After Timur Khan’s attack
Timur Lang’s attack on Iran and the distress it caused in the political and social situation of Iran, along with the countless devastations and damages that were inflicted on the body of this land and its suffering people, had the result that the suffering and sick Nestorian Church It also became its smallest limit.
From this date onward, the absolute majority of Iran’s population consisted of Sunni and Shiite Muslims, and Zoroastrians, Christians, and Jews were a very small minority. From this date onwards, although the phenomenon called the Church of Iran practically no longer exists, Christianity continued its presence in Iran due to the activities of foreign missionaries and the settlement of Armenians inside Iran.
The activity of Catholic missionaries
The presence of the Portuguese in Hormuz Island
An important event happened in the 16th century, at the beginning of the Safavid period, which is very important for the history of Christianity in Iran, because it opened the feet of missionaries to Iran. In 1507, the Portuguese captured the island of Hormuz and turned it into an important center of international trade. The population of Hormuz Island was a mixture of Arabs, Jews and Iranians. In 1575, a number of Portuguese monks came to this island to serve the Portuguese Catholics living there.
Dispatch of the papal representative
Another important event that happened at this time was the sending of a Venetian nobleman by the Pope in 1584 (Giambattista Vecchietti) named John Battista Vecchietti. Although his mission was primarily political, he devoted himself mostly to religious activities. What we should remember about his activities is the collection of Bible translations in Jewish-Persian language (the term Jewish-Persian means translations of the Old Testament or parts of it in Persian language but in Hebrew script).
Many of the copies he obtained were eventually sent to the Vatican Library and other prestigious libraries. Vechti did not stop at this, but tried to return this version to Persian script, so that it can be used by Persian readers.
Political-religious missions
During the time of Shah Abbas, various European countries sent numerous envoys to the Iranian court. Some of their courtiers or dependents became Christians as a result of dealing with these envoys. But this trend never spread to the masses. The intermingling of the religious activities of these messengers with their political mission created a constant suspicion in the minds of Iranians that not all messengers are trustworthy.
Displacement of Armenians
A very important event that happened during the reign of Shah Abbas was the forced migration of tens of thousands of Armenians (perhaps more than a hundred thousand people) from Armenia to different parts of Iran. Most of them were settled in a neighborhood near Isfahan; The city that was built in this way was called New Jolfa.
It is believed that Shah Abbas moved them to the interior of Iran for this reason in order to use them in the construction of royal buildings and bridges and art creation in these buildings, because there were many artists and architects among them. Due to their familiarity with foreign languages and international trade techniques, Armenians have always performed remarkable services as political and economic representatives of the Iranian court to foreign countries.
A very important point is that despite all the threats and restrictions, the Armenian people living in Iran never left their religion and culture. The greatness of standing and determination of this nation to continue its national life, in front of thousands of years of injustice and oppression, is praiseworthy!
Marcellin Carmeli
In 1604, the Pope sent a delegation of Carmelite missionaries to Iran. He arrived in Isfahan in 1604. Due to their special way of life, these people had a significant impact on the ordinary people around them and also on the Armenians. One of their leaders, Father John Thaddeus, established a close relationship with Shah Abbas.
The Carmelites were able to maintain their presence in Iran for a period of about one hundred and fifty years (probably mostly in the areas of Isfahan). Father Thaddeus tried hard to convince the Vatican to send financial and spiritual aid to build a school for Christian and non-Christian children, but his zeal met with the Vatican’s indifference. Maybe otherwise, the situation of Christianity in Iran would be different as you know!
Tyranny of the late Shah Abbas period
At the end of his reign, Shah Abbas took a very strict approach towards all Christians, whether Armenians, Georgians, or Catholics. It should be noted that in 1614, Shah Abbas moved tens of thousands of Georgians and Circassians (people in the Caucasus region) to the vicinity of Isfahan and Shiraz. Many of them were killed due to the religious prejudices of the local rulers. Many Armenians also suffered or were killed.
A decree against Christians
Just before his death in 1629, Shah Abbas issued a decree according to which every Christian who converts to Islam will have the right to inherit the property of his relatives up to the seventh back (later this was reduced to four backs). .
in the time of other Safavid kings
In 1649, a zealous Carmelite priest named Father Dimas went to the vicinity of Shiraz and Persepolis, where Georgians and other unlucky Christians lived. In one of these areas, he encountered a large number of Christian Circassians. He realized that many of them had abandoned Christianity and converted to Islam due to poverty and ignorance, but they wanted to return to the embrace of Christianity. Despite the efforts of Father Dimas, these people were left to themselves in the following years and became extinct in the Muslim community of the region, so that today there is no trace of them left.
Perhaps the experience of the English missionary in the 1930s is the last effect of this people who were once Christians. This missionary, who went to the villages around Shiraz for medical services, saw in a small village that the mother of the family was making a cross on it while baking bread. The woman did not know what this meant, but said that it was just a tradition. This woman was a Muslim.
During the time of Shah Suleiman Safavi, the situation of Christians and Jews became very pathetic. The oppression that this king allowed reached its peak in 1678. Thousands of Jews were killed, Armenians’ property was looted, their children were sold, and many of their daughters were abducted to the harem of King Bualhus. Foreign missionaries, whether Italian Carmelites or French Fathers, could not do anything other than to preserve their existence. Even some of these Catholics converted to Islam, which disgusted even Muslims.
During the period of Nadershah Afshar
In 1740, Nader Shah ordered the translation of the Holy Bible and the Qur’an into Persian. It seems that he intended to create a new and unified religion. According to his order, Jews should translate the Old Testament, Catholics should translate the Gospels, and Armenians should translate the rest of the New Testament.
This translation had to be done within six months, and it was done. But Nader Shah could not create the religion he wanted. At the end of his life, he oppressed Armenians and then Muslims. Although the Catholic missionaries did not leave a mark on history, their presence and the selfless, selfless and loving services of most of them definitely had an effect on the eternity of many poor and wretched people of Iran.
In the 19th and 20th centuries
The activity of Catholic priests, which was suspended in the middle of the 18th century due to the dire situation in the country, flourished again from the middle of the 19th century due to the efforts of a Frenchman named He was a prominent linguist named Eugene Bore and had a thorough knowledge of Eastern languages including Persian. He was sent to Isfahan on a scientific mission by the French government.
Shortly after his arrival in Isfahan, he discovered the urgent need of the Iranian society for European-style schools. His persistent efforts inspired the cooperation of others and after some time, schools were established in several Iranian cities including Tehran, Tabriz, and Isfahan. Some may still remember the Jean-Darque and Saint-Louis schools, which were founded on his thinking and worldview. Later, other Catholic groups also started activities. In the meantime, the valuable services of the little brothers and sisters of Jesus in the leper homes of Iran should be mentioned with respect.
Most of the Catholic missionaries were forced to leave Iran after the Islamic Revolution in 1357. Currently, only a few missionaries are working in the Assyrian Catholic Church and in Tabriz and Mashhad leprosy homes.
The activity of Protestant missionaries
The Moravians
The first Protestant missionaries who set foot in Iran were two German doctors. With great effort, these two entered Iran in 1747 to provide missionary services among the Zoroastrians of Yazd. But due to the insecurity of the country, they never reached Yazd and returned to Europe.
Henry Martin and the first translation of the New Testament into Persian
Henry Martin, a young English priest, went to India in 1805, at the age of 24, to translate the New Testament into one of the Indian languages as well as Persian, while serving the church among the English living in that land. He was getting help for translation; He had spent several years in Iran to learn Farsi from an Arab named “Tashet” who claimed to know Farsi well.
When the Persian translation was finished, Martin showed it to some Iranians, but he realized with regret that the Persian used in this translation was mixed with Arabic and was not eloquent. Therefore, in order to complete his Persian translation, even though he was suffering from tuberculosis and felt that his life would not last long, he left for Iran and arrived in Shiraz on June 9, 1811.
There, with the help of a virtuous man named Mirza Seyyed Ali, he corrected and completed the translation of the New Testament. This was the first time that the New Testament was completely translated from Greek to Persian. After months of effort, in the condition that Martin’s physical condition was deteriorating day by day, the translation of the New Testament was completed on February 24, 1812, and it was presented to Fath Ali Shah in July of the same year. Henry Martin’s translation of the New Testament was immediately published by the Russian Bible Society in St. Petersburg. This translation was later published repeatedly and was also the basis of subsequent editions. The traditional or old translation now available is a revision of Henry Martin’s translation made in the late 19th century.
Board of Missionaries of the Church
In 1799, the Church Missionary Board was established in England by the Anglican Church with the aim of evangelizing the world. The first missionary of this delegation who came to Iran was Reverend Robert Bruce.
In 1869, he settled in Jolfa, Isfahan, and started learning Persian language and agreed to expand his service in Iran. His insistence in the CMS board was to provide altruistic services in the fields of healthcare and education. As a result of the services of this board, medical and educational centers were established in the cities of Isfahan, Yazd, Kerman, Shiraz and Zahedan. In addition to their services, humanitarian missionaries also built prayer halls for their worship.
From the core of these charitable and religious activities, in 1913, the Anglican Church of Iran was born, which became known as the Episcopal Church. The activity of Isfahan Hospital and centers for the blind in that city and Tehran continued until the Islamic Revolution of Iran. The valuable services of these servants will always be remembered by the people of Iran.
Presbyterian Mission of America
The Presbyterian mission cooperated with the CMS board in the field of translation of the Bible and printing of Persian books and hymns such as “Bible Dictionary” and “Christian Tourism”. Damavand University, which existed until the Islamic Revolution, is one of the relics of the Presbyterian Mission. A distinguished person named Dr. Jordan also established a high school.
This is the famous college that was later named (American College). The area around this high school is still called Alborz in College Crossroads by many old Tehranians. Many ministers and government men studied in this college during the reign of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi.
It is appropriate to mention that Dr. Saeed Khan Kurdistan is one of the fruits of the activity of this mission. These missionaries provided valuable services to the people of Iran in the fields of culture and health. Perhaps today, when hospitals and medical and health centers are well established throughout the country, and an increasing number of Iranians have benefited from the blessing of literacy as a result of compulsory education, it will help in understanding the value of the sacrifices of these missionaries.
During the periods when there was no health care, no clinic, no school or college, these missionaries did a very valuable service. Maybe our young readers do not know that during the rule of the Pahlavi dynasty, when they actively tried to weaken the foundations of the Shia religion and let vulgar western culture dominate the society, not only that there were no obstacles in the way of public and extensive activities of foreign missionaries and domestic missionaries. did not have, but they were treated with the utmost respect.
Christian missionaries were active even in the most remote villages of Iran and distributed Christian publications and holy books. But the author who personally witnessed these activities also witnessed the fact that no one was buying their goods.
Their activities either faced people’s adherence to their own religion (without the government imposing any restrictions or restrictions), or people basically did not show importance to religion and spiritual matters. According to the available statistics, the total number of people who converted to Christianity in Iran in the 19th century and in the 20th century before the Islamic Revolution does not exceed a few hundred people! The activities of these evangelists and missionaries were synonymous with the spread of Western culture in the eyes of the people. Becoming a Christian was synonymous with “becoming an Armenian”, which means changing nationality and culture. In short, despite all these extensive activities, Christianity did not meet with Iqbali.
After the Islamic Revolution of Iran
As a result of the Islamic revolution, Iranian society was radically transformed in all social dimensions. Christianity in Iran did not stay away from this transformation. All foreign missionaries had to leave Iran. Now, for the first time in the entire history of Iran, the churches have to stand on their own feet. With the dismantling of vulgarity and obscenity from various social affairs and due to some frustrations, it didn’t take long for some Iranians to look for an alternative or a different solution.
One of these alternatives was turning to churches. Churches soon encountered new clients. The number of church members increased and people showed more interest in Christianity. If we want to look at the matter from an analytical point of view, we must say that such a new welcome (although the number of visitors to the churches was too small compared to the total population of the country), is not mainly due to the sudden development of people’s interest in Christianity!
The reason for this should be sought in people’s psychological reactions to social issues. This is an extensive discussion, which is beyond the scope of this short book. Some because of the lack of other entertainment, some because of the happy spirit prevailing in the churches, some because of the feeling of belonging to a “group” and being accepted by it, some because of being attracted to a kind of “western culture” present in the churches, and some also Naturally, they converted to Christianity out of sincerity.
Since the mid-eighties of the 20th century, a new phenomenon has cast a shadow on Iranian society: emigration abroad! It was not long before the members of different churches joined the many immigrants. It wasn’t long before it was rumored that Western countries allow Iranians who have changed their religion to stay. Naturally, this became another incentive for more people to be attracted to churches inside and outside of Iran. In recent years, more restrictions and strictness are applied to churches and this has caused the number of visitors to evangelical churches in the country to be under control.
But a new phenomenon replaced the churches, satellite and internet programs! According to the statements of the operators of these media, a relatively large number of people are attracted to Christianity in this way. As it was said, Iranian Christians have established churches abroad and have extensive evangelistic activities among Iranian immigrants.
However, according to the author’s personal observations, despite the freedoms that exist in Western countries and despite the extensive activities of these churches, the number of Iranians who are officially members of Persian-speaking churches abroad does not exceed two or at most three thousand people. ! And again, according to the author’s personal observations, a small number of these Iranian Christians adhere to the strict moral principles of Christianity. Most of these people follow “diluted” Christianity.
East Assyrian Church
Eastern Assyrian Church or Nestorian Church is a remnant of the ancient Iranian church. There are still several thousands of Nestorians left in Iran and they belong to this church.
Evangelical Protestant churches
Protestant evangelical churches are those churches that have evangelistic activities among Christians from traditional churches or among Muslims. Here we only mention the most important of these churches.
Anglican Church
This church is known as Episcopal Church in Iran. Currently, this church has branches in Tehran, Isfahan and Shiraz. The actions of the Anglican Church in the direction of adapting Christianity to Iranian culture are worthy of attention.
Assyrian Pentecostal Church
At the beginning of the 20th century, a number of Assyrians in Iran, especially in Urmia, joined the Pentecostal movement. Today, this group of Assyrians is a very small minority among the Assyrians of Iran, and they mainly live in Tehran, Urmia, and Kermanshah.
Congregational Church
In the mid-fifties of the 20th century, a member of the Armenian Brethren Church who had a Pentecostal experience formed an independent group of mostly Armenians in his home. In the early sixties, this group was formed under the name of Philadelphia Church and spread very quickly among Armenians and Assyrians and then Muslims.
(Churches of Jamaat Rabbani) In the early 1970s, this church officially joined the World Assembly, although it maintained its independent legal identity in Iran. This church has been the most active Christian group after the Islamic revolution. This church has branches in three parts of Tehran and in the cities of Urmia, Rasht, Isfahan and probably some other cities.
New Testament and Psalms (first translation of the New Testament)
In 1812, Reverend Henry Martin translated the New Testament from Greek and the Psalms from Hebrew into Persian with the help of Mirza Seyed Ali Khan Shirazi. The translation of the New Testament was published in 1814 and 1815 by the Russian Bible Society in St. Petersburg. In 1816, the British and Foreign Bible Society published the New Testament and the Psalms together. This is the first complete translation of the New Testament into Persian throughout the history of Christianity.
anciant times
Reverend Thomas Robinson of the Anglican Church in India translated the Old Testament between 1835 and 1838.
The first Persian holy book
A missionary sent by the Missionaries of Scotland, Reverend William Glenn completed the translation of the Old Testament in 1845 with the help of Mirza Muhammad Jafar. This translation, together with Henry Martin’s translation of the New Testament, was published in 1846 by the British Bible Society. This is the first complete translation of the Bible into Persian. It is a great place of gratitude and joy that this translation was reprinted and distributed in Iran by Tahuri Publications in recent years.
The second Persian holy book (known as the old translation)
Robert Bruce, with the help of others including Reverend James Bassett, edited and revised William Glenn’s translation of the Old Testament and it was published together with his own edition of the New Testament in 1895 under the auspices of the British Bible Society. This translation is known as the old translation of the Holy Bible in Persian churches and is very popular among literati.
Good news for the new age (new translation of the New Testament)
In 1976, the Iranian Bible Association published a new translation of the New Testament, under the title “Sharif Gospel”, which is also known as “Good News for the New Age”. It was Americanized and it was also edited by Louis (Edwin H. Jaeger) Jansen and Reverend Mehdi Abhari from the Presbyterian Church of Iran.
Reverend Abhari played a very important role in rewriting the text of this book. The characteristic of this translation is that it has an interpretative mode to some extent and its target audience are Iranians who have about 6 elementary grades of literacy.
Commentary translation of the New Testament
In 1979, the exegetical translation of the New Testament based on the text of the Living Bible was done under the supervision of Reverend Saro Khachikian. The feature of this translation was that, in addition to using the simple Persian language, the text was presented in an explanatory and interpretive manner.
Translation of the New Testament (New Millennium)
. The feature of this translation is that it remains faithful to the original Greek text of the New Testament and at the same time, it has translated the text into a literary and rhythmic and modern Persian style. In the first centuries, Christianity in Iran never became a national-cultural element and it has not become today. It seems that today Iranian Christians are making the same mistake that the leaders of the Syrian Church of the Sassanid Empire made.
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