attacks on Christians On 3 June 2001, there was a bomb attack during mass in a Catholic church located in Baniarchor; the attack had killed nine people. An Italian aid worker, Cesare Tavella was shot and killed in 2015. Parolari Piero, an Italian priest and doctor was shot several times in 2015. In 2016, a Christian businessman named Sunil Gomes was hacked to death. On 1 July 2016, 20 hostages were massacred by a group of Islamic militants. Pastor Luke Sarkar of Faith Bible Church was attacked on 5 October 2015 and his throat was cut with a sharp knife but he survived. Dioceses There are two Catholic archdioceses and six Catholic dioceses in Bangladesh with some 400,000 Catholics. Each diocese is led by its own local bishop. Cardinal Patrick D'Rozario is the highest Catholic official. The Archdiocese of Dhaka comprises: The diocese of Dinajpur The diocese of Mymesnisingh The diocese of Rajshahi The diocese of Sylhet The archdiocese of Chittagong comprises: The diocese of Barisal The diocese of Khulna The diocese of Dhaka was created in 1952 and Rev. James D. Blair was assigned as the first Bishop (Markham, Hawkins IV, Terry & Steffensen, 2013). Following Blair, the first indigenous Bishop of the Diocese of Dhaka was assigned to Rev. B.D. Mondal. By the late 1980s, it was decided that a second diocese was needed, and this was established in Kusthia (Markham et al., 2013). List of Protestant denominations Assemblies of God Bangladesh Baptist Sangha Bangladesh Lutheran Church Christian Brethren Church of Bangladesh (united church of Anglicans, Presbyterians, and others; member of the Anglican Communion) Church of God (Anderson) Garo Baptist Convention Seventh-day Adventist Church Church of the Nazarene Presbyterian Church of Bangladesh Isa-e Church List of Baptist Churches Bangladesh Baptist Church Sangha Bangladesh Baptist Fellowship Garo Baptist Convention Christian theological education There are 16 Christian theological institutions in Bangladesh. A G Bible College (Assemblies of God) was created in 1995. Agape College (Baptist) was created in 2003. Bangladesh Institution of Christian Theology (inter-denominational) was created in 1996. Bangladesh Theological Seminary (inter-denominational) was created in 1989. Center for Religious Studies (Presbyterian) was created in 2004. Christian Discipleship Centre (inter-denominational) was created in 1979. College of Christian Theology in Bangladesh (inter-denominational) was created in 1968. Faith Bible School was created in 2002. Gloria Theological Seminary (inter-denominational) was created in 1996. Grace Presbyterian Theological Seminary (inter-denominational) was created in 2004. Holy