Is Christianity at Home in ?

Norman A. Horner

ran celebrated the 2500th anniversary of its monarchy in During the early years of Mongol ascendancy, bothArmenian I 1971. At that time the Christian churches of the country and Assyrian Christians had considerable influence in the courts organized the Interchurch Centenary Committee to coordinate of the Khans. Some held positions in the government and many their participation in the events, and to publicize the fact that others were recognized for their professional and scientific skills. "More than 200,000 citizens of present-day Iran are Christians. Christianity seems to have been rather widespread among the Just as their forefathers shared the historic events that brought this women of the royal families in particular, and at least two of the land to its present position in the family of nations, so the Chris­ II-Khans themselves are said to have been baptized in infancy. tians of today make their loyal contribution to its modern life." At In the days of Shah Abbas the Great, who ascended the Per­ the committee's invitation, this writer contributed several brief ar­ sian throne in 1587, the Armenians brought their thrift, enterprise, ticles summarizing the history and modern situation of the various and trading ability to . There they introduced the art of churches. The articles were printed as leaflets for distribution to printing to Persia in 1638, hand-fashioning their own press, type, the churches involved and to English-speaking visitors to the paper, and ink. Since the early nineteenth century, some of the country during that year, and the descriptive sections of the pres­ newer Christian churches such as the Episcopal diocese and the ent essay are based upon them. The key leaflet we distributed in Evangelical Church of Iran have played a major role in the study of 1971 was entitled "Christianity Is at Home in Iran." I am here the Persian language and the translation of books into Persian. phrasing that title interrogatively-not to question its historic va­ Throughout all this long period to the present time, Christians lidity, which remains unquestionable, but in order to raise the is­ have had a continuous role in the life of Iran. At times they have sue of what effect the very recent emergence of an Islamic republic faced persecution, as in the period following A.D. 340 and in the in Iran may have on the situation of the Christian minorities. latter years of Mongol rule, but especially in recent centuries the Iran, known to the West for many centuries as Persia, figures Muslim majority has been tolerant of the religious minorities. prominently in the Bible. Isaiah speaks of King Cyrus as a deliv­ Such toleration was particularly notable during the last few dec­ erer of the Jewish people. Ezra and Nehemiah report the help of ades when the larger Christian communities, as recognized ethnic the early Achaemenians in rebuilding the temple at Jerusalem. The minorities, have even had their own elected representatives in the prophetic visions of Daniel occurred near Shush. Hamadan is the Iranian parliament. locale of events described in the book of Esther. Traditions var­ iously identify Urumia (Rezaiyeh) or Kashan or Saveh or Isfahan as the native city of magi who journeyed to Bethlehem to celebrate the birth of Christ. Parthians, Medes, and Elamites-people from "Iran, known to the West for many centur­ three of the ethnic/political regions of the Persian realm-were ies as Persia, figures prominently in the present at Pentecost according to Acts 2:9. By the second century A.D. there was almost certainly a well­ Bible. " organized Christian church in Mesopotamia, then part of the Per­ sian empire. At that time the Arsacid dynasty assumed a tolerant and often sympathetic attitude toward Christianity. Even under In the spring of 1979, following a revolution of unpre­ the Sassanid dynasty (beginning A.D. 226) when Zoroastrianism cedented rapidity and the overthrow of the monarchy, Iran was the state religion, Christians continued their development. By became an Islamic republic. It is yet too early to know with any the end of the sixth century there were more than forty bishoprics precision what long-term effect this will have on the Christian mi­ east of the Euphrates. Thousands of Christians driven from the norities in the country-but perhaps not too early to venture a few Roman empire by fellow Christians had found refuge in the towns predictions. First, however, let us examine the Christian scene on and villages of Persia, and this new home became their base for a the eve of the revolution itself. great eastward expansion of the church into China and beyond. Although they constitute less than 1 percent of the country's The Christian contribution to Persia through education and population as a whole, the Christians of all the churches together medicine also began early. Schools of higher learning established number more than 200,000. As of the end of 1978 numerous educa­ by the Church of the East in the Mesopotamian cities of Urhai tional institutions were under Christian auspices: forty-five ele­ (Edessa) and Nisibin in the third and fifth centuries respectively mentary schools throughout Iran, enrolling more than 18,000 pu­ had no rivals in their time, and their intellectual influence spread pils; sixteen secondary schools with a total enrollment of nearly rapidly eastward. After the Arab conquest in 637, it was these As­ 7000; fourteen other schools and classes for specialized training syrian (Nestorian) Christians among others who introduced the and for the education of the handicapped; a women's college, and Arab rulers to a study of philosophy, astronomy, mathematics, and several university-related programs. There were Christian medicine. bookstores, correspondence courses, and training centers for the clergy. The churches maintained five hospitals, five other clinics and dispensaries, two schools for nurses' aides, mobile clinics for Norman A. Horner, Associate Editor of the Occasional Bulletin, was consultant on the poor, andrpopular-instruction programs in hygiene and public interchurch relationships in theMiddleEast until 1976, when he became Associate Di­ health. They also managed six orphanages and seven homes for el­ rector of the Ooerseas Ministries Study Center. derly people. Most of these 200,000 Christians have Iranian citizenship.* In Gradually the twin cities of Seleucia-Ctesiphon on the banks fact, however, those who belong to all the historic churches are by of the Tigris became the most important ecclesiastical center out­ and large people of ethnic minorities that have a long Christian side the Roman empire. There the catholicos of the East had his history in the land, predating Islam. They continue to use non­ see. By the end of the eighth century, missionaries of that vigorous Persian languages such as classical Armenian and Syriac in their church had taken the Christian gospel as far as China and Japan, liturgies and, for that reason among others, the Muslim majority and southward into India and Ceylon. Their response to the perse­ tends to regard them with a somewhat jaundiced eye. cutions they had faced in previous centuries (and which they en­ countered many times later) is living evidence that "the blood of The Churches of Iran in Historical Perspective the martyrs is the seed of the church." In Iran, more than half the members of the Assyrian Church of the East now live in and around Teheran, another third are still A. The Oldest Eastern Churches in the Urumia (Rezaiyeh) area to the north, and smaller groups are The Armenian Apostolic Church, with about 158,000 members in Iran, found in the districts of Khuzestan, Kermanshah, and Hamadan. is by far the largest Christian community in the country, account­ They continue to celebrate their ancient liturgy in an eastern dia­ ing for approximately three-fourths of the Christian total. Accord­ lect of classical Syriac, very close to the Aramaic language spoken ing to tradition, Armenian history in the northern part of the land by Jesus. Their elementary school and a proposed theological sem­ dates to apostolic times. An ancient monastery in that area is be­ inary in Teheran are among the ways they are seeking to recapture lieved to mark the grave of St. Thaddeus, one of the earliest Chris­ the vitality of the past and serve creatively in the present. tian disciples, and St. Stephen's Monastery near the Soviet border Khenenya Mar Denkha, the of Iran, was named patriarch is said to have been founded by the apostle Barnabas. in 1976. Thus the patriarchal see of this ancient church is now in Teheran, and Iran has become an increasingly important focal This church spread into the southern part of Iran much later, point for its small but indomitable constituency scattered through­ at the beginning of the seventeenth century, when Shah Abbas the out the world. Great forcibly moved thousands of Armenians from the area around [ulfa in the north to help build his new capital at Isfahan. B. The Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches They named their settlement New [ulfa, and twelve of the two dozen church buildings they erected there are still in existence. The Chaldean was founded in 1552. In that year part The three archdioceses (Azerbaijan, Teheran, and [ulfa-Isfa­ of the Assyrian community refused to accept the election of Simon han), are all related administratively to the Catholicosate of Cilicia VIII Denha as patriarch of the Church of the East. They sent a in Antelias, Lebanon, rather than to the catholicos in Soviet Arme­ monk, Youhannan Soulaka, to Rome where he was consecrated nia immediately to their north. This reflects the anti-Soviet politi­ patriarch of Babylon and head of the first uniate church to emerge cal orientation of Iran up to the present time. In recent years there in the Middle East. In 1581 the Chaldean patriarchal see was has been a steady flow of the Armenian population toward. Tehe­ brought for a time to the Monastery of St. John near Salmas in ran, and more than half their number now live within the archdio­ Persia. Since that date the Chaldeans have had an uninterrupted cese. A large new cathedral and prelacy was completed less than ministry in the area now called Iran, and they are still the largest ten years ago, prominently located at the comer of Karim-Khan Catholic community in the country, with about 15,000 members. Zand and Villa avenues in the capital city. Until recently, at least, Although much of their liturgy is still conducted in Syriac, the these Armenian Christians have maintained a substantial number Chaldeans are the only non-Protestant Christians in Iran who are of schools throughout Iran, several youth organizations, a teacher­ moving toward the use of Farsi (Persian) as their ecclesiastical lan­ training program, two university-level departments of Armenian guage. studies, and medical services. The Chaldean Church in Iran is part of the Patriarchate of The Assyrian Church of the East, with some 15,000 members in Babylon with its see in Baghdad. The northern Iranian Archdio­ Iran, also traces its history in that country to apostolic times. Fol­ cese of Urumia and Salmas includes both eastern and western lowing the Christological controversies of the fifth century, this Azerbaijan and is centered in Urumai (Rezaiyeh). The Archdiocese church came to be popularly called "Nestorian," a name they now of Teheran, including the central regions of the country, part of dislike. They rightly insist that although Nestorius, a patriarch of the Caspian coast, Kurdistan, Kermanshah, Hamadan, and Khora­ Constantinople from 428 to 431, shared their viewpoint on this san, has its central office at St. Joseph's Cathedral on Forsat Ave­ theological issue, he was not in any sense their founder, since the nue in the capital city and includes more than half the Chaldean Church of the East was an established part of Christendom well membership in the country. The recently established Archdiocese before Nestorius was born. of Ahwaz includes Abadan, Isfahan, and the area southward to the Persian Gulf. As of the end of 1978 this church supervised and supported *Congregations composed primarily orentirely ofexpatriates arenotincluded in thistotal, five elementary schools, a secondary school, two minor seminaries, norin the description thatfollows. These foreign congregations represent a wide range of two kindergartens, and an orphanage. Two Latin-rite (Western) denominational and nondenominational baCKgrounds-Protestant, Roman Catholic, and societies have for a number of years sent personnel to work in Iran Orthodox. They are: theGreek andRussian Orthodox congregations in Teheran,' theRo­ under the direction of the Chaldean Church: the Little Brothers of manCatholic Archdiocese ofIsfahan oftheLatins, with congregations in Teheran, Aba­ Jesus, who served in a government leprosarium near , and dan, Isfahan, and Tabriz: English-speaking Episcopal congregations itt Teheran, Isfahan, the Little Sisters of Jesus, who cared for patients at a government , andShiraz; theCommunity Church of Teheran; First Baptist Church in Tehe­ leprosarium near Meshad. ran, the Baptist Church ofEast Teheran, and the Baptist Church in Isfahan; the Tehe­ The was established under its own pa­ ran Bible Church,' the German-speaking Evangelical Church in Teheran; St. Thaddeus triarch in 1742, having drawn its membership originally from the Lutheran Church in Teheran,' the Korean Presbyterian Church in Teheran; the French Protestant Community in Teheran; and the St. Christopher parish in A badan. In the Armenian Apostolic Church. There were Catholic Armenians in current unrest these congregations have been more vulnerable than those ofIranian mem­ the Middle East as early as the fourteenth century, however, hav­ bership. It may bepresumed that most of them have been reduced in size, and that some ing been converted to the Latin rite by the Dominican missionaries mayno longer befunctioning at all. called Fratres Unitores. Approximately 1000 such Catholics are

152 Occasional Bulletin said to have been among the great number of Armenians forced to In accordance with an early comity agreement, the Episcopal go to Isfahan under Shah Abbas the Great in 1605. In the following diocese has concentrated its activities in the southern part of the decades four parish churches were built there, but three of them country, while the Evangelical Church of Iran has worked primar­ were burned in the turmoil following the Afghan invasion. Father ily in the north, the 34th parallel being the demarcation line. These John Terterian, who persuaded the Vatican to create an Iranian two bodies constitute the Iran Council of Churches through which diocese and who visited Isfahan in 1829, reported that he found they have participated together for a number of years in the the Catholic community reduced to only a few families. Yet their Interchurch Literature Committee, the Interchurch Correspon­ witness continued in that area and extended into other parts of the dence Course, a radio ministry, a youth program, and a joint parish country as well. work in the Khuzestan Church Council. The present Diocese of Iran, with a total membership of about Justin Perkins, a representative of the American Board of 2500, is part of the Armenian Catholic Patriarchate with headquar­ Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM), went to Persia in ters in Beirut, Lebanon. Most of Iran's Armenian Catholics now 1834. Since then a succession of more than 600 Presbyterian mis­ live in Teheran where they have a cathedral and diocesan office on sionaries and fraternal workers have engaged in ministries of evan­ Ghazali Street. One other parish church building is in New [ulfa­ gelism, healing, teaching, and social services. The United Presby­ Isfahan. The few members who live in Tabriz and Abadan attend terian Church, U.S.A., still maintains a close relationship to the the Latin-rite parishes in those cities. As of the last report, this now self-governing Evangelical Church of Iran. church maintained a primary school, a large secondary school, and a home for the elderly, all in Teheran.

C, Churches of Protestant and Anglican Traditions The joint annual meeting of the Eastern Fellowship of Profes­ sors of Missions and the Eastern Section of the American Soci­ Iranian Protestant and Episcopal churches are largely the fruit of a ety of Missiology will be held November 9-10, 1979, at the missionary movement from England and America in the nine­ Maryknoll Mission Institute in Maryknoll, New York. The teenth and twentieth centuries. Their present combined member­ theme: "Getting Ready for Mission in the 19808." For further in­ ship, including the congregations of expatriates among them, is formation and registration forms, write to Norman A. Homer, about 7000, less than 4 percent of the total Christian population in Secretary/Treasurer, P. O. Box2057,Ventnor, New Jersey 08406. the country. These two facts-that they are a minority within a minority, and that they have had a relatively brief history in Iran-make the record of their contributions to the life of the na­ tion even more remarkable. Thanks to vigorous missionary sup­ port from the West, the involvement of Protestants in education, The Evangelical Church ofIran was first established in 1855. Three medical services, welfare, and Christian literature has been quite presbyteries were organized in 1933: Northern (Tabriz, Urumia, out of proportion to their numerical strength. (For an example of and three village districts); Eastern (Teheran, Meshad, and Rasht); the Protestant and Anglican emphasis on medical work as an ex­ Western (Kermanshah and Hamadan). Within that total area there pression of mission, see The Life Story ofDr. Sa 'eed ofIran, listed in the are now eighteen organized congregations. A synod, consisting of bibliography.) In some endeavors, notably Bible translation and both lay and ordained representatives from the three presbyteries, distribution, mass communications, and higher education for was constituted in 1934. The synod's central office, audio-visual women, they have been pioneers. center, and a resource study center are in Teheran on Ghavam-ol­ Saltaneh Avenue. , an Anglican priest who came briefly to Membership of the Evangelical Church is 55 percent Assyrian, by way of India in the early years of the nineteenth century, may 21 percent Armenian, and 24 percent people of other ethnic back­ be regarded as the forerunner of the Protestant/Anglican move­ grounds. Accordingly, the three presbyteries were redistributed in ment in Iran. His translation of the New Testament was published the early 1970s along linguistic rather than geographical lines. in 1815 and became the first widely circulated Christian Scripture This church has had (and presumably continues to operate) in the Persian language. Dr. Robert Bruce arrived in Isfahan in six elementary schools throughout the country. It also has close 1869 to take up the work Martyn had begun. Ever since that date historical relationships through the United Presbyterian Mission there has been an Anglican witness in southern Iran through edu­ with a school for practical nurses at Meshad, the Teheran Commu­ cation, medical services, and evangelism. The Anglican Church nity School, and Damavand College for women in Teheran. Missionary Society (CMS) has long worked in close association Other Protestant congregations of predominantly Iranian member­ with the Episcopal Diocese of Iran, which is now entirely autono­ ship have emerged since the first decade of the twentieth century, mous. organized either by dissident members of the churches established The Episcopal Church ofthe Middle East (Diocese ofIran) is part of the earlier or by other missionary groups from the United States. The worldwide Anglican communion. The first Episcopal parish in the Armenian Evangelical Spiritual Brethren is a very small group in Tehe­ country was established among Armenians at -Isfahan in ran that first came together in 1920 to emphasize a pietistic life­ 1832, but except for that one small congregation, the Iranian mem­ style. The Assyrian and the Filadelfia Assemblies of God are both affili­ bership of this church has come very largely from non-Christian ated with the General Council of the Assemblies of God, U.S.A. backgrounds. The diocese as such was constituted in 1912 and con­ The Assyrian group was established in 1930 and now has nine sists of six organized congregations in Teheran, Isfahan, Shiraz, small congregations and worship cells in Teheran, Kermanshah, , Ahwaz, and Kerman. The first Iranian bishop, the Rt. Rev. Hamadan, and the Urumia district. The Filadelfia group, organized Hassan Dehqani Tafti, was consecrated in 1961. As of the end of in 1959, now meets at six worship centers in Teheran, Isfahan, and 1978 the Diocese of Iran (in collaboration with eMS missionary Gorgan and, until recently at least, conducted a Bible school and personnel) maintained two elementary and two secondary schools, correspondence course in Teheran. Another Pentecostal Church two youth hostels, two hospitals, a school and farm for the blind, movement began in the 1930s among the Assyrians of the Urumia and two bookshops. In June 1979 the diocesan office was moved region, extending from there to Hamadan and Teheran. This group from Isfahan to Teheran. is now related to the United Pentecostal Church, U.S.A. With a to­ tal of less than 200 members, they have no church buildings or therefore in violation of Islamic principles and subject to redress. other institutions but meet in homes. TheSeventh-day Adventists be­ Principles (whether Muslim or Christian) are, to be sure, com­ gan their Iran mission in 1911, ultimately organizing a total of six monly disregarded in the emotional upheaval of a revolutionary small congregations in Teheran, Tabriz, Urumia, Arak, and New situation. There have already been instances in which Christian Julfa-Isfahan. At the end of 1978 the Adventists were conducting leaders were harassed and church buildings desecrated. In the long an elementary school, an academy (secondary school), three cen­ run, however, people who belong to the established ethnic minor­ ters for teaching English, a physical therapy clinic, a bookstore, ities are not likely to find the new regime in Iran any more threat­ and a correspondence course. ening than the old to their civil and religious identity as such-un­ less that identity should come to be interpreted as political The Future Outlook subversion or nationalistic ambition. Unfortunately, such an inter­ pretation underlies much of the hostility between Christians and Will Christianity continue to be 1/at home" in Iran? In the brief de­ Muslims in the Middle East since the time of the Crusades. That scriptions given above, this writer has used the present tense in re­ fact helps to explain why so few Muslims in Iran or elsewhere in ferring to the size and distribution of the various Christian com­ the region have been won to Christian faith. And it is why the munities. Presumably the 1979 revolution in the country has not churches that have set out to evangelize Muslims have, with some changed that. The churches are still there. However, their various exceptions such as those noted above, merely recruited their mem­ educational, medical, literature and welfare projects, have been de­ bership from other Christian churches instead. scribed in the past tense-"as of the end of 1978." This is to recog­ 2. Muslim conoeris 10 Christianity will besubjed10 greater discrimina­ nize the probability that some of those activities have now been tion, however, and perhaps 10 physical danger. As indicated above, such interrupted, whether temporarily or permanently. converts are a relatively small number of people-none at all in the The Christians of Iran must now adjust to a new situation of traditional Armenian and Assyrian churches, very few in any of life in an Islamic republic. What that will entail in specific and the Catholic churches, and a minority in the combined member­ concrete terms is impossible to foresee accurately, but the experi­ ship of the several Protestant and Anglican churches. The fact re­ ence of Christians under Muslim law elsewhere in the world per­ mains, however, that they are more numerous in Iran than in other mits us to make some generalized predictions: Islamic states of the region, perhaps more than in all the other 1. There is unlikely 10 bepersecution of either Christian orJewish minor­ countries 'of the Middle East put together, and their welfare is ities as such. It is true, of course, that Christians in Muslim lands properly a matter of concern. A Christian by birthright-one have always faced certain limitations. They do not enjoy a privi­ whose ancestry is Christian-is quite differently viewed by his or leged position (which they should not, in any case, expect), but her Muslim neighbors than one who was born into the umma (com­ neither do they have equality in the sense that that word is under­ munity) of Islam but deliberately left it through Christian baptism. stood in religiously pluralistic Western societies. To say that The latter is considered a traitor whose fit punishment (and this Christians throughout the Muslim world are "second-class citi­ according to Islamic principles) is death. Death sentences on this zens" is to describe their situation with reasonable a~curacy. In particular charge are indeed rare, even in very conservative Mus­ Iran the fact that the now-deposed Shah was especially hospitable lim states, and they have surely not been characteristic of modem Iran. Yet the recent murder in Shiraz of an Iranian Episcopal priest, a convert from Islam, at the hands of men who posed as "enquirers "In the long run . . . people who belong to about Christian faith" illustrates the extent to which religious the established ethnic minorities are not fanaticism is prepared to express itself, all the while claiming obe­ dience to religious law. likely to find the new regime in Iran any 3. Oteri forms of Christian evangelization, always limited, will now be more threatening than the old to their civil impossible. This is implied in the paragraphs immediately above, but and religious identity as such." it should be stated explicitly because the very existence of Muslim converts in the membership of some of the Iranian churches wit­ nesses to a heretofore more relaxed policy in this Shi'ite nation than in most Sunni Muslim countries. Some of the smaller to the Christian and Jewish minorities does not increase their pop­ churches in particular have admitted Muslims to their classes of ularity with the new regime, certainly. But, in the opinion of this instruction for baptism, and have baptized a few of them each writer, neither does it signal greater long-term animosity toward year. Indiscriminate distribution of tracts and the like has, of them. 'Some encouragement is given to that opinion in Iran Week course, been illegal, but Christian literature has been readily avail­ (vol. 1, no. 3, June 22, 1979), an international journal published in able in bookstores to all who wished to purchase it. Teheran. The cover story, "A Second Chance: The New Constitu­ tion," indicates that Assyrians, Armenians, Zoroastrians, and Jews Whether or not Shi'ite theology as such is more open than are expected to have one representative each in the new 270-mem­ that of the Sunnis to Christian claims is too large a question to ber unicameral parliament. "The pattern of representation is based consider here and, in any case, the present writer is not qualified to on one member for each 150,000 people, and [these] religious discuss it. The fact remains, however, that in recent history some groups like the rest of the nation will be given additional deputies Iranian Muslims have participated rather freely in Christian activi­ as their populations increase" (p. 19). It is specified, however, that ties of various kinds. Moreover, the Western personnel of legally "the main philosophy behind the Islamic Republic is that the reli­ recognized Christian missionary agencies have often been wel­ gious law (shar') takes precedence over all" (p. 16). A seventeen­ comed by the government, and some of them after many years of member Guardian Council of the Constitution, "a completely sep­ service were officially and publicly honored for their contributions arate branch of government, responsible to none and having the fi­ to the life of the country. nal word in most issues," is to be composed entirely of Islamic Under the new Islamic republic we may expect a more rigid clergy and legal experts (p. 21). policy, especially during the early years as it seeks to become es­ Christians and Jews as "people of the Book" are entitled to tablished and so long as its anti-Western stance continues. How­ protection in Islamic practice. To withhold such protection is ever, the degree to which a growing secularization has changed the

154 Occasional Bulletin temper of Iran in recent years will not permit the kind of rigidity majority than they have been able to do heretofore. For the time that obtains in some of the most conservative Arab states. One being this can hardly take the form of interreligious dialogue as wonders, indeed, whether a country that has had so many Western such. It will, rather, be on the level of the social and political con­ influences can adjust to any legalistic form of Islamic rule. There cerns Christians share with the population as a whole. There may are already many indications of resistance, even within the gov­ now be an unprecedented opportunity for the Christians of Iran to ernment itself. The social, economic, and political problems of so demonstrate in word and deed that Christianity is truly at home in populous and complex a country as Iran cannot be resolved by ap­ Iran-and to do so not merely because their presence antedates the peal to religious law alone, especially so where vast numbers of the rise of Islam in the country by several centuries, but because to­ people have become secularized. day's Christians are prepared to accept their full share of responsi­ One hopes that the Christian minorities in Iran will find ways bility for the country's future development. to initiate wider and more creative relationships with the Muslim

Selected Bibliography on Church and Mission in Iran Anderson, Rufus. History of the Missions of the American Board of Commis­ Miller, William McE. Ten MuslimsMeetChrist. 'Grand Rapids, Mich.: Wm. B. sioners of Foreign Missions to the Oriental Churches, 2 vols. Boston, Mass.: Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1969. Congregational Publishing Society, 1884. Missions Advanced Research and Communication Center. "Status of Badger, George P. The Nestorians and Their Rituals: With theNarrative ofa Mis­ Christianity, Country Profile, Iran." Monrovia, Calif.: MARC, 1978. sion to Mesopotamia and Coordistan, 1842-1844, and of a Late Visit to Those Perkins, Justin. Missionary Life in Persia: Being Glimpses at a Quarter ofa Century Countries in 1850. London: J. Masters, 1852. of Labors among the Nestorian Christians. Boston, Mass.: American Tract Bassett, Jean-Claude. L'Eglise et les Chrdiens Aujourd 'hui en Iran. Teheran: Society, 1861. Evangelical Church in Iran, Study and InforrnationCenter, 1978. -. Residence of Eig~t Years in Persia among the Nesforian Christians. Andover, Braswell, George, Jr. To Ride a Magic Carpet. Nashville, Tenn.: Broadman Mass.: Allen, Morrill & Wardwell; and New York: M. W. Dodd, 1843. Press, 1977. Presbyterian Church, U.S.A. A Century ofMission Workin Iran (Persia), 1834­ Dehqani-Tafti, Hassan. Design of My World. London: Lutterworth Press, 1934. Beirut, Lebanon: The American Press, 1934. 1959; reprinted 1968. Rasooli, Jay M., and Cady H. Allen. The Life Story ofDr. Sa 'ted ofIran: Kurdish Elder, John. History of the American Mission to Iran. Teheran: Evangelical Physician toPrinces andPeasants, Nobles andNomads. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Church of Iran, Literature Committee, 1960. Grand Rapids International Publications, 1957. Fiey, Jean M. "Les Communautes Syriaques en Iran," lecture given in Te­ Richards, John R. The Open Road in Persia. London: CMS, 1933. heran on May 15, 1969. Mimeographed and distributed by Armaghan Richter, Julius. A History ofProtestant Missions in theNearEast. New York and Institute, Teheran. London: Fleming H. Revell Co., 1910. Grant, Asahel. The Nestorians: ortheLost Tribes, Containing Evidence of Their Iden­ Schwartz, Robert Merrill. "The Structure of Christian-Muslim Relations in tily. New York: Harper & Bros., 1841. Contemporary Iran." St. Louis, Mo.: Washington Univ., unpublished Halsted, Thomas D. Our Missions: Being a History of the Principal Missionary Ph.D. dissertation, 1973. Transactions of the London Sociely for Promoting Christianity amongst theJews. Speer, Robert E. "The Hakim Sahib. " The Foreign Docior, a Biography of Joseph London: Macintosh, 1866. Plumb Cochran, MD., of Persia. New York: Fleming H. Revell Co., 1911. Hananian, John. "The Armenian Apostolic Church in Iran," lecture given -. Report of Robert E. Speer, Secretary of the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions in Teheran on May 15, 1969. Mimeographed and distributed by onHis Visit totheMissions of WestandEast Persia. New York: Presbyterian Armaghan Institute, Teheran. Church, U.S.A., Board of Foreign Missions, 1897. Homer, Norman A. A Handbook on theChristian Communities in Iran. Teheran: Waterfield, Robin E. Christians in Persia. London: George Allen & Unwin, Evangelical Church in Iran, Study and Information Center, 1970; re­ 1973. vised 1975. Wigram, William A. The Assyrian Settlement. London: SPCK, 1922. Joseph, John. The Nestorians and Their Muslim Neighbors. Princeton, N.J.: -. The Assyrians and Their Neighbors. London: G. Bell & Sons, 1929. Princeton Univ. Press, 1961. Wolff, Joseph. Researches and Missionary Labours among theJews, Mohammedans Laurie, Thomas. Dr. Grant andtheMountain Nestorians. Boston, Mass.: Gould and Other Sects during His Travels between .the Years 1831 and 1834. London and Lincoln, 1853. andMalta: CMS Press, 1835. Maghsoodpour, Samson. "The Assyrian Church of the East in Iran," lec­ Yonan, Isaac M. The Beloved Physician of Teheran. Nashville, Tenn.: Cokesbury ture given in Teheran on June 9, 1969. Mimeographed and distributed Press, 1934. by Armaghan Institute, Teheran. Zannini, Francesco, S.O.B. "The Roman Catholic Church in Iran," lecture Malech, George D. History of theSyrian Nation andthe Old Eoangelical-Apostolic given in Teheran on May 22, 1969. Mimeographed and distributed by Church oftheEast. Minneapolis, Minn.: n.p., 1910. Armaghan Institute, Teheran. Medhi, Abhari. "The History and Present Situation of the Evangelical Church in Iran," lecture given on May 11, 1970. Mimeographed and distributed by Armaghan Institute, Teheran.

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AT LAST! A multi-media learning package that -faces up to the role of culture in church life, evangelism and mission -integrates faithfulness to the Bible with cultural sensitivity .Designed for... • Church members committed to evangelism and mission 7 Steps to More Effective Witness­ • Persons engaged in cross-cultural com­ • Looking at Culture munication of the Gospel • Jesus in Culture • Bible study and prayer groups • Incarnation: God Speaking in Culture • Bible schools, colleges, seminaries • Interpreting the Bible in Culture • Clergy and denominational seminars • Evangelism in Culture HEARING & DOING features the Willowbank • Conversion in Culture Report from the 1978 Lausanne Consultation on • The Church in Culture Gospel and Culture, plus cassette excerpts from John Stott, James I. Packer, C. Rene Padilla, ACT Jacob A. Loewen and others. ONLV$19.95 NOW ------Reservation Certificate Please send me complete set(s) of HEARING & DOING@ $19.95 each. Postpaid anywhere in North America. Money Back Guarantee: Full refund if you are not pleased with HEARING & DOING.

o Payment enclosed (no cash please) Name o Bill me Address o Send me more information on HEARING & DOING. City State Zip ob Make check or money order payable to "Partnership in Mission ." Mail 10: Partnership in Mission, 1564 Edge Hill Hd., Abington , PA 19001