Parish Church is dedicated to St. Publius. There is a huge devotion across Malta towards this Saint as he was also Maltese.
Saint Agatha.
Saint Agatha, is also a patron Saint of Malta as during the persecution in Sicily she came to Malta and kept on teaching the Maltese the Christian faith.
Out of approximately 60 parishes in Malta and Gozo, 11 are dedicated to the Assumption. These include the Cathedral Church of Gozo, the parishes of Gudja, Ħal-Għaxaq, l-Imqabba, Qrendi, Mosta, Dingli, Attard, Mġarr, Birkirkara and Żebbuġ (Gozo). Many other churches have a treasured statue representing the mystery of the Assumption. As titular statues, they are the most treasured sacred artifacts of their respective communities. All statues in churches are kept with great care and devotion, however the devotion to statues representing patrons of villages is far greater than devotion to other representations.
Noteworthy details linked to the feast of the Assumption are the world-famous Mosta Rotunda (known as the Mosta Dome), the magnificent Gozo Cathedral found in the old Citadel , and the exceptional annual fireworks display held on 14 August at Imqabba, organized by the St Mary Fireworks Factory of Imqabba, winners of the First Malta International Fireworks Festival (2006). This fireworks display is renowned as the best pyro-musical show on the island and thousands cram the village streets annually in order to watch it.
Current status and law.
The Constitution of Malta provides for freedom of religion but establishes Roman Catholicism as the state religion. Freedom House and the "World Factbook" report that 98 per cent of the Maltese are Roman Catholic, making the nation one of the most Catholic countries in the world. The rate of regular mass attendance was estimated at 36.1% in 2017, down from 52.6% (51% for Malta Island, 72.7% for Gozo) in 2005. In 1995 the rate stood at 63.4%. There are two territorial jurisdictions: the Archdiocese of Malta and the Diocese of Gozo.
In public schools religious instruction in Roman Catholicism is part of the curriculum but students may opt to decline participation in religious lessons. Subsidies are granted to private Catholic schools.
Pope John Paul II made a total of three pastoral visits to Malta – twice in 1990 and once in 2001, during which he beatified three Maltese.
Religious toleration is the norm, with the non-Roman Catholics mainly consisting of small communities of Muslims and Jews, in addition to Anglican and Protestant communities consisting mostly of British retirees. There is one Muslim religious school in the country, and the government approved plans for a 500-grave Muslim cemetery .
The percentage of people that attend Mass in every locality of Malta in 2005:
Other totals of people attending Mass, because these localities are not in percentage:
Additionally, between a quarter and a fifth of Mass attendees are active members of a Church Movement, group or initiatives such as the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, the Neocatechumenal Way, the Legion of Mary, Opus Dei, Youth Fellowship or other Church groups within the parish. Malta also has the highest number of members of the Neocatechumenal Way per population in the world.
Malta introduced divorce after a referendum on the 28 May 2011. Performing abortion on Maltese territory is illegal, though over the years several loopholes (non-inclusion of outer territorial waters, no mention of advertising) permitted individuals to circumvent the ban for limited time periods. In an SMS poll, Malta chose the Maltese cross to be the image on the Maltese Euro and rejected one of John the Baptist baptizing Jesus, which had garnered a strong majority in a previous poll, after attracting opposition even from the local Bishops who did not see it fit to place Jesus' face on a coin.


Martin Johansson (bishop)

Martin Johansson (9 September 1837 – 26 June 1908), was a Swedish prelate who was the Bishop of Härnösand between 1888 and 1908.
Early life and education.
Johansson was born on 9 September 1837 in Villstad, Jönköping County, Sweden, the son of August Johansson, a school teacher and author, and Brita Månsdotter. He studied at Uppsala University and graduated in 1858. In 1863 he earned his PhD and in 1865 his Bachelor of Divinity, from the same university. He was ordained priest in 1865. The following year he was appointed Associate Professor of New Testament Exegesis at Uppsala University. Between 1866 and 1867 he studied abroad and later became an assistant professor in pastoral studies in 1870 . In 1877 he became professor of dogmatic and moral theology at the university. In 1877 Johansson also became a Doctor of Theology and in 1879 he was appointed member of the Bible Commission.
Bishop.
In 1888 Johansson was appointed Bishop of Härnösand and was consecrated on November 11, 1888, by Archbishop Anton Niklas Sundberg. Johansson was considered more aligned to the Low church tradition. He was also in favor of dividing the Diocese of Härnösand into two dioceses, something which occurred in 1904 when the Diocese of Luleå was created from part of the Diocese of Härnösand. Johansson died in Härnösand on June 26, 1908, and is buried at Uppsala old cemetery.


Christianity in Ethiopia

Christianity in Ethiopia is the largest religion in the country and dates back to the ancient Kingdom of Aksum, when the King Ezana first adopted the faith. This makes Ethiopia one of the first regions in the world to officially adopt Christianity. Various Christian denominations are now followed in the country. Of these, the largest and oldest is the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (in Amharic: የኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋሕዶ ቤተክርስትያን Yäityop'ya ortodoks täwahedo bétäkrestyan) an Oriental Orthodox church centered in Ethiopia. The Orthodox Tewahedo Church was part of the Coptic Orthodox Church until 1959, when it was granted its own patriarch by Coptic Orthodox Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of All Africa Cyril VI. Ethiopia was the only region of Africa to survive the expansion of Islam as a Christian state.
The largest pre-colonial Christian church of Africa, the Ethiopian Church has a membership of 32 to 36 million, the majority of whom live in Ethiopia, and is thus the largest of all Oriental Orthodox churches. Next in size are the various Protestant congregations, who include 13.7 million Ethiopians. The largest Protestant group is the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus, with about 5 million members. Roman Catholicism has been present in Ethiopia since the nineteenth century, and numbers 536,827 believers. In total, Christians make up about 63% of the total population of the country.
Christian roots.
Before the fourth century, a mixture of religions existed in Ethiopia, with parts of the population adhering to a religion which worshiped the serpent-king Arwe, and others adhering to what scholars call "a Judaized form of religion". Although Christianity existed long before the rule of King Ezana the Great of the Kingdom of Axum, the religion took a strong foothold when it was declared a state religion in 330 AD. Pinpointing a date as to when Christianity emerged in Ethiopia is uncertain. The earliest and best known reference to the introduction of Christianity is in the New Testament (Acts 8:26-38) when Philip the Evangelist converted an Ethiopian court official in the 1st Century AD. Scholars, however, argue that Ethiopian was a common term used for black Africans, and that the Queen Candace served by this official actually ruled in nearby Nubia (modern Sudan). The word "Candace" may also refer to the position of "queen" rather than to a specific person, see Kandake. Judaism was practiced in Ethiopia long before Christianity arrived and the Ethiopian Orthodox Bible contains numerous Jewish Aramaic words. The Old Testament in Ethiopia may be a translation of the Hebrew with possible assistance from Jews.
According to church historian Nicephorus, the apostle St. Matthias later preached the Christian Gospel to modern-day Ethiopia after having preached in Judea. Rufinus of Tyre, a church historian, recorded a personal account as did other church historians such as Socrates and Sozomen. The Garima Gospels are thought to be the world's oldest illuminated Christian manuscripts.
Frumentius.
Frumentius was a slave to the Ethiopian king and there is evidence Judaism was in the land before his arrival (due to Solomon).
After being shipwrecked and captured at an early age, Frumentius was carried to Aksum, where he was treated well with his companion Edesius. At the time, there was a small population of Christians living there who sought refuge from Roman persecution. Once of age, Frumentius and Edesius were allowed to return to their homelands, however they chose to stay at the request of the queen. In doing so, they began to secretly promote Christianity through the lands.
During a trip to meet with church elders, Frumentius met with Athanasius, Pope of Alexandria. After recommending that a bishop be sent to proselytize, a council decided that Frumentius be appointed as a bishop for Ethiopia.
By 331 AD, Frumentius returned to Ethiopia, he was welcomed with open arms by the rulers who were at the time not Christian. Ten years later, through the support of the kings, the majority of the kingdom was converted and Christianity was declared the official state religion.
Spread of Christianity in Ethiopia.
The Syriac Nine Saints and Sadqan missionaries expanded Christianity far beyond the caravan routes and the royal court through monastic communities and missionary settlements from which Christianity was taught. The efforts of the Syriac missionaries facilitated the Church’s expansion deep into the interior and caused friction with the traditions of the local people. The Syriac missions also served as permanent centers of Christian learning in which Syriac monks finally began to translate the Bible and other religious texts from Greek into Ethiopic so that their converts could actually read Scripture. These translations were vital to the spread of Christianity, no longer a religion for the small percentage of Ethiopians who could read Greek, throughout Ethiopia.
With the translation of Scripture into Ethiopic allowing for common people to learn about Christianity, many of the local people joined the Syriac missions and monasteries, received religious training through monastic rule based around communalism, hard work, discipline, obedience, and asceticism, and caused the growth of the Church’s influence, especially among young people who were attracted to the mystical aspects of the religion. Newly trained Ethiopian ministers opened their own schools in their parishes and offered to educate members of their congregations. Ethiopian kings encouraged this development because it gave more prestige to the Ethiopian clergy, attracting even more people to join, which allowed the Church to grow beyond its origins as a royal cult to a widespread religion with a strong position in the country.
By the beginning of the sixth century, there were Christian Churches throughout northern Ethiopia. King Kaleb, of the Aksumite Kingdom, led crusades against Christian persecutors in southern Arabia, where Judaism was experiencing a resurgence that led to persecution of Christians. King Kaleb’s reign is also significant for the spread of Christianity among the Agaw tribes of central Ethiopia.
In the late 16th century Christianity spread among petty kingdoms in Ethiopia's west, like Ennarea, Kaffa or Garo.
Christianity has also spread among Muslims. A 2015 study estimated some 400,000 Christians from a Muslim background in the country, most of them Protestants of some form.
Alexandria and the early Aksumite Church.
During the 6th century, the patriarchate of Alexandria encouraged the clerical immigration to Aksum and a program of careful recruitment of religious leaders in the kingdom to ensure that the rich and valuable diocese of Aksum remained under the control of the Alexandrian patriarchate. The kings and bishops who encouraged these settlements assigned missionaries to appropriate areas in Aksum. They donated money to communities and religious schools while protecting their occupants from local anti-Christians. Students of the schools were recruited, ordained, and sent to work in parishes in new Christian areas. There is little evidence about the activities of the daily life of the early Aksumite Church, but it is clear that the essential doctrinal and liturgical traditions were established in the first four centuries of its creation. The strength of these traditions was the main driving force behind the Church’s survival despite its distance from its patriarch in Alexandria.
Judaism, Christianity, and the Solomonic Dynasty.
The Kebra Nagast is considered Holy Scripture in Ethiopia and is available in print.
The Solomonic Dynasty’s legendary origins come from an Ethiopian myth called the Kebre Negast. According to the story, Queen Makeda, who took the Ethiopian throne in the 10th century, B.C., travelled to Jerusalem to learn to be a good ruler from King Solomon, who was famous worldwide for his wisdom and capabilities as a ruler. King Solomon agreed to take Makeda as his student and taught her how to be a good queen. Queen Makeda was so impressed with Solomon that she converted to Judaism and provided Solomon with many gifts. Before Makeda returned home, the two had a son together. Solomon had a dream in which God said that his and Makeda’s son would be the head of a new order. In response, he sent Makeda home but told her to send their son back to Jerusalem when he came of age to be taught Jewish lore and law. Makeda did as she was told and sent Menilek I, their son, to Jerusalem to be taught by Solomon, who offered to make him the prince of Jerusalem. However, Menilek declined and instead returned to Ethiopia, anointed by his father and God to be the king of Ethiopia.
The Kebre Negast exemplifies the importance of Judaism, and subsequently, of Christianity to the Ethiopian people, serving as a source of Ethiopian national pride and providing a justification for the idea of Ethiopians as a chosen people of God. More importantly to the Solomonic Dynasty however, it provided the grounds for the “restored Solomonic” Empire, so named because of its renewed fervor for the connection of King Solomon to Ethiopian royalty, which began under Emperor Yekuno Amlak (r. 1270-1285) and was ruled and justified by Christianity until the late twentieth century.
The Muslim city of Yifat was conquered by Ethiopia in 1270, under Yekuno Amlak, which caused officials in Cairo to use their influence to prevent a new bishop from being sent to Ethiopia. This action crippled the Ethiopian Church as well as the power of the emperor. By the time that Amda Siyon (r. 1314-1344) took the throne in 1314, Sabradin of Yifat led a united Muslim front made up of people angered by Christian rule, destroying churches in Ethiopia and forcing Christians to convert to Islam. Siyon responded with a savage attack that resulted in the defeat of Yifat. Furthermore, Siyon’s victory caused the frontier of Christian power in Africa to expand past the Awash valley.
The Yafit defeat allowed Alexandria to send Abuna Yakob, to Ethiopia in 1337 to be its metropolitan. Yakob reinvigorated the Ethiopian Church, which had been without a leader for almost 70 years, by ordaining new clergy and consecrating long-standing churches that had been built during the power void. Furthermore, Yakob deployed a corps of monks into the newly obtained lands. These monks were often killed or injured by the conquered people, but, through hard work, faith, and promises that local elites could keep their positions through conversion, the new territories were converted to Christianity.
The Sabbatarian controversy.
One of the more fervent monks appointed by Abuna Yakob was Abba Ewostatewos (c. 1273–1352). Ewostatewos designed a monastic ideology stressing the necessity for isolation from state influences. He insisted that the people and the Church return to the teachings of the Bible. Ewostatewos’s followers were called Ewostathians or Sabbatarians, due to their emphasis on observing the Sabbath on Saturday.
Church and state officials united to denounce Ewostatewos, but they were unable to discredit him because he avoided serious sins, and they were unable to effectively argue against him due to his knowledge of Scripture. Frustrated, the Church and state officials simply declared him a deviant due to his love for Old Testament customs that were falling out of favor in the Alexandrian Church in the thirteenth century. Ewostatewos and his followers were persecuted, and Ewostatewos himself died in exile in Armenia in 1352.
The Ewostathians retreated into remote northeastern Ethiopia to escape the society that refused to ordain them, drove them out of churches, fired them from official positions, drove them out of the court, and in some cases, drove them out of towns completely. Over time, however, the religious zeal of the Sabbatarians resulted in missionary activities that successfully converted adjacent non-Christian communities and, within a few generations, Ewostathian monasteries and communities spread throughout the Eritrean highlands.
The spread of Ewostathianism alarmed the Ethiopian establishment who still considered them to be dangerous due to their refusal to follow state authorities. In response, in 1400, Emperor Dawit I (r. 1380–1412) invited the Sabbatarians to come to court and participate in a debate. Abba Filipos led the Ewostathian delegation, which argued their case with passion, refusing to repudiate the Sabbath, until the Ethiopian bishop ordered that the delegation be arrested. The goal of the arrests was to kill Ewostathianism by removing its leaders, but its localized nature allowed it to survive, and, as a result, the arrest of the Ewostathians only led to a rift in the Ethiopian Church, between the ruling class’s traditional Christianity and what was becoming a large movement of Ewostathian Christians.
Emperor Dawit realized that jailing the Sabbatarians was a mistake and ordered their release in 1403 to celebrate a Christian victory over Muslims. Dawit decreed that the Sabbatarians would be allowed to observe the Sabbath on Saturday and return to their normal activities, but he also decreed that Sunday would be observed as the only Sabbath at court.
After Dawit's proclamation, Ewostathianism enjoyed impressive growth. This growth was noticed by Dawit's successor, Emperor Zara Yakob (r. 1434–1468) who realized that the energy of the Sabbatarians could be useful in reinvigorating the church and promoting national unity. The Church, when Yakob took the throne, was impressively widespread, but the consequence of so many different peoples being part of the same church was that there were often many different messages spread throughout the empire, as the clergy was split between followers of Alexandria and Ewostathians, who refused to follow the hierarchy of Alexandria.
Emperor Yakob called for a compromise in 1436, meeting with two bishops, Mikail and Gabriel, sent by the see of St. Mark. Yakob convinced the bishops that if Alexandria agreed to accept the Ewostathian view of the Sabbath, then the Ewostathians would agree to recognize Alexandrian authority. Next, Yakob travelled to Aksum for his coronation, remaining there until 1439 and reconciling with the Sabbatarians, who agreed to pay feudal dues to the emperor.
In 1450, the conflict officially came to an end, as Mikail and Gabriel agreed to recognize the Sabatarians' observance of the Sabbath, and the Sabbatarians agreed to adopt the sacrament of Holy Orders, which they had previously considered to be illegitimate due to its dependence on the authority of the church in Alexandria.
Isolation as a Christian nation.
With the emergence of Islam in the 7th century, Ethiopia's Christians became isolated from the rest of the Christian world. The head of the Ethiopian church has been appointed by the patriarch of the Coptic church in Egypt, and Ethiopian monks had certain rights in the church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. Ethiopia was the only region of Africa to survive the expansion of Islam as a Christian state.
Jesuit missionaries.
In 1441 some Ethiopian monks travelled from Jerusalem to attend the Council in Florence which discussed possible union between the Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox churches.
The arrival of the Christian monks caused something of a sensation. It began two centuries of contact in which there were hopes to bring the Ethiopians into the Catholic fold (the doctrinal problem was that they inclined to miaphysitism (considered a heresy by the Catholics) associated with the Coptic church of Egypt). In 1554 Jesuits arrived in Ethiopia to be joined in 1603 by Pedro Páez, a Spanish missionary of such energy and zeal that he has been called the second apostle of Ethiopia (Frumentius being the first). The Jesuits were expelled in 1633 which was then followed by two centuries of more isolation until the second half of the 19th century.


Feng Yunshan

Feng Yunshan (; 1815 – June 10, 1852) was the South King of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, a distant cousin and early accomplice of Hong Xiuquan, and an important leader during the Taiping Rebellion against the Qing government. He was one of the first Taipings to be baptized and established the first group of God Worshippers during the 1840s. He was killed during the initial stages of the rebellion, prior to the establishment of the Taiping's capital of Tianjing at Nanjing.
Early life.
Feng Yunshan worked as a village teacher in Heluo Village, Hua county, Guangdong. Although educated, he was unable to pass the imperial examinations. Like Hong Xiuquan, he was a Hakka, and he was among the first of Hong's converts to Hong's interpretation of Christianity, backlash to which cost him his teaching position. Feng, Hong, and two other relatives of Hong left Hua county in April 1844. They first traveled to Guangzhou and preached in the outlying areas before heading northwest to White Tiger Village. There, Feng and Hong split off and traveled some 250 miles to the southwest to the village of Sigu, Guiping county, Guangxi, where distant relatives of Hong's resided, including two early converts who had returned home. In November 1844, Hong returned home without Feng, who remained in the area and continued to preach.
God-worshiping Society.
After Hong Xiuquan's departure, Feng traveled deeper and deeper into the heart of the Thistle Mountain region, preaching and baptizing new converts. Feng christened this group of believers the "God Worshipping Society." Hakkas from this area, generally poor and beset by both bandits and local Chinese families angry at the presence of the Hakka in their ancestral lands, found refuge in the group with its promise of solidarity. On August 27, 1847, Feng and the Society were joined by the returning Hong Xiuquan.
In the months following Hong Xiuquan's return, Feng was twice captured by a competing local corps. On the first occasion in December 1847, the God Worshipers freed him by force. When Feng was captured a second time in January 1848, he was sent to a local magistrate who, after receiving a bribe from the God Worshippers, released him on the condition that he return to Guangdong. Feng was unable to return to the God Worshippers until the summer of the following year. Upon his return, he discovered that Yang Xiuqing and Xiao Chaogui had taken leadership roles within God Worshipping Society. Both claimed to enter trances which allowed them to speak as a member of the Trinity; God the Father in the case of Yang and Jesus Christ in the case of Xiao. When Feng returned in the summer of 1849, he and Hong Xiuquan investigated Yang and Xiao's claims and declared them to be genuine. In early 1850, Feng became the first leader of the God Worshipper Society to call for open revolt.
Taiping Rebellion.
Feng was later announced as the "South King" of the Taiping Rebellion. He is credited with being the strategist of the rebellion and the administrator of the kingdom during its early days.
On May 24, 1852 as the Taiping marched by Quanzhou, Guangxi with no intention of invading, a Qing gunner fatally wounded Feng as he sat in his sedan chair. Rallied by the news, the Taiping surrounded Quanzhou and, in the space of two days, breached the walls and killed every citizen who had not fled. Feng finally succumbed to his wounds in June that year.


Yaqowiyu

Yaqowiyu is a traditional Javanese religious festival held in Jatinom, Klaten Regency, Central Java. The festival is held every Sapar of the Javanese calendar, and is often called "Saparan".
During Yaqowiyu, a traditional cake called "apem" which is round snack made of rice flour is distributed, and thousands of people fight for the cake. Thousands of apems will be distributed from a platform established in the mosque located in the funeral complex of Ki Ageng Gribig.
Traditional belief tells that apem will bring fortune for people who succeed in getting it. The festival is a prominent example of "adat" which is a syncretism between Islamic belief and vernacular customary traditions.
Yaqowiyu was first introduced by Ki Ageng Gribig, who is believed to be the descendant of Brawijaya, after his return from the hajji pilgrimage in Mecca. The name Yaqowiyu comes from the part of the Arabic "dua" (supplication prayer), "yaa qowiyyu, yaa aziz, qowwina wal muslimiin, yaa qowiyyu warzuqna wal muslimiin" which is believed to be the dua for power.


Judaism in Italy


Renatus Andrieux

Renatus Andrieux (1742–1792) was a French Jesuit. He was one of the victims of the September Massacres.


Christianity in Panama

Panama is a predominantly Christian country, a result of the Spanish conquistadors and centuries of missionaries. Like the rest of Latin America, the Catholicism of the conquest began to shift as aspects of indigenous, African and other spiritualities were acculturated. In recent decades, however, Evangelical Protestant churches, especially those denominations strongest in North America, have been gaining ground.
Numbers.
Statistics are unclear as to the exact percentage of Panama's population that are Christian, though the country has large religious minorities who adhere to Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, and indigenous religions. Most numbers consider around four-fifths of Panama's population to be Catholic, and about 19% to be Evangelical Protestant.
Local Christian Symbols.
Like the rest of the continent, Panamanians celebrate Carnaval before Lent, and towns and regions have their own festivals at different parts of the year. The most famous of these is the festival of the Cristo Negro, the Black Jesus Christ, in the town of Portobelo in the Colón Province on October 21. In Las Tablas and Herrera provinces, festivals are held for the Jesus Cristo de Azuero, named after the peninsula.


Methodist Church in Singapore

The Methodist Church in Singapore (MCS) is the church that Methodists in Singapore belong to. The Church has 46 churches island-wide with around 42,000 members, and is the largest mainline Protestant denomination in Singapore. Its current bishop and head of the Church is Rev Dr Gordon Wong who was elected at the 12th Session of the General Conference on 7 September 2020.
The Church also has 15 schools, 13 kindergartens and 5 childcare centres under its umbrella.
History.
The Methodist Church in Singapore started out as a missionary initiative by Rev James Thoburn of the South India Conference in India in 1885 . Rev William Fitzjames Oldham travelled to Singapore to plant the foundations of the mission. Oldham started the church's first English-language boys' school in 1886, the Anglo-Chinese School. Two girls' schools (Methodist Girls' School and Fairfield Methodist Girls' School) were subsequently established in 1887 and 1888, respectively. The mission also developed a clinic and hostels for homeless children.
From this Singapore base, the mission then spread to the Malay Peninsula and Sarawak in the 1890s. The Methodist Mission in Singapore and Malaya expanded over time, eventually growing to the administrative status of a conference in the Methodist Church. Eventually, the church spread throughout Southeast Asia, leading to the establishment of the Southeast Asian Central Conference in 1950.
The Malaysian and Singapore components of the mission officially became autonomous of their Western parent bodies in 1968; thus, becoming an Asian church with a bishop elected from the local ministers. In 1976, the church was restructured into The Methodist Church in Singapore and The Methodist Church in Malaysia to reflect the secession of Singapore from Malaysia.
Organisation.
The Methodist Church in Singapore, which consists of 46 local congregations, is organised in conferences: general conference, annual conferences, district and local conferences.
The General Conference, which meets every four years, is the highest decision-making body of the MCS, led by the elected Bishop and an equal number of elected representatives (both clergy and laity) from each of the three Annual Conferences. For day-to-day matters between sessions of the General Conference, the powers of the General Conference are to be found in the General Conference Executive Council (GCEC).
The General Conference is the only body that speaks officially for the church. No person, no paper, no organisation has the authority to speak officially for The Methodist Church, this right having been reserved exclusively to the General Conference under the Constitution.
The Women's Society of Christian Service (WSCS) was set up to help Methodist women grow in the knowledge and experience of God as revealed in Jesus Christ, challenge them to respond to God's redemptive fellowship, to make Christ known throughout the world and to develop a personal responsibility for the whole task of the Church. Its ministries include Spiritual Life, Social Concerns, Christian Education and Missions.
The Methodist Missions Society (MMS) was established in 1991 as the missions agency of The Methodist Church in Singapore. MMS seeks to establish indigenous churches supported by mission endeavours in communities across the region where there is no Methodist presence. The current focus is on the Asian region, particularly Cambodia, China, Nepal, Thailand and Vietnam, owing to their proximity to Singapore and the multiple opportunities to reach the large numbers of unreached people groups in these countries for religious conversion.
The Methodist Welfare Services (MWS) is the outreach and social-concerns arm of The Methodist Church in Singapore. It provides care, support and practical help to Singaporeans facing life's crises and long-term hardship regardless of their race, religion or language. Under the current umbrella of MWS or associated with it, there are 13 service hubs including three Family Service Centres, three Children & Youth Centres, the Christalite Methodist Home for the destitute and the Bethany Methodist Nursing Home.
The Methodist Church in Singapore is a member of the National Council of Churches of Singapore.
List of bishops.
This is a list of bishops of the Methodist Church in Singapore, in order of their election to the episcopacy, both living and dead.
Annual conferences.
The Methodist Church in Singapore is organised into three branches called "Annual Conferences" as each of them meets once a year. These are the Chinese Annual Conference comprising churches with largely Chinese-speaking congregations, Emmanuel Tamil Annual Conference for churches with largely Tamil-speaking congregations and Trinity Annual Conference for churches with largely English-speaking congregations. However, many churches now conduct services in languages other than the language appropriate to the annual conference that they belong to.
The three Annual Conferences are headed by the Bishop. Each of the three Annual Conferences is headed by a President.
Schools.
There are 16 schools managed by the Methodist Church, which is represented by the Methodist Schools Foundation.
Six of the schools are part of the Anglo-Chinese School family which includes a junior college.
The other schools are:
Schools under the ACS family:
Other Methodist Schools:


Christianity in Norway

Christianity is the largest religion in Norway. Norway has historically been called a "Christian country". A majority of the population are members of the Church of Norway with 68.7% of the population officially belonging to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Norway in 2019. At numerous times in history, Norway sent more missionaries per capita than any other country. This changed considerably from the 1960s. In 2004, only 12% of the population attended church services each month. Citizens born in Norway to one or two Norwegian parents are automatically added to the list of Protestant Christians in Norway, and are required to "sign out" of the church. There are two categories kept in the church's books, "medlemmer" (members) and "tilhørige" (belonging to [the State church]). Members technically have to be baptised, whereas "tilhørige" are to be taken out of the books if not baptised by the age of 18. Norwegian citizens' tax funds are given to the Protestant Church until one registers as a member of another religious group, or as a member of the Humanist association.
In 1993, there were 4,981 churches and chapels in Norway.
Christianization.
The conversion of Norway to Christianity began well before 1000 AD. The raids on Ireland, Britain and the Frankish kingdoms had brought the Vikings in touch with Christianity. Haakon the Good of Norway who had grown up in England tried to introduce Christianity in the tenth century, but had met resistance from pagan leaders and soon abandoned the idea.
Anglo-Saxon missionaries from England and Germany engaged in converting Norwegians to Christianity, but with limited success. However, they succeeded in converting Olaf I of Norway to Christianity. Olaf II of Norway (later Saint Olaf) had more success in his efforts to convert the population, and he is credited with Christianising Norway.
The Christians in Norway often established churches or other holy sites at places that had previously been sacred under the Norse religion. The spread of conversion can be measured by burial sites as Pagans were buried with grave goods while Christians weren't. Christianity had become well established in Norway by the middle of the 11th century and had become dominant by the middle of the 12th century. Stave churches were built of wood without the use of nails in the 13th century.
By county.
The above numbers reflect the percentage of the population that are members of a church, typically from being baptized as infants. According to study collected on a sample of 706 Less than half of these define themselves as Christian.
Compared with other countries.
Church attendance.
Early 21st century, Norway had one of the lowest church attendance rates in the world. Below is a table that compares Norway with other governmental divisions in regular church attendance for the early 21st century (2004–2006). In contrast to 250,000 regular churchgoers in the whole of Norway in 2004, 43,500 attend Lakewood Church in the United States each week, and 23,000 attend Hillsong Church in Australia each week.
The U.S. state of Alabama has a population roughly equal to that of Norway, but church attendance in Alabama is as much as 11 times higher than in Norway.
Importance of religion.
Below is a table that compares Norway with other countries in importance of religion.
Denominations.
Protestantism.
Lutheranism.
Church of Norway.
The Church of Norway ("Den norske kirke" in Bokmål or "Den norske kyrkja" in Nynorsk) is the state church of Norway. The church confesses the Lutheran Christian faith. It has as its foundation the Christian Bible, the Apostles' Creed, Nicene Creed, Athanasian Creed, Luther's Small Catechism and the Augsburg Confession. The Church is a member of the Porvoo Communion with 12 other churches, among them the Anglican Churches of Europe. It has also signed some other ecumenical texts, including the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification with the Catholic Church.
The constitutional head of the Church is the King of Norway, who is obliged to profess the Lutheran faith. The Church of Norway is subject to legislation, including its budgets, passed by the Norwegian parliament, the Storting, and its central administrative functions are carried out by the Royal Ministry of Culture and Church Affairs.
The Church has a congregational and episcopal structure, with 1,284 parishes, 106 deaneries and 11 dioceses, namely:
Evangelical Lutheran Free Church of Norway.
The Evangelical Lutheran Free Church of Norway ("Den Evangelisk Lutherske frikyrkja i Noreg" in Norwegian) or the Free Church as it is commonly known, is a nationwide Lutheran church in Norway consisting of 81 congregations with 19,262 members in 2009. It was founded in 1877 in Moss. It should not be confused with the Church of Norway, though both churches are members of the Lutheran World Federation. The Free Church is economically independent.
The following numbers is from :
The Swedish Margareta Congregation in Oslo.
15,574 members in 2009, up from 7,267 in 2005.
Det norske misjonsforbund.
8,497 members in 2009, down from 8,505 in 2005.
The Christian Community.
6,779 members in 2009, up from 6,054 in 2005.
The Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Congregation.
4,237 members in 2009, up from 3,504 in 2005.
Free Evangelical Congregations.
3,434 members in 2009, down from 3,653 in 2005.
Christian Centres.
3,290 members in 2009, up from 3,264 in 2005.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church Community.
3,232 members in 2009, down from 3,410 in 2005.
The Icelandic Evangelical Lutheran Congregation in Norway.
2,735 members in 2009, down from 3,395 in 2005.
The Christian Community.
2,474 members in 2009, up from 2,472 in 2006.
Brunstad Christian Church.
Brunstad Christian Church is the largest international Christian movement founded in Norway.
Methodism.
The Methodist Church of Norway had 10,974 members in 2009, down from 11,981 in 2005.
Catholic Church.
The Catholic Church in Norway is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope and the Curia in Rome. Per 15 October 2012 the church had 115, 234 registered members. The number has increased from 59, 350 in 2008 due to high immigration. There may be approximately 170,000–200,000 people of Catholic background in the country, most of them immigrants.
The country is divided into three Church districts – the Diocese of Oslo and the prelatures of Trondheim and Tromsø and 32 parishes. The Bishop of Oslo participates in the Scandinavian Bishops Conference. The Catholic Church in Norway is as old as the kingdom itself, dating from approximately 900 A.D., with the first Christian monarchs, Haakon I from 934.
At first, the bulk of Catholic immigrants came from Germany, The Netherlands, and France. Immigration from Chile, the Philippines, and from a wide range of other countries began in the 1970s. This development has further increased in the last few years with economic immigrants from Poland and Lithuania. Ethnic Norwegian Catholics are now greatly outnumbered by the immigrants, although the former tend to be far more observant and conservative, being a self-selected group largely of ex-Lutheran converts.
Restorationism.
Jehovah's Witnesses.
Jehovah's Witnesses is the largest nontrinitarian religious organization in Norway, with a membership of 14,976 in 2009. A branch office is located in Ytre Enebakk. Jehovah's Witnesses receive public grants in the same manner as other registered religious communities in Norway.


Ukrainian Orthodox Eparchy of Central Canada

The Ukrainian Orthodox Eparchy of Central Canada is a diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada under the Church of Constantinople. It is currently led by Metropolitan Yurij (Kalistchuk) of Winnipeg and Canada and has jurisdiction over Ukrainian Orthodox churches in the central Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
History.
The early history of the Eparchy largely parallels that of the UOCC, which was founded on the territory of the diocese in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Since the reorganization of the Ukrainian Greek Orthodox Church of Canada (what later became the UOCC) as a metropolia in 1951 the Central Eparchy has served as the diocese of the 'first hierarch' or primate of the UOCC. Auxiliary or assistant bishops to the Metropolitan of the UOCC are consecrated with the title "of Saskatoon" to honor the city's role in the founding of the Church.
Eparchy today.
The Central Eparchy currently consists of 153 cathedrals, parishes, missions, and chapels scattered across the Canadian Prairies. The seat of the diocesan bishop (also the national head of the UOCC) is Holy Trinity Cathedral in Winnipeg, Manitoba.


Sri Venkateswara Temple of North Carolina

Sri Venkateswara Temple of North Carolina is a Hindu Temple located in Cary, North Carolina and serves the 21,000 strong Hindu population in the Research Triangle. The temple is located in 21 Balaji Place, Cary, North Carolina.
History.
Starting in 1988, there was a growing demand by South Indians in the Research Triangle for an alternative South Indian style temple. The only Hindu Temple in the area was an eclectic Hindu Temple in Morrisville. In July 1998, a couple bought 2.8 Acres of Land in an undeveloped plot of land in Cary. On Jan 1999, a Bhoomi Puja was held to purify the land and allow construction to begin. In 2002, Cary approved the land to be zoned for the building of a Hindu Temple. Three years later, the plans and design for SV Temple were finalized and by 2007, construction began. In April 2009, The Temple was complete and on May 29, 2009, Prana Pratishtha, a ceremony dedicated to inviting a deity to live in the temple, was held and the Hindu Temple was open the following day. The opening ceremony of the SV Temple was attended by over 10,000 guests including several politicians. During the ceremony a 9-foot, 2 ton, statue of Sri Venkateswara, a form of Vishnu, was installed along with 18 other deities. The total cost of the ceremony was over $1 Million. Governor Roy Cooper signed a Diwali Proclamation at SV Temple North Carolina in 2017. In 2019, Cary bought the Nancy Jones House, the oldest building in Cary, from SV Temple, NC for 100,000 dollars and is currently in the process of relocating it off of Temple Grounds. The reason for buying it was to preserve it for historical preservation.
Design.
The Temple is modeled after the Sri Venkateswara Temple in Southern India and was designed with Murtis, Hindu Idols, common in Hinduism sects practiced in Southern India. Originally at 2.8 acres, the campus size has since expanded to 9 acres. Construction was estimated to be 6 Million but only cost 3.5 Million. 14 Artisans were brought in from India to hand carve Hindu idols into the marble.


Church of the Province of South East Asia

The Church of the Province of South East Asia is an autonomous member of the Anglican Communion, created in 1996 with the four dioceses of Kuching, Sabah, Singapore and West Malaysia.
There are approximately 98,000 Anglicans within the province, and the current Metropolitan Archbishop and Primate of the Province is Melter Tais, Bishop of Sabah.
History.
Early Developments.
Anglicanism was first introduced with the establishment of the British East India Company's settlement of Penang Island in 1786. George Caunter, a local magistrate, was appointed as a Lay Clerk/Acting Chaplain in 1799 under the jurisdiction of the See of Calcutta. In 1819, the first Anglican church building, the Church of St. George the Martyr, was consecrated by the Bishop of Calcutta, Thomas Fanshawe Middleton.
In 1826, the Mission Chapel of the London Missionary Society (LMS) started services in Singapore and the first church building in Singapore was built in 1837. In 1842, a missionary of the LMS started the first girls school in Singapore, now known as St. Margaret's School. The work in Borneo started in 1848 when a group of missionaries led by Francis Thomas McDougall was invited by James Brooke, the Rajah of Sarawak. In 1849, a wooden church was built in Kuching. In 1851, this church was consecrated by Daniel Wilson, Bishop of Calcutta in honour of St. Thomas the Apostle.
Establishment of Missionary Dioceses.
Letters patent was issued in 1855 to establish the Bishopric of Labuan and McDougall was appointed the first Bishop of Labuan. McDougall was also appointed the Bishop of Sarawak by the Rajah of Sarawak due to the political conventions of the day ruled that no Anglican Diocese might be created outside the limits of the British Empire, and Sarawak was then technically an independent kingdom. This practice prevailed until the Sarawak became a Crown Colony in 1946.
In 1867, The East India Company transferred Penang to the British Crown and with that ended the chaplaincy of the Madras Presidency in Penang. The Anglican churches in Penang, Malacca and Singapore were organised into the Church in the Straits Settlement while remaining under the jurisdiction of the See of Calcutta.
The Church in the Straits Settlement was separated from the See of Calcutta by an Act of Parliament in 1869 and placed under the episcopal care of the Bishop of Labuan as the United Diocese of Singapore, Labuan and Sarawak. In 1909, the United Diocese was further divided into the Diocese of Singapore, the Diocese of Labuan and the Bishopric of Sarawak. The 3 separate Dioceses developed independently from then onwards until the creation of the Province.
Anglican work in Malaya and Singapore (1909–1996).
The period between the division of the United Diocese and the outbreak of the Second World War in the Pacific, missionary work continued with increasing ordination of local clergy and planting of churches all throughout the Malaya and Singapore.
During the duration of the Second World War, most expatriate clergy and missionaries were interned by the Japanese. Without the benefit of its expatriate clergy, the work of the church fell on the shoulders of local clergy and church workers.
This development highlighted the urgent need for training local leaders for this developing part of the Anglican Church and eventually led to the establishment of Singapore's Trinity Theological College in 1951.
Malaya gained her independence from British rule in 1957. Following this, in 1960, the Diocese was renamed the Diocese of Singapore and Malaya. In 1970, the churches in West Malaysia were separated from the Diocese and reconstituted as the Diocese of West Malaysia by an Act of Parliament and the Diocese was renamed the Diocese of Singapore.
Anglican work in British Borneo (1909–1996).
Work in British Borneo after the division of the United Diocese until the outbreak of the Second World War followed a similar pattern to the work in Malaya and Singapore. It was supported from 1909 by the Borneo Mission Association. Anglican missionaries were however more successful than their counterparts in Malaya and Singapore in evangelising the indigenous peoples.
Following the devastation of the Second World War, the Diocese of Labuan and the Bishopric of Sarawak was joined together as the Diocese of Borneo and the first Bishop, Nigel Cornwall, was consecrated in 1949. In 1962, the Diocese was again divided into the Diocese of Jesselton (later Diocese of Sabah) which included Labuan, and the Diocese of Kuching which included Brunei.
Province of South East Asia.
In 1996, autocephaly was attained when the Province of South East Asia consisting of the Dioceses of West Malaysia, Singapore, Kuching and Sabah was established by the then-Archbishop of Canterbury, George Carey. Moses Tay, Bishop of Singapore, was installed as the first Metropolitan Archbishop of the Province the same year. The Province celebrated its 20th Anniversary in February 2016.
Membership.
Today, there are at least 98,000 Anglicans out of an estimated population of 33.9 million.
Structure.
The polity of the Church of the Province of South East Asia is Episcopalian church governance, which is the same as other Anglican churches. The church maintains a system of geographical parishes organised into dioceses. The Province is divided into four dioceses. Furthermore, the Dioceses of Kuching, West Malaysia and Singapore are further subdivided into archdeaconries and deaneries.
Worship and liturgy.
The Church of the Province of South East Asia embraces three orders of ministry: deacon, priest, and bishop. A local variant of the Book of Common Prayer is used.
Doctrine and practice.
The center of the Church of the Province of South East Asia's teaching is the life and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The basic teachings of the church, or catechism, includes:
The threefold sources of authority in Anglicanism are scripture, tradition, and reason. These three sources uphold and critique each other in a dynamic way. This balance of scripture, tradition and reason is traced to the work of Richard Hooker, a sixteenth-century apologist. In Hooker's model, scripture is the primary means of arriving at doctrine and things stated plainly in scripture are accepted as true. Issues that are ambiguous are determined by tradition, which is checked by reason.
Ecumenical relations.
The dioceses of the Church of the Province of South East Asia participate in the ecumenical World Council of Churches via their respective national church councils:
However, unlike many other Anglican churches, the Church of the Province of South East Asia is not a member of the World Council of Churches in its own right.
Anglican realignment.
Together with the Church of the Province of Rwanda, the Church of the Province of South East Asia maintained a missionary organisation, the Anglican Mission in the Americas, in the United States and Canada, from 2000 to 2011. The Church of the Province of South East Asia has been active in the Anglican realignment, as member of the Global South and the Global Anglican Future Conference.
The province was represented at the GAFCON III, held on 17-22 June 2018, in Jerusalem, by a 18 members delegation, coming from Malaysia, Singapore and Cambodia.