Evangelical Focus Staff

Patriarch Kirill I, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, has gone one step further in its unconditional support of the invasion of Ukraine.

The King of Kings was front and centre for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.

The funeral for the late queen took place at Westminster Abbey 10 days after her death and was attended by kings, presidents, and other authorities from around the world, and followed by millions worldwide.

It was led by the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, who recalled that “the Queen’s service had its foundation in her following Christ, God himself”.

A new report shows that forced labour and forced marriage have risen significantly in the last five years, especially among women and children.

The International Labour Organization (ILO), the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and Walk Free have recently released the Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage report.

Researchers collected data between 2017 and 2021 from thousands of questionnaires, including face to face interviews from 68 nationally representative forced labour surveys and 75 forced marriage surveys.

Authorities in China on officially “liquidated” a historical house church in Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, on Aug. 19 as part of a crackdown on churches that refuse to join the state-controlled Three-Self Church, rights advocates said.

The Helsinki Court of Appeal has announced the dates of the hearings of the Päivi Räsänen case, which finished its first stage with a victory of the Christian parliamentarian in March.

The World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) and the European Evangelical Alliance (EEA) call on churches and believers to set aside some time on Wednesday, August 24 – Ukraine’s Independence Day – to pray for an end to the war in Ukraine.

“On this day of independence, we want to declare our dependence on God, the One who can bring true peace to the hearts of each individual person, each family and even entire peoples”.

On February 24, 2022, the unimaginable happened: Russian troops crossed the border, launching a full-on attack on Ukraine.

According to Ukrainian Baptist Theological Seminary (UBTS) President and pastor of Journey Church in Lviv, Yaroslav Pyzh, “since the war started, six months already, we lost about 400 Baptist churches”.

The Baptist volunteers help internally displaced people to prepare their houses for the winter by renewing roofs, windows and doors.

However, “the real challenge is similar to Nehemiah’s challenge. It’s not only rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. It’s rebuilding the nation of Israel, of worshiping God. … That’s the same thing here in Ukraine”, Pyzh told Baptist Press.

Ten Christian aid workers, volunteers and refugees of the ministry Orphan’s Promise have been released in Ukraine, after being reportedly beaten by Russian troops.

"God is good! Thank you for your prayers. All volunteers are alive and have been released (even though they have been beaten severely and tortured and one is currently in a hospital after a heart attack)," said Orphan's Promise Director Nataliya Khomyak.

The UK College of Policing has issued a new interim guidance, which "seeks to redress the balance between freedom of speech and protecting vulnerable members of the public".

It also “sets out arrangements that forces should consider to support an effective response to allegations of hate crime and non-crime hate incidents and includes content for those responding to these events”, explained the police.