Mennonite church slated for official recognition in Viet Nam

The Vietnam Mennonite Church will be granted a “Certificate for Religious Activities” in early October 2007, Ekklesia.co.uk reported today. The move comes after church president Pastor Nguyen Quang Trung first began pursuing recognition two decades ago.

According to the terms of the certification, the Mennonite Church will now be able to function throughout the country and organize a national conference within the year. Additionally, if the entire process of holding a conference, and if a constitution and statement of faith are adopted, and officers elected, the church may be granted legal status. With this status, the church will be able to purchase property, open an official training school, and publish materials.

The recognition, however, does not cover all Mennonite churches in Viet Nam. The certificate only recognizes churches associated with Pastor Trung, who has a relationship with about 80 congregations with 5,000 members. The Mennonite church in Viet Nam split in 2004 after some religious leaders were arrested, and, more recently, some congregations have considered themselves independent of either group.

Although authorities have made registration easier in the past year, some rural ethnic minority churches continue to be harassed.

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