MESOPOTAMIA NEWS : SAUDI ARABIA PRESENTS MASS FOR CHRISTIANS / AND TEHRAN ?

 For First Time Ever, Christian Mass Held Openly In Saudi Arabia 

MEMRI NEWS – On December 1, 2018, Egyptian and other Arab media reported that, for the first time, a Coptic Mass had been held in Saudi Arabia, in the city of Riyadh. The Mass was performed by Ava Morkos, Coptic Bishop ofShobra Al-Kheima in Egypt, as part of his visit to Saudi Arabia. The Saudi media reported that the Bishop was visiting the kingdom following an invitation extended by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in March 2018. It should be noted that Bishop Morkos, who is in charge of the Copts in Saudi Arabia, has visited the country three times in the past, but this was the first time he openly conducted a documented Christian service. Several days after the Mas was held, Coptic Pope Tawadros II told the English-language Saudi daily Arab News that he too had received an invitation from bin Salman to visit Saudi Arabia, and that he was willing to do so, but that no date had been set for the visit. 

Saudi Arabia – which has about 1.5 million Christian residents, all of them foreign workers – is the only Gulf country which bans the building of churches in its territory, and in fact forbids Christians to hold religious services anywhere, in public or in private homes. Until recently, this law was enforced, but in 2018 it was reported that the religious police had stopped enforcing it. Moreover, in the last year meetings were held between senior Saudi officials and Christian leaders from around the world, and there were reports that Saudi Arabia means to change the law and build churches in the kingdom

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