Ian Ellis: Prayers for resolution to Iran conflict – and lasting peace for people and churches
Last month, the UN condemned the confiscation of the compound of St Peter’s Evangelical Church in the Iranian capital, Tehran, and the eviction of its residents.
Experts reported that 20 families were given two weeks to leave their homes.
There were fears that, after everyone had left, the premises would be demolished.
The UN observed that such forced evictions are incompatible with international human rights law and risk leaving people homeless.
The organisation also pointed out that, for its residents, the ten-acre compound in the centre of the city had been “their home, their school and their place of worship”, and had included the offices of the Bible Society and of the Council of Evangelical Churches of Iran, the owners of the land.
Far from being an isolated incident, the experts reported that the confiscation was “the culmination of a long pattern of measures directed against Iran’s Christian community”, also citing the closure of Tabriz's Assyrian Presbyterian church in 2019 and the demolition of a Presbyterian church in Mashhad in June 2026, which had been forced to close decades earlier.
According to a briefing from the World Council of Churches, in the mid-19th century, Presbyterian missionary work in Iran, led by American Presbyterian and Congregational missionaries, resulted in the formation of congregations in various parts of the country, composed of people from different backgrounds, such as Armenian Christians and converts from Islam, Judaism and Zoroastrianism.
Then, in 1934, these congregations joined together in a synod and established a national denomination which in due course took the name, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Iran (EPCI).
A UK Home Office country briefing notes two reports that in 2020 the Christian population of Iran was 0.7% of the country's then 87.72 million population, but with another putting the figure at 1.5%.
It is naturally difficult to be precise but, either way, the Christian population is small.
Most Christians in Iran belong to the ancient Oriental Orthodox Armenian Apostolic Church and the Eastern Assyrian churches, with much smaller numbers of Protestants and Catholics.
It is understood that in Iran there are up to 15,000 members of Protestant churches and around 22,000 Catholics. Most of the latter belong to small denominations that are not Roman Catholic but are in communion with Rome, with the very small number of others belonging to the actual Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tehran–Isfahan.
With conversions from Islam to other faiths conflicting with most interpretations of Islamic law, there is estimated to be a large membership of underground congregations, mainly Protestant. These groups typically meet in secret, change locations for assembling and do not have a central leadership.
There are various ethnic minorities in Iran with their own languages, but because the State rejects Christian evangelism among Muslims it is difficult not only for those who do convert but also for congregations using the main and official Persian language, also known as Farsi.
Services in the EPCI's congregations have been held in the Persian, Assyrian and Armenian languages. It is understood that the Iranian authorities banned the Persian-language services in St Peter's, Tehran, before closing down the site.
Anglican Bishop of Chelmsford Guli Francis-Dehqani, who is Iranian born, commented for this column on the general situation facing the churches and people of Iran.
She welcomed the fact that the UN has recognised the seriousness of the circumstances regarding the confiscation of St Peter’s church and compound, adding that “Anglican and other Persian speaking Christians have been routinely persecuted since the 1979”.
Pointing out that the three remaining Anglican churches in Iran have not been allowed to re-open since the Covid pandemic, she said she worries that the confiscation of St Peter’s is the first step towards the confiscation and closure of other churches also.
She added that “pressure should be put on the Islamic Republic to desist from these activities and permit Iranian people the right to freedom of religion and belief”.
Regarding the current conflict in the region, Bishop Francis-Dehqani was critical of US president Donald Trump's actions towards Iran.
She said: “President Trump underestimated the Islamic Republic, imagining that he could dislodge the regime and claim a quick victory. In the process he unleashed something which he has been unable to control ever since. The Strait of Hormuz has become an additional weapon in the Iranian armoury, impacting the global economy and the regime remains in place. Most appallingly, the ordinary people whom Donald Trump encouraged to continue protesting have been badly let down.”
As far as Iran itself is concerned, she said it is “a beautiful country, one of the world’s oldest and greatest civilisations, reaching far back to the ancient pre-Islamic empires and incorporating a rich Islamic heritage”.
The bishop observed that Christianity has been present in Iran since the earliest times and that, for the most part, Christians have co-existed peaceably alongside their Muslim neighbours, adding that the country's cultural legacy includes significant achievements in architecture, music and poetry.
She said she prays for a resolution of the current conflict and for justice for the Iranian people.
Her comments were a remarkable testimony of love for Iran and its people, as well as of a deep longing for peace.
l Canon Ian Ellis is a former editor of The Church of Ireland Gazette