Christian Freedom International

SAULT STE. MARIE, MI (Christian Freedom International) -- Burmese officials have issued an order restricting Christians from worshipping in residential homes and apartment buildings in the capital city of Rangoon and surrounding areas.

The government has also ordered the closing of several large churches, including Wather Hope Church, Emmanuel Church and the Assemblies of God Church, while enforcing its ban on meetings held in unauthorized facilities.

Officials invited pastors from over 100 Rangoon churches to a meeting on January 5, where approximately 50 attendees were ordered to sign documents agreeing to cease all operations of their churches. The pastors were threatened with jail terms and the sealing of their church facilities should they refuse to obey the government’s closure orders.

According to a Burmese news agency, over 80 percent of Rangoon churches have been affected by the order.

Many local citizens believe that the recent crackdown is due to the Christian relief efforts that filtered into the country in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis, a hurricane that destroyed much of the region in May 2008.

Although just about all of the country’s citizens suffer under the government’s repression, Christians in Burma have been especially singled out for attack and persecution for decades, especially as they have been perceived as being connected with the West. The junta’s genocidal brutality has especially focused on the Karen, the largest ethnic -- and mostly Christian -- minority group in Burma, where devastating attacks on their homes and communities have forced hundreds of thousands into hiding or refugee camps.