Christianity in Iran
Christians were widespread in Iran even before Islam arrived in the country. Today they are only a small minority in the predominantly Shiite- Islamic country. The Christian communities of Iran are among the oldest Christian communities in the world.
History and legal situation
The Christianity in Iran has a long history behind it, it exists in the country already from the very early years of the faith. Iranian Christianity had a much larger presence in the past than it does today. Christians in Iran once played an important role in the history of Christian missions - today proselytizing is forbidden under penalty and can be punished with death . Also, Muslims who converted to Christianity transgress , be executed. There are about 600 churches in Iran.
After the constitutional revolution introduced a parliamentary system in 1906, Iranian Jews , Zoroastrians and Christians received permanent seats in the Iranian parliament and were recognized as minority religions. The constitutional recognition of minority religions was maintained after the Islamic Revolution in 1979. Christian marriages were still possible after 1979. In other areas of life, the Islamization of the previously secular legal system made Christians subject to Islamic law , which is why many left the country in the 1980s and 1990s.
In contrast, Christians who were previously Muslims and their descendants are completely without rights . From the point of view of the state, all Christians who speak Persian as their mother tongue are to be regarded as apostates from Islam , regardless of the generation in which the family is already Christian. That is why there are congregations that only exist in secret (including, in addition to individual Syrian and Armenian churches, especially evangelical congregations).
Denominations
Christians in Iran belong to several denominations or ethnic groups, around 110,000 to 250,000 Armenians who belong to the Oriental Orthodox Church , 15,000 to 30,000 Syrians and a small number of Catholics , Anglicans and other Protestants , a small proportion of whom are converts from the 19th Century. In addition to the historically rooted churches, there are increasingly unofficial congregations of Christians of Iranian origin with an evangelical background. Based on these recent developments, the Christian aid organization " Open Doors " estimates the total number of Christians in Iran at 475,000. Regardless of the actual size of these unofficial communities, their importance is now also perceived by the Iranian state, even if only as a threat, as u. a. the 2014 report of the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran states.
Churches of the Armenian Rite
The largest Christian community in Iran are the Armenian Apostolic Christians with 110,000–250,000 members. The Armenians are now mostly concentrated in urban regions, especially in Tehran and Isfahan ; there are smaller communities in Tabriz , Arak and other cities.
Churches of the Antiochian Rite
There is a small community of only 15,000 Syrian Christians left . A majority of Syrians are now also urban, although there are still several Syrian villages in the Lake Urmi area .
There are also around 25,000 Chaldean Christians in Iran , i.e. members of the Rome-Uniate Assyrian Church.
Individual evidence
- ^ Ahmadinejad: Religious minorities live freely in Iran. ( Memento of January 28, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) PressTV, September 24, 2009
- ↑ a b MassoumePrice: A Brief History of Christianity in Iran December 2002 (English)
- ↑ Country profile Iran on Open Doors ( Memento of the original from January 15, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (Driving Forces) - Earlier versions of this page also mentioned that the majority of Christians in Iran are ex-Muslims.
- ↑ Country profile Iran on Open Doors ( Memento of the original from January 15, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (affected areas of life)
- ↑ Country profile Iran (as of January 2016). ( Memento of the original from June 30, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. opendoors.de. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
- ^ "Iranian authorities at the highest levels have designated house churches and evangelical Christians as threats to national security"; Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, page 10 ( Archive link ( Memento of the original from September 9, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and not yet checked. Please check the original - and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this note. )
- ↑ swiss-persian.ch: - Report from swiss-persian.ch ( memento of the original of December 31, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , December 2013 (German)
- ↑ In Iran, 'crackdown' on Christians worsens ( Memento of the original from December 31, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , April 2009 (English)
Web links
- Anglican Diocese in Iran (English)
- Historical Churches in Iran ( Memento from June 5, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) (English)