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An 80-year-old woman has died after an explosion at an Orthodox Christian church in southern Ukraine which injured at least eight other people, officials say. The blast in the city of Zaporizhzhya is believed to have been caused by a homemade explosive device. It is not clear who is behind the explosion. It came towards the end of a visit to Ukraine by the Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill I which has attracted protests by right-wing nationalists. Thousands of Orthodox believers gathered in the Ukrainian capital to celebrate the historic ‘Baptism of old Russia’. Modern Kiev is the place where the Christianity started in this part of the world. Back in 988, Prince Vladimir took the first bunch of pagans into the Dnepr River in Ukraine and baptized them to become the Orthodox Christians. The whole Christianization process took several centuries, but Kiev is still considered to be the cradle of Orthodox Christianity in this part of Europe. Pray: for the believers in Ukraine and against the enemy that is stirring up dissention. (Ps.64:1) More: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-10123640
Around two-thirds of Europeans feel that Christian values are relevant to modern life and are ready to acknowledge Church efforts to promote them. A survey conducted in France, Britain, Italy, Germany and Spain for the Catholic La Croix newspaper found that ‘Christian anchorage’ among Europeans was still strong. Around half of Europeans also felt Christian values could promote dialogue with different cultures and religions and solidarity with the poor. Over half believed Christians were ‘sufficiently visible’ in society, but a quarter felt they were under-represented. However, only Italians felt the churches were doing a good job in communicating with young people.
Pray: for this underlying trust in Christian values to be strengthened by the work of the Church in Europe. (Ac.16:5)
Compass Direct News (CDN) is reporting that despite some promising developments, Christians in Turkey continue to suffer attacks from private citizens, discrimination by lower-level government officials and vilification in both school textbooks and news media, according to a study by a Protestant group. In its annual Report on Human Rights Violations, the country's Association of Protestant Churches notes mixed indicators of improvement but states that there is a ‘root of intolerance’ in Turkish society toward adherents of non-Islamic faiths. ‘The removal of this root of intolerance is an urgent problem that still awaits to be dealt with,’ the report states. ‘There is still a lot of room for improvement,’ said Mine Yildirim, a member of the legal committee for the association. The report documented 12 attacks against Christians in 2011, including incidents in which individuals were beaten in Istanbul for sharing their faith, church members were threatened and church buildings attacked. None of the attackers has been charged.
Pray: for Christians in Turkey that God would protect them from discrimination and spiritual attacks. (Ps.86:14)
More: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/turkish.christians.still.experiencing.discrimination/29341.htm
Sentiment against Christians in Turkey has persisted long enough for a US religious rights monitor to recommend it as a ‘Country of Particular Concern,’ and pastor Orhan Picaklar knows such anti-Christian hostility first-hand. Picaklar, of Agape Church in Samsun, lives in the Black Sea region where Christians live under increasing pressure. He has seen his building attacked and his family and congregation threatened. Picaklar said. 'We have been here for 10 years, and people here still treat us like cursed enemies'. Picaklar’s son received death threats on Facebook. A man caused minor damage to Picaklar’s church building last month, the latest in a series of aggressions that has led the church to file charges after long declining to do so. Police called Picaklar in the middle of the night on March 4 because a young man had disturbed neighbours near the church building. Neighbours heard the suspect, yelling, ‘Corrupt, perverted Christians, we are going to bring this church down on your heads, get lost,’ among other threats, Picaklar said.
Pray: for pastor Picaklar and others like him as they lead the church in places of hostility. (Ps.5:11)
More: http://www.opendoorsuk.org/news/stories/index.php?newsitem=1&date=09apr2012&country=turkey
The right to establish, own, and maintain places of worship is set out in the international human rights standards that Turkey is a party to. Yet religious communities face serious obstacles – both formal and informal – preventing this, Forum 18 News Service notes. Only the state-run Diyanet can open mosques and administer them. The largest community demanding to have its own places of worship is the Alevi community, which is around one third of the population. But despite government promises of a solution, none has yet appeared. Indeed, the state is currently attempting to close down an Alevi association because its statute describes its cemevi as a place of worship. Communities, such as Protestants and Jehovah's Witnesses, face serious obstacles in establishing places of worship, while Catholics, Greek and Syriac Orthodox and other communities face serious problems in maintaining places of worship. To implement human rights obligations this right must be made secure. Pray: for the rights of worshipping communities to be set free. (Ps.86:9)
A senior Turkish Protestant has said his country's small Christian churches still face severe hardships, despite recent pledges by the government to improve protection of religious rights. ‘We can't deny certain positive steps - since 2005, we've been able to apply for legal status as registered associations,’ said Zekai Tanyar, executive board chairman of Turkey's Association of Protestant Churches. ‘But full religious freedom is still a long way off here, and all Christian denominations face difficulties. Government officials assure us they'll look into our problems, such as by offering us police protection. But no attempt is being made to present us in a more positive light.’ In an ENI interview, Tanyar said Protestants differed from Turkey's Armenian and Greek Orthodox Christians, since most came from recent Muslim Turkish backgrounds, rather than from ethnic minorities, and did not have historic claims to churches and properties in the country. Pray: for God’s Church in Turkey that it would find ways of fulfilling its calling despite the difficulties. (Ps.33:12)
Turkey's Foreign Minister said NATO is preparing to deploy patriot missiles to bolster border defences with Syria. The surface-to-air missiles will be able to shoot down aircraft up to 160 kilometers away. His comments appeared to contradict a statement from the Turkish Prime Minister who said, ‘We do not have any thoughts of acquiring patriots by paying money,’ NATO also said that they hadn't received an ‘official’ request from Turkey for the missiles. The possibility of enforcing a Syrian no-fly zone where rebel fighters would be protected from attacks by the government’s Air Force has been on the table for some time despite NATO’s reluctance to intervene in the Syrian conflict without a mandate from the UN Security Council. ‘Plans for the deployment were put on hold pending the US election result’ a source explained on condition of anonymity because of ministry prohibitions on speaking with the media. The official said missile deployment might happen under a NATO umbrella.
Pray: for God to encourage governments to make the decisions that will bring about the beginning of the end of hostilities. (Ps.97:3-6)
More: http://rt.com/news/turkey-syria-patriot-missile-border-168/
Judges in Turkey’s southeastern city of Malatya have announced the preparation of an indictment in the case of three murdered Christians that is expected to reveal a shadowy network that incited five young men to carry out the crime. The Third Criminal Court of Malatya is expected to announce the indictment on April 9, followed by a week of witness testimony that judges believe will link the five murder suspects to the ‘masterminds’ who prompted them, plaintiff lawyers said. The brutal murders of Turkish Christians Necati Aydin and Ugur Yuksel and German Christian Tilmann Geske at the Zirve Publishing House by five young men in 2007 are believed to be part of a conspiracy to overthrow the current pro-Islamic government.
Pray: that this case will at last be resolved and justice be done. (Pr.18:5)
More: http://www.compassdirect.org/english/country/turkey/article_1421958.html
The June 12 election signalled a political change heralding the start of evictions within the central working-class Istanbul neighbourhood of Tarlabasi; to make way for an ambitious project to beautify the city. Continual evictions leave residents
who will not or cannot move for financial or other reasons fearful. Bahattin Argis said, ‘I am living in absolute uncertainty, despite being a house owner I face the possibility of being thrown out of my own house at any moment!’ The municipality claims imminent domain over buildings slotted for destruction, even though the confiscated property is being sold to a private contractor. Mine Erel bought her home in 1977 and worries about the safety of living in a semi-demolished neighbourhood. A lawyer for about 100 plaintiffs calls the situation ‘a humanitarian drama.’ Amnesty International urged the municipality to stop the neighbourhood’s forced evictions saying, forced evictions disproportionally affect those most in need of protection and violates the rights of these groups.
Pray: for the Roma, Kurdish and other internally displaced persons (groups) living in Tarlabasi to be respected by the government and landlords. (Pr.14:21)
Many in Turkey see an urgent need to reform primary and secondary school education to facilitate freedom of religion or belief. This is because aspects of the school system play a role in fuelling a type of nationalism behind intolerant attitudes, violent attacks and possibly even murders experienced by vulnerable groups. Key problems identified by members of various religious communities include compulsory Religious Culture and Knowledge of Ethics (RCKE) school classes, strict limits on exemption from such classes, discrimination against those seeking exemption, and misleading information in textbooks on the History of Turkish Republican Reforms and Atatürkism. An overdue first step would be to implement an October 2007 European Court of Human Rights judgment to legally enable all parents to exempt their children from RCKE classes. Implementing respect for everyone's freedom of religion or belief in school education will contribute to Turkey flourishing as a truly pluralistic democratic society.
Pray: that those who have authority over the educational establishment will be granted wisdom to reform and to remove intolerant attitudes. (Pr.13:14)