Representatives of the Brazilian state of Para have approved a bill which prohibits holding public examinations on Saturday. The legislation was authored by Representative Martinho Carmona, president of the Para Legislative Assembly, and states that exams cannot be scheduled between 2 p.m. on Fridays through 6 p.m. on Saturdays.

“With this new development, Seventh-day Adventists, Jews and others will have the same opportunities that everyone else has,” Carmona told the O Liberal, a local newspaper. “This is nothing more than recovering a right that they did not have.”

The push for legal protection came when 13 Adventist university students faced an exam scheduled on Saturday, or Sabbath, last March. When the students approached Carmona, they were given permission to sit for the exam on a Saturday night instead. “We were happy, because in addition to helping us, President Carmona took the initiative of proposing the new bill,” said Orley de Morais, one of the 13 students. “He also accepted our invitation to speak in one of our worship services.”

Siloe Almeida, director of public affairs and religious liberty for the Adventist Church in South America, says although this new law applies only in the state of Para, there are similar laws in 15 other states in Brazil. “This approval is definitely a positive milestone for the Adventist Church in Brazil,” he says. “In standing firm for thier beliefs, our students have played a part in not only opening doors with a government official, but making the path easier for future students.”

There are some 800,000 Adventists in Brazil, worshiping in more than 3,000 churches.