Christmas Suffering for Saints

The Voice of the Martyrs has updated their website with a new article called Celebrating Christ’s Birth: A Time of Joy…A Time of Suffering that discusses the recent persecution that happened during the Christmas season in various regions of the world.

Not all Christians were able to celebrate the birth of Jesus in peace last December, as religious hatred and violence continues to escalate.

On Christmas morning at 10:30 a.m., 200 police officers and Religious Affairs Bureau officials drove up in 17 marked vehicles to a gathering of 210 Christians celebrating the birth of Christ. They proceeded to raid the service taking place inside a rented commercial building located in Ma Na Si County in Xinjiang Autonomous Region. As 12 of the church leaders were arrested half an hour later, police seized private property of the Christians including a van, a car, a video camera, a piano, 80 Bibles, 230 new towels and all the food for their celebration. After entering the facility with their search warrant, police declared the Christmas service an “illegal religious gathering.” Police released seven of the 12 arrested Christian leaders the following midnight. The other five are still incarcerated at Ma Na Si County Detention Center, including 54-year-old Pastor Guo Xianyao, Ms. Wang Ximei (54), Ms. Zhou Bin (50), Ms. Lu Jianzhen (47) and Ms. Wu Haifang (28). An eyewitness reports that Pastor Guo was receiving beatings from police officers while in custody. In addition to their abuse and incarceration, each leader must pay a fine and be fingerprinted.

Please continue to read the rest of the article and pray pray and pray for their comfort and peace.