dec05-2

FOR's Friendship Delegation to Iran: December 2005

December 7, 2005

This was the day we had been waiting for, the day we finally spent most of our time in conversation with Iranians. Our first destination was the Armenian church complex in Esfehan, then the Zoroastrian Fire Temple, lunch with an Esfehani family and finally, three hours on our own in the Grand Pavilion Bazaar. Some of us ended the day in a tea house on the famous 33-Bridge, among a bustling night crowd.

At 9 a.m., we entered a beautiful walled garden with cement block courtyard, interspersed with plots containing tall trees with round, evergreen tops. We caught our breath as we entered the chapel of the Armenian Center because the entire surface of every wall was covered with colorful frescoes illustrating stories from the Bible.

We learned that Armenians arrived in Esfehan in 1605, when they were moved by Shah Abbas, the Persian King, from Jolfa, Armenia. 

After enjoying the chapel, we were ushered into the refectory where Father Popkin welcomed us. He explained that there are three dioceses in Iran: the southern one in Esfehan, a northwestern one in Tabriz, and one in northern Teheran. Father Popkin stated that the Armenian Church, which is part of the Eastern Orthodox Church, was free to practice its faith in Iran, as long as the church abided by the laws of the country.

It was our good fortune that the Iranian Archbishop, Doctor Ghorian Babian, happened to be vacationing in Esfehan after an appointment in Kuwait. He had been the Primate in Esfehan for 25 years when he was appointed to the Persian Gulf a year ago. He, too, praised the religious freedom minority religions enjoy in Iran.

Archbishop Babian said it was important to respect the laws of each religion. In Islam, converting to another faith is punishable by death and foreign evangelism has been the reason for animosity towards western Christianity here. He said he thought it was hypocritical of the United States to claim lack of human rights or religious freedom in Iran, when the U.S. policy in Saudi Arabia was to pump oil out of that country for 24 years but not to build a single chapel there.

The Armenians are strong champions of interfaith dialogue, the Archbishop added, and an Armenian is now the president of the World Council of Churches. In Iran, the minority Armenians have schools and a seminary, and all of these are funded by the Iranian Ministry of Culture.

Other points the Archbishop wanted to make were that Islam and terrorism should not be associated together as there are extremists in all camps. He felt that the problem was that we don’t know each other well enough, and that Americans in particular don’t know anything about the rest of the world. The fact that Iran offered our delegation visas showed their openness to working together, he added.

It was his opinion that we need diversity in unity and unity in diversity, as well as acceptance of each other as we are. He further noted that Armenians are in a unique position to be intermediaries, to show that when you get to know someone, you are able to trust them. Archbishop Babian advised us to extend our hand to conservative Muslims in the U.S. and listen to them, to show them respect. 

Our next stop was to a Zoroastrian Fire Temple. This was truly a wonder for most of us. Zoroastrians believe that war is a lack of knowledge. All people have a “leader” within them and their thoughts guide them to enlightenment and God. The Zoroastrian priest  explained the basic philosophy of the faith, which is that humans can, through good thoughts, words, and deeds, become one with God and see God inside themselves. Good thoughts, words, and deeds can be the bridge between religions. He also emphasized the need to talk to one another and accept one another.

Interestingly, the Zoroastrian priest also said that Zoroastrians were in a unique position to be spokespersons between faiths. He has the holy book of every faith in his office, including a book of Hafez poetry. Like the Armenians, the priest maintained that proselytizing prevents communication between churches, creating tension and lack of trust. He said he sensed the peace in our group and resonated with our visions.

Continuing the day’s theme of communication, we were privileged to be invited to have lunch at the home of a middle-class Iranian family. We ate sitting on the floor in the traditional Iranian fashion. The beautifully prepared lunch was delicious and in the conversation following the meal, we learned a lot about media and politics in Iran. We were interested in how well-versed many Iranians are about international news and events.

To round out the day, we spent three hours on the Esfehan’s Imam Square, shopping and interacting with many artists and crafts people.

Submitted by Kim Brasch for the delegation.