Vyacheslav Goncharenko Pastor of the New Life Church
Belarussian authorities have stepped up their harassment of the New Life Church in Minsk, Belarus by cutting off electricity to the renovated cowshed that the 600-strong congregation has been meeting in since 2002. Since late last year, authorities have made a series of hostile moves against the church, including fining church administrator Vasily Yurevich 150 times the minimum monthly wage for organizing religious worship without state permission. In early February, senior pastor, Vyacheslav Goncharenko, learned that he would be facing similar charges. On March 14, the church received a letter from Minsk city administration denying the church re-registration under Belarus' religion law. According to a March 16 report from Forum 18, the letter claimed that re-registration was not possible because the church building is designated as a cowshed, the church has allegedly given insufficient information about the election procedure of the church council chairman, and the basic forms of church activity are allegedly not given in line with the requirements of the 2002 religion law.
Continue to uphold this congregation and its leadership in your prayers as they continue to fight for their right to worship freely. The Voice of the Martyrs has just released a new seven-minute video report on the situation facing Christians in Belarus. It can be viewed in the Video section of VOM's multimedia website https://www.vomcanada.com/. While it is necessary to register in order to gain access to this website, registration is free and gives you access to a number of resources not found anywhere else on the Internet.
For more information on religious liberty in Europe's most restrictive nation, click here. We encourage you to write to Belarussian authorities, protesting this continuing harassment of the New Life Church. You can write to:
The President of Belarus A.H. Lukashenko Republic of Belarus pl. Nezavisimosti 220010, Minsk Belarus
Her Excellency Nina Mazai Ambassador Embassy of the Republic of Belarus 130 Albert Street, Suite 600 Ottawa, ON K1P 5G4 Tel: (613) 233-9994/232-0255 (24h) Fax: (613) 233-8500
