Vietnam: Protestant sects receive certificates of religious practice

Two large Protestant sects in Ho Chi Minh City - the Vietnam Seventh-Day Adventist Church and the Vietnam Grace Baptist Church - have officially received certificates of religious practice.

The certificates were handed over to the sects’ dignitaries by Nguyen Thanh Xuan, Vice Chairman of the Government Committee for Religious Affairs, who wished them a merry Christmas at a ceremony held on December 23.

Pastor Tran Cong Tan, Acting President of the Vietnam Seventh-Day Adventist Church expressed thanks to the Party, State and local authorities for their support and assistance to the Church’s activities. He affirmed that the Church’s activities would be in line with the motto of worshiping the God and serving the nation.

Pastor Le Quoc Chanh, President of the Vietnam Grace Baptist Church also expressed his delight and his wish to actively participate in social and humanitarian activities and movements.

At the ceremony, Vice Chairman of the Government Committee for Religious Affairs Nguyen Thanh Xuan affirmed that the Vietnam Seventh-Day Adventist Church and the Vietnam Grace Baptist Church are provided with all legitimate rights as well as favourable conditions for performing religious practice, printing and publishing prayer books, building or upgrading worship places and organising seminars and religious events.

Established in Vietnam in 1929, the Vietnam Seventh-Day Adventist Church currently has seven pastors and close to 13,000 followers, of whom 5,500 are Kinh people, and more than 7,400 are ethnic minorities.

The Vietnam Seventh-Day Adventist Church has seven chapters in 25 provinces and cities which have been well operating since 1975.

The Vietnam Grace Baptist Church came into being in the country in 1962 and its membership includes three pastors, 21 missionaries and 2,592 followers living mostly Ho Chi Minh City, Can Tho city and the Mekong delta provinces of An Giang, Kien Giang, Ninh Thuan, Hau Giang and Soc Trang.

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