Christian Leaders Testify to New Expressions of Religious Freedom in Iran

By Fred Strickert

“Iran has embarked upon the road of religious freedom. Christians and members of other religions worship freely. The churches in Tehran…do not hide their Christian identity. They display the cross openly on their buildings and it can be seen from many vantage points.”

—Dr. Bernard Sabella, Al-Quds, Jerusalem, May 8, 2001.

“The real surprise was the freedom the Christian minority enjoys in Iran. The churches are established and no stumbling blocks are put in the way of Christian activity. Bishops and clergy don their vestments openly.”

—Dr. Anba Yuhanna Qoltah, Al-Ahram, Cairo, May 10, 2001.

“Iran is the freest country for religious minorities.”

—Armenian Archbishop Ardavas Tartarian, The Tehran Times, July 30, 2001.

While Washington continues its policy of isolating Tehran, religious leaders testify to a pattern of openness to inter-religious dialogue and for the free expression of religion among Iran’s minorities.

To be sure, shariah (Islamic law) is the basis of the legal code in the Islamic Republic of Iran, where 98 percent of its 66 million population is Muslim. Christians cannot expect full equality and must be realistic about the challenges of their minority status. Nevertheless, the West would do well to take notice. Indeed, few in the West are even aware of a Christian presence in Iran.

Iran’s Christian Minority

According to an early tradition, the Apostle Thaddeus traveled to northwestern Iran, where he preached and was martyred. More verifiable is the evidence that 3rd century Mesopotamian missionary efforts were successful in planting churches which remained resilient under oppressive Zoroastrian rule from 339-650 C.E. and then under the Islamization of Iran.

Today the Christian population numbers about 310,000. Most of these—80 percent—belong to the Armenian Apostolic Church and are concentrated in the cities of Tehran, Isfahan and Azerbaijan. Catholics include Chaldeans and Assyrians and a small number of Armenian Catholics. A small number of Protestants are the result of 19th century missionary efforts from the Anglican Church and from the Presbyterian Church in the USA. Today they are known as the Evangelical Church of Iran and include Armenian, Assyrian and Persian evangelical churches. A very small Greek Orthodox presence and a few non-ecumenical groups round out the spectrum of Iranian Christians.

Armenian Pilgrimage

With the recent 1,700-year anniversary of Christianity in Armenia, it is not surprising that Armenian church leaders have made a number of official visits to Iran. Two summers ago His Holiness Aram 1 Keshishian, Catholicos of the House of Cilicia of the Armenian Apostolic Church, led a delegation visiting both church and political leaders and delivering several lectures.

In a July 17, 2000 meeting, Iranian President Muhammad Khatami assured Aram that he saw himself as president of all Iranians, including Armenians, and would defend their rights. The Armenian cleric, in turn, expressed appreciation for the president’s support of the Armenian community and his expectation of greater openness in the future as they continued working together.

The highlight of Aram’s visit was the July 29 pilgrimage to Qareh Kelish, 373 miles northwest of Tehran, where an early 7th century black stone church commemorates the martyrdom of the Apostle Thaddeus. While several thousand Iranians generally participate in this annual pilgrimage, that year the ranks swelled to ten thousand, many coming from as far away as Britain and the United States. Observers noted that for the first time the government had provided facilities such as electricity for this site and had relaxed its own rules to accommodate worshippers—including allowing women to appear without the hijab and to mingle freely in the company of men.

MECC Executive Board Meets in Tehran

“Opportunities for and government openness to dialogue between Christians and Muslims are perhaps greater now than at any other time since 1979,” wrote Peter Makari in the Autumn 1998 issue of MECC NewsReport.

As a result, the executive committee of the Middle East Council of Churches met in Tehran from April 26 to May 2, 2001 at the invitation of Armenian Apostolic Bishop Sibouh Sarkissian and of the Organization for Islamic Culture and Communication in Iran.

Participants visited churches in Tehran and Isfahan and interacted with both Christian and Muslim communities. “At the Sunday morning Mass, the church was crowded with believers,” noted Dr. Bernard Sabella of the MECC delegation. “On Sunday evening the church choir of some 70 members (directed by Mahran Ghazalian) presented a program of sacred hymns…Some 2,000 attended.” (MECC NewsReport, Summer 2001, pp. 6-9.)

Another participant, Ms. Vera Abi-Habib of Lebanon, recalled, “Wherever we went people greeted us. They went out of their way to help, especially the young men.”

Lutheran Bishop Munib Younan, who was invited as guest preacher at one of the largest evangelical churches, was impressed by the sincerity of the members of the congregation. “I preached a simple sermon about the Holy Communion,” he said, “but they felt so encouraged by connections with Christians from the outside world, especially with a bishop from Jerusalem.”

In addition to visits with the Christian community, the delegation participated in a Muslim-Christian dialogue under the auspices of the Organization for Islamic Culture and Communication in the Islamic Republic of Iran. In addressing the dialogue Ayatollah Muhammad al Taskhir emphasized the role of religion in guiding people toward God and against evil impulses. No one religious community, he noted, can claim to have a monopoly on that path, and he warned against those who distort it, such as Christianity’s Crusaders and Islam’s Taliban—this in a pre-Sept. 11 speech.

Religious dialogue is the way of the future, Taskhir argued, noting that President Khatami had declared 2001 as the “Year of Dialogue Among Civilizations.”

One of the reasons for Tehran’s openness to dialogue has been the impact made by Christian relief agencies in Iran, especially following the 1997 Khorasan earthquake. Last October, MECC, together with Action by Christians Together (ACT), began relief efforts as well along the eastern border of Iran, where over two and a half million Afghans have sought refuge. Mustafa Mohaghegh of Iran’s International Affairs Department observed that many different agencies have made inquiries about aid, but the MECC was first to offer quick assistance (see <http://www.mecchurches.org/newsreport/vol13_3_4/index.asp>).

Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew

The most recent Christian delegation to Iran was led by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of the Greek Orthodox Church. His four-day visit this past January included meetings with President Khatami and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as well as celebrating mass at a Greek Orthodox church in Tehran.

“We find ourselves before two ways: violent imposition of our views and aims, or dialogue about finding means of peaceful coexistence with those who disagree with us,” Bartholomew was quoted in an AP story as addressing an interfaith seminar in Tehran.

“If we continue to disagree, despite having dialogue,” he concluded, “we are obligated to tolerate each other in peace.”

Fred Strickert is professor of religion at Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa.

SIDEBAR

EMEU to Hold Conference in Beirut

Evangelicals for Middle East Understanding will celebrate its 15th anniversary with a conference in Beirut, Lebanon, May 19 to 22. The conference, the theme of which is “The Church: Signs of Hope and Healing in the Middle East,” originally had been scheduled for October 2001, but was postponed.

Co-sponsored by the Middle East Council of Churches, the conference will be held at the Lady of the Mountain Monastery overlooking Beirut and the Mediterranean. Optional tours of Lebanon and Syria will be offered following the conference.

—F.S.