Episcopal Archbishop Ezekiel Kondo with the accompanying delegation prays in the destroyed Church of Savior, Omdurman. Photo: Episcopal Church of Sudan

In a pilgrimage amidst deadly war, Episcopal Archbishop Ezekiel Kondo of Sudan, undertook a pastoral visit to Khartoum, where he witnessed full churches and thriving ecumenism.

Kondo has been living in Port Sudan, the Red Sea City, where he was forced to flee in April 2023, after the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces seized the All Saints Cathedral, the seat of the Episcopal Church in the city.

But on Christmas Eve, the prelate returned to the capital, travelling to the Kararey area, in the West Nile city of Omdurman, one of the three that make the larger Khartoum City.

Travelling there for the first time since 15 April 2023 when the war exploded, the archbishop said he wanted to see and encourage church leaders and Christians in the city, confirm believers, and celebrate Christmas, as well as see church institutions.

“I planned the visit well in advance because in 2023, I visited the Northern States, as part of the Diocese of Khartoum, and I thought this time, I must go to Khartoum no matter what the challenges,” Kondo said in an interview.

“Fear was there, but I felt that God was with me and the team. It was an encouragement for me and the people as well.”

According to the archbishop, there is relative peace in Kararey and the people are doing their normal businesses in the markets. In addition, food, fruits, and vegetables are available, but the foods were too expensive for the people, who the war had left without money.

 “The churches are full of Christians during worship and all the denominations work together in the spirit of ecumenism,” he said in a briefing.

Kondo explained that in the spirit, the church leaders were organizing prayers and fasting together from time to time.

“When they get relief food, they share it together and in the Christmas celebrations I attended, all churches were together,” he said.

On Christmas day, the prelate had joined celebrations at the Emmanuel Church, where he praised pastors and the people for their firm faith in God, despite the war. On 29 December, the team joined the annual Christmas celebration in the locality.

Musa Abujam, the Episcopal Church provincial secretary; Kamal Hussein, Khartoum diocesan secretary; and Manias Amalik, the Khartoum Cathedral curate and the archbishop’s chaplain, accompanied the archbishop in the visit, supported by the UK-based Christian Charity, The Relay Trust.

But the archbishop regrets that he could not visit the All Saint Cathedral, because part of Khartoum and Khartoum North Areas are still under the Rapid Support Forces.

“I feel so sad that I was unable to see the Cathedral, which is only 15-20 minutes by car from the diocesan headquarters I visited,” he said.

Sudan has been embroiled in a deadly war since 15 April 2023, when a power struggle between leaders of the Sudan Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces burst into a full-scale war.

For 20 months, soldiers loyal to the army chief, Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the Rapid Support Forces commander, Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, alias Hemedti, have fought for the control of territories in the northeast Africa country.

The war has killed tens of thousands, and left at least 638,000 people- mainly in the Darfur region facing famine, according to humanitarian agencies. More than 30 million people in the country are in need of humanitarian aid, in what U.N and agency officials describe as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

Meanwhile, the Archbishop said in his briefing, that there was a spirit of hope for peace, as the army retakes and advances on many parts of Khartoum.