wfn.org | Church Leaders Declare Day of Prayer for Persecuted Christians in

[BeckettJ@gc.adventist.org]

Turkmenistan

Adventist News Network
Seventh-day Adventist Church World Headquarters
November 28, 2000
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Church Leaders Declare Day of Prayer for Persecuted Christians in
Turkmenistan
Moscow, Russia .... [Valery Ivanov/Victor Krushenitsky/Bettina Krause]
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Seventh-day Adventist church members throughout Russia and central Asia will
observe a day of prayer and fasting December 23 in response to ongoing
persecution of Adventists and other religious groups in Turkmenistan.
Adventist Church leaders in the Euro-Asia region voted November 21 to
declare the day of prayer after receiving reports of another wave of
anti-Christian state action in Turkmenistan, including the arrest and
detention of an Adventist pastor.  

Pastor Pavel Fedotov was arrested on October 21 at a private home while
holding Saturday, or Sabbath, church services.  Charged with holding
"illegal religious meetings," he was interrogated and held for three days.
Local church members report that in the days following Fedotov's arrest,
police warned individuals who had previously held worship services in their
homes to stop the meetings or risk confiscation of their apartments.

"For many thousands of people, living their faith is a daily act of
courage," says Pastor Jan Paulsen, president of the Adventist Church
worldwide. "As a church, we believe that the ability to worship according to
the dictates of one's conscience is a precious, God-given right. I invite
you, as fellow members of an international community of faith, to join with
me in praying for persecuted believers everywhere, that they will hold fast
to the hope and peace that only Christ can give."

Dr. John Graz, director for public affairs and religious liberty for the
Adventist Church worldwide, says that it is easy to take religious freedom
for granted in countries where the right to worship is guaranteed. "In many
places--from Turkmenistan, to East Indonesia, to Myanmar--individuals who
defy the dominant religious culture or who disobey anti-religious laws risk
their homes, their freedom, and even their lives."

Pointing to the long history of religious repression in Turkmenistan, Graz
says there is no easy way to address the persecution of Adventists,
Baptists, Jews, Hare Krishnas, and other religious groups in that country.
He adds, however, that the Adventist world church will continue its efforts
to keep the plight of Turkmen believers before the international community. 

Under Turkmenistan's religious registration laws, only two groups are able
to obtain legal status--Sunni Muslims and the Russian Orthodox Church.
Turkmenistan's anti-religion activities made international news in November
1999, when authorities in the capital city, Ashgabat, ordered a recently
built Adventist Church bulldozed.
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