Her Past, Her Present, Her Future
Because of the Apostle Paul's work in Turkey, and Saint Augustine's ministry in North Africa, most Christians know these areas had thriving churches. It is not so well known that the Iran Region also had a large church and sent missionaries to Central Asia, China, and India. It is important to understand the rich heritage Iranian Christians have and to see there are warnings to heed.
Teymour Shaheeni
Her Past
The history of the church in Iran stretches back almost to the days of Jesus; the language spoken by the first Iranian Christians was certainly the same as Jesus's.
There is a noble tradition that the Magi were the first to bring the good news of Jesus to Iran1. This might well be legend, but we do know that Parthians, Medes, and Elamites were in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost2, and probably brought news of Peter's preaching to Iran. We also know Christianity was established in Edessa, a trading post on the north-west border with Iran, as early as 150AD as there are crosses on the coins. Edessa came under the patriarch of Antioch, whose liturgy was in Aramaic, the language spoken by Jesus. The literary language is known as Syriac which was used later by Christians in Iran.
Further East than Edessa, near the Tigris, the much disputed 'Chronicle of Arbela' traces its line of bishops back to 104AD and claims that in 117/118 its second Bishop Semsoun was martyred by the Zoroastrians3 who were outraged at his evangelistic success. More reliable is the inscription on a monument4, possibly erected in the mid 2nd Century, in honour of Bishop Abercius of Hierapolis. The inscription refers to a journey the bishop had made across the Iranian plateau. The Bishop had written - 'Everywhere I found people with whom to speak’ (i.e. Christians).
'Tatian The Assyrian', (pupil of the church father Justin Martyr), set up a Bible School between the Euphrates and Tigris in the early 170's. Though trained in the West, Tatian was unashamedly Asian, and the whole thrust of his 'Address to the Greeks'5 is the superiority of the East over the West. Tatian's outstanding contribution to Persian Christianity was his 'Harmony of the Gospels' in Syriac which was the common languages for people in the villages. With this translation, Christianity spread much faster in Asia. Tatian was also a radical ascetic, even hinting that sex in marriage was corrupt. This deeply affected the character of the Eastern church.
After Tatian, the Persian church grew rapidly, and by the late 200's there is clearly a national Persian Church organised around the Sassanid capital of Seleucia-Ctestphon, with an arch-bishop and bishops. Such is the importance of the Persian Church, she is represented at the Council of Nicaea of 325 by Jacob of Nisibis.
In 344, Persian Christians had their first taste of persecution. As Christianity was perceived as coming from Rome, the patriotism of the Christians was always a matter of suspicion, and the Zoroastrians made the most of this. On Good Friday 344 five bishops and a hundred clergy were beheaded. King Shapur II then persecuted the church for the next 60 years. The crime of the Christians is summed up by the King - 'These Nazarenes inhabit our country and share the sentiments of our enemy Caesar.'
The persecution finally ended in the early 420's when relations with Rome and Persia improved. The church in Iran accepted the Nicene Creed, and became a part of the Catholic Church. Such unity was not to last long.
The church in Iran was spared the Arian controversy, but got fully embroiled in the great 5th century Christological debate between Cyril, Bishop of Alexandria and Nestorius, Bishop of Constantinople. Cyril's views, that the divine and human natures of Christ were both fully present in Jesus the man, prevailed in the West, and Nestorius' view, that the union between the divine and human in Jesus was progressive and not complete till the ascension, prevailed in the East, and so in Iran. The final parting of the ways occurred in 451 after the Council of Chalcedon.
In Iran the teachings of Nestorius were zealously pushed forward by Bishop Bar Sauma. The church in Iran grew extensively, spreading throughout the whole country, and had influence in the corridors of power. King Kavad actively campaigned for Nestorius' teaching, Khosrow the Great (531-579), welcomed Christians in his court, and Bishop Mar Aba was his trusted friend.
Monasticism and asceticism were the dominant characteristics of this thriving Nestorian church. There were monasteries both in wild and inaccessible places, and in villages and towns. The monks were seen as the ideal Christians, and their asceticism was indivisible from their Christianity. Closely linked to this asceticism was the church's missionary work. 'Its monasticism was....missionary through and through,' writes David Bosch, 'to make it the missionary church 'par excellence.'6 This meant that by 340 'the way to India was strewn with bishoprics and monasteries'.7 The emphasis on asceticism also meant church life was very serious in Persia. All Christians had to attend church and the deacon had to see that 'no one whispers, falls asleep, laughs, or make signs.'8 There were also very strict rules about dress, marriage and bringing up children. In short, asceticism and Christianity became almost indivisible. And asceticism lends itself naturally to martyrdom and sadly, as seen, this became an early feature of the Persian church.
Any hope of the church remaining an established institution withered when the Arabs conquered Iran in 642 and brought their new religion, Islam. It is a gross injustice to present the coming of Islam to Persia as the coming of relentless persecution to Christianity. Unlike the Christian Crusaders who were to wantonly slaughter Jew and Muslim, the Muslim respected Christians as people of the 'book', i.e. people with Scriptures. Nevertheless they made them into second class citizens, imposing on them a poll tax and other restrictions, such as not being able to publicly display a cross. Still Christians continued to enjoy positions of importance in the Persian state because the bishops made sure their congregations were well educated.
It was in fact under Islam, that the monastic-missionary element in the Iranian church thrived. Missionaries were sent to Central Asia, India, China, and even England. In Central Asia Iranian missionaries led thousands to Christ among the Huns in Transoxiana, the Keraites of Mongolia, and the Onguts from near the Yellow River. Persians established congregations in Ceylon, along the Malabar coast, and probably near Madras where there are crosses with inscriptions in Persian on them. In China there is the testimony of the famous Sian Fu stone, a 9 foot high block of limestone now in the Vatican museum. This extraordinary monument tells the story of how the Iranian missionary Alopen brought the Christian message to the court of the Emperor Tai Tsung in 635 and how the faith flourished till 800. Regarding England, there is a legend that a Persian missionary came to East Anglia in the 7th century and the town of St Ives is named after him. There is nothing inherently impossible about this.
The Iranian church was restricted under the early Muslim rulers, and at first, when the Mongols became the new regional rulers in the 12th century, there was hope they might favour Christianity. Indeed was a real possibility that Central Asia might politically turn Christian. Hulego (1256 - 1265) and his Christian princess, Dukas, were favourable to Christianity, as were his successors, but the defeat of the Crusaders at Acre in 1291 swayed the Mongols away from a Mongol - Christian alliance in favour of the Muslims. Instead, Ghazan (1291-1304 ) took power in Persia as a Muslim and ordered the destruction of all churches. Persecution now became the norm for Christians, and then in 1369, with the arrival of Tamerlane, 'The Scourge of God and Terror of the World,' the church was completely swept away.
The remains of the Assyrian Church retreated to the north-west of Iran. Sadly these Christians managed to argue with each other, so that by 1551 there were two lines of Patriarchs: one based at Urumiyeh, and the original one at Mosul.
Apart from the Assyrians, Iran had minimal contact with Christianity in the early medieval period; just a few Roman Catholic priests came attached to diplomatic or trading missions. The situation changed in 1604 when the king, Shah Abbas, forced about 30,000 families to move from Armenia to help adorn his new capital, Isfahan, with public buildings. These Armenians were Orthodox Christians and their presence at the heart of Iran certainly meant Iranian Muslims had contact with Christianity, but till this century the Armenians weren't a missionary force. They were Christians; the Iranians were Muslim, and that was that.
The situation was made worse in the 18th and 19th century by the tendency of the Roman Catholic missionaries who ventured into Iran to try and convert the Armenians who fiercely resisted. So the enquiring Muslim soon saw how the Christians would fight with each other.
The modern Protestant missionary movement was started by the Moravians in the 18th century, the group famous for their role in the conversion of John Wesley. And in fact the very first Protestant missionaries to Iran were two German Moravians - Hoecker and Rueffer. They were constantly harassed and twice robbed of all they owned, even their clothes. Rueffer died of the hardship he endured. In 1811 the English mathematician and linguist, Henry Martyn, arrived in Iran. He had already translated the New Testament into Bengali, and having seen the dominance of Persian in Asia, had started work on a Persian New Testament. He settled in Shiraz to check his translation and soon got involved in lengthy disputes with local Muslim leaders. Such was the effect of these disputations that the Mullahs wrote tracts against him. Martyn finished the New Testament in 1812 - and died the same year of fever just across the Turkish border outside Tokat. He was 31. A servant remembers him as a man ' who lived close to God.'
Protestant missionaries followed Martyn's steps to Iran in the 19th century. Many first went to Urumiyeh to work among the old Assyrian church. These Christians were poor, illiterate, clearly needed help, and by working with them, the missionaries faced no opposition from the Muslims. Unfortunately all the missionaries represented different groups, so at the turn of the century there were nine societies there. As one historian has written - 'There was perhaps no missionary field in the world where there were so many rival 'Christian' forces at work as were found in Urumiyeh.'
Towards the end of the 19th Century, till the Islamic Revolution in 1979 the Anglican Church Missionary Society and the American Presbyterians came to dominate the Protestant mission to Iran. They generally stayed clear of Urmiah, and developed a gentlemanly agreement that the American Prebyterians would cover the north of the country, the English CMS, the south. Mission stations were established in most major cities; hospitals and schools were built; the whole Bible was translated, revisions were made; liturgy and Christian books were translated and small congregations gathered around the mission stations in Tabriz, Tehran, Isfahan, Hamadan, Mashad, Kermanshah, Shiraz, and Kerman.
This era of mission has many heroes. Most noted were Dr Miller, from the Presbyterians in the north, and Rev. Sharp, for CMS in the south. Dr Miller's book ' My Persian Pilgrimage' is the classic biography of a dedicated soul winner. Rev. Sharp preached Christ in Iran for over 40 years, became an expert in Pahlavi,9 and built many beautiful churches.
Despite the sincere work of both American and English missionaries, there was no massive church growth, because there was no 'people movement' in Iran, as there was in the Punjab or in South India, or among some of the tribes of central Africa. There was no influx of whole families who had turned to Christ. Missionary congregations tended to be made up of a few Muslim converts, and people from other backgrounds - Armenian, Assyrians, Jewish, and of course, Westerners.
This meant the mission churches were never able to establish themselves as truly Persian. To the Iranian, they always seemed 'farangi', foreign. To become a Christian meant not just betraying one's faith, but also ones country. Some might argue that these missionaries spent too much time running hospitals and schools, and not enough time going out to find the groups who would respond to the gospel. They would reply that many came to faith through meeting needs - and that at all the schools and hospitals the gospel was faithfully preached.
Though most Armenians clung tenaciously to their Orthodox faith, some did become Protestants. One of these was Seth Yeghnazar who to hundreds of Iranian Christians today is known affectionately as 'Papa' Seth in recognition of the spiritual influence he has had in the Iranian church. Born in 1911, Seth Yeghnazar became a committed follower of Christ in 1933. He became known as a man of prayer and fasting, and in the 1950's he started a daily prayer and Bible teaching meeting in his house in Tehran10. Many of today's church leaders - and two of her martyrs - became Christians in this prayer meeting. In 1960 this prayer meeting was re-organised by young and enthusiastic leaders and it became an indigenous church. Though this church later joined the international Assemblies of God denomination, it is important to stress that it has always been a completely indigenous Iranian church.
Before the 1979 Islamic revolution the Assembly of God church enjoyed steady growth. Immediately after Khomeini's return to Iran, when freedom was in the air and no one power dominated politics, this church was packed. So many people were trying to squeeze in, there had to be two services on Friday (Iran's only day off). On the streets evangelists were able to sell thousands of Bibles with no interference.
After an initial period of freedom, the regime in Iran became more restrictive and though the Iranian government does not officially oppose Christianity, the church has suffered. Fanatics first attacked the Anglican Church, because of its links with imperialist Britain and the number of converts from Islam. They later turned their hatred to the Assemblies of God churches. To date seven prominent Christians have been martyred in Iran11.
Despite this persecution, the Assemblies of God Church has continued to grow, especially in Tehran. The Presbyterian and Anglican Churches have not fared so well. A number of their churches have been closed down, and seeing no future for themselves, nearly all the children of Anglican Christians in the 1960's have emigrated to the West. There has also been massive emigration among the Assyrian and Armenian Christians.
From the mid 4th century till 1369 the Iranian church was a major institution, with a missionary force to be reckoned with. With the coming of Tamerlane, the church was almost snuffed out and has never recovered. Neither the Roman Catholics nor the Protestants managed to establish national churches after more than 150 years of continuous effort. Since 1979 the only church which has grown significantly is the Assemblies of God church. This Church was started by Armenians who sacrificed using their mother tongue and held services in Persian to reach Persian speakers. Now the majority in this church are Persian speaking.
Her Present
The vision of the Assemblies of God church is to reach every Iranian with the Gospel. And despite the difficult circumstances they work under, they are very active. However Iran is a vast country and it is important to understand that the church's presence is still very limited.
The largest congregations are in Tehran. The largest Protestant church, the Assemblies of God, will see up to 300 coming to their main services. This church also operates a very successful 'Sunday' school for children, and a night school for members to study theology. Congregations in other churches, such as the Anglican, Presbyterian, Brethren and Assyrian would have less. The Bible Society12 has been closed, and there are no Christian book-shops in Tehran. However, despite many threats, the churches continue to preach the Gospel, and Muslims come to faith. Christians also make sure interested people can eventually have a Bible or a copy of the 'Jesus' film.
Outside Tehran the church's presence is even more limited. Apart from the Armenian Orthodox there are only two congregations in Isphahan (pop. 1 million), the Anglicans and the Assemblies of God, both with congregations of around 20. In Shiraz (pop. 1 million) there is the Anglican congregation, numbering about 12, and some other believers. In Urumiyeh there is an Assemblies of God church of about 100 members, and in Rasht there is a thriving Assemblies of God church with about 70 members. In Kerman, Mashad, Tabriz, Ahwaz, and Kermanshah the church has been closed, but Christians do manage to have fellowship. In other major cities such as Bandar Abbas and Zahedan there is no Protestant church. And also in the thousands of small towns and villages there is no church.
The situation outside Tehran is much tenser because fanatical forces have more leeway. This is because there is little exposure to the international media. In Isfahan and Shiraz Muslims are very wary about attending church because of the threat of intimidation. Whenever the Anglican priest visits Shiraz he receives phone calls from strangers telling him he is not welcome.
It is difficult for the churches to hold conferences. However many do manage to get to conferences when they are abroad. For since the 1979 revolution which resulted in nearly 4 to 5 million Iranians leaving their country, fellowships have sprung up in many major cities. These churches not only hold conferences, but some are very active in helping the church in Iran, mainly in producing resources and opportunities for training.
Her Future
For most of her history the Christians in Iran have been at best a tolerated minority, and at worst have been severely persecuted. In recent years the church has again suffered a time of persecution, and there is no certainty that this will cease even if 'Reformers' do gain the upper hand in the present internal struggle for power.
However there are some factors that might indicate that Christianity will become more influential in the Iran Region: -Iranians are very open to the Gospel, with ongoing help the church will soon have more well trained and equipped leaders, and new technology means millions can be reached.
Since 1979 more Iranians have come to a personal faith in Christ than at any other time in the modern period. Any one involved with missionary work to the Middle East will confirm that Iranians have been very open to the Gospel since the upheaval of the revolution and the horrors of the Iran-Iraq war. Indeed it is true to say they are the most open people to the Christian message in the Islamic world. If there were religious freedom in Iran, there is no doubt that for a period churches would be packed with enquirers.
There is always a need for more leaders and it is now possible for any Iranian to obtain the Associate of Arts Diploma in the Bible and Theology - by just studying in Persian. Iranians can study either by correspondence or at a residential Bible school13. Already more than a 100 have done this. Not only is there leadership training, but now more theological books are available in Persian than ever before.
It is still virtually impossible for a Muslim convert to have a very high profile public ministry in Iran, but now for the first time since the 6th C. there is a second generation of Iranian Christians, committed to Christ and evangelism. Unlike their parents who faced alienation and possible execution for apostasy, this generation faces no such pressure and can get involved in church leadership.
These leaders are slowly being better equipped. Already they have a number of evangelistic videos and books they can use, along with an old translation of the Bible and the Living Bible. But by early 2001 a new translation of New Testament will be available for 100 million Persian speakers. This translation will be similar in standard to the New International Version in English. The whole Bible will be available by 2005. The old Bible has been difficult to understand in places, so the New Translation will inevitably make a deep impact on the church and seekers.
Evangelism is also happening independently of the church. Radio has played an important part in reaching Iran for the last 30 years and no with the emergence of satellite TV and the Internet there are even more ways of reaching people with the Gospel. This is particularly relevant if the Reformers gain more power as they want to loosen up media restrictions. Through new technology the Gospel is being sown - but it will be for the church to reap.
Perhaps most important of all there is the mounting wave of prayer for Iran. The tragic martyrdoms of 1994 put Iran on the front page of Christian newspapers around the world, and spurred people to pray. Koreans besieged the Iranian embassy in Seoul, asking for visas to go to the funeral of Bishop Haik Hovsepian-Mehr. They weren't given visas - but nobody can stop the Koreans praying. Because of the martyrdoms later in 1994 there was an international day of prayer for Iran. And with Iranians scattered from New Zealand to California, many more Christians are aware of Iran and so been spurred to pray.
None of the above guarantees church growth. Indeed given the history of the church of Iran it would be a naive optimist who assumed the success of Christianity in Iran was a certainty. But only the cynical pessimist would say there will be no church growth. Not only is there a manifest interest in Christianity, an increasing number of well trained leaders, and increasing opportunities for evangelism, but also, there is the simple fact that God's will, revealed in the Bible, is that the Gospel should be preached to every human being and the church should grow, however virulent the opposition.
Teymour Shaheeni is a Bible College lecturer who specialises in Church History
1 See R. Waterfield 'Christians in Persia'
2 Acts 2: 9
3 See S. Moffett, 'A History of Christianity in Asia', page 72.
4 This monument was discovered by W.M. Ramsey in 1883.
5 See S. Moffett, page 74
6David Bosch 'Transforming Mission' 1991.
7A. Mingana 'The Early Spread of Christianity in Central Asia and the Far East.' 1929
8The Teaching of the Apostles, a 3rd Century Manuel for the Church
9Pahlavi was the ancient alphabet of Persia
10For four years every evening without exception these meetings were also open to the public
11Rev. Sayyah ( 1980 ), Bahram Deghani (1980 ),Rev. Soodmand ( 1990 ) Bishop Haik Hovsepian-Mehr, ( 1994 ),
Mehdi Dibaj (1994 ), Rev Tateos Michaelian ( 1994 ), Ravanbaksh ( 1997 )
12The Bible Society in Iran was opened by the Russian Bible Society in 1816. Till its closure in 1990 it was very active in distributing scriptures.
13In 1990, due to restrictions in Iran, Elam Ministries established a residential bible school just outside London, England. Formerly know as the Iranian Bible Training Center it is now Elam College.