The son of an influential pastor silenced by the Iranian government has been handed a four-month jail sentence for his involvement with illegal house churches, World Watch Monitor has learnt.
Four Iranian Christians will soon begin serving ten-year prison sentences after a court ruled the Church of Iran members were "promoting Zionist Christianity" and running house churches.
Two house churches in Beijing reported that authorities in the past week have investigated churches and pressured landlords to cancel the leases on houses of worship.
A pastor of a now-closed house church in the capital of China’s inland Guizhou province was found guilty of 'intentionally disclosing state secrets' at a trial on April 26, but the announcement of the verdict was delayed.
Four U.N. human rights experts have issued a joint statement, urging Iran to ensure 'a fair and transparent final hearing' at the country's Revolutionary Court for three Iranian Christians who have been sentenced for 'conducting evangelism' and 'illegal house church activities,' among other charges.
For years, Syrian Christians had been praying for a revival. 'But never did we imagine it would come because of war,' said one church leader. Seven years of civil war has left Syria in ruins. Many of those who came from Christian families left early on in the war, a cause of great despair as church leaders watched their congregants slowly disappear.
Facebook shut down two Christian ministry pages this month, without warning or explanation, renewing fears about the social media giant’s ability to control access to an important corner of today’s public square.
An Azerbaijani man fined for leading a 'house church' without state permission has not been treated fairly during his appeal against the fine, a local source has told World Watch Monitor.
A Chinese house church pastor, her daughter, and her young grandson have been arrested, weeks after being accused of overstepping the country’s newly tightened religious restrictions.
Provoked by the mission work of a local house church, officials detained a pastor and her daughter on Sept. 22, taking the daughter’s three-year-old son into custody as well.
An organization with ties to the Chinese Communist Party has unveiled new plans on how the government can enforce its restrictions on churches, including forced registration with state-run Christian institutions.
China has tightened its 'choke-hold' on churches across the country in recent weeks, according to the rights and religious freedom group China Aid.
Five Iranian house church Christians were behind bars Wednesday, March 15, after being sentenced to one year imprisonment on charges of "crimes against the Islamic order" and there were reports that Iranian authorities have been burning Bibles.
In a unprecedented move, a Chinese court has agreed to hear a case filed by a pastor against government officials who prohibited worship services in his house church, observers familiar with the trial said Wednesday, December 31.
Several Christian volunteers and survivors of China's worst earthquake in a generation remained missing Sunday, December 28, after Christmas Eve police raids on homes under construction in the devastated Sichuan province amid anger among authorities over the involvement of churches in relief efforts, an advocacy group said.
In a good turn of events, two Chinese pastors Wang Weiliang and Zhu Baoguo will be spending this year's Christmas at home after their miraculous release from jail by the authorities in China for medical reasons.
Christians in several parts of China were behind bars on Christmas Day after a police crackdown on worship services and Bible study, a Christian advocacy group said Thursday, December 25.
Over a dozen Christians will spend Christmas behind bars in China after police raided a Christian leaders gathering in Henan province, while in the capital Beijing two officials of the banned Chinese House Church Alliance were detained, an advocacy group and Chinese Christians confirmed Thursday, December 18.
Four Christians remained missing Friday, December 12, more than a month after they were detained in China's Hubei province amid a police crackdown on believers, including missionaries, in the region, a house church network said.
Chinese authorities have sentenced Christian Mao Minzi to a forced labor camp for his involvement in organizing a worship service with other believers in a house church, an advocacy group confirmed late Thursday, December 11,