Christianity in Morocco

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The Roman floor mosaic from Lixus shows numerous crosses in the edge zone; Tétouan , Archaeological Museum
Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes , Casablanca
Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes , Casablanca

The Christianity in Morocco constitutes a religious minority in the country; only a maximum of 30,000 people, i.e. about 0.1% of the Moroccan population, are Christians - the vast majority of them Catholics .

history

It can be assumed that Christianity also spread in the area of ​​Morocco as early as Roman antiquity - an altar plate kept in the Archaeological Museum of Rabat and a mosaic from Lixus with numerous crosses in the edge zone in the Archaeological Museum of Tétouan have been preserved. According to legendary tradition, St. Marcellus died a martyr's death in Tingis ( Tangier ) in 298 .

It is also known that many Berbers in northern Morocco continued to adhere to Christian-Jewish beliefs even after the Islamic conquest of the Maghreb ; their conversion to Islam dragged on into the 10th century. With the beginning of the Christian reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula ( reconquista ) , the religious contradictions intensified: the Berber princes who ruled the Taifa kingdoms after the collapse of the Caliphate of Córdoba (1031) now became bitter opponents of Christianity, although in individual cases there were coalitions against both sides Enemies gave. Operating from Morocco, the Berber dynasties of the Almoravids (1061–1147), Almohads (1147–1269) and Merinids (1269–1465) were fanatics of the faith in many ways.

In the 15th and 16th centuries, the sea powers Portugal and Spain made various attempts to gain a foothold in Morocco. The exclaves of Ceuta and Melilla , which still exist today, and the cities of Tangier , Asilah , El Jadida , Safi and others , which were recaptured centuries ago, date from this time . In Safi, parts of an ultimately unfinished Portuguese church in Manueline style have been preserved.

Christianity took off again in Morocco during the period of French and Spanish colonial rule. Numerous churches were built for the steadily growing number of believers - due to European immigrants and numerous converts of Muslims - the total number of which is estimated at almost half a million shortly before independence. After the independence of Morocco (1956) and the subsequent emigration of most of the European settlers, the buildings fell into oblivion, although in many places they are still standing today. The still-used cathedrals of Rabat and Tangier , the churches of Notre-Dame de Lourdes in Casablanca and Saint-Andrew in Tangier as well as some smaller buildings scattered all over the country still bear witness to the importance of Christianity at that time.

Current situation

The Islam in Morocco under the Constitution state religion . Foreign Christians are allowed to practice their beliefs but are watched by the authorities. Passing on the Christian message to Muslims is a criminal offense; so it is not allowed to distribute Christian literature either. The conversion Although a Muslim to another religion is not by law criminalized, but experience Christians with a Muslim background social pressure and social isolation. For fear of reprisals, they often practice their Christian faith in secret.

Since March 2010, the Moroccan government many foreign Christians on charges Moroccans missionary to have expelled from the country. The people affected were employees of Christian aid organizations. A large number of them worked in an orphan project near Fez . They had to leave their foster children behind.

Denominations

In 2018, the Roman Catholic Church of Morocco included a total of 32 parishes with 23,000 to 25,000 members in the archbishopric of Rabat and Tangier . 23 priests and four religious are active in the parishes, and 142 nuns are active in a total of 32 institutions. The Roman Catholic Church in Morocco maintains three main churches, the Cathedral of Rabat , the Cathedral of Tangier and the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes (Casablanca) as well as the Church of the Holy Martyrs in Marrakech . The Italian Archbishop Vito Rallo has been the Holy See's Ambassador to Morocco since the end of 2015 . From March 30th to 31st, 2019, Pope Francis visited Morocco with the focus on intercultural and interreligious dialogue between religions. The Caritas Morocco is represented in three Caritas centers in Rabat, Tangier and Casablanca.

In addition, the Russian Orthodox Church is represented with a congregation and Protestant Christians.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Church in Need : Country Report Morocco
  2. ↑ Morocco on the Open Doors website , as viewed February 27, 2013
  3. ↑ Open Doors magazine 5/2010: "Numerous Christians expelled from the country - 33 children separated from foster parents"
  4. ↑ David M. Cheney: Archdiocese of Rabat and Archdiocese of Tanger , Catholic Hierarchy, accessed December 29, 2017
  5. ↑ Morocco: Numbers and facts about the Catholic Church on vaticannews.va from March 28, 2019
  6. ↑ The Pope in Morocco: The program with live broadcasts on vaticannews.va from March 29, 2019
  7. ^ Information on adherents.com , accessed December 29, 2017