Cuba building first-ever Russian Orthodox church

Construction began this month in Havana, Cuba, on what will become the nation’s first-ever Russian Orthodox church. The church will constitute “a monument to Cuban-Russian friendship,” said Metropolitan Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church’s foreign relations department.

The church will also pay homage to the thousands of Russian workers, soldiers and technicians who cooperated with communist Cuba for three “glorious” decades before the fall of the Soviet Union, he said. Cuba became officially atheist in the years after the 1959 revolution that brought Fidel Castro to power.

Though the government has officially sanctioned a handful of Christian churches, persecution against Christians continues, and freedom of worship is still greatly restricted.                                                                     — E.P. News

Kidnapped pastor released in India

A Gospel for Asia pastor who was recently kidnapped has been released. Pastor Tulsiram, who leads a growing church in Chattisgarh with 50 new believers, was freed on Oct. 6. A day earlier, Tulsiram and Vijay, another pastor from his church, were preparing to baptize 32 new believers when they were beaten in front of their congregation and dragged away.

Vijay managed to escape, but Tulsiram was detained overnight and beaten repeatedly. His kidnappers told him to leave the village or be killed. The death threat came after converts from Tulsiram’s congregation told village leaders how the gospel had changed their lives.                                                                                                      — Charisma News Service