This week was a farely typical week for me – except when my brother John called and told us he had been hit by a car on Wednesday. He escaped with just some bumps and bruises, but the rascal who hit him drove away. Ahem Attention please! – don’t do that. How could you ever live with yourself knowing you left someone bleeding in the street? I don’t understand.
To change the subject, I want to this week focus on prayer for missionaries in restricted nations. I receive regular emails from missionaries in the former USSR who cannot publicly disclose their location or the specific purpose of their work. There are thousands of missionaries like this around the world. It’s important to remember them daily in our prayers, even though it may be impossible for us to know much information about their work. They have chosen to try to reach some of the most hostile parts of the world and sometimes face real danger. There are missionaries serving in some of the highly restricted nations of the former Soviet Union which I have listed below. I have met some of them, but of course specific information cannot be shared on the internet. Just remember to pray.
Here is a quick run-down on religious freedom and persecution in the former USSR (not including Russia):
Armenia: Constitution guarantees freedom of religion, but in practice the state church is favored.
Azerbaijan: Mostly Muslim, allows freedom of religion but some Protestant groups have had difficulty obtaining registration. Christians have been arrested on trumped-up charges.
Belarus: Constitution guarantees freedom of religion, but in practice the government heavily oppresses all non-Orthodox religious groups. All unregistered religious activity and any religious activity in private homes are forbidden.
Georgia: Constitution guarantees religious freedom, but the state church is favored.
Kazakhstan: Constitution guarantees freedom of religion, but minority religious groups are often harrassed.
Kyrgyzstan: Constitution guarantees freedom of religion. Islam is dominant. Religious groups and foreign missionaries are required to register with the government. It is illegal to distribute religious literature outside of places of worship.
Latvia: Constitution guarantees freedom of religion. Religious groups are not required to register with the government, although they enjoy certain privileges if they do. Christians enjoy much freedom.
Lithuania: Similar to Latvia. “Traditional” religions are not required to register with the government.
Moldova: Officially allows religious freedom, but the activities of some groups are restricted. Religious groups are required to register with the government.
Tajikistan: Constitution allows freedom of religion. Islam is the main religion. Religious groups are required to register with the government. The government watches all religious activity closely.
Turkmenistan: Russian Orthodoxy and Islam have been the only recognized religions, but a recent change in the law is allowing other religious groups to obtain registration. Religious literature cannot be legally printed here. Evangelical Christians are heavily oppressed.
Ukraine: High level of freedom for religious groups. There is a great deal of missionary activity in this country.
Uzbekistan: Officially a secular state. All religions are restricted. Missionary work and evangelism are illegal. Unregistered religious activity is banned. Christians are being arrested and imprisoned.
Remember that the Christians in these countries are real people with real lives. “Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them . . .” (Hebrews 13:3)
The above information was gleaned from The International Coalition for Religious Freedom and The Voice of the Martyrs. Feel free to provide corrections or additional information in the comments.
