Lots of Christians live and work there, but are allowed to worship God in the privacy of their residences rather than in public.
There is however one country that does not have an official church. Saudi Arabia is the one country that falls in this category.
Saudi Arabia is the largest country in the Middle East. This country is home to more than 35 million people with over 2 million Christians. This Arab country, however, has no church building.
Surprisingly, this was not so years ago. There were actually churches formed in Arabia by early Christians. This was before the time of Muhammad in the 7th century.
Saudi Arabia is reported to have had one of the earliest church buildings ever. This church was called Jubail Church and it was built around the 4th century. There are also biblical records of Apostle Paul’s ministry in Arabia.
But then, over the years, due to conversion and migration, ancient Arabian Christianity largely vanished and now the country is left without an official church.
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This does not mean there are no Christians in Saudi Arabia as lots of Christians live and work there and are even allowed to worship God in the privacy of their residences rather than in public.
Till date, Christians are still trooping into Saudi Arabia daily with most of them coming for work or tourism purposes.
It is however said that they are not allowed to practise their religion openly and of course, starting a church is out of the question.
Saudi Arabia might not have a church today, but over the years, the restrictions on Christianity in this country seem to be gradually reducing.
For example, in 2018, the country had its first public mass. Few years later, in 2022, it was announced that Christmas trees and decorations could be sold and used publicly during the festive season.
So, who knows, a church might be opened soon, or not. What are your thoughts?
