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Despite guarantees of religious freedom for
Christians in Article 13 of the Iranian constitution, it remains an offence to sell a copy of the Bible in Iran, which is practically impossible anyway, since the offices of the Iranian Bible Society were closed in 1980 and all its stocks confiscated by the
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Iran's
Supreme Court on two occasions dismissed the first charge on grounds that the letter was not proved to be in Hossein's handwriting and the second charge as unfounded. He continued to remain in prison solely on grounds of apostasy. In 1994, he was sentenced to death for apostasy and only after
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has come down especially hard on the
Assemblies of God because of their unique success in converting Muslims to Christianity. This success is due principally to its principle of using the vernacular Persian language as the language of its prayer and not one of the several ancient languages (i.e.,
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In 1989, the Rev. Hossein
Soodmand was executed for apostasy. Although born a Muslim, by 1989 Hossein had been a Christian for 25 years. He was an evangelist and the pastor of the Assemblies of God (AOG) Church in Mashad. Despite pleas for clemency by fellow pastors to the Dayro-E-Tasalamat (an
210:
Several churches have been forced to close by the
Iranian regime. These include a building in Kerman and another in Ahwaz, both used by the Anglican and Presbyterian congregations in those cities; and the Assemblies of God Church in Gorgan. (This was the only evangelical church in the whole of
1106:
225:, a Muslim convert to Christianity, was imprisoned for nearly 9 years. During that time, he endured 2 years in solitary confinement and was subjected to mock executions. He was imprisoned by the Sharia court in Sari on three charges: that he had "insulted Islam, the prophet Muhammad and
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had some small successes and the current presence in Iran of these denominations is due to their influence. Conservatives consider these groups to be "western innovations" and are not fully trusted. This sentiment is often shared even by the native
Christian groups.
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Mazanderan province, and with its closure, there is nowhere for evangelical
Christians to worship.) Various church house-groups have also been closed down in Sari and Mashad and Ahwaz and the Christians there are strictly forbidden to meet.
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in Iran today is not a series of isolated events or the result of individual prejudices but rather a state policy implemented at all levels in various forms. It affects both individuals as well as the church as a whole.
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State authorities. Despite all denials at the official level the Law on
Apostasy is practised and remains in force. It is under this law that converts from Islam to other religions are subject to capital punishment.
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Ombudsman and Muslim cleric-literally, "he who hears the cries of the oppressed"), Hossein was hanged on 3 December 1989 at the insistence of the
Ombudsman. He left a blind wife and four children.
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The late bishop stated that "Never would he or his ministers bow down and comply with such inhumane and unjust demands" and that "our churches are open to all who want to come in."
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is considered the one unpardonable sin in Islam, so those who proselytize or otherwise encourage
Muslims away from Islam may be put to death for blaspheming against Islam and
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All members must be issued with membership cards and their admittance to the services would be on production of the appropriate card.
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No new members may be admitted without informing the appropriate department of the Ministry of Information and Islamic Guidance.
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Photocopies of these cards and appropriate membership lists with their addresses to be given to the competent authorities.
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https://landinfo.no/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Iran-Christian-converts-and-house-churches-2-arrests-and-prosecutions.pdf
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During the late 17th and again in the 19th centuries, Iran was quite open to foreign influence, including Western
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Dibaj was abducted on Friday, June 24, 1994. His body was found in a west Tehran park on Tuesday, July 5, 1994.
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Sunday meetings were to be for members only. No meetings to be held on any other day, in particular Friday.
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an international campaign for his release was he allowed out of prison on January 16 of that year.
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333:"Protestant Church Property Confiscated in Iran by Khamenei-Supervised Organization"
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No church service must be conducted in Persian language (the language of the people)
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who founded schools, hospitals, and who proselytized Eastern Christians as well as
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History of Christianity on Iran Chamber Society (www.iranchamber.com)
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308:"Christian Convert Arrested Earlier Still Detained Incommunicado"
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Syriac, Armenian) used for prayer by the other Christian groups.
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182:, was ordered to comply with the following directives:
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90:, both of which have been present in the lands of the
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Canada (former Italian Pentecostal Church of Canada)
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94:since between the 1st and 4th centuries A.D.
1571:Category:Christianity in the Sasanian Empire
578:Democratic Republic of the Congo (Kisangani)
573:Democratic Republic of the Congo (Kinshasa)
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105:. These groups, among them French Jesuit
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1551:Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Urmia
382:"Opinion | Iran's Oppressed Christians"
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125:, however, the institutionalization of
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58:Many (about 80%) of its adherents are
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965:North Macedonia (Evangelical Church)
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1253:Northern Marianas and Palau Islands
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1546:Christianity in the Safavid Empire
1036:Canada (Newfoundland and Labrador)
960:North Macedonia (Christian Center)
289:. Suuntaus project. 21 August 2015
14:
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1634:Pentecostal denominations in Asia
1541:List of Assyrian churches in Iran
1536:List of Armenian churches in Iran
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568:Democratic Republic of the Congo
438:One Person's Story - Mehdi Dibaj
380:Aghajanian, Liana (2014-03-14).
1561:Bible translations into Persian
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30:) is the Iranian branch of the
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280:"CHRISTIAN CONVERTS IN IRAN"
74:Official Iranian perceptions
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1419:Assyrian Evangelical Church
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1407:Armenian Evangelical Church
1384:Assyrian Church of the East
769:Hong Kong (Mission Council)
287:Finnish Immigration Service
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84:Assyrian Church of the East
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257:2003 – 2013 Suren Sarksian
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359:Retrieved March 17, 2009.
174:In the mid-1990s, Bishop
88:Armenian Apostolic Church
1566:Persian Bible Dictionary
1429:Anglican Diocese of Iran
1346:Chaldean Catholic Church
1341:Armenian Catholic Church
414:"Jesus Prince of Persia"
16:Iranian Christian church
1591:Christianity portal
1336:Catholic Church in Iran
47:. It has its centre in
1505:William McElwee Miller
1490:Ralph Cooper Hutchison
738:Zimbabwe (Pentecostal)
553:Cameroon (Full Gospel)
178:, head of the Iranian
99:Christian missionaries
1629:Protestantism in Iran
1455:Joseph Gallup Cochran
253:Edvard Hovsepian Mehr
161:of Assemblies of God
34:, one of the largest
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764:Hong Kong (Ecclesia)
728:Zambia (Pentecostal)
643:Malawi (Pentecostal)
502:National Fellowships
418:Interserve Australia
143:Christianity in Iran
137:Religious background
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618:Kenya (Pentecostal)
247:Haik Hovsepian Mehr
176:Haik Hovsepian Mehr
60:converts from Islam
1376:Church of the East
1358:Oriental Orthodoxy
1107:Dominican Republic
443:2012-02-15 at the
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227:Ayatollah Khomeini
123:Islamic Revolution
80:Iranian government
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1500:Henry Martyn
1485:James Hawkes
1480:Asahel Grant
1475:Fidelia Fisk
1470:Valpy French
1438:Missionaries
1401:
693:South Africa
688:Sierra Leone
543:Burkina Faso
497:Megachurches
433:
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341:. Retrieved
339:. 2016-12-19
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314:. 2018-04-11
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286:
251:1994 – 2003
245:1978 – 1994
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156:
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1248:New Zealand
1192:West Indies
1117:El Salvador
1010:Switzerland
955:Netherlands
794:South Korea
789:Philippines
608:Ivory Coast
223:Mehdi Dibaj
170:Controversy
159:persecution
39:Pentecostal
36:evangelical
28:جماعت ربانی
1618:Categories
1233:Micronesia
1147:Martinique
1102:Costa Rica
950:Montenegro
653:Mozambique
633:Madagascar
563:Cape Verde
487:Fellowship
424:2019-09-19
399:2019-09-19
343:2019-09-19
318:2019-09-19
293:2019-09-19
262:References
163:Christians
130:Sharia law
121:Since the
109:, British
1556:New Julfa
1515:Eli Smith
1450:Mary Bird
1208:Australia
1187:Venezuela
1157:Nicaragua
1122:Guatemala
1062:Argentina
935:Lithuania
814:Singapore
779:Indonesia
703:Swaziland
648:Mauritius
394:0362-4331
111:Anglicans
42:Christian
1529:See also
1228:Kiribati
1177:Suriname
1167:Paraguay
1137:Honduras
1097:Colombia
1000:Slovenia
995:Slovakia
980:Portugal
855:Bulgaria
824:Thailand
809:Malaysia
754:Cambodia
733:Zimbabwe
708:Tanzania
588:Ethiopia
548:Cameroon
538:Botswana
441:Archived
203:Reaction
152:Muhammad
148:Apostasy
86:and the
68:Armenian
45:churches
1278:Vanuatu
1201:Oceania
1182:Uruguay
1142:Jamaica
1112:Ecuador
1082:Bolivia
1072:Bahamas
1015:Ukraine
985:Romania
945:Moldova
920:Ireland
915:Hungary
900:Germany
895:Georgia
880:Finland
875:Estonia
870:Denmark
860:Croatia
850:Belarus
845:Austria
840:Albania
759:Georgia
683:Senegal
668:Nigeria
658:Namibia
628:Liberia
623:Lesotho
512:Schools
240:Bishops
127:Islamic
103:Muslims
64:Persian
24:Persian
1162:Panama
1152:Mexico
1127:Guyana
1087:Brazil
1077:Belize
1041:Canada
990:Serbia
975:Poland
970:Norway
930:Kosovo
925:Italia
910:Greece
885:France
833:Europe
819:Taiwan
723:Zambia
718:Uganda
678:Rwanda
638:Malawi
528:Angola
521:Africa
507:People
483:World
392:
312:RFE/RL
49:Tehran
1273:Tonga
1263:Samoa
1238:Nauru
1132:Haiti
1092:Chile
1005:Spain
940:Malta
784:Japan
774:India
663:Niger
613:Kenya
598:Ghana
593:Gabon
533:Benin
283:(PDF)
1223:Guam
1213:Fiji
1172:Peru
747:Asia
713:Togo
390:ISSN
157:The
78:The
66:and
53:Iran
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