JABALPUR, India (UCAN) -- A Christian group in central India has called for Aug. 25 to be observed as "Indian Christian martyrs day" to honor Christians killed recently in Orissa state.
According to Madhya Pradesh Isai Mahasangh (grand assembly of Madhya Pradesh Christians), the ecumenical group in Madhya Pradesh state that made the demand, Aug. 25 was the day Hindu radicals killed the most Christians in Orissa.
The exact number of fatalities is not yet known, but available reports indicate at least 59 Christians perished in seven weeks of anti-Christian violence in that eastern state. The violence that also destroyed thousands of Christian homes and more than 100 Church properties including churches, and displaced around 50,000 Christians began on Aug. 24, the day after a Hindu religious leader and four associates were gunned down in Orissa. Maoists claimed responsibility for the assassination.
Some independent groups that toured Orissa in October put the number of Christians killed at more than 500.
On Nov. 9, about 200 members of the Madhya Pradesh ecumenical group met in the state capital of Bhopal, 745 kilometers south of New Delhi, to review the status of Christians in India.
Their resolution says establishing the martyrs' day will help the Indian Church remember Orissa Christians' "great sacrifices" for the universal Church.
Archbishop Leo Cornelio of Bhopal welcomed the group's suggestion and said the Orissa victims' "supreme sacrifice is admirable."
The prelate, who heads the Catholic Church in Madhya Pradesh, commended the Orissa Christians for preferring death to giving up their faith. He also pointed out that such sacrifice disproved the allegation that missioners converted people through allurement, force and other illegal means. more
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