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International call to prayer as Christian persecution grows in Pakistan, China and Iran

November 2, 2022

We urge all Greek Orthodox Christians and all people of good will to pray for persecuted Christians worldwide on this International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church, and on all days.

“International call to prayer as Christian persecution grows in Pakistan, China and Iran,” Greek City Times, November 2, 2022:

As the persecution of Christians worldwide continues to grow, churches in the UK and Ireland are invited to stand with our Christian family under pressure for the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church on November 6.

IDOP, as it is known, was launched in 1996 by the World Evangelical Alliance. This worldwide annual day of prayer is held typically on the first Sunday in November.

Churches in the UK and Ireland are being invited to use that Sunday, or another Sunday in November, to stand with Christians who face violence and discrimination because of their faith.

Release International, Open Doors and CSW will be taking part in an online event, hosted by the Evangelical Alliance, at 7.30pm on Sunday, November 6.

The event will feature the stories of survivors of persecution from China, Cuba, and Iraq.

To help churches hold their own special services of prayer, a range of resources is available on the Release International website. These include a downloadable film, presentation slides and sermon outline for speakers, prayer points, testimonies, and songs.

The three-minute film introduces IDOP and highlights several countries where Christians are imprisoned because of their faith.

These include:

China, where the authorities have strengthened their crackdown on the church, tearing down crosses, demolishing churches, and imprisoning pastors.

Eritrea, where Christians have been imprisoned indefinitely without trial, many for more than a decade.

Iran, where leaders in the underground church face arrest and lengthy prison sentences, and

Pakistan, where Christians are vulnerable to false accusations of blasphemy, which can result in murder at the hands of vigilantes or jail….