FILE – Muslim pilgrims pray around the Kaaba, the cubic building at the Grand Mosque, during the annual Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, on June 25, 2023. For the first time in over a decade, 270 Syrians traveled on a direct flight early Tuesday from Damascus to Saudi Arabia for the annual Islamic Hajj […]
At least 11 worshippers have been killed and dozens others injured after a man attacked a mosque in Nigeria’s northern Kano state, police say. A man allegedly sprayed the mosque with petrol and locked its doors before setting it on fire, trapping about 40 worshippers, they said. The attack was triggered by a family dispute […]
Worshippers including President Vladimir Putin packed Moscow’s landmark Christ the Saviour Cathedral for a night-time Easter service led by Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church and an outspoken supporter of the Kremlin. The traditional sung service began late on Saturday, with Mr Kirill delivering well-wishes to Orthodox believers which were broadcast on Russian […]
Christian Orthodox worshippers have thronged the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem for one of the most chaotic gatherings in the Christian calendar – the ancient ceremony of the Holy Fire. The event takes place in the location where Christians believe Jesus rose from the dead, and involves a flame being taken from Jesus’ […]
An old video of people joyously singing and dancing has been shared in social media posts that misleadingly claim it shows an Israeli music festival at a West Bank mosque where Palestinians were barred from worshipping. The video was shared in November 2023 — a month into the war between Israel and Palestinian militant organisation […]
A group of Hasidic Jewish worshippers have been arrested amid a dispute over a tunnel secretly dug into the side of a historic synagogue in New York City, setting off a brawl between police and those who tried to defend the makeshift passageway. The discovery of the tunnel at the Chabad-Lubavitch world headquarters in Crown […]
NEW YORK (AP) — A group of Hasidic Jewish worshippers were arrested amid a dispute over a tunnel secretly dug into the side of a historic Brooklyn synagogue, setting off a brawl between police and those who tried to defend the makeshift passageway. The discovery of the tunnel at the Chabad-Lubavitch world headquarters in Crown […]
Evidence of widespread abuse and torture by the founder of one of the world’s biggest Christian evangelical churches has been uncovered by the BBC. Dozens of ex-Synagogue Church of all Nations members – five British – allege atrocities, including rape and forced abortions, by Nigeria’s late TB Joshua. The allegations of abuse in a secretive […]
Cologne police acting on indications of a possible attack searched Germany’s landmark cathedral with sniffer dogs on Saturday and said worshippers attending Christmas Eve Mass would undergo security screening before being allowed in. In Austria, police in Vienna also said they were taking heightened security measures around churches and Christmas markets, deploying both uniformed and […]
A church in Kenya has survived for the last decade by operating discreetly. It does not publicise its services in this very religious country because it welcomes gay worshippers. “The first time I entered the church I cried,” John, a pastor initially ordained in a mainstream church, told the BBC. He left his parish because […]