Today’s Headlines:

FIJI CHURCH LEADER CALLS MILITARY POWER GRAB ‘EVIL’

CHINESE PROTESTANTS TO RESTORE NEO-GOTHIC ANGLICAN CHURCH

RUSSIAN PRIEST, FAMILY BURNED IN HOUSE FIRE, ARSON POSSIBLE

ARCHAEOLOGISTS DISCOVER 4TH CENTURY CHRISTIAN CHURCH

JOEL OSTEEN TO BE FEATURED ON BARBARA WALTERS TV SPECIAL

Today’s Top Stories:

FIJI CHURCH LEADER CALLS MILITARY POWER GRAB ‘EVIL’

A military coup in the South Pacific island nation of Fiji has brought strong words from Christian leaders in the nation. After army commander Commodore Frank Bainimarama took over the Fijian government and dismissed Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase and his ministers, the head of the Fiji Council of Churches condemned the new administration and the coup as “illegal and unconstitutional.” Rev. Tuikilakila Waqairatu was openly opposed to Bainimrama’s military seizure of power and said, “We are deeply convinced that the move now taken by the commander and his advisers is the manifestation of darkness and evil.” New Zealand, U.K. and Australia have all denounced the military action behind the coup, Fiji’s fourth in two decades. The picturesque nation is home to about 900,000 people and is a major tourist destination, attracting up to 400,000 visitors a year. (Ecumenical News International/BBC News/Radio New Zealand)

* HCJB World Radio worked with partner EBM International to establish FM radio stations in two cities of Fiji: Pacific Harbour (1996) and Suva (1999). Both stations broadcast programs in English, Fijian and Hindi. Douglas Rose, a missionary at the station in Suva, said the discord has not affected the broadcasts. “We are still on air and have had no problems,” he said. “The military has relaxed its hold on the media and so things are some what normal. The town has been a bit quiet in the last few days, but today it was as busy as a Friday holiday.”

CHINESE PROTESTANTS TO RESTORE NEO-GOTHIC ANGLICAN CHURCH

China’s state-sanctioned Protestant church, the Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM), unveiled plans to restore Shanghai’s colonial-era Anglican cathedral, Holy Trinity. The neo-Gothic cathedral, designed in the 1860s by Sir Gilbert Scott, the leading architect of the day, was the central focus of Anglicanism in the Far East for nearly a century. After more than 50 years in the hands of the local communist party, the church fell into serious disrepair. Two years ago the church was handed to the TSPM which has made ambitious plans for a multi-million-dollar renovation. The church will be refitted in traditional style with mahogany pews. The spire, which was knocked down during China’s Cultural Revolution, will be rebuilt. The two-year project is expected to begin later this month. (WorldWide Religious News)

RUSSIAN PRIEST, FAMILY BURNED IN HOUSE FIRE, ARSON POSSIBLE

A Russian Orthodox priest and his three young children were burned alive inside their home on Saturday, Dec. 2, in a village outside Moscow. Church and community members suspected Rev. Father Andrei Nikolayev’s house may have been the target of arson because of his strong efforts to stop alcohol abuse in the village in the Tver region about 100 miles northwest of Moscow. Alcoholics have stolen icons and other religious objects in order to sell them for money to purchase alcohol. The bodies of Andrei Nikolayev and his three children were discovered in what was left of their wooden house, but the fate of his wife, Oksana, remains unknown. She was believed to be in the house when the fire started. Police have opened an investigation into the fire. (Assist News Service)

* HCJB World Radio actively helps develop a variety of local radio ministries in Euro Asia (Central Europe, Ukraine, Russia and other countries in the Commonwealth of Independent States). Full-time positions include radio trainers, technical workers (information technology, broadcast studio design and construction), program producers and administrators. For more information send an e-mail to .

ARCHAEOLOGISTS DISCOVER 4TH-CENTURY CHRISTIAN CHURCH

A team of archaeologists led by Yitzhak Magen and Yevgeny Aharonovitch in Israel’s West Bank near Shiloh have unearthed a site believed to be one of the first formal places of Christian worship. The site, richly decorated with brightly colored mosaics and inscriptions referring to Jesus, dates back to the late 4th century. “I can’t say for sure at the moment that it’s the very first church, but it’s certainly one of the first,” Aharonovitch said as he supervised a team carrying out the final excavations before winter. An unusual inscription referred to the site as “Shiloh” which the Old Testament indicates housed the Ark of the Covenant for hundreds of years. Archaeologists are debating whether to dig further to attempt to unearth signs of the Ark’s former presence. David Rubin, a former mayor of Shiloh, added: “We believe that if they continue to dig they’ll reach back to the time of the Tabernacle,” referring to the place of worship where the Israelites housed the Ark. (Religion Today/London Telegraph)

JOEL OSTEEN TO BE FEATURED ON BARBARA WALTERS TV SPECIAL

Megachurch pastor and bestselling author Joel Osteen will be featured on the annual ABC News special, “Barbara Walters Presents: The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2006.” The hour-long program airs at 10 p.m. EST Tuesday, Dec. 12. Joel and Victoria Osteen are pastors at Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, considered the largest and most diverse church in the U.S. Osteen also authored the No. 1 New York Times bestselling book, Your Best Life Now, which has sold more than 4 million copies since its release in October 2004. Numerous national cable TV networks broadcast Lakewood Church’s services, prompting Osteen to be dubbed the nation’s “most-watched pastor.” Osteen is the first pastor to be featured on Walters’ program. (Christian Newswire)

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