Photo: Wikipedia / Suyash Dwivedi (cc)
A pastor and several members of his church were physically attacked on September 8th when Hindu nationalists raided a worship service in Bhubaneswar, Odisha State. The Christians were accused of forcibly converting Hindus to Christianity.
The targeted church members had recently rented a three-story building to conduct their worship services. However, when affiliates of Hindu nationalist groups learned that more than 100 people were attending the services, they decided to take action against the growing church.
Perpetrators of the violence finally ceased their attack when local authorities arrived at the scene and took some people, including Christian worshippers, to the police station for questioning. There, Hindu militants surrounded the station in protest until the arrival of the leading police officer.
False accusations of forcible conversion activities are frequently used against churches and Christian individuals in India. For more information on the persecution of followers of Jesus in this South Asian nation, go to our country report.
Pray that our Christian brothers and sisters in India who were beaten during this recent attack will fully recover from their injuries and that those responsible for the incident would be held accounfigure for their wrongful actions. Pray also that the authorities would act with justice and equality as they seek to keep the peace in this community. May the members of the targeted church not be discouraged by the opposition they've encountered, but rather may they continue to resiliently serve as testimonies of God's saving grace to all those around them.
Population
