Persecuted Christians

Saghar managed to escape the secret police, who wanted to arrest her for leadng a house church. Here’s her astonishing story of courage and miracles Saghar was in the airport when she spotted the secret agent. Only three days earlier, he and several other members of the Iranian secret police had raided her home. They were the reason she was making a quick escape from Iran, the country...
Čítaj ďalej o Saghar’s miraculous escape from Iran »

 According to local sources, 13 Christian families in India’s Odisha state have been displaced from their home village since January after they refused to recant their Christian faith. The displacement happened after radical Hindu nationalists used a disagreement over a local Hindu festival to foment tensions between villagers. The 13 Christian families used to live in Bandhugaon...
Čítaj ďalej o Indian Christian Families Displaced from Village After Refusing to Recant Faith »

Taher and his family were secret believers in a closed country in the Middle East. When their faith was discovered, Taher was arrested and ruthlessly interrogated by the secret police - but he refused to give up the names of fellow believers. Here's his story. When the man came to Taher and Donya’s door, only Donya was in. The man said he was a postal worker. Donya knew he...
Čítaj ďalej o The secret police wanted names. Taher wouldn’t give them. »

When Kusum’s husband and son died, her in-laws said her faith was the reason. But God has worked miracles in the lives of her family and community – and used your prayers and support to sustain Kusum. When Open Doors local partners in India first visited Kusum*, she was facing terrible persecution from her own family. She had already suffered deeply – losing both her husband and her son...
Čítaj ďalej o Kusum’s in-laws blamed her for her husband’s death. But God stepped in. »

Fears that ‘Islamic State’ once again threatens the lives of some of the Middle East’s largest Christian population have emerged again, after the radical militant group killed an Egyptian Coptic businessman who’d funded the construction of the only church in his north Sinai village. The  death of 62 year old Nabil Habashy Salama  was reported last week, but new points are worth...
Čítaj ďalej o Death threats, by Islamic State in Sinai, against Egyptian Copt sons who mourn dad »

After Suraida came to faith in her 60s, she has been sharing God’s love with her family, and she has seen God move in miraculous ways – particularly during the month of Ramadan. Although she and her husband face persecution for their faith, they are continuing to share the gospel. Please pray for them this Ramadan as they tell others about Jesus. All names in this article have...
Čítaj ďalej o Just one spark: how Suraida’s faith has led many more to Jesus during Ramandan »

Chien and his family were left homeless when villagers burned their house down – but you stepped in, and your prayers and support have put a new roof over their heads. Chien and his family were able to rebuild their house, thanks to you When you go to a Bible study, you hope to learn something, and to connect more deeply with God. You don’t expect to come home and discover...
Čítaj ďalej o You helped Chien when his house was burned down »

When Boko Haram stormed Amina’s home in Nigeria in 2012, her husband and two sons could have escaped harm if they denied Jesus. They refused – but it came at a tragically awful cost. That wasn’t the end of the story: five years later, Amina was abducted and held deep in the Sambisa Forest under the yoke of Boko Haram. Asked to deny Jesus, she refused too. This is Amina’s story and the...
Čítaj ďalej o You’ve helped Amina in Nigeria ‘realise the love of God’ »

For decades, Antti and Esko would smuggle Bibles into the Soviet Union and Eastern block nations starting from his hinterland farm in Finland. It was a private, top-secret volunteer operation they’ve kept mum until now. “We never spoke to anyone about this,” Antti recounts on a 2018   Stefanus  video . To do so could jeopardize their safety and cut off the supply of Bibles...
Čítaj ďalej o Scripture meditation gave them courage to smuggle Bibles »

Our colleagues at Open Doors have now ranked India as one of the top persecutors in the world! In fact, the current ruling government has overseen a doubling of the persecution of India’s Christians over the last three years. In 2016, I testified to Congress about how India’s fundamentalists were trying to crush Christianity in India. Most people have no idea that radical Hindus believe...
Čítaj ďalej o Persecution In India Is Exploding »

The persecution of Christian women and girls around the world is hidden, complex and violent. They are vulnerable for both their gender and their faith. Leading up to International Women’s Day on 8 March, we’ll be sharing some stories of those who’ve been persecuted simply because they are Christian women. The aim of Open Doors’  See. Change.  campaign is that every woman who...
Čítaj ďalej o Lucina's story »

Restrictions, repression and refusal – this is typically the story of Christianity in Central Asia, where in many places it is immensely difficult for believers to openly express and share faith in Jesus. But as Christians have courageously stepped forward in the fight against Covid-19, unique opportunities to share about Jesus are emerging. Read on to find out more and your role in it… ...
Čítaj ďalej o Pandemic opens up remarkable opportunities to share the gospel in Central Asia »

The military coup in Myanmar on 1 February, leading to widespread protests and anger across the nation, is bringing back awful memories for many familiar with life under the sceptre of military rule between 1962 and 2011. Brother Lwin is an Open Doors partner who has served the church in Myanmar for decades. Here, he sheds light on those dark days and why a return to military rule spells...
Čítaj ďalej o Return to the Junta – why the military coup in Myanmar spells fear for Christians »

During the Covid-19 pandemic, many of us experienced a little of what it is like to be confined. But for some persecuted Christians, their ‘lockdown’ is much more severe and long-lasting. So how do you cope if you are labelled as an enemy of the government and thrown in jail? How do you live out your faith in solitary confinement, where it’s just you and God?     Mojtaba...
Čítaj ďalej o What if you were put in prison for your faith? »

Vice-Premier Sun Chunlan issues order, after a visit to the province. Online posts against religions and Catholics are multiplying: their "development" endangers the "socialist system". Up until yesterday, over 800 positive cases have been recorded in Hebei, of which 771 in Shijiazhuang. Beijing () - The Covid-19 epidemic has reappeared in Hebei, the province surrounding Beijing. From...
Čítaj ďalej o Hebei, religious activities blocked: 'they spread Covid' (even if unproven) »

International Christian Concern (ICC) learned that police officials in India’s Karnataka state banned a community of Christians from gathering for worship services indefinitely. The officials justified this unconstitutional action by claiming that none of the approximately 50 Christians were Christian by birth and must have been coercively or fraudulently converted to Christianity. On...
Čítaj ďalej o Christian Community in India Banned from Religious Services »

Since 2002, North Korea has been the place where Christians face the most extreme persecution. Thanks to you, Open Doors secret fieldworkers are supporting Christians who've managed to flee to China, through underground networks. Now, first, imagine that you can’t meet in person.  That won’t take a big stretch of the imagination, given the past twelve months. But now imagine...
Čítaj ďalej o How do Open Doors fieldworkers support North Korean Christians? »

In Cuba, I sat down with Oleda to learn the spiritual history of Cuba. She was chosen to speak with me because the government wouldn’t arrest her. She was 80 years old and almost done with her race, so she could convey to me the amazing but dangerous story of the Church’s rise in Cuba.   The first thing she said to me was, “My body wants to die and I feel like dying, but I am...
Čítaj ďalej o She was chosen to speak with me because she would die soon… »

12/15/2020 Washington, D.C. (International Christian Concern) – International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that the Lahore High Court has acquitted Imran Ghafur Masih, a Christian sentenced to life in prison under Pakistan’s blasphemy laws. According to Imran’s family, they have moved into hiding following the acquittal due to potential threats from extremists. On December...
Čítaj ďalej o Court in Pakistan Acquits Christian Sentenced to Life in Prison for Blasphemy »

A family wonderfully transformed – and you played a massive role. Abnober is from Colombia. When he got involved with the wrong crowd as a youngster, his parents sent him to the Open Doors Children’s Centre. Little did they know that this one decision would change the whole family. At just 12 years old, Abnober – who grew up in a broken home where his father was a heavy drinker – got...
Čítaj ďalej o From drink and drugs to a different person – Abnober’s story »

When I first heard about Jamaa, he had just received his second prison sentence for sharing his faith. This time, it was a 15-year sentence under the pretense of property damage. Jamaa found Jesus while studying abroad in Europe. When he returned to Morocco, he persisted in practicing his beliefs and sharing the Gospel, leading to his first arrest in 1995.  The judge charged...
Čítaj ďalej o Morocco »

In October, a 13-year-old Christian girl named Arzoo Raja was abducted as she played outside of her family’s home in Karachi, Pakistan. Arzoo’s parents reported the abduction to local police but were told two days later that their daughter had willingly converted to Islam and married their 44-year-old Muslim neighbor, Ali Azhar. Since then, Arzoo’s case has made headlines in Pakistan and...
Čítaj ďalej o Christian Teen Shares Survivor’s Testimony of Abduction and Forced Marriage in Pakistan »

Like many young people, Wanda* from Indonesia had dreams of what her life would look like. But circumstances dashed her dreams, prompting questions that led to a dream where she was asked a crucial question. Today, Wanda follows Jesus, but it’s not easy – and Covid-19 has only added to her challenges. Your support has enabled partners to help her, and she is deeply moved by it. ...
Čítaj ďalej o Dashed dreams to a decisive dream: Wanda’s story »

After Mao Zedong (1893-1976) declared the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, missionaries and Chinese clergy flooded out of mainland China to escape the coming anti-Christian persecutions. There were some clergy, however, who remained with their beleaguered flock, such as the American Jesuit,  Father Charles McCarthy, SJ,  (1911-1991) and the Chinese Jesuit, Father...
Čítaj ďalej o Chinese Catholics who changed China and the world »

On July 5, 2013, jubilant Vietnamese Catholics celebrated the closing of the diocesan phase of Cardinal Francis Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan’s beatification process. Although he is not yet canonized, the Vietnamese faithful already consider him a saint and view him as an icon of the Vietnamese Church. Cardinal Thuan, being a man of faith, hope, and charity, epitomizes the virtues of past and...
Čítaj ďalej o Cardinal Nguyen Van Thuan: An Icon of the Vietnamese Church »