Tag: Russia

US State Department adds Pakistan to religious-freedom watch list

January 5, 2018 Global News -- No Particular Country Central African Republic, China, Eritrea, Iran, Minorities, Myanmar, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Religious freedom, Russia, Sanctions, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, USA, Uzbekistan, Vietnam

Burial of victims of a suicide attack on the Methodist Bethel Church in Quetta, Pakistan, on Sunday 17 December 2017 in which at least 9 people were killed. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

The US State Department has placed Pakistan on a “Special Watch List” for severe violators of religious freedom, it announced yesterday (4 January) with the publication of its annual list of ‘Countries of Particular Concern’. The announcement comes as the US government cuts security aid to Pakistan, saying the country . . . Read More

Russia pledges to safeguard future of Christians in Middle East

December 5, 2017 Russia Iraq, Middle East, Mike Pence, Moscow, Russia, Russian Orthodox Church, Syria, USA, Vladimir Putin

A mosaic of Jesus pictured as an icon in a church in Homs, was vandalised by Islamic fundamentalists, October 2017. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

Russia’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Sergey Lavrov, says the peaceful co-existence of different religious groups in the Middle East, and particularly safeguarding the future of Christians, is one of Russia’s policy goals for the region. He was speaking at the third Mediterranean Dialogues summit in Rome on 1 and 2 December, . . . Read More

Is Putin’s ‘education to patriotism’ bill another endorsement of Russian Orthodox Church?

November 29, 2017 Russia Churches, Communism, Patriarch Kirill, Protestants, Russia, Russian Orthodox Church, Vladimir Putin

A new law on “education to patriotism” set to be introduced in Russia on New Year’s Day is a further sign of Russia distancing itself from the West, but is not necessarily a sign of President Vladimir Putin favouring one Church over another, according to an analyst for the Christian . . . Read More

South Sudan’s Christians return to Sudan, despite pressures

November 28, 2017 Sudan Apostasy, Blasphemy, Omar al-Bashir, Petr Jašek, Religious freedom, Russia, Sanctions, Sharia, South Sudan, Sudan, USA

Village church in Goli, South Sudan. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

Many of the Christians who fled Sudan after the South’s independence in 2011 have returned, even though the authorities continue to close churches and harass Christians there, a Catholic priest told The Economist. Prayer centres that were closed have been reopened, Father Juma Charles of St Matthew’s Catholic Cathedral in . . . Read More

Russian Patriarch and UK archbishop call for greater support for persecuted Christians

November 23, 2017 Russia Crimea, Iraq, Middle East, Moscow, Patriarch Kirill, Russia, Russian Orthodox Church, Soviet Union, Syria, Ukraine, Vladimir Putin

The Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Archbishop of Canterbury have called for more aid to reach Middle Eastern refugees, especially Christians, and for robust safeguards against extremist ideology, which they say has spread “like an epidemic”. Patriarch Kirill and Archbishop Justin Welby released a joint statement thanking . . . Read More

Russia closes Baptist church despite recent praise of Protestants

November 15, 2017 Russia Baptists, Communism, Moscow, Russia, Russian Orthodox Church, Soviet Union, Yarovaya Law

A Baptist church has been closed down in Russia only weeks after a senior official praised the contribution Protestants had made to the country’s culture during a speech marking the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. The owners of the church in Tula, central Russia, were charged with “improper use of . . . Read More

Cautious welcome to Russia’s praise of Protestantism

November 9, 2017 Russia Protestants, Russia, Russian Orthodox Church, Vladimir Putin, Yarovaya Law

A senior official in the Putin administration has acknowledged the “value” Protestants bring to Russian society, reports Radio Free Europe. Marking the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, First Deputy Chief Sergei Kiriyenko said: “The followers of the Reformation idea appeared in our country immediately after it started. Those people contributed . . . Read More

Belarus archbishop: ‘Give Catholic Church its rights’

October 12, 2017 Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, Belarus, Catholics, Eastern Europe, Jehovah's Witnesses, Russia, Soviet Union

Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz of Minsk-Mohilev © Aid to the Church in Need

A Catholic archbishop in Belarus has asked the government to make it easier for foreign priests to work in the country and to return ownership of church buildings to the Catholic Church. Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz, whose diocese encompasses the capital, Minsk, told Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need . . . Read More

Growing list of Christians charged under Russia’s ‘anti-missionary law’

August 17, 2017 Russia Crimea, Don Ossewaarde, Jehovah's Witnesses, Oryol, Russia, Soviet Union, Yarovaya Law

A year on from Russia introducing its “anti-missionary bill” in July 2016, more than 180 cases have been brought before court, with prosecutions steadily increasing throughout the 12-month period. The list of cases against 129 individuals and 52 religious communities, published by regional news agency Forum 18, includes missionary activity . . . Read More

Crimea also affected in first year of Russia’s ‘anti-missionary law’

July 27, 2017 Russia Crimea, Don Ossewaarde, Jehovah's Witnesses, Pentecostals, Russia, Soviet Union, Ukraine, Vladimir Putin, Yarovaya Law

A cross seen over the construction site of a bridge across the Strait of Kerch linking Crimea to mainland Russia. (Photo by Vladimir Smirnov via Getty Images)

Since Russia’s President Vladimir Putin signed into law what some commentators referred to as an “anti-missionary bill” in July last year, individuals and groups have been targeted because of their religious affiliation in both Russia and the annexed Crimea. After the annexation in March 2014, religious organisations in Crimea had . . . Read More

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