Turmoil in Tripoli: Libya’s Christian community

With the sound of NATO bombs in the background, the priest of the Anglican Church of Christ the King in Tripoli, Hamdy Daoud, explained that most Christians have fled the city in search of safety, but that he and other ministers had remained. "Even though the majority of our community has evacuated, I am still here to serve those who are not able to leave or who have chosen to remain. It is important that we retain a Christian presence here at this critical time," he said. None of the church buildings in Tripoli and Benghazi had suffered any damage, he reported.

Prior to the outbreak of violence, more Christians resided in the Libyan cities of Tripoli and Benghazi than in the other countries of the Maghreb, the western region of North Africa that includes Morocco, Western Sahara, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Mauritania. While Libya does not have the illustrious Christian heritage of Tunisia and Algeria, the home of church fathers such as Tertullian, Cyprian and Augustine, Libya has had a significant role in recent Christian history of the region, serving a significant Christian population.

Libya can claim the very first North African follower of Christ, Simon of Cyrene. ( What was once Cyrene is now the town of Shahhat, in northeastern Libya, not far east of Benghazi.) According to the Gospel accounts, Simon was forced by the Roman authorities to assist Jesus by carrying his cross to the place of crucifixion. A follower of the Jewish faith, Simon probably came to Jerusalem for the annual Passover festival. While little is known about Simon, the book of Acts says that individuals from "those parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene" were present at Pentecost—offering a glimpse of how the Christian faith could have spread to Libya.