A Belarusian pastor asks for prayers following the eviction of The New Life Church in Minsk, Belarus by authorities who forced their way into the church while people are praying.
New Life Church is one of the biggest local churches in Minsk which started around 27 years ago. To this day, the church has over 50 ministries that focus on helping people throughout difficult situations in life.
Pastor Vyacheslav Goncharenko Leonidovich, one of the church's senior pastors, explained to Evangelical Focus his sentiments after authorities evicted members of his church.
He recounted how they felt powerless when authorities threatened them with arrest and fines after forcefully barging inside their church while prayer is ongoing.
"We would have expected this kind of situation in the Soviet Union times when churches were persecuted. It might be the first case in the history of modern Belarus that we face this kind of injustice, a situation in which they entered forcefully in a church and evicted us," he claimed.
According to Christian Headlines, Belarus has been experiencing more and more violations of their religious freedom ever since the 2020 re-election of President Alyaksandr Ryhoravich Lukashenko, a self-described "Orthodox atheist."
Pastor Vyacheslav also narrated how bailiffs had to disrespectfully turn off the church's sound system so people inside the church would stop praying as they were asked to exit the building.
"It was a very sad situation. We were witnessing how we were losing the building we have used for 19 years," he added.
He was then asked by the interviewer why he thinks they were evicted by the authorities. As a response, Vyacheslav said:
"The main problem is that the city of Minsk administration made the decision to take our land. The cause is an "unpurposeful use" of the building because it was an old cowshed when we bought it. All our efforts in this time to make this building registered for religious purposes were rejected. By not giving us permission, they were punishing us. They did not give us an alternative place where we could gather, either."
The building, which at that time is nothing but an old unused building, was purchased by the New Life Pentecostal Church 20 years ago but they were never permitted by the authorities to use it for religious practices.
He also added that authorities have long been trying to evict them from the building, which they successfully did last week.
Pastor Vyacheslav, however, thinks that their eviction is the government's response to a video the church members previously made. In the video, members protest against the current administration's regime and calls for freedom.
Vyacheslav also asked Christians across the world in an interview with the Evangelical Focus, to include Belarus in their prayers.
"We are praying for this nation, that we have a great revival," he said.
"We see that our nation does no longer want to deal with this evidence of evil, lies," he added. "We as a population are ready to resist this. People want to separate themselves from this evil and have a desire to become pure. And this is not only that people want to get rid of the government, but many, including non-Christians, are striving for kindness and fairness."
