Chinese churchgoers arrested, forbidden to meet

Chinese authorities arrested more than 100 members of China’s Early Rain Covenant Church, including the lead pastor, in a widespread raid Sunday evening. Early Rain is one of the best-known unregistered, Christian house churches in China. ChinaAid said the crackdown began at 6 p.m. on Sunday as authorities showed up at members’ homes and at the seminary in Chengdu in the southwest Sichuan province. Officials arrested Pastor Wang Yi and his wife, Jiang Rong. Zhang Guoqiang, an assistant deacon who was released Monday morning, is now under full government surveillance. “The police said our church is an illegal organization and we cannot attend any more gatherings from now on,” he told the South China Morning Post.