“Pray that God will keep the Indian church faithful”
Shibu Thomas asked delegates at Church in Chains’ annual conference to pray for the church in India, which he said is going through an unprecedented time of persecution.
NIGERIA: Boko Haram threatens to kill Leah Sharibu and two other hostages
Boko Haram has killed one of three humanitarian workers it abducted in March and has threatened to kill the other two and Christian schoolgirl Leah Sharibu unless the Nigerian government meets its demands.
INDIA: Updates on injured pastors
Conference speaker Shibu Thomas has provided updates on the four pastors who featured in the recent Church in Chains Postcard Campaign.
INDIA: Police charge 271 Christians in Uttar Pradesh
Police in Uttar Pradesh have charged 271 members of a large Pentecostal church with “spreading lies about Hinduism and drugging people to try and convert them to Christianity”.
CHINA: 116 pastors issue joint statement on new regulations
116 Chinese pastors have released a joint statement protesting against the sharp increase in religious freedom violations by authorities in the past six months.
CHINA: Churches closing all over the country
Christian persecution and church closures in China have risen significantly since the implementation of newly revised Religious Affairs Regulations on 1 February 2018.
EGYPT: Kom El-Loufy’s Copts celebrate new church building but others face closure
Kom El-Loufy’s Coptic community is celebrating the opening of its new church building, but elsewhere the authorities are closing church buildings for “security reasons”.
NIGERIA: Leah Sharibu appeals for her rescue in audio recording
An audio recording and a photograph of kidnapped Christian school girl Leah Sharibu have been published by a Nigerian online newspaper.
IRAN: Naser Navard Gol-Tapeh writes letter to the authorities from prison
Christian prisoner Naser Navard Gol-Tapeh has written an open letter to the Iranian authorities asking how his house church activities could be seen as anti-state.
ERITREA: Five Christians arrested, others in hiding
At least five Pentecostal Christians have been arrested and several others have gone into hiding after they went to the airport to welcome a visiting Ethiopian preacher.
NIGERIA: Aid delivered to survivors of Fulani attacks
Aid sent by Church in Chains to help Christians displaced by the Fulani attacks in Plateau state in June has been delivered and distributed.
INDIA: Church attacks continue countrywide
Hindu extremists continue to attack rural churches across India, torching buildings and beating Christians.
INDIA: “We’ll close one church every week”
Hindu extremists have told Christian villagers in a rural district of Maharashtra state that they will close down one church every week.
ERITREA: What does peace agreement mean for Christian prisoners?
Eritrean Christians rejoice at these positive developments but still wait for freedom to come and prison doors to open.
PAKISTAN: What does election result mean for Christians?
Former cricket star Imran Khan is poised to become prime minister, but his victory is causing concern among Pakistani Christians because of his support for Sharia and the blasphemy laws.
TURKEY: Andrew Brunson moved to house arrest
On 25 July, US Pastor Andrew Brunson was released from prison and moved to house arrest until his next court hearing in October.
IRAN: Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani arrested in violent raid
Security agents burst into the home of Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani on 22 July, violently assaulted him and his teenage son and took the pastor away to Evin Prison.
TURKEY: Judge refuses to release Andrew Brunson
On 18 July, a judge in Izmir ruled that US pastor Andrew Brunson be sent back to prison. The next hearing has been scheduled for 12 October.
NIGERIA: Survivors of Plateau attacks tell their stories
Survivors of the Fulani attacks of 23-24 June on predominantly Christian communities in Plateau state have told their stories of the violent raids that left over 200 people dead and thousands displaced.
RUSSIA: Protestants targeted in Nizhny Novgorod
Russia’s security service is targeting Protestants in World Cup host city Nizhny Novgorod.