Pastor Artur Pawlowski was born under Soviet rule in Poland and thought his days of living under tyranny were over when he immigrated to Canada.
But Artur soon realized he faced a new threat – that if he didn’t shut down his indoor worship services or limit its capacity, he’d be in trouble.
And sure enough, on a cold windy day, a viral video showed both Artur and his brother Dawid being hauled away on their knees in handcuffs – and the reason is bound to shock you.
While government authorities all around the world have used the pandemic as an excuse to force Christians to stop meeting, many faithful pastors continue to meet even though they know the consequences of doing so could be steep.
Who could forget the saga of Pastor James Coates who was arrested and kept from his family simply for preaching the Word of God.
And now another Canadian pastor faces the same fate.
All throughout the pandemic, Artur received harassment from authorities and the local health department for holding large church services.
In fact, even during Holy Week, authorities showed up at his church demanding entry.
When he refused and sent them away, it was clear they’d be back to seek revenge.
Sure enough, just a few weeks later, the Alberta Health Services obtained a Court of Queen’s Bench Order and Calgary Police Service (CPS) served the Pastor with the order – which forced him to either comply with social distancing and mask requirements… or else.
When Artur continued to hold church services and didn’t bow down to authorities – both he and his brother were arrested.
The City Of Calgary Newsroom reported:
“The service organizer acknowledged the injunction, but chose to ignore requirements for social distancing, mask wearing and reduced capacity limits for attendees, and continued with the event.
As a result, Artur Pawlowski and Dawid Pawlowski have both been arrested and charged with organizing an illegal in-person gathering, including requesting, inciting or inviting others to attend an illegal public gathering, promoting and attending an illegal public gathering.
It is important to understand that law enforcement recognizes people’s desire to participate in faith-based gatherings as well as the right to protest. However, as we find ourselves in the midst of a global pandemic, we all must comply with public health orders in order to ensure everyone’s safety and wellbeing.”
And then in a shocking turn of events, video footage showed police dragging the brothers on their knees through the streets as they handcuffed them and threw them in the back of a police car.
We must never take for granted our freedom to worship freely – and the time is coming where we’ll see more stories like this.
Let’s continue to pray for our brothers and sisters around the world who are facing religious persecution simply for worshiping our Lord.
May God grant them the strength to stay strong through the trials and glorify His name.
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