Britain Convicts Christian For Praying Near Abortion Clinic (Worthy News Focus)
A Christian man is considering appealing his conviction in Britain for silently praying near an abortion clinic.
Christian Persecution – Europe
Hungary condemns Ukraine’s Church Ban (Worthy News Focus)
Hungary has condemned Ukraine for banning the Ukrainian Orthodox Church over its alleged complicity in Russia’s full-scale invasion of the country.
Ukraine: Christians in “Dire” Situation Amid Russian Invasion
Religious communities in Ukraine are in an increasingly “dire” situation as invading Russian forces, and authorities harass, blackmail, and threaten violence against ministers and churchgoers, raid, loot, and destroy worship centers, and gather personal data on believers to put them under surveillance, Mission Eurasia reports.
‘Russia Destroys Hundreds Of Churches, Religious Buildings in Ukraine’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russia turned hundreds of churches and other religious sites into rubble since launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Concerns About Detained Ukraine Priest After Kyiv Bans Pro-Moscow Church
There was fresh concern Wednesday about a Ukrainian Orthodox priest sentenced to 14 years in a Russian labor camp after Kyiv effectively banned the branch of the Orthodox church with links to Moscow.
Turkey: Christian Group Denied the Right to Buy Land for Worship Center
In a move that Christian leaders consider an expression of increased hostility to Christendom in their country, Turkish authorities have denied a request by an established protestant church group to buy land that has already been zoned for religious use to build a worship center, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports.
Church of England Appoints “Overseers” to Support Members Who Do Not Accept Same-Sex Marriage
Amid ongoing division and disagreement over LGBT issues in the Church of England, the CofE Evangelical Council (CEEC) has appointed “overseers” to provide informal alternative spiritual oversight (ASO) to clergy and parishes that do not accept same-sex marriage and who are struggling with their denomination’s progressive moves on the matter, Christian Today (CT) reports.
UK: Islamist Found Guilty of Attempting to Murder Iranian Christian Convert and Murdering Elderly Briton
An Islamist asylum seeker in the United Kingdom has been found guilty of attempting to kill his Iranian housemate for converting to Christianity and for murdering an elderly man he did not know on the street in Hartlepool, northern England, Christian Daily reports.
Ukraine: Christians Are Being Tortured, Expelled by Russian Forces, Church Leaders Say
Amid Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, Russian forces have violently persecuted Ukrainian Christians by torturing them and removing them from their positions, a group of church leaders and rights advocates have told United States Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson.
Kosovo Christians Suffer Persecution, “It’s Not Easy For Us”
A Christian rights watchdog organization reports that Christians in Kosovo have been experiencing widespread persecution, Christian Daily reports. A small southeastern European country which separated from Serbia in 2008, Kosovo has a 93% Muslim population; just 6% of the population is Christian.
UK Police Will Pay Damages To Street Evangelist After Trying To Censor His speech
A British police force has agreed to pay damages in settlement of a lawsuit filed by a street preacher whom they ordered to stop making public statements that cast religions other than Christianity in a negative light, CBN News reports.
Britain: London Police Threaten To Arrest Christian Street Preacher
Police officers in the United Kingdom recently threatened to arrest a Christian who was preaching the Gospel of salvation on a London street after they received a call claiming he had made a homophobic statement through an amplifying device, the Daily Mail reports.
Belarus Protestant Churches Fear Crackdown Under New Law
Belarus observed Orthodox Christmas Day amid fears of a massive crackdown on primarily Protestant churches after the country’s autocratic President Alexander Lukashenko signed controversial legislation.
Britain: Nearly a Quarter of Young Adults Would Be Willing to Ban the Bible, Poll Shows
A new poll shows that nearly a quarter of young people in the United Kingdom would ban the Bible if they believed it contained “hate speech,” Christian Today (CT) reports.
UK: Christian Professor Fired from Bible College Over Social Media Post Against Homosexuality
A Christian professor in Britain is suing the Methodist Bible college he worked for after being fired for posting on social media that homosexuality is a sin that is “invading the Church,” UK advocacy group Christian Concern reports.
Belarus Pentecostals Appeal Against Liquidation
One of the largest Pentecostal congregations in autocratically-ruled Belarus has appealed against plans by authorities to “liquidate” the church after already destroying its building.
Russian Orthodox Church leaders support invasion, religious persecution in Ukraine
The US-based Global Christian Relief organization has warned that leaders of the Russian Orthodox Church support Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine, including the persecution of Ukrainian Christians, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports.
Belarus Destroys New Life Church As Part Of ‘Witch-Hunt,’ Christians Say (Worthy News In-Depth)
Christians say the “regime” of the autocratic president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, has destroyed a church building in the capital Minsk as part of a witch-hunt against evangelical believers and churches seen as supporting the opposition.
Turkey “weaponizes” law to block Protestant missionaries from entry
According to a report by the International Christian Concern non-profit organization, Turkey’s government has been blocking Protestant missionaries from entering the country by “weaponizing” Turkish entry laws against Christians.
Scotland: Church leaders say proposed conversion therapy ban could criminalize Christians who teach that homosexual behavior is sinful
A group of twenty Scottish church leaders have written to Scotland’s Minister for Equality expressing their alarm that a proposed government ban on “conversion practices” could result in the criminalization of Christians who teach anyone, including their own children, that the practice of homosexuality is sinful, Christian Today reports.