Open Doors UK and Ireland has announced the death of its former Chief Executive and President, Eddie Lyle.
Lyle died as a result of complications from heart surgery on 19 September at the age of 73. He was surrounded by friends and family.
Born in Northern Ireland, Lyle became a Christian as a young man and served in various ministries, including Youth for Christ and Release International. In 2005 he joined Open Doors UK and Ireland, eventually becoming Chief Executive and President of the organisation. Following his tenure, Lyle served as a consultant for Open Doors International.
As part of his work for the persecuted church, Lyle travelled to some of the most dangerous places in the world for Christians to live.
In a statement Open Doors said, “He had a natural instinct for listening, teaching the Bible and storytelling, which he would use to encourage everyone he met, sharing Christ’s love for the hurting and broken with an infectious passion and deep conviction.
“He often spoke about Christians who share a faith but not their freedoms, and he made it his life's work to close the distance between the two. It was a journey which took him to some memorable places, from secret house churches in communist Vietnam, to refugee camps in north Nigeria.”
Open Doors recounted an occasion when Lyle met a young pastor in India. While Lyle’s Bible was covered in notes, annotations and highlights, the young pastor had a battered school notebook in which he had to write Bible verses himself as he did not have his own Bible.
Lyle later said the encounter made him think “about how he must struggle without his own copy of God’s Word to strengthen himself, defend himself, comfort and teach his people”. Lyle gave the young pastor his own Bible.
The current CEO of Open Doors UK and Ireland, Tiffany Barrans, said, “Eddie was so much more than a Chief Executive or President. To many of us, he was a friend and mentor, remembered for his conviction, kindness, wisdom, vision and wonderful sense of humour.
“So much of who we are today as a ministry, both in the UK and Ireland and around the world, was shaped by Eddie. He will be greatly missed and long remembered.”
Lyle is survived by his wife, Christine, and their son, Adam.
