The Diocese of Iran is one of the four dioceses of the Anglican Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East. On one level, it might be called the smallest of these dioceses - but from the point of view of problems, it is the largest.
The Episcopal Church in Iran was established in 1912. With the coming of the Islamic Revolution, conditions for Iranian Episcopalians changed dramatically. Although the Iranian Revolution had at first promised freedom and justice to all the minorities within Iran, this promise was not kept when they took full power, at least not as far as the Episcopal Church was concerned.
The first week after the revolution our senior priest was murdered in his office in Shiraz. This tragic event was followed by the confiscation of all Episcopal institutions, including: two hospitals, two homes for the blind (men and women), a training farm for the blind, six schools, and two clinics.
The Diocesan Bishop of the day protested these events, but his house and office were raided, and documents were set on fire. An unsuccessful attempt was made on his life, and his wife was wounded. Missionaries had to leaveÑsome were imprisoned, along with local church leaders. The Bishop's only son was murdered on his way back to Shiraz from college in Teheran.
The Bishop wrote a letter to Ayatollah Khomeini, but no answer came.
These pressures have continued. In 1991 the church in Kerman was closed without any satisfactory reason. This church was the only Episcopal church in southeast Iran.
These pressures and persecutions have not just been directed against the Episcopal Church but against most churches in Iran. In 1988 many churches and bookshops were closed, according to a law stating that any non-Muslim shopkeepers had to post notices in their shops to that effect. In 1993 all churches were ordered to sign a document declaring that they would not evangelize Muslims!
These religiously based pressures and persecutions are not just directed against church leaders; they are also directed against members of the church. When Iranians have chosen to become Christian, they may well lose everything they possess - family, friends, job etc. Some of them are even put in prison for periods of time. Christian converts sometimes tire of this kind of harassment and chose to leave their newly adopted faith.
In 1990 the Iranian Bible Society was closed. Because of the closing of the Bible Society, there is a great shortage of Bibles and Christian theological books in Farsi, the language of Iran. The Episcopal Church of Iran does not have an adequate supply of books to give Iranian converts in their own language.
What can we Iranian Christians do? It is true we are a minority without power over even our own lives! However, I believe that we can do something to help ourselves and others. Our will is greater than our numbers. We believe Jesus will preserve his church and protect his children. But despite our isolation, we must also act for ourselves.
In the Lambeth Conference of 1988 a resolution was passed asking the Iranian authorities to consider the claims of the Episcopal Church in Iran. No answer was received. The Lambeth Conference of 1998 confirmed the resolution of the previous conference, but still nothing has been heard.
The voice of a minority may be lost among the majority, but it never becomes completely silent. It might be ignoredÑbut it is there!
To look at the positive side, the situation in Iran nowadays is getting a bit better. There is some sign of hope. In recent events, we can cite at least one positive development - a positive response from the government to the letter of the Bishop of Iran about the church in Shiraz. This gives us reason to hope that we may reclaim more of our church's lost property - at least our churches in some cities!
