Belarus (MNN) — The European Union has banned flights from entering Belarus airspace. Last month, Belarus grounded a Lithuanian flight in order to arrest a journalist known for speaking against the government.
The country’s growing isolation from the rest of Europe began last year. Several nations accused sitting president Alexander Lukashenko of stealing an election.
Christians in Belarus
Eric Mock of the Slavic Gospel Association says Belarusian Christians have a unique attitude towards the situation. “When I asked the pastors in Belarus how they were doing (I had heard about the plane being diverted and some of the difficulties that they’re facing) they were kind of incredulous that I had asked the question. In their minds, life has constant difficulties. Therefore, they press on for the sake of the Gospel, much like the Apostle Paul, of course, exhorts us in many of his letters.”
As Belarus grows more isolated, the global Church must stand with Belarusian Christians in prayer. Pray these churches would remain faithful to Jesus amid the tumultuous political situation.
Mock says, “I think a lot of times we are looking for news relative to specific events. But in their minds, it is all one event, which is advancing the Gospel. Because the Lord is coming again soon. Even under the pandemic, we saw a great advancement of the Gospel. Homes were hearing about the Gospel for the very first time, and lives were coming to faith.”
The Header photo shows a plane from Ryanair, which owned the plane grounded by Belarus. (Photo courtesy of Macdonald from Chelmsford and Largs, United Kingdom, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)
