An evangelical church in Tehran that has operated for 150 years has been seized by the Iranian authorities.
Until now St Peter Evangelical Church was one of very few Protestant churches in Iran operating openly and with its own building.
The authorities had already seized a 10,000 square metre garden belonging to the church.
The gates of St Peter Church, which has been seized by the Iranian authorities [Image credit: Neda Alipur/Wikipedia]
The garden was home to around 20 families, mainly Armenian and Assyrian Christians, who “have no chance to survive without church support”, according to Sargez Benyamin, executive secretary of the Synod of the Evangelical Church of Iran in Diaspora and a former pastor of the church.
St Peter Church was founded in 1876 by missionaries from the US, and was granted land by Naser al-Din, the fourth Shah of Qajar Iran.
As a historic church serving primarily Armenian- and Assyrian-speaking Christians, the church has thus far escaped closure.
Armenians and Assyrians are recognised by the Iranian authorities as Christian minority groups, and are permitted to worship in their own language, albeit under severe restrictions and government surveillance.
St Peter Church had previously been ordered to stop conducting services in Farsi.
Farsi (Persian)-speaking Christians are converts from Islam. Worship in Farsi and Christian evangelism in any language is forbidden.
How you can pray
How you can pray
Pray for the leaders and congregation at this time of great difficulty. Ask the Lord to encourage them that His people have an eternal inheritance that can never be taken away, and to meet the needs of the families who were dependent on support from the church.
