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Pray that the Lord will enable Shavtsov and other Christian leaders facing opposition to continue to trust the Lord to enable them to proclaim the gospel boldly. Pray that there will be full religious freedom in Belarus .
For more information on persecution facing Christians in Belarus , click here. A video news report on the persecution of Christians in Belarus is available on VOMC's multimedia website, www.vomcanada.com.
On March 16th, masked security officials arrested Anatol Parakhnevich, a 65-year-old Catholic priest, at his parish in Alkovichi, Minsk Region. During the arrest, officers searched his home as well as the church building. Following the raid, both premises were sealed, with the keys being returned one week later.
Two Catholic priests who had been convicted and sentenced to more than 10 years in prison were pardoned and freed from a Belarusian labour camp on November 20th. State media claimed that the church leaders, who were granted clemency by President Alexander Lukashenko, had been "convicted of serious crimes against the state, as well as other crimes."
Amidst the ongoing oppression of Christians in Belarus, an organization was established in 2020, bringing together leaders from multiple churches in an effort to monitor and publicize persecution in the country. The organization was registered in neighbouring Lithuania as "Christian Vision for Belarus."
On December 30th, President Aleksandr Lukashenko officially passed into law new religious regulations, finalizing a bill that had initially been introduced in September 2023. For more details, see this page. The policies are scheduled to take effect on July 5th and, while the legislation carries various new stipulations, the most significant is the requirement that all religious communities must re-register within one year of the law coming into effect.
