New Church on Site of Burnt Victim Rekindles Hope Among Kandhamal Christians in Odisha

Gudrikia, Odisha, 29 May, 2025 — A new church erected on the site where a Christian teacher was burnt alive during the 2008 anti-Christian violence in Odisha’s Kandhamal district has brought renewed faith and hope to the local Christian community.

“It gives me great courage and hope that God has never abandoned us. A firm faith in Jesus is built once again in the lives of hundreds of people,” said Benansio Pradhan (Bhagaban), Touring Catechist of Padangi Parish, who oversees the Gudrikia substation.

“We waited 17 years to come closer to our Church where our dear Christian teacher was burnt alive brutally,” Pradhan added.

Mathew Nayak, a government teacher from Udayagiri and a member of the Church of North India (CNI), was targeted by a violent mob during the 2008 anti-Christian attacks. He was dragged to the Archangel Michael Catholic Church in Gudrikia, doused in kerosene, and set ablaze.

On 26 May 2025, over 500 faithful, including 14 Catholic priests and seven nuns, gathered for the inauguration of the newly built Archangel Michael Church. It stands beside the ruins of the original church where Nayak was martyred.

“The perpetrators planned to eliminate Christians from this region, but they failed before the might of God,” said Archbishop John Barwa, SVD, of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar during the homily. “This new church is a house of blessings, unity, love and fraternity. May Archangel Michael intercede for us as we remain firm in our faith.”

Parish Priest Fr. Sebastian Thottamkara, CM, under whose leadership the church was rebuilt, praised the dedication of the faithful. “The faith of the people has revived. Despite communal violence, they have proclaimed and witnessed Jesus actively and enthusiastically.”

Padangi Parish, founded before 1924 by the Missionaries of St. Francis de Sales (MSFS), now under the Congregation of the Mission, oversees 11 substations. Gudrikia, with 45 Catholic families amid a Hindu majority, saw youth, children, and adults join priests and nuns in a vibrant celebration of faith with singing and dancing.

By Purushottam Nayak