Monthly archive for November 2023

On 22nd September, two priests from the Orthodox Church of Ukraine were guilty of violating Russian law by conducting missionary activities. The two church leaders, Father Khristofor Khrimli and Father Andi Chui, were pressurized to transfer to the Russian Orthodox Church but they refused.

Both leaders were detained and fined the equivalent of two months’ wages. They were also given deportation orders to go to areas not under the control of Russian forces. The two men appealed against the court’s decision, but since then, they mysteriously disappeared whilst in detainment.

When relatives attempted to take personal items to the prison for them, it was discovered that the men were no longer there. And at the time of this report, the diocese received no information on the church leaders’ whereabouts.

Pray for the safety of these two missing church leaders. Pray that they will be released soon and reunited with their family members.

Pray that the Lord will minister His peace, protection and provision for other Ukrainian believers who are facing some form of oppression because of their faith in Christ.

 

(Source & Photo: VOMC)

#Persecuted Church

Thank you for all those who prayed with us for Christian couple, Shaukat and Kiran, who were taken into custody on charges of being irreverent and desecrating a religious book. Click here to find out more: https://gosheninternational.org/pakistan-christian-parents-detained-and-charged-for-being-irreverent/

In September 2023, a man filed a report against the Christian couple when he noticed pages of a religious book falling from the rooftop of the couple’s home. Upon investigation, a bag of loose papers was found on the rooftop which Kiran said was given to her by her employer to sell to a scrap vendor. She explained further that her children may have unintentionally thrown some of the pages down without realizing their significance.

The couple was subsequently taken into custody leaving their children without parental supervision.

On 18th October, the Christian couple appeared before a local court where their defense lawyer argued that the couple were not at home at the time of the offense. And the pages found were taken from a grade nine school book. But because the couple’s three young children do not attend school, so they could not have torn the pages from the school book.

Due to a lack of evidence, the couple have since been released on bail pending a more extensive investigation. Shaukat said, “We have been away from our children for over a month and each day in prison was spent thinking what would become of them if we couldn’t get out.”

Even though the couple has been freed, they do not feel safe returning to the home that was initially provided for by their employer.

Pray that all charges against them will be dropped so that they can look after their children and resume their daily lives without any fear of further legal troubles of harassment from members of the community. Pray that the Lord will provide for this family and give them a safe place to live and work.

 

(Source & Photo: VOMC)

#Persecuted Church

Liu Chui is a member of the Lishi Christian Church in China which operates a co-op school for children. The school has experiencing repeated harassments from those who want to restrict the religious education of minors.

On 11th October, Liu went to the school to tutor six students from four different families. When Liu’s husband discovered her work with the students, he reported her to various agencies. These agencies rushed to the church and confiscated  school supplies and Bibles. They also took down information of the parents who were present at the time.

Liu was subsequently taken into custody and sentenced to ten days of administrative detention.

Pray for God will watch over Liu and the Lishi Christian Church. Pray that they will receive wisdom and guidance as they seek to continue with their ministry and raising children in the ways of the Lord. Pray that Liu will not encounter any additional legal problems and she will be able to resume her tutoring activities without further interference. Pray that Liu’s husband will come to faith in Christ.

 

(Source & Photo: VOMC)

#Persecuted Church