Gudrikia: Seventeen years after one of the most harrowing acts of anti-Christian violence in India, a new church has been consecrated at the very spot where a Christian teacher, Mathew Nayak, was brutally burned alive by Hindutva extremists during the 2008 Kandhamal riots.
Mathew Nayak, a dedicated government schoolteacher from Udayagiri and a member of the Church of North India (CNI), was targeted by a mob who drenched him in kerosene and set him alight. The incident unfolded near the original Archangel Michael Catholic Church in Gudrikia, where he was dragged before being taken away to his death.

Now, standing as a symbol of unwavering faith and spiritual resilience, a new church has been erected beside the ruins of the one desecrated in the violence. On May 26, Archbishop John Barwa of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar led a solemn consecration ceremony attended by more than 500 believers, including 14 Catholic priests and 7 nuns.

During the service, Archbishop Barwa described the church as a divine answer to evil—a testimony that hate could not silence the Christian spirit. “The intent was annihilation, but God’s power triumphed. This church is living proof of that victory,” he proclaimed in his sermon.

Benancio Pradhan, a faith formation leader, reflected emotionally on the long-awaited return to this sacred site. “For 17 years we longed to pray in the place where our beloved teacher became a martyr. God has never forsaken us. Today, our faith is stronger, and the courage to follow Christ has been rekindled in hundreds of hearts,” he said.

The 2008 Kandhamal violence was ignited on August 23, when 81-year-old Lakshmanananda Swami was murdered, allegedly by Hindu extremists. His death sparked a vengeful rampage, with his body paraded through the streets for two days, rallying cries of retribution echoing through Kandhamal.

In the ensuing carnage, over 100 Christians were killed, thousands fled to forests for safety, and the community was devastated—6,000 homes reduced to ashes, 300 churches demolished, and 56,000 people displaced. Yet today, from the ashes of that destruction, a beacon of faith rises once more.