Two Christian leaders in Azerbaijan have been fined 1,500 Azerbaijani Manats each, or $850, for holding an "illegal" prayer meeting, according to World Watch Monitor.
Chinese Christians training missionaries to share the gospel in North Korea – ranked the worst country in the world for Christian persecution – say they have "no fears" about the brutal treatment they may face.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has just won the TIME Reader's Poll for person of the year and yet under his government, Christians in India are facing increased violence, attacks and restrictions.
A possible landmark deal that would see China and the Vatican come to an agreement on the appointment of bishops would be "betraying Jesus Christ", China's most senior Catholic cleric has said.
ISIS has systematically killed, captured and enslaved thousands of Yazidis, whose beliefs combine elements of several ancient Middle Eastern religions and are regarded by Islamic State as devil-worshippers.
More than 540,000 people have now signed a petition urging the Pakistani government not to execute the Christian mother of five sentenced to death for blasphemy.
The early Church experienced phenomenal growth but also great persecution, reports scholar Scot McKnight. Some of the attacks it received might sound familiar.