Get comprehensive Orthodox Christian news from Crusaders Call. We cover persecution of Orthodox believers, updates from Orthodox patriarchates, theological developments, and challenges facing Orthodox communities worldwide. Our reporting includes coverage of the Russian Orthodox Church, Greek Orthodox communities, Oriental Orthodox churches, and Orthodox witness under hostile regimes.
Europe
Paris, France — Approximately 40,000 French Muslims have left France in recent years amid the government's systematic crackdown on Islamic organizations and implementation of strict secularism policies, according to reports from Muslim community leaders and French government data. France's aggressive counter-extremism measures have resulted in the
Orthodox News
Washington, D.C. — White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed Thursday that President Donald Trump has not discussed plans to rebuild the Third Temple in Jerusalem, responding to an unusual question during the daily press briefing. 0:00 /0:23 1× Jake Turx, White House correspondent for Mishpacha magazine, asked:
Orthodox News
Jerusalem — Archaeologists have unearthed the first Assyrian inscription ever found in Jerusalem, providing direct evidence of communication between the Assyrian Empire and the Kingdom of Judah dating to approximately 2,700 years ago. The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) announced Wednesday the discovery of a tiny pottery fragment, just 2.5
Orthodox News
La Paz, Bolivia — Rodrigo Paz Pereira of the Christian Democratic Party won Bolivia's presidential runoff election on October 19, 2025, capturing 54.61% of the vote and ending nearly two decades of leftist control under the Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) party. In his victory speech, Paz, 58, thanked
Europe
Burgdorf, Switzerland — Emanuel Brünisholz, a 57-year-old wind instrument repairman from Burgdorf in the canton of Bern, will serve 10 days in prison starting December 2, 2025, after refusing to pay a fine for a Facebook comment stating there are only two biological sexes. Brünisholz's ordeal began in December
Orthodox News
Damascus, Syria — Ahmad al-Sharaa, a former member of al-Qaeda and affiliate of ISIS, now serves as president of Syria after leading rebel forces to overthrow Bashar al-Assad's regime in December 2024. Al-Sharaa, previously known by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, was on the FBI's
Middle East
Afghanistan Earthquake Exposes Deadly Cost of Taliban Gender Laws: Women Left to Die in Rubble THE NEWS Kunar Province, Afghanistan — Women trapped under rubble after a devastating earthquake in Afghanistan were left to die because Taliban laws forbid male rescuers from touching them, according to multiple reports from the disaster
Asia
Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan — A pastor tortured in a Kyrgyzstan prison has suffered traumatic brain injuries resulting in cognitive impairment, according to United Nations special rapporteurs and human rights group Forum 18. Prison Chief Major Azat Kudaybergenov informed relatives of Reverend Pavel Shreider, a 65-year-old True and Free Reform Adventist pastor, in
USA
San Antonio, Texas — Multiple churches in San Antonio were vandalized with graffiti during nationwide "No Kings" protests against the Trump administration on October 18. Pastor Ed Newton of Community Bible Church in San Antonio shared pictures on Facebook of vandalism sustained by his church amid the No Kings
Orthodox News
Assiut, Egypt — An 18-year-old middle-class Coptic Christian woman disappeared on June 1 after going to school, caught in what Coptic Solidarity describes as a sophisticated Islamist trafficking network using social media to groom and abduct Christian girls. A network of Muslim girls at her school in Assiut Governate had targeted
Asia
Global — Christians, particularly converts from Islam, face disproportionate vulnerability to human trafficking in countries with high levels of religious persecution, according to International Christian Concern. In the 50 countries with the highest levels of Christian persecution, forced marriages of women have increased by 16 percent. At least 90 percent of
Orthodox News
Oslo, Norway - The Church of Norway formally apologized to the country's LGBTQ+ community on Thursday, October 16, 2025, for decades of discrimination and harassment. Presiding Bishop Olav Fykse Tveit delivered the apology at the London Pub in Oslo, a gay bar that was the site of a