These raids were ostensibly looking for anti-regime activity, but clearly Christians were targeted, as Myanmar is another country in which Christianity is seen as a foreign faith. Christians make up about 8.2 percent of the population of Myanmar. Most of these Christians are Protestants, with Roman Catholics comprising most of the rest; there is, however, a small community of Christians who belong to the Armenian Apostolic Church, which broke communion with Holy Orthodoxy after the fourth ecumenical council, the Council of Chalcedon in 451, over its definition of the two natures of Christ, divine and human. Also, 13th century inscriptions in Greek have been discovered in Myanmar, indicating that there may have once been a Greek Orthodox presence there.
All the Christians of Myanmar today are being harassed and persecuted by the Myanmar government. Please pray for a relaxation of this persecution, for the strengthening of Myanmar’s Christian community, and for a new introduction of Holy Orthodoxy into this beautiful and suffering nation.
For more ChristianPersecution.com coverage of the persecution of Christians in Myanmar, see here.
“Myanmar Military Raids Kachin Churches,” The Irrawaddy, April 6, 2021:
Myanmar’s military regime has searched churches in Mohnyin Township, Kachin State, claiming illegal activity was taking place.
Northern Command troops searched Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC), Roman Catholic Association and Anglican Association churches in Mohnyin on Saturday.
“It was not a random search. They were thorough, climbed over fences and went into every building in the compound. An officer came through the door but did not say a word and went straight to search my house,” said Rev. Awng Seng of Mohnyin KBC.
Soldiers only said they had been informed a protest leader was inside the compound and that religious leaders were participating in anti-regime protests.
They also searched dustbins, said the priest.
“This is a religious site that shares Christian teachings. If they want to search, they should have sought faith leaders’ approval. Instead, weapon-wielding personnel arrived like they were conducting a military operation. It is unacceptable and I strongly condemn it. If they behave like this on religious land, we can’t imagine how they behave in people’s homes. Nowhere is safe,” said Rev. Awng Seng.
The security forces reportedly found nothing illegal in all three churches.
A member of the Roman Catholic Association said: “They searched everywhere. They were also after anti-regime protesters. They even searched our motorbikes.”
On March 13, the security forces carried out a midnight search at Kachin Theological College and Seminary (Nawng Nang) in Kachin State’s capital, Myitkyina….
On March 1, the security forces broke open the gate of a KBC church in Lashio, northern Shan State, and detained more than 10 faith leaders and staff for two days. They fired shots inside the church while looking for anti-regime protesters who had reportedly run into the compound….
