Sainte-Famille Church in Kigali (Photo: Flickr/AdamJones/CC)

基加利省的圣家堂教堂

Six pastors have been arrested and accused of “masterminding” a ploy to disobey the Rwandan government’s order to shut down over 700 churches in one province.

卢旺达一个省份的6位牧师以“策划”反对政府命令的罪名被捕，超过700座教会被关闭。

The pastors were alleged to have held “illegal meetings with bad intentions”, the BBC reported.

BBC报道称这些牧师被控举行“不良意图的非法会议”。

The churches in the central province of Kigali were ordered to halt operations until they meet building regulations, safety and hygiene standards,and pollution laws, according to South Africa-based News 24.

据南非新闻24报道，中央基加利省的教会被命令停止运作，直到他们满足建筑、安全、卫生标准以及污染法律等条件为止。

Rwanda National Police spokesperson Theos Badage told journalists on Monday, 5 March, that the six “ring leaders” were aiming to mobilize other clergy against the authorities. It is not clear when the arrested clergymen will appear in court.

卢旺达国家警察局发言人塞奥斯·巴达奇在3月5日（星期一）对记者说，这六名“环首领”的目的是动员其他神职人员对抗当局。目前尚不清楚被捕的神职人员何时出庭。

Other church representatives have criticized the government’s order.Bishop Innocent Nzeyimana, president of the Churches Forum in Kigali’s Nyarugenge district, said: “Those that failed to implement a few requirements should be reopened and allowed to work while fixing the problems raised.”

其他教会代表批评政府的命令。基加利Nyarugenge区教会论坛主席Innocent Nzeyimana主教表示：“那些未能实施一些要求的教会应该重新开放，并允许在解决问题的同时正常运行。”

Rwandan president Paul Kagame said last week that he was surprised at how many churches there were in Kigali.

上周卢旺达总统保罗·卡加梅说他非常惊奇在基加利省有那么多的教会。

“Seven hundred churches in Kigali? Are these boreholes that give people water? I don’t think we have as many boreholes. Do we even have as many factories? But 700 churches, which you even had to close? This has been a mess!” he was quoted as saying by Kenya-based Nairobi News.

“基加利有700多家教会？这些钻孔能给人供水吗？我不认为我们有这么多的钻孔。我们是否有足够多的工厂呢？但是却有700家教会，还被你们关闭了？这简直是一团糟。”肯尼亚内罗毕新闻引述他的话。

Churches in other provinces are also expected to be affected by the crackdown in the coming months, according to News24.

据新闻24称，其他省的教会可能也在接下来的这个月面临被关闭的状况。

Rwanda is deeply Christian – 44 per cent Catholic and 38 percent Protestant – but the government strictly regulates all public events, including church services. In 2014, several Pentecostal church leaders were arrested for forming an unauthorized branch of the Church.

卢旺达是基督教为主的国家--44%的天主教和38%的新教--但是政府严格限制所有的公众活动，包括教会礼拜。在2014年，几个五旬节派教会领袖因为成立未经授权的分支教会而被捕。

The country is now preparing a new law on faith-based organizations,which will require preachers to undertake theological courses. The law is expected to allow the authorities to control preachers more closely.

国家针对信仰组织正在制定一项新的法律，要求牧师必须经过神学课程培训。当局想要通过这项法律更好的控制传教士。