Two Protestant churches in Minsk, Belarus are facing increasing pressure because of restrictive registration laws, according to a February 23 report from Forum 18. 

Pastor Georgi Vyazovsky of Christ's Covenant Reformed Baptist Church has been charged with holding unsanctioned religious services.  On February 5, a local district official entered the home of Pastor Vyazovsky as the congregation of 30 met for Bible reading and prayer.  When a police officer arrived a few minutes later, the church members refused him entrance.  The official responded by accusing the pastor of violating church registration laws.  The court hearing against him is scheduled for March 3.

On September 20, 2005, the Belarusian Evangelical Church had its legal status removed by a city court (click here for more details). Pastor Sabilo has since been ordered to pay all court costs related to the case.  With a membership of only twelve members and living on a meager pension, Sabilo told the court that he was unable to pay the 127,500 rubles ($67.00 CDN).  He was told that bailiffs would make an inventory of his property for confiscation.  At last report, this has not yet happened.

Pray that Pastor Georgi will be cleared of all charges against him. Pray that the court case on March 3 will result in freedom for him and praise to God from the Christian community in that area. Pray that the Belarusian Evangelical Church will be able to regain their legal status. Pray that God will soften the hearts of Belarusian officials.

For more information on the persecution of Christians in Belarus, click here.   An audio and a video report on Belarus are available on VOMC's multimedia website, www.vomcanada.com.

For several months, the difficulties facing the New Life Church on the outskirts of Minsk, Belarus have been closely followed.  According to a December 7 report from Forum 18, the Economic Court of the City of Minsk has rejected the appeal of the city's plans to confiscate the property.  The church's website also reports that proceedings have begun to confiscate all the property of the church's administrator, Vasilij Yurevich, in order to pay fines levied against him.  Authorities told the news to Yurevich's family while he was at work and forced the family with four children to leave their home with nothing. Yurevich has been told that he must pay the fines totaling 8,000,000 rubles ($4300 CDN) within three weeks or his property will be sold.  The fines amount to more than 25 years' wages at the minimum wage in Belarus.   More information on Belarus is available through a video news report on www.vomcanada.com.

For more information on the persecution of Christians in Belarus, click here.

Two Catholic priests from Poland were ordered to leave Belarus by the end of December after officials refused to renew their religious visas.  The priests, who had spent more than a decade in the country, were given no reasons for their removal. One of the priests serving in the Minsk-Mogilev diocese has chosen to not fight the deportation. He did so in order to assist in better relations with the Belarusian authorities, since a new priest was recently allowed to enter the country.  According to a December 22 report from Forum18, the other priest, Fr Robert Krzywicki, attributes his expulsion to his work with young people in the town and his involvement with other Christian Churches in ecumenical and humanitarian events.  The parishioners in the town of Borisov where Krzywicki has been serving have begun a petition calling for the authorities to overturn their decision.

Belarus is the most religiously restrictive nation in Europe.  Pray that religious freedom will improve in this country. Pray for the salvation of those in government leadership. Pray that young people will be allowed to hear the good news of Jesus Christ and be brought into a personal relationship with Him.

For more information on the persecution of Christians in Belarus, click here.  A video news report filmed in Belarus is also available on the multimedia website, www.vomcanada.com.

The New Life Church in Minsk continues to face harassment and fines in their quest for the freedom to worship. The church administrator, Vasily Yurevich, has recently been handed his third fine in the last year. Even though he insists that he was on leave at the time, police claim to have identified him "by his outward appearance" as being the individual who was leading unauthorized worship on September 4. The October 7 court decision ordered him to pay more than ten times the average monthly wage in Belarus. Pastor Vyacheslav Goncharenko has stated his determination to continue meeting despite official opposition.

For more information on the persecution of Christian in Belarus, click here.