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Churches across Australia and New Zealand lit up red in record numbers for Red November, standing in prayerful solidarity with persecuted Christians and reminding believers that when one suffers, all suffer.

Christians in Australia and across the Tasman marked this year’s Red November in record numbers.

At least 30 Catholic dioceses lit up cathedrals, chapels, and charities in red to promote the persecuted church in the newly formed annual event.

Taking up spiritual arms in the defence of those suffering for their faith in Christ, Red November invites intercession for the weary, the war-torn, and the wounded.

This year, Australian and New Zealand churches once again added their important voices to the growing international intercessory movement.

A Growing Movement of Prayer and Solidarity

While currently only Catholic-centric in Australia and New Zealand, Red November is finding traction with Evangelicals and Anglicans overseas.

Also known as Red Wednesday, and facilitated by Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), the annual remembrance event uses red “to symbolise the blood of the martyrs.”

As North African theologian Tertullian immortalised in his oft-quoted AD 197 assertion: “We multiply whenever we are mown down because the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.”

According to the Archdiocese of Melbourne, Masses and prayer vigils carried the paint-it-red theme, which included schools, families, and individuals.

Noting the record rise in participation, ACN said that support for the event among Australians and New Zealanders had “more than doubled.”

Moved by the interest in the movement, National director, Bernard Toutounji, said, the November theme “offers us an important reality check.”

This marks “a time to remember that when one part suffers in the Body of Christ, all parts suffer with it.” (1 Corinthians 12:26)

The stats don’t lie.

“For every seven Christians, at least one lives in a country where they suffer persecution for their faith.”

“Every day, priests, sisters, catechists and Catholic families like yours and mine face intimidation, violence, and exclusion from jobs.”

They also experience “attacks on their churches and homes, kidnappings and even death,” because they live out their faith in Jesus Christ.

“In Australia, we are blessed to live in security and live our faith freely,” Toutounji continued.

“We enjoy the right to worship, or not to worship, as we choose.”

Remembering the Persecuted—and Our Responsibility to Respond

Red November offers the Australian Church the sobering reminder that not all live this way, nor do they enjoy those same freedoms.

“We cannot, and should not, live in comfort without turning our minds, hearts and resources to help the brothers and sisters crying out to us for prayer and support,” the ACN director explained.

This is why Red November exists: to share their stories and motivate support.

The event is a bridge from the bullied and broken to believers who are better off.

This is about “keeping the flame of faith alive in places where it is most at risk of being extinguished,” Toutounji concluded.

“Our prayer, support, and advocacy matter more than ever. Each one of us is needed to help break the silence on Christian persecution.’

Red November usually runs for a week, and ties in with IDOP: the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Christians.

The movement, ACN states, began in Brazil, 2015, when the monument Christ the Redeemer was dressed in red light to mark the persecution of Christians in Iraq.”

Like Voice of the Martyrs and Open Doors, Aid to the Church in Need operates as an independent ministry largely servicing the Catholic Church.

Any church interested in learning more, participating or supporting the event is encouraged to contact Bernard Toutounji through the ACN website here.