Church Faces Liquidation

On December 30, 2004, the pastor of the New Life Church in Minsk, Belarus, received an official warning from the Minsk City Executive Council that he was holding unauthorized worship services without properly notifying authorities. According to Belarusian law, after two such notices, the church can be legally liquidated. According to the church's website, the pastor received the second notice on April 5.

The New Life Church has been facing difficulties for several months. They have been refused permission to rent a facility. City planners say that a new house of prayer does not fit into the development plans for the area, despite plans to build an Orthodox church there. Consequently, the church began meeting in a former cowshed. The city officials claim that this is illegal, since a cowshed is not an approved facility for a church meeting. In March, Pastor Slava Goncharenko was fined 720,000 Belarusian roubles ($406 CDN): equivalent to thirty months' wages.

Pray that the ministry of the New Life Church will be able to continue despite the ongoing opposition. Pray for peace and comfort for Pastor Goncharenko and the members of the church.

For more information on the trials facing Christians in Belarus, click here. VOM has recently released a video documentary on the Belarus in the Video section of our multimedia website, www.vomcanada.com. Free registration is required to access the website.

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