14 October, 2025
Web desk
Chinese authorities have detained dozens of pastors from Zion Church, one of the country’s largest unregistered Christian congregations, in what rights advocates are calling the harshest religious crackdown since 2018.
Pastor Ezra Jin Mingri, the church’s founder, was arrested at his home in Beihai last Friday, according to his daughter, Grace Jin. She said Jin had long been under state surveillance and barred from leaving China.
Zion Church, founded in 2007, was previously shut down but continued operating underground, now with an estimated 5,000 members across nearly 50 cities. Church representatives say at least 20 other pastors and workers remain detained or missing.
Authorities accuse Jin of “illegal use of information networks,” a charge that could bring up to seven years in prison. Supporters fear the arrests are tied to new internet restrictions that bar clergy from sharing religious content online without government approval.
In recent years, Beijing has tightened control over religion, promoting what it calls the “Sinicisation” of faith ensuring all worship aligns with Communist Party ideology.
U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, have condemned the arrests and urged China to release the detained pastors immediately.
