Christians in the last remaining church in a Turkish town face eviction after the city council refused to allow them to continue worshipping.
Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox congregations all share one building in the Bursa, known locally as "The French Church". However authorities have given worshippers until March 26 to leave the building which is the only Christian place of worship in the town in north-west Turkey, according to Middle East Concern (MEC).
The Bursa Municipality had agreed the building could be used for Christian worship after it was restored in 2004. For over a decade the Church has been home to around 200 people from four different congregations: German Catholic, Latin Catholic, Orthodox and Turkish Protestant, the persecution charity said in a statement.
However after the Church leaders submitted an application to renew their permit to use the building for religious purposes, it was blocked by "an element within the city council", MEC said.
On February 18 an official from the building's owner, the Directorate General of Foundations, informed congregants they must leave the building by March 23, a deadline later revised to March 26.
However Christian Today has been told the Directorate General has since backtracked on his original demands and the opposition appears to come from certain individuals within the city council who oppose the church.
Church officials are in dialogue with the city council, which issues permits for buildings serving a religious purpose, and the Directorate General.
A spokesman from MEC told Christian Today "The pastor has been overwhelmed by the support of local citizens and national and local media".
He added that as a result of this support both locally and internationally, "it would be very strange if the council resisted renewing the permit, but it could depend on the position and influence of the person(s) who might have been behind the original order to leave the premises".
MEC has asked supporters to pray that "the discussions will be positive" and "those in the municipality who are causing difficulties will have a change of heart".
