Tag: Churches

Indonesia: Three churches closed in permits dispute

October 3, 2018 Indonesia Banten, Churches, Indonesia, Islamic Defenders Front, Java, Minorities, Sumatra

Officials close and seal the doors of the Assemblies of God church in West Kenali village, Sumatra, who have been meeting since 2004. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

Three churches were closed in an Indonesian village last week amidst rumours Muslims were planning to protest against the churches’ presence because they did not have the required permits. But a pastor from one of the affected churches in West Kenali village, Alam Barajo district, in Sumatra’s central Jambi province, . . . Read More

Sudan releases shipment of Bibles held in port for six years

October 2, 2018 Sudan Bibles, Churches, Human rights, Omar al-Bashir, Sudan, UN, USA

Bibles in Sudan are hard to come by with a government stopping the distribution, and with conflict raging in several parts of the country. such as in South Kordofan's Nuba mountains. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

The Sudanese government has cleared a shipment of Bibles believed to have been held in Port Sudan for six years. The Arabic-language Bibles were released two weeks ago and transported to the capital, Khartoum, after years of appeals by church leaders, a local source told World Watch Monitor. “Since 2011, . . . Read More

Myanmar: Ethnic army detains 92 pastors, orders others to leave

October 1, 2018 Myanmar China, Churches, Education, Missionaries, Myanmar, Shan, UN, USA

UWSA ethnic army has forced Bible students to join its ranks while closing and destroying churches in Wa region, northern Shan state. Photo: Getty Images

An ethnic armed group has recently detained almost 100 pastors and forced Bible students to join its ranks of fighters in northern Myanmar’s Shan state, reports Radio Free Asia. Witnesses who fled the state’s northern Wa region, which borders China, reported that 92 pastors were held by the armed group, . . . Read More

Colombian pastor murdered as killings continue despite peace deal

September 27, 2018 Colombia Churches, Colombia, FARC

During the 50 years conflict between Colombia's government and main rebel group, FARC-EP, churches were threatened and hundreds of church leaders assassinated by armed groups. (Photo: World Watch Monitor, 2012)

A pastor was murdered outside his home in central northwest Colombia earlier this month after he refused to help members of a neo-paramilitary group with transport, reports advocacy group CSW. Hundreds of church leaders were assassinated in the 50 years of armed conflict between Colombia’s government and main rebel group, . . . Read More

Sudanese government gives back 19 properties to church body

September 26, 2018 Sudan Churches, Sanctions, Sudan, Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church, Sudanese Church of Christ

While church properties were returned to the SCOC, other church bodies like SPEC are also in conflict with the government over the ownership of their properties in Bahri (Khartoum North) and Omdurman. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

The Sudanese government has returned ownership of 19 properties to the Sudanese Church of Christ (SCOC), two years after it confiscated them. The land-ownership documents were handed back on Monday (24 September), a local source told World Watch Monitor. In August a Sudanese court ruled against the government and ordered . . . Read More

Churches in Syria: ‘We live together or we die together’

September 26, 2018 Syria Aleppo, Armenians, Catholics, Churches, Greek Orthodox, Syria, Syriacs

The Syrian civil war seems finally to be drawing to a close, with Idlib province the last battlefield in a long and bloody conflict between government forces and rebel groups. Seven years of war has taken its toll, including the devastation of many Christian sites, which local communities are slowly . . . Read More

China-Vatican deal an ‘incredible betrayal’, says cardinal

September 24, 2018 China Catholics, China, Churches, Pope Francis, Sinicisation, Xi Jinping

Critics say the deal is a sell-out of the Catholic Church in China and undermines its credibility. (Phot: World Watch Monitor)

The Vatican and China reached a deal on Saturday, 22 September, in the long-standing dispute over the appointment of bishops, as reported by Reuters. As part of the deal with the state-backed Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association, which oversees the registered Church, Pope Francis will recognise seven Chinese bishops who were . . . Read More

Nepal’s criminalisation of conversion a ‘direct infringement’ of religious freedom

September 20, 2018 Nepal Anti-conversion law, Churches, Human rights, Minorities, Nepal, Religious freedom

The clause in Nepal’s constitution that prohibits religious conversions was added to “protect Hinduism at the expense of other religions”, says advocacy group CSW, on the third anniversary of the amended constitution. As World Watch Monitor reported, Nepal’s Christian minority feared that the so-called “anti-conversion” measure, which came into force . . . Read More

Churches destroyed, priests questioned in Myanmar’s Shan state

September 20, 2018 Myanmar China, Churches, Communism, Kachin, Missionaries, Myanmar, Shan, Tatmadaw, UN, USA

The United Wa State Army has ordered that churches built in Wa territory in Shan state after 1989 have to be destroyed. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

An ethnic armed group in Myanmar’s Shan state is destroying churches and holding clergymen for questioning, reports Radio Free Asia. The United Wa State Army (UWSA), the military wing of the United Wa State Party (UWSP), reportedly issued a statement on Facebook on 6 September, declaring that all churches built . . . Read More

China: 279 church leaders sign petition urging government to stop its ‘violent actions’

September 20, 2018 China Beijing, China, Churches, Henan, Religious freedom, Sinicisation

"Christians are an enigma to the Chinese Communist Party," researcher Aaron Ma says. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

A public letter urging the Chinese government to stop its “violent actions” against Christians has been signed by some 279 church leaders in the country, reports the St. Charles Institute. In central Henan province alone, two-thirds of churches have closed and more than 7,000 crosses have been demolished after pressure from . . . Read More

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