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THE RACE - ISSUE 12
Annaba: Land of a Giant
How's your geography knowledge?
How about
naming some Algerian cities?!? For most Westerners, naming cities in Algeria
is a difficult assignment. You may not know this one city in northeastern
Algeria by name but you are definitely familiar with one of its native
sons.
The city of Annaba is very much like Algiers (the capital) as a
refuge for those with a need for "European" atmosphere during their stay in
Algeria. As Annaba is a seaport and the center of one of Algeria's most
fertile regions, the city became very popular among French colonialists.
The structure of today's Annaba reflects this very much. The green main
street has a vibrant afternoon and early evening life, and the horizon to
the south is strongly dominated by the picturesque basilica of St.
Augustine.
The choice of the French colonialists to erect a church to
Augustine can seem odd in this Muslim country, but it is
not.
Centuries ago, a strong Christian Algerian woman, named Monica,
married a Roman civil servant and prayed for her son, Augustine, to know God.
She had brought him up to know the Bible and to love the church. But, the
more his education progressed and the brighter his intellectual brilliance
shone, the further he went from the Lord. He went from small-time stealing
to revolt, then to promiscuous living.
His best friend became a
Christian as a result of a serious illness. Though Augustine witnessed the
change in him, he did not like it. To satisfy his hunger for spiritual and
intellectual things, he joined a sect in Carthage (near present-day Tunis,
Tunisia) called the Manichees. While he was one of their most eloquent
spokesmen, he was inwardly disillusioned.
Monica never ceased praying of
him.
Augustine reached 34 and with his mother, moved to Italy. In Italy,
he had Christian friends whose simple, holy life and plain counsel challenged
him. Next, he heard the Lord speaking in his mind, through a verse
of Scripture. He gave himself to God with many tears of grief and love.
He renounced his life of pleasures, and his well endowed lecturing
position. Instead, with a group of North African Christian friends, he took
up a life of prayer and study of God's Word. Augustine returned to North
Africa to Hippo Regius intending to continue his community
there.
Augustine acted as a bishop from 396 to 430 here. For his Hippo
Regius is present-day Annaba. Augustine is one of the most important figures
in Christian history. Much of Christianity's doctrinal beliefs have been
in some shape or form affected by the teachings of Augustine!
This underscores the former prominence and influence of the North
African church.
Tragically, today, the church in Algeria is miniscule
in light of the huge population. As a matter of fact, most Algerians, even
those living in Annaba, do not know of the great Christian history & the
Christian giant born out of their country.
Oh, that today, a worldwide
band of "Monica's" would intercede on behalf of the nearly 30 million Arabs
of Algeria!
Oh, that today, a new Spirit-filled Augustine would lead his
people to Christ Jesus!
Oh, that today, the Arabs of Algeria would
establish a "new history" in Christ Jesus!
The Algerian Arab Team
therace@therace.ws
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