The New Life Church in Minsk continues to face harassment and fines in their quest for the freedom to worship. The church administrator, Vasily Yurevich, has recently been handed his third fine in the last year. Even though he insists that he was on leave at the time, police claim to have identified him "by his outward appearance" as being the individual who was leading unauthorized worship on September 4. The October 7 court decision ordered him to pay more than ten times the average monthly wage in Belarus. Pastor Vyacheslav Goncharenko has stated his determination to continue meeting despite official opposition.

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Another church in Minsk, the Belarusian Evangelical Church, had its legal status removed by the city court on September 20.  However the pastor, Ernst Sabilo, has pledged to continue meeting for worship despite the court's ruling.  This court ruling follows a similar ruling against the Belarusian Evangelical Reformed Church on August 22.

In recent months, The Voice of the Martyrs has been following the ordeal facing the New Life Church in Minsk, Belarus. On September 23, the church administrator, Vasily Yurevich, was fined 4,080,000 rubles ($2250 CDN), for not stopping religious services as ordered.  This is the second fine in less than a year.  This fine is the equivalent of over 13 years' pay at the Belarusian minimum wage.  On September 26, the New Life Church also announced that it will be filing a lawsuit against the Minsk City Executive Council over the decision to confiscate the church's land.

For more information on the persecution of Christians in Belarus, click here.

Image from www.newlife.by

Since purchasing a former cow barn in 2002 with the intention of using the building for a church, the New Life Church on the outskirts of Minsk, Belarus has faced constant opposition from city authorities.  The church presently has more than 1000 members and has not been allowed a place to meet.  According to the church's website, the land has now been confiscated by the city and the believers have been ordered to leave the building.  However, as an act of protest, members of the church are staying in the building at all times, demonstrating that they will not give the building away by their own free will.  Other protestant groups have given their support to the New Life Church, along with some Jewish organizations.  The church has invited the Minsk city executive committee chairman Mikhail Pavlov to explain the reasons for the committee's decision.

Pray that this decision will be reversed and that the New Life Church will be able to worship freely.  To learn more about the pressures facing the Church in Belarus, see our audio and video features on https://www.vomcanada.com/.

For more information on the persecution of Christians in Belarus, click here.