Tag: Churches

EU Parliament pleads for Christian safety

October 12, 2013 Global News -- No Particular Country All Saints Church, Blasphemy, Churches, Iran, Pakistan, Peshawar, Religious freedom, Saeed Abedini, Syria

The European Parliament has gone on record condemning violence against Christians in several countries. In a resolution passed on Thursday, Oct. 10, the parliament: Condemned militant attacks on Christians in Syria, and called for protection of monasteries and humanitarian support for nuns and orphans; Condemned the Sept. 22 bombing attack . . . Read More

Bangladeshi Christians told to close church, convert to Islam

October 3, 2013 Bangladesh Apostasy, Awami League, Churches, Converts, Islamic extremism, Sheikh Hasina, Tangail

Construction of Tangail Evangelical Holiness Church, in Bilbathuagani village, was halted by local officials.World Watch Monitor A local government official in central Bangladesh has halted the construction of a church, forced Christians to worship at a mosque and threatened them with eviction from their village unless they renounce their . . . Read More

Churches hit in Damascus suburb

September 10, 2013 Syria Churches, Maaloula, Syria

At least three churches have been damaged as fighting between Syrian government troops and rebels in a Christian village north of Damascus has intensified, reports Middle East Concern. Opposition fighters renewed attacks on Maaloula on September 7. Assurances had been given that no churches would be damaged. This BBC report . . . Read More

Dozens of ‘noisy’ churches silenced in Cameroon

September 3, 2013 Cameroon Bamenda, Cameroon, Catholics, Churches, Nigeria, Pentecostals, Proselytism, Protestants, Yaoundé

The government of Cameroon has ordered the closure of dozens of churches in an attempt to put an end to what it considers to be anarchy among some Christian organisations. The measure, which authorities began to impose on August 23, targets Pentecostal churches, which are not officially recognised. The minister . . . Read More

Algeria’s Protestants want their churches back

June 27, 2013 Algeria Algeria, Algiers, Arab Spring, Bejaia, Bibles, Churches, Islamic extremism, Kabylie, Mostaganem, Protestant Church of Algeria, Protestants

The Protestant Church of Algeria (EPA) has reaffirmed its desire to regain control of several former churches used today for other purposes. Christians are the distinct minority in Algeria, representing less than 1% of Algeria’s 38 million inhabitants, and often face restrictions when seeking to build new churches. The presence . . . Read More

VHP leads mob to destroy Indian church

May 14, 2013 India Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Churches, Hindu nationalism, Hyderabad, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Odisha, Raipur, Vishva Hindu Parishad

Members of Divya Jyoti Church were too late to stop a mob from knocking down their building.World Watch Monitor On March 12 in a southeast India village, the local newspaper published allegations that Divya Jyoti Church had been built on government land. The next day, a crowd equipped with . . . Read More

Anniversary of Eritrea crackdown

May 14, 2013 Eritrea Churches, Eritrea

It’s been 11 years since Eritrea outlawed all Christian churches except those belonging to the Orthodox, Catholic and Lutheran denominations. Eritrea is currently ranked 10th on the World Watch List, an annual ranking of the 50 countries where Christians are most under pressure for their faith. To mark the date, . . . Read More

Indonesian pastor freed

April 30, 2013 Indonesia Churches, Indonesia, Islamic Defenders Front, Java, Pentecostals

Pastor Bernard Maukar has been released from prison. The Indonesia Pentecostal Church leader from Mekargalih village in West Java was jailed for three months in January for operating a church without a permit. Maukar denied the charges against him, but later told Open Doors International – an organisation that supports . . . Read More

Church walls go up, then torn down by local government

March 25, 2013 Indonesia Bekasi, Bogor, Churches, HKBP Filadelfia, Java, Pentecostals, Sumatra

Cheers went up as a backhoe tore down the barely finished walls of the Batak Protestant Church near Jakarta, Indonesia on Thursday. The pile of rubble that remained was only the latest setback to Christians trying to retain a toehold in the world’s most populous Muslim country. The church, in . . . Read More

Finally, Istanbul gives Syriac Christians a place to build: a cemetery

December 18, 2012 Turkey Burial, Churches, Istanbul, Mardin, Midyat, Mor Gabriel Monastery, Turkey

Three years after a Syrian Orthodox foundation applied to build a church in Istanbul, the Greater Istanbul Municipality has granted them a large plot of land and a building permit. Banner headlines in the Turkish media praised the early-December decision as “a first in the history of the Republic,” declaring . . . Read More

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