In Ukraine, prayer gatherings multiply in the face of “stress and fear”. In Russia, evangelical leaders call for mediation.

In Fall of 2021 the Russian Defense Ministry officially invited the Russian Evangelical Alliance to provide Evangelical Pastors for military chaplaincy.

In the face of death, a desperate person can find life in Jesus Christ. That was the experience of the Russian writer Dostoevsky when he was condemned to death along with his fellow revolutionaries.

The trial against the Christian parliamentarian charged with “ethnic agitation” against homosexuals will start in January.

At least seven students and one teacher died and 6 children are in severe condition. President Putin has ordered to revise Russian gun regulations.

The Russian Evangelical Alliance calls to “restore the peaceful relations between the peoples of both countries”. Churches in Ukraine encouraged to “pray and fast for the peace in our land”.

Vitaly Vlasenko, a pastor in Moscow, analyses the situation of evangelicals in Russia. “I am not aware of pastors, bishops, or other Christian leaders who have participated in the protests”.

There have been over 700,000 deaths in Europe since the beginning of the pandemic. Strong measures against coronavirus remain in most of the countries.

The US Commission on International Religious Freedom has analysed the effects of blasphemy laws worldwide between 2014-18. 11% of the blasphemy-related incidents took place in Europe.

In her State of the (European) Union, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, unfolded an ambitious ‘post-COVID-19’ plan for Europe and beyond.

Most of them are members of Baptist and Pentecostal churches. They were fined for distributing literature on the street and for organising non-authorised religious gatherings.

“Only Russians and those who live permanently and legitimately on Russia can be active in religious groups", the bill recently presented in the Parliament states.

A Pew Research Center survey shows that “people in emerging economies tend to be more religious and to say that belief in God is necessary to be moral”.

The governor of the region wrongly announced on television that Baptists arriving in Russia from Spain had brought the coronavirus.

Inter-denominational contacts are on the rise in Russia.

“Protestant communities find it practically impossible to get permission to build churches”, a lawyer says. Up to 90% of places of worship are officially recorded as residential property.

The Christian workers demanded asylum in Germany after their church activities were countered with regular verbal and physical aggressions.

The flagship theological schools of the Pentecostal Union and the Baptist Union in Moscow have been banned from admitting students.

The two young US citizens were detained while teaching English at a local LDS meetinghouse. Last month, a Jehovah’s Witness was sentenced to six years.

The body representing 23 million evangelical Christians reacts to the imprisonment of a Danish Jehovah Witness.

Meanwhile, a Baptist theological seminary has been temporarily closed by a Moscow court.

According to the last Corruption Perceptions Index released by Transparency International, in the last seven years, only 20 countries significantly improved their scores.

Most administrative prosecutions end in punishment. Many are prosecuted for sharing their faith on the street. “Believers go out to share their faith less often, and give out publications or invitations less openly”.

According to World Watch List, released today by Open Doors International, 4,305 people died in 2018 because of their Christian faith. Christian persecution has drastically increased.

Under the decree of autocephaly, the new church’s jurisdiction will be restricted to Ukraine. The Russian Orthodox Church reacts: “It is the result of political and personal ambitions”.