We mention it because this year's Eurovision Song Contest host nation is Azerbaijan, broadcasting from the country's capital Baku, where authorities are threatening religious freedom on an unprecedented scale. Of all the countries that have hosted the Eurovision Song Contest, Azerbaijan is the most repressive towards freedom of expression in general and religious freedom in particular. While the pop stars and TV hosts put on a glittering show, church members must walk around in fear and sadness - fear for some about whether their church will be allowed to exist, and sadness for others that their church is doomed to closure due to a new, very strict religion law.
The children's choir sang in the recently closed church
April 25 was a fateful day for the Greater Grace Church in Baku, which the Danish European Mission has worked with for at least the last 14 years. About a month earlier, the church had been informed that a case had been filed against it that could result in the church being closed by the authorities 19 years after it was originally registered in April 1993.
At the final hearing of the case on 25 April, where the Church was not represented, Judge Tahira Asadova ruled on the case brought by the State Committee for Work with Religious Organizations. The hearing took only 15 minutes. When the judge was asked by Forum 18 news service how she could make a decision that would make all activities in the church illegal and punishable, Judge Asadova's assistant, Sevinj Ahmedova, replied: "The court has decided so". She said that the decision will come into force one month after the written verdict is issued unless the church decides to appeal the verdict. Members of the church told Forum 18 that they will fight the decision all the way through the legal system, right up to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. Ilya Zenchenko, leader of the Azerbaijan Baptist Society, says he is very concerned about the verdict. "I'm against it - it's not fair," he told Forum 18. As the ruling comes into force one month after the verdict, on 26 May Greater Grace Church will no longer be able to function legally unless it appeals.
Greater Grace Church was established in 1993 as a result of a major evangelistic effort by Finnish pastor and evangelist Matti Sirviö, and is led by Azerbaijani pastor Fuad Tariverdi. The congregation has been meeting in the "Kirche", the church building built by German Lutherans during the great oil boom at the beginning of the 20th century, when Baku was what Dubai is today. This congregation has many young members in particular. Many of them are well-educated, some are artists and musicians or are studying to become one. That's why it's a pleasure to worship in this church. In addition to sound, evangelical preaching, the music is of high quality. Two or three languages are often sung and preached during the service, Russian, Azerbaijani and English. The church has also had social work among the blind, poor and children with disabilities. The Danish European Mission has supported this as well as the church's summer camps for children. It is also a missionary church. It has sent missionaries to other countries whose language is related to Azerbaijani, such as Turkey and northwestern China. The Danish European Mission has also supported this.
In the 1990s when Azerbaijan gained independence from the Soviet Union, the country was among those where conditions for religious freedom were quite reasonable, but conditions have gradually deteriorated. In rural areas, there have been several cases against Christian congregations and their leaders, and the Danish European Mission has helped pay their defense lawyers. Now the problems have moved into the capital. The closure of the Greater Grace Church will probably be the most drastic step the authorities have taken to date.
We call for prayers for this and other struggling churches in Azerbaijan and for support to take their case all the way to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg if necessary.
