(VOVworld) – Nearly 500 representatives from 27 provinces and cities are gathering in Hanoi for the 34^th General Assembly of the Vietnam Protestant Church in the North.

The 34th General Assembly of the Vietnam Protestant Church in the North (Source: VOV)

According to a representative of the Vietnam Protestant Church in the North, the church currently has 950 affiliates with with 150,000 followers. In the past, Protestant followers have performed both their citizenship and religious duties responsibly. The number of dignitaries and followers have continuously increased year on year. The General Assembly will focus on the unification of the Evangelical Churches of the North and the South. Pastor Phung Quang Huyen, Deputy Head of the Vietnam Protestant Church in the North, said: "The desire of both dignitaries and followers in the North and the South is to have the two branches unified. The Executive Boards of the two regions have met and taken into consideration of a draft on the unification charter and will submit it to the Government Committee for Religious Affairs for approval. I hope that a unified General Assembly will soon be held. In the past, there was only one name “Vietnam Protestant Church”.

At the General Assembly, representatives of the Vietnam Fatherland Front and the Government Committee for Religious Affairs expressed their hope that the Vietnam Protestant Church in the North would continue to express the spirit of solidarity and to co-exist in harmony with other religions.