Threatened Church Pleads for Prayer

Pastor Sergey Khripunov
The Bethany Protestant Church in the Uzbek capital of Tashkent is facing opposition from authorities for holding services.  On June 10, two members were convicted for illegally teaching their faith.  According to Forum 18, Nail Kalinkin was sentenced to fifteen days in prison and his daughter, Marina, was fined the equivalent of $84.00 CDN.

Two days later, the church service was disrupted when four police officers burst into the room and demanded that the meeting be stopped.  Six people, including the pastors Nikolay Shevchenko and Sergey Khripunov , were detained and ordered to give written statements.  According to VOM sources, when they refused to do so without a lawyer present, they were threatened and held until evening.  Later that evening, they received a telephone call from the police further threatening them and demanding that they return to the police station at 5:00 a.m. the next morning.  They refused to do without a legal summons.  A hearing on the charges facing the pastors was planned for June 17.  It has now been rescheduled for July 7.

Speaking to a VOM contact, Pastor Sergey Khripunov said that they can be imprisoned for fifteen days for the first conviction, but could face three to eight years if they continue to gather.  The church has approximately one hundred members who meet in smaller Bible study groups.

Khripunov has asked for the prayers of God's people.  "Pray for us, that the Lord [will give] us a possibility to stand through, so that we [will] stay faithful under these circumstances, in which we live and work. Pray that this does not influence the young believers, because some were tempted, unfortunately, because of the persecution. People are afraid to hold services openly. Pray that God [will give] power to withstand…."

For more information on the situation facing Christians in Uzbekistan, click here.

Uzbekistan Information

  • Current Ministry Project

    VOMC has been working with project partners over the past couple of years to affirm and equip Christian women for continued ministry and to encourage unity among them.

    Project Fund: Equipping the Saints

  • Country Information

    Population
    31,360,836 (2023 est.)

    Ethnicity (%)
    Uzbek (83.8), Tajik (4.8), Kazakh (2.5), Russian (2.3) Karakalpak (2.2), Tatar (1.5), other (4.4)

    Religion (%)
    Islam (88), Eastern Orthodox (9), other (3)

    Leader
    President Shavkat Mirziyoyev (2016)

    Government type
    Presidential republic; highly authoritarian

    Legal system
    Civil law system

    Source: CIA World Factbook

  • Pray for Uzbekistan

    Thank you for praying on behalf of our brothers and sisters in Uzbekistan who are undergoing severe mistreatment by those governing over them. Ask the Lord to remind these persevering believers that they are truly His beloved children. As their Heavenly Father, He is the One who governs their souls and eternal destiny. May they have a heightened awareness of His abiding presence, everlasting love, help in times of trouble – and whatever else they specifically need – as conveyed through the infallible promises of His powerful Word.

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Uzbekistan News

  • Easter Worship Services Raided
    Entry to a building; a pillar with intricate carvings is in the foreground.
    Pray for wisdom as Uzbek Christians gather.
    Photo: VOMC

    While members of the Baptist church in Karshi, Uzbekistan, were gathered for worship on Easter Sunday, April 9th, police broke open the door and forced their way inside. Using electrical prods, they incapacitated some of the attendees while others cried and prayed. Ten members, including young people, were taken to the police station where they were held in custody until mid-afternoon. The detained believers were released after records of offence were drawn up against them.

    Read more...

  • Christian Fined for Distributing Magazines
    Magazines

    This past Christmas, a neighbourhood celebration in Uzbekistan was hosted by Tatyana Akhmadiyeva, a member of a local Baptist church. At the event, she offered Christian magazines to 15 of her neighbours. Local authorities received a report about the distribution and summoned Tatyana for questioning. She was told that the publications had been imported illegally, since they had not been evaluated by the "Struggle with Extremism and Terrorism Department." As a result, the officials confiscated the magazines, which they claimed were unlawfully distributed, and fined Tatyana the equivalent of two weeks' average wages.

    Read more...

  • Registration Applications Denied
    Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tashkent - Photo: Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Evangelical_Lutheran_Church_in_Tashkent_15-12.JPG Bobyrr, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
    A Lutheran church in
    Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
    Photo: Wikipedia / Bobyrr (cc)

    Although religious communities in Uzbekistan would like to obtain official permission (to exist), as required by the state, all their applications have been blocked. Protestant churches, Shia Muslim communities, along with groups of other minority religious affiliation, have not only had their registrations denied, but now they are being subjected to subsequent fines, torture and other punishments.

    Read more...

  • Obstacles to Registration
    Prayer in the desert
    Join Uzbek believers in prayer as they seek the Lord for wisdom in these cases.

    A small number of religious communities in Uzbekistan received their registration in late 2019. However, many others are encountering major obstacles in their attempts to obtain registration, which would allow them to function legally. While Christians are one of the religious communities affected, other groups are facing similar impediments -- including bribe demands, land use permits and outright rejection. Some have chosen not to apply at all, believing they will be rejected anyway.

    Read more...

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