Jerusalem
and the Middle East
Church Association

Bishop Mouneer and Bishop Derek lead the Palm Sunday procession in Cairo

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Obituaries

At the recent gathering of our Provincial Synod in Cyprus, Bishop Kenneth Cragg’s opening devotion from Acts 15:24-29 challenged us and set the direction of our ministry in Iran. Without the guidance of the Holy Spirit we would not have been able to report the restoration and future activities in the Diocese.

Restoring the Diocese

In the spirit of Acts 15:25-27, I am pleased to report that I have been able to see a team of people who have come a long way to stand with me in establishing and restoring the Diocesan structure: Mr Albert Fazeli, Administrator in Tehran, Mr Cecil Madhukar, Treasurer, Mr Amir Sani who represents the Diocese in Inter Faith matters etc and Mrs Giti Hakimpour, who has been faithfully serving the Diocese for many years now.

The Revd Christopher Edgar, a Pakistani priest who was working in Kuwait, has spent a month in Tehran with a view to providing full time parish ministry. The authorities have been gracious in allowing Christopher to visit and work in Iran. We have been assured that he will get his residence visa soon, allowing him to return to his parish ministry there.

Apart from Tehran we have regular services in Isfahan, Jolfa and Shiraz. The authorities have graciously given permission for the Revd Nusrat Sharifian to work in Isfahan. He will start officiating for the parish there from March 2007. Joura, our ordinand in training, serves a small church in Jolfa.

Our parish in Shiraz concerns us, as we do not have an ordained priest to serve the people there. We are trusting the Lord to guide us to the right person with a calling for Shiraz.

Relations with the Government

This seems to have become an important area of our involvement. The authorities see me as someone from a neighbouring Islamic country, who understands Islamic values. Regular official and unofficial meetings inside and out of Iran are developing this.

During the crisis over the caricatures, I had opportunities to speak on the issue along with other Christian and Muslim leaders in Iran, including former President of Iran, H E Mohammad Khatami. I met H E Hujat ul Islam Araqi, the head of the Dialogue Centre in Tehran. He has shown a keen interest in both developing links and in starting dialogue with Anglican Christians in Iran. I believe this will be a key opportunity to establish Anglican identity within our context in Iran.

The constitution and list of all the properties have been submitted to the government. Government officials inform me that they are interested in registering the Anglican Church in Iran as well as considering releasing our confiscated properties.

Relationship building is a difficult but important aspect of Church ministry in any Islamic country. We sense a renewed interest in the Government’s attempts to restore an official relationship with the Anglican Church in Iran.

Recently the former President of Iran, H E Khatami, visited Lambeth Palace and during this visit he assured me of his support for the Church.

From having no priests at all we have grown to three, who are responsible for Tehran, Isfahan and Jolfa. A Lay Reader, Mr Nozar Ashrafi, cares for Shiraz in the long term.

The buildings where we worship desperately need repairs and refurbishment. Please pray we are able to undertake the repairs of the buildings in Jolfa, Tehran, Isfahan and Shiraz.

Please pray that we can change the negative mindset that exists in Government circles, that comes from an inevitable belief that the Church is a foreign body serving foreign purposes and interests. Pray that our dialogue efforts may strengthen the Christian identity of Christians in Iran. Pray for us as we pursue the new registration process, which is necessary but lengthy and time-consuming, and for the release of properties and the government’s renewed interest in this area. Pray for financial support for the new administration, clergy and the Bishop’s office as well as for the repairs and maintenance of buildings.

Azad

Bishop Azad with Isfahan church members