On November 4 this year Christians will gather to pray for their suffering brothers and sisters. The annual International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church provides a time to lift up believers who suffer deprivation, torture, and death for confessing Christ.

Martyrdom has been a part of Christian witness since the beginning. All but one of Christ’s apostles were martyred, as were many their successors, men like Ignatius of Antioch and Polycarp of Smyrna. The lull in aggression toward the church since the fall of communism might have dulled Western memories to the horrific slaughter and repressions of the twentieth century, but the lull seems over, and the church around the world is experiencing intense persecution.