Vietnam grants permission for Protestant training

HO CHONG, Vietnam — Twenty-seven years after forcibly shutting down the Nha Trang Theological Seminary, Vietnamese authorities Jan. 3 granted permission to the Evangelical Church of Vietnam (South), or ECVN (S), to open a class for training church leaders. Although a few see it as a hopeful sign, most of Vietnam’s Protestant leaders see it as a very small step toward religious freedom. When the ECVN (S), representing over half of Vietnam’s 1.2 million Protestants, received official recognition in April 2001, it made the opening of a Bible college its foremost request. The long-delayed permission came with conditions. The church cannot reclaim its substantial seminary campus at Hon Chong, confiscated in 1976, and must use temporary facilities while it builds a new seminary. Only 50 male students will be allowed to study, pending government approval after being accepted for study by the church. The ECVN (S) held the opening ceremony for the new academic year Feb. 14.