Persecuted Nation: Cyprus

This will be the start of some postings on nations many folks may not realize have Christian persecution.

Cyprus is a historic island in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. The southern 2/3 of the island is what most people would consider Cyprus. The area is dominated by the Greek Orthodox Church, but there is a strong contingent of Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormon missionaries. Evangelicals amount to about .2-.4%. In the northern 1/3 you find the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. There you have a 99% Muslim population, with the controlling government body being from Turkey, the island's nearby neighbor to the north. There is active limitation there of Christian influence, let alone the Church's existence. I have read around that persecution is quite heavy on Christians who take an active role in missions there.

There is very little evangelical Christian missionary activity (and by "missionary" in this case I would include those who choose to reside there and live out their Christian lives) on the island as a whole.