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Christians in India's troubled Orissa state have celebrated Christmas in peace for the first time in three years.

Security was tight and thousands of extra police were deployed as a precaution – but no incidents of violence were reported against Christians in Orissa, despite fears to the contrary.

About a thousand special police officers and at least 150 police inspectors were mobilised in sensitive areas such as G Udaygiri, Tikabali, Raikia and Baliguda in Kandhamal district, which was a flashpoint for anti-Christian violence in both 2007 and 2008.

On Christmas Eve in 2007, Kandhamal district witnessed a spate of anti-Christian attacks in which at least four Christians were killed and 730 houses and 95 churches were burnt. And then, in August 2008, the murder of a Hindu extremist leader triggered months of anti-Christian violence, which started in Kandhamal and spread to several other states.

Pastor Thomas Chellan was brutally attacked by an extremist mob in August 2008 at the start of the anti-Christian attacks in Orissa that year. He told AsiaNews online news agency that, though many Christians in areas such as Kandhamal are still living in temporary shelters of bamboo and polythene, the Orissa church remains steadfast

'In the midst of these untold sufferings and [an] uncertain future, the Christian community there is marching ahead, holding their faith with courage and conviction,' Pastor Thomas said.

Not every church in India enjoyed a peaceful Christmas, however. Hindu extremists are reported to have attacked a church in western Maharashtra state on December 20 during a worship service. The pastor, his wife and several other Christians were beaten in the raid on the New Life Fellowship which meets in a hotel in Kankauli. On the same day, extremists attacked Pastor R. Timothy and his wife Nirmala with an iron bar in Nalgonda, Andhra Pradesh, in front of their child. The pastor required stitches for a head injury.

(Sources: AsiaNews, Christian Today, Compass Direct, The Voice of the Martyrs USA)

• Thank God that Christians in Orissa are reported to have enjoyed a peaceful Christmas. Pray for the success of peace-building initiatives in this state.
• Ask God to bless and strengthen the two pastors and their families who were attacked over Christmas.

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