MECMiddle East
Churches

Questions and answers

Are there churches in Yemen?

Yes, but very few. The two churches this guide documents are both in Aden. Christ Church, an Anglican church built near Steamer Point in 1864, was looted in the 1994 civil war and restored and reopened in 1996; its compound also houses an eye clinic. Saint Francis of Assisi, Aden’s former Catholic cathedral, was severely damaged in the war, and its vicariate lists the parish as closed. Christianity in Yemen is much older than these buildings: the ancient kingdom of Himyar came into contact with it in the fourth century, and in the sixth century Abraha built a great church in Sanaa that no longer stands.

The candidates, and what each date means

PlaceDateWhat the date refers toEvidence
Christ Church, AdenBuilt 1864; reopened 1996Anglican church with an eye clinicDiocese of Cyprus and the Gulf; the Ras Morbat clinic treats patients of any religion
Saint Francis of Assisi, AdenCathedral until 1974; damage reported 2026Catholic church, listed as closedApostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia; the seat moved to Abu Dhabi in 1974
Church of Abraha (al-Qalis), SanaaBetween 527 and the late 560sLost buildingColumns and mosaics were taken in 685; later looted again
Christians of Najran (now in Saudi Arabia)Persecution of 518 or 523Community under the kingdom of HimyarThe date is debated; an Ethiopian and Roman intervention followed

The churches of Aden

Aden’s churches date from the British period. The Anglican diocese records that Yemen once had four Anglican churches and a number of Roman Catholic ones. After unification in 1990 the diocese worked to recover church property; it chose to keep Christ Church at Tawahi, near Steamer Point, rather than the church in the Crater district, which had been used as a police headquarters, and set up a medical clinic beside it. A fatwa from Yemen’s Grand Mufti stated that there was no objection to the church in Tawahi continuing its services. The clinic is now the Ras Morbat Eye Clinic, which treats patients regardless of religion.

The Catholic church of Saint Francis of Assisi served as Aden’s cathedral until the bishop’s seat moved to Abu Dhabi in 1974. In May 2026 Bishop Paolo Martinelli reported severe war damage, and the Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia lists the parish as closed. Pew Research Center estimates < 37,000 Christians in Yemen in 2020, < 0.1% of the population; that figure is an estimate, not a census count.

Christianity in ancient Yemen

Before Islam, much of today’s Yemen was ruled by the kingdom of Himyar, whose people came into contact with both Christianity and Judaism in the fourth century. In the early sixth century a Himyarite king, presented by the sources as Jewish, persecuted the Christians of Najran, an oasis now in Saudi Arabia; the date is debated, either 518 or 523. The persecution was followed by an intervention of the Roman emperor Justin I and the Ethiopian king, which ended Himyarite rule and established an Ethiopian protectorate.

Abraha, who then governed Yemen, built a great church in Sanaa, al-Qalis, sometime between 527 and the late 560s. In 685 columns and mosaics were taken from it for the Great Mosque of Mecca, and it is said to have survived until the reign of the Abbasid caliph al-Mansur, when it was looted once more. Nothing of it stands today, and no church from this period survives in Yemen.

Limits of this answer

This page covers the churches this guide could match to a map listing and a source; other places of worship may exist that it does not list. Yemen has been at war since 2014, and the condition and status of any church can change quickly: Saint Francis is listed as closed, and the guide does not give service times. The Pew figure is an estimate that includes foreign residents, and the number of Christians is uncertain. The ancient history comes from reference works, and the date of the Najran persecution is debated. This guide documents 2 places in Yemen.

Places mentioned

Sources

Main book references

  • Lucas Van Rompay. “Ḥimyar”. Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage, ed. Sebastian P. Brock, Aaron M. Butts, George A. Kiraz and Lucas Van Rompay; electronic edition. Gorgias Press (print, 2011); Beth Mardutho (electronic edition), 2011/2018. Entry “Ḥimyar”.

Data and supplementary sources

Encyclopedia entries were read in full in their electronic editions; each is credited to its author. Page and column references appear only where the source prints them; the Gorgias dictionary is cited by entry title.