By our Special Correspondent
Vatican City, Jan 23 (IVC) The Islamic Republic of Iran has become “one of the fastest-growing churches in the world” despite worst persecutions , The 2023 “The Persecutors of the Year” report released recently here said.
The new report from a Christian advocacy group said that Christianity continued to thrive and grow despite brutal repressions and attempts by governments, groups and individuals across the world to quash the faith.
The report was brought out by the advocacy group International Christian Concern (ICC). “Christians currently make up only a small minority in Iran, numbering somewhere in between five lakh and eight lakh, according to ICC’s report.
Though the government ruled by Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei enforced strict adherence to Sharia law , ICC’s report revealed that hundreds of thousands of Iranians “from all different kinds of walks of life” have converted to Christianity. In China , the report said that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) “requires that its citizens worship the state, co-opting every religious structure possible into a mouthpiece of CCP propaganda”.
Under the leadership of Chinese President Xi Jinping, the penalties for living out one’s Christian faith have continued to rise. Amid persecution, the report pointed out that there are now 70 million to 100 million “underground Christians” who have refused to follow the CCP’s mandate to “worship the state”, choosing instead to risk their lives by following Jesus Christ.
