Tags

2018-01-11

• Violations Threaten Religious Freedoms

  

  On November 10th, police in Andijan raided the private flat of Irina Stepanova, a member of a local state-registered church. Police alleged that they were looking for an illegally stored gun but instead concentrated on the confiscation of her Christian books. The five officials who entered Irina's home did so unannounced -- without a legally required search warrant and proper identification. She now faces charges for possessing Christian books and other related materials.

• Intensified Campaign Pressures Churches

  

  In recent months, both churches and individual Christians have faced increased restrictions by governing authorities, raising concerns that these pressures signal a coordinated campaign of intensified action against the practice of Christianity. During the third week of December, three Christians were arrested in Chlef. These believers, who had been visiting from the northern town of Tizi Ouzou, had arranged to meet their contact at a local café.

• Church Re-Opens After Bombing Attack

  
  The church has recently reopened for worship services.
  Photo: World Watch Monitor

  After eight months of extensive restoration work, Christians in the city of Tanta (north of Cairo) were elated over the re-opening of St. George's Cathedral which had been destroyed during last year's Palm Sunday suicide bombing attack.

  As of its re-opening, the church has been renamed the Cathedral of St. George and the Martyrs, and its blood-splattered pillars have been left untouched, as reminders of the many precious lives that were lost in the attack.