View source for Christianity in Iran

{{Short description|none}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{infobox ethnic group
|group = Iranian Christians
|population= 300,000<ref name="Christians 2015. p. 9" />–370,000{{clarify|date=June 2025}}<ref name="Christians 2015. p. 9" />{{better source needed|date=June 2025}}
|popplace= 
|langs= [[Persian language|Persian]], [[Armenian language|Armenian]], [[Suret|Assyrian (Sureth)]]
|rels= 
}}

{{Christianity by country}}
[[File:Bishop Edik Baroni initial blessing.jpg|thumb|His Eminence Archbishop Edik Baroni Iranian Armenian bishop and Christian leader]]
In [[Iran]] (Persia), [[Christianity]] dates back to the early years of the religion. Through this time the Christian faith has always been followed by a minority of the population of Iran under its different [[state religion]]s: [[Zoroastrianism]] in ancient Persia, followed by [[Sunni Islam]] in the [[Middle Ages]] after the [[Muslim conquest of Persia|Arab conquest]], then [[Shia Islam]] since the [[Safavid conversion of Iran to Shia Islam|Safavid conversion of the 15th century]]. However, Christians comprised a larger share of the population in the past than they do today. Iranian Christians have played a significant part in the historical [[Christian mission]]: currently, there are at least 600 [[Church (building)|churches]] and 300,000<ref name="Christians 2015. p. 9">Country Information and Guidance "Christians and Christian Converts, Iran" 19 March 2015. p. 9</ref>–370,000 {{clarify|date=June 2025|text=converts}}.<ref name="Christians 2015. p. 9" />{{better source needed|date=June 2025}}

== Major denominations ==

[[File:Baptistère kelisa-e-vank esfahan.jpg|thumb|right|The Armenian Orthodox [[Vank Cathedral]] of Isfahan (completed 1664) is a relic of the [[Safavid]] era.]]
A number of [[Christian denomination]]s are represented in [[Iran]]. Many members of the larger and older [[Church (building)|churches]] belong to minority ethnic groups, with the [[Iranian Armenians|Armenians]] and [[Assyrians in Iran|Assyrians]] having their own distinctive culture and language. The members of the newer and smaller churches are drawn both from the traditionally Christian ethnic minorities and [[Conversion to Christianity|converts from a non-Christian background]].

The main Christian churches in Iran are:

* [[Armenian Apostolic Church]] (between 110,000,<ref>{{Cite news |title=In Iran, 'crackdown' on Christians worsens |newspaper=Christian Examiner |location=Washington D.C. |date=April 2009 |url=http://www.christianexaminer.com/Articles/Articles%20Apr09/Art_Apr09_23.html |access-date=1 December 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231000642/http://www.christianexaminer.com/Articles/Articles%20Apr09/Art_Apr09_23.html |archive-date=31 December 2013 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> 250,000,<ref name=Farsinet>{{cite web |last=Price |first=Massoume |title=History of Christians and Christianity in Iran |work=Christianity in Iran |publisher=FarsiNet Inc. |date=December 2002 |url=http://www.farsinet.com/iranbibl/christians_in_iran_history.html |access-date=1 December 2009 |archive-date=25 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225125906/http://www.farsinet.com/404.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and 300,000<ref>{{Cite news |title=In Iran, 'crackdown' on Christians worsens |newspaper=Christian Examiner |location=Washington D.C. |date=April 2009 |url=http://www.christianexaminer.com/Articles/Articles%20Apr09/Art_Apr09_23.html |access-date=19 March 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231000642/http://www.christianexaminer.com/Articles/Articles%20Apr09/Art_Apr09_23.html |archive-date=31 December 2013 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> adherents)
* [[Assyrian Church of the East]] (about 11,000–20,000 adherents),<ref name="Christians 2015. p. 9" /><ref name=OW />
* [[Catholic Church in Iran|Catholic Church]] (about 21,380 adherents) in three different [[Catholic particular churches and liturgical rites|rites]].<ref name=OW />
** [[Chaldean Catholic Church]] (3,900 adherents as of 2014)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/rite/dch2.html |title=Current Chaldean Dioceses |website=www.catholic-hierarchy.org |access-date=20 July 2016 |archive-date=5 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905135550/http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/rite/dch2.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
** [[Armenian Catholic Church]] 
** [[Latin Church]]
* [[Assyrian Evangelical Church]] [[Presbyterian]]
* [[Assyrian Pentecostal Church]] [[Pentecostal]] 
* [[Jama'at-e Rabbani|Jamaʿat-e Rabbani]] (Iranian [[Assemblies of God]])
* [[Diocese of Iran|Anglican Diocese of Iran]]
According to [[Operation World]], there are between 7,000 and 15,000 members and adherents of the various [[Protestantism|Protestant]], [[Evangelicalism|Evangelical]], and other minority Christian denominations in Iran.<ref name="OW">{{cite web|url=https://operationworld.org/locations/iran/|title=Iran|access-date=26 August 2021|archive-date=14 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210714130315/https://operationworld.org/locations/iran/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In the 2016 census, the Statistical Center of Iran reported there were 117,700 Christians in the country;<ref name=US2022>{{Cite web|url=https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-report-on-international-religious-freedom/iran/|title=Iran}}</ref> other reports put the figure at over half a million people.

The "Country Information and Guidance: Christians and Christian Converts, Iran" report published in December 2014 by the [[Home Office|U.K. Home Office]] states that there were 370,000 Christians in Iran.<ref name="Christians 2015. p. 9" />

== History ==
{{More citations needed|date=July 2015}}

{{See also|Church of the East|Maphrianate of the East}}
{{multiple image|caption_align=center|perrow=3|total_width=300
| image1 = Gregory Illuminator.JPG | caption1 = [[Gregory the Illuminator|Gregory]]
| image2 = Svetitskhoveli fresco. King Mirian.jpg | caption2 = [[Mirian III of Iberia|Mirian]]
| image3 = Bademus.jpg | caption3 = [[Bademus]]
| image4 = Tiridates_III_illustration.jpeg | caption4 = [[Tiridates III of Armenia|Tiridates]]
| image5 = Asyncritus of Hyrcania.jpg | caption5 = [[Asyncritus of Hyrcania|Asyncritus]]
| image6 = Saint Maruthas, Bishop of Martyropolis in Mesopotamia (Menologion of Basil II).jpeg | caption6 = [[Maruthas]]
| image7 = RazhdenTheProtoMartyrPainting.jpg | caption7 = [[Razhden the Protomartyr]]
| image8 = James Intercisus.jpg | caption8 = [[James Intercisus|James]]
| image9 = Eusthatios of Mcxeta.jpg | caption9 = [[Eustathius of Mtskheta|Eustathius]]
| image10 = Lady_Shirley_by_Anthony_van_Dyck,_c._1622.jpg | caption10 = [[Teresia Sampsonia]]
| image11 = JosefMässrur.jpg | caption11 = [[Josef Mässrur|Josef]]
| image12 = Mohammad Pahlavi Coronation.jpg| caption12 = [[Shams Pahlavi]]
| image13 = Abdias (Abidas or Obadiah) of Persia (Menologion of Basil II).jpg| caption13 = [[Abdas of Susa]]
| image14 = Benjamin von Persien.jpg| caption14 = [[Saint Benjamin the Deacon and Martyr]]
}}
[[File:Qareh kelissa.jpg|right|thumb|[[Monastery of Saint Thaddeus|Armenian Monastery of Saint Taddeus]], [[West Azerbaijan]], [[Iran]]. Believed by some to have been first built in 66 AD by [[Saint Jude]]. Local [[Armenians]] believe that he and Simon were both buried here. In 1329, the church was reconstructed after an earthquake destroyed the structure in 1319.]]
[[File:Mar Toma church urmia.jpg|thumb|Assyrian [[St. Thomas Church, Balowlan|Mar Toma church]] near [[Urmia]], [[Iran]].]]
According to the ''[[Acts of the Apostles]]'' there were [[Persian people|Persians]], [[Parthian people|Parthian]]s and [[Medes]] among the first new Christian converts at [[Pentecost]].<ref>{{bibleverse| Acts|2:9|NIV}}</ref> Since then there has been a continuous presence of Christians in [[Iran]].

During the [[apostolic age]] Christianity began to establish itself throughout the [[Mediterranean]]. However, a quite different [[Semitic languages|Semitic-speaking]] Christian culture developed on the eastern borders of the [[Roman Empire]] and in [[Persian Empire|Persia]]. [[Syriac Christianity]] owed much to preexistent [[Jewish]] communities and to the [[Aramaic language]]. This language had been spoken by [[Jesus]], and, in various modern [[Eastern Aramaic]] forms is still spoken by the ethnic [[Assyrian people|Assyrian]] Christians in [[Iran]], northeast [[Syria]], southeast [[Turkey]] and [[Iraq]] today (see [[Assyrian Neo-Aramaic]], and [[Senaya language]]).

From Persian-ruled [[Assyria]] ([[Assuristan]]), [[missionary]] activity spread [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern-Rite]] [[Syriac Christians|Syriac]] Christianity throughout [[Assyria]] and [[Mesopotamia]], and from there into [[Persia]], [[Asia Minor]], [[Syria]], the [[Caucasus]] and [[Central Asia]], establishing the [[Saint Thomas Christians]] of India and erecting the [[Nestorian Stele]] and the [[Daqin Pagoda]] in China.

Early Christian communities straddling the Roman-Persian border found themselves in the midst of civil strife. In 313, when [[Constantine I (emperor)|Constantine I]] proclaimed Christianity a tolerated religion in the Roman Empire, the [[Sassanid]] rulers of Persia adopted a policy of persecution against Christians, including the double-tax of [[Shapur II of Persia|Shapur II]] in the 340s. The Sassanids feared the Christians as a subversive and possibly disloyal minority. In the early-5th century official persecution increased once more. However, from the reign of [[Hormizd III of Persia|Hormizd III]] (457–459) serious persecutions grew less frequent and the Persian church began to achieve a recognized status. Through the [[Battle of Avarayr]] (451) and the [[Nvarsak Treaty|resultant treaty]] of 484, for example, the Persian Empire's numerous [[Armenians|Armenian]] subjects gained the official right to profess Eastern Christianity freely.<ref name="Hewsen">{{cite web|last1= Hewsen|first1= Robert H.|author-link1= Robert H. Hewsen|title= AVARAYR|url= http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/avarayr-a-village-in-armenia-in-the-principality-of-artaz-southeast-of-the-iranian-town-of-maku|website= [[Encyclopædia Iranica]]|date= 17 August 2011|quote= So spirited was the Armenian defense, however, that the Persians suffered enormous losses as well. Their victory was pyrrhic and the king, faced with troubles elsewhere, was forced, at least for the time being, to allow the Armenians to worship as they chose.|access-date= 11 July 2015|archive-date= 17 November 2015|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151117005213/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/avarayr-a-village-in-armenia-in-the-principality-of-artaz-southeast-of-the-iranian-town-of-maku|url-status= live}}</ref><ref name="Pattie">{{cite book|author= Susan Paul Pattie|title= Faith in History: Armenians Rebuilding Community | publisher= Smithsonian Institution Press | year= 1997 | page= 40 | isbn = 1560986298|quote= The Armenian defeat in the Battle of Avarayr in 451 proved a pyrrhic victory for the Persians. Though the Armenians lost their commander, Vartan Mamikonian, and most of their soldiers, Persian losses were proportionately heavy, and Armenia was allowed to remain Christian.}}</ref> Political pressure within Persia and cultural differences with western Christianity were mostly to blame for the [[Nestorian schism]], in the course of which the Roman Empire church hierarchy labelled the [[Church of the East]] [[heresy|heretical]]. The [[bishop]] of [[Ctesiphon]] (the capital of the [[Sassanid Empire]]) acquired the title first of [[catholicos]], and then [[patriarch]], completely independent of any [[Roman Empire|Roman]]/[[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] hierarchy.

Many old churches remain in Iran from the early days of Christianity. Some historians{{which|date=November 2018}} regard the Assyrian [[St. Mary Church, Urmia|Church of Mart Maryam (St. Mary)]] in northwestern Iran, for example, as the second-oldest church in Christendom after the Church of Bethlehem in the West Bank. A Chinese princess, who contributed to its reconstruction in 642 AD, has her name engraved on a stone on the church wall. The famous Italian traveller [[Marco Polo]] also described the church following his visit.

The [[Arab]] [[Islamic conquest of Persia]], in the 7th century, originally benefited Christians as they were a protected minority under Islam. However, from about the 10th century religious tension led to persecution once more. The influence of European Christians placed Near Eastern Christians in peril during the [[Crusades]]. From the mid-13th century, [[Mongol]] rule was a relief to Persian Christians until the [[Ilkhanate]] adopted Islam at the turn of the 14th century. The Christian population gradually declined to a small minority. Christians disengaged from mainstream society and withdrew into ethnic [[ghetto]]s (mostly [[Sureth language|Assyrian]] and [[Armenian language|Armenian]] speaking). Persecution against Christians revived in the 14th century; when the Muslim warlord of Turco-Mongol descent [[Tamerlane|Timur (Tamerlane)]] conquered Persia, [[Mesopotamia]], [[Syria]], and [[Asia Minor]], he ordered large-scale massacres of Christians in Mesopotamia, Persia, Asia Minor and Syria. Most of the victims were indigenous Assyrians and Armenians, members of the Assyrian Church of the East and of Orthodox Churches.

In 1445 a part of the [[Sureth]]-speaking [[Church of the East]] entered into communion with the [[Catholic Church]] (mostly in the [[Ottoman Empire]], but also in Persia). This group had a faltering start but has existed as a separate church since [[Pope Julius III]] consecrated [[Shimun VIII Yohannan Sulaqa|Yohannan Sulaqa]] as ''Chaldean Patriarch of Babylon'' in 1553. Most [[Assyrian people|Assyrian]] Catholics in Iran today are members of the [[Chaldean Catholic Church]]. The community that remains independent is the [[Assyrian Church of the East]], but both churches now have much smaller memberships in Iran than the [[Armenian Apostolic Church]].

The number of Christians in Iran was further significantly boosted through various policies of the subsequent kingdoms that ruled from 1501. For example, in 1606 during the [[Ottoman–Safavid War (1603–18)]], king [[Abbas I of Persia|Abbas I]] resettled some 300,000 Armenians deeper within modern-day Iran, as well as establishing their own quarter in the then-capital Isfahan, which is still largely populated by Christian [[Armenians|Armenian]]s some four centuries later: the [[New Julfa]] district. Other hundreds of thousands of Christian [[Iranian Georgians|Georgians]] and [[Iranian Circassians|Circassians]] were furthermore deported and resettled during the same Safavid era and in the later [[Qajar dynasty|Qajar]] era within Iran, although both communities are exclusively Muslim nowadays.<ref name="Rezvani">{{cite journal|last= Rezvani|first= Babak|title= The Fereydani Georgian Representation|journal= Anthropology of the Middle East|date= Winter 2009|volume= 4|issue= 2|pages= 52–74|doi= 10.3167/ame.2009.040205}}<!--|access-date= 27 June 2010--></ref>

In the 18th and 19th centuries, [[Protestant]] [[missionary|missionaries]] began to evangelize in Persia. They directed their operations towards supporting the extant churches of the country while improving education and health-care. Unlike the older, ethnic churches, these evangelical Protestants began to engage with the ethnic Persian Muslim community. Their printing presses produced much religious material in various languages. Some Persians subsequently converted<ref>{{cite journal|last= Cate|first= Patrick|author2= Dwight Singer|title= A Survey of Muslim Converts in Iran|year= 1980|pages= 1–16|url= http://duanemiller.wordpress.com/2012/06/19/a-survey-of-muslim-converts-in-iran-for-patrick-cate-by-dwight-singer-1980/|journal= |access-date= 19 November 2012|archive-date= 16 March 2020|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200316062918/https://duanemiller.wordpress.com/2012/06/19/a-survey-of-muslim-converts-in-iran/|url-status= live}}</ref> to Protestantism and their churches still exist within Iran (using the [[Persian language]]).

In the early 20th century, once again Iran's stable and extant Christian population was boosted – this time due to the effects of the [[Assyrian genocide]] (1914–1924) and the [[Armenian genocide]] (1914–1923), as many tens of thousands of refugees poured in. However, both massacres drastically negatively affected Iran's Christian population as well, as [[Ottoman Turks|Ottoman]] troops crossed the Iranian border in the later stages of [[World War I]] and massacred many tens of thousands of Armenians and Assyrians within Iran's borders as well, especially in [[West Azerbaijan Province]], but also in adjacent provinces.<ref name="books.google.nl">{{cite book|author=Richard G. Hovannisian|title=The Armenian Genocide: Cultural and Ethical Legacies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K3monyE4CVQC&pg=PA271|year=2011|publisher=Transaction Publishers|isbn=978-1-4128-3592-3|pages=270–271|access-date=25 August 2017|archive-date=18 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171018060024/https://books.google.com/books?id=K3monyE4CVQC&pg=PA271|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Alexander Laban Hinton pp 117">{{cite book|author1=Alexander Laban Hinton|author2=Thomas La Pointe|author3=Douglas Irvin-Erickson|title=Hidden Genocides: Power, Knowledge, Memory|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZtcyAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA177|year=2013|publisher=Rutgers University Press|isbn=978-0-8135-6164-6|page=177|access-date=25 August 2017|archive-date=29 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200729114229/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZtcyAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA177|url-status=live}}</ref> Vibrant, huge and millennia-old native Christian communities in these parts of Iran were virtually shattered by the Ottoman actions, being reduced from formerly composing majorities in some of the regions, to very small – though noticeable – surviving communities. Prior to World War I and the Assyrian genocide, the population of [[Urmia]] was 40% to 50% Christian, for example.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.questia.com/read/1E1-Urmia/urmia|title= Urmia|access-date= 11 July 2015|archive-date= 30 September 2013|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130930155213/https://www.questia.com/read/1E1-Urmia/urmia|url-status= live}}</ref><ref>[https://www.britannica.com/place/Orumiyeh ''Orūmīyeh''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170903174534/https://www.britannica.com/place/Orumiyeh |date=3 September 2017 }} Britannica.com</ref>

In 1918, during the [[Persian campaign (World War I)|Persian Campaign]], about half of the Assyrians of Persia died in Turkish and Kurdish massacres and in related outbreaks of starvation and disease. About 80 percent of Assyrian clergy and spiritual leaders perished, threatening the nation's ability to survive as a unit.<ref>
Baumer, Church of the East, at 263. ''The Church of the East: An Illustrated History of Assyrian Christianity'', Christoph Baumer, I.B. Tauris, 2006.
</ref>{{request quotation|date=November 2018}}

== Current situation ==
[[File:Assyrian Christians from Urmia3.jpg|thumb|[[Assyrian people|Assyrian Christians]] in [[Urmia]], 2022]]
[[File:Christians Iran6.jpg|thumb|New Year's Eve celebrations at the [[Saint Sarkis Cathedral, Tehran|Saint Sarkis Cathedral]] in Tehran, 2023]]
[[File:Saint Mary Park in Tehran 2011.jpg|thumb|Saint Mary Park in [[Tehran]] (2011)]]
[[File:Greek church of Virgin Mary Tehran.JPG|thumb|right|[[Greek Orthodox Church of Saint Mary, Tehran|Greek church of Virgin Mary]]; [[Tehran]]]]
[[File:Kelissa russian qazvin.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Russian Church, Qazvin|Russian Church of Qazvin]].]]

In 1976, the census reported that the Christian population of Iran holding citizenship there numbered 168,593 people, with most of them being [[Iranian Armenians|Armenians]]. Due to the [[Iran–Iraq War]] in the 1980s and the [[dissolution of the Soviet Union]] in the 1990s, almost half of the Armenians migrated to the newly independent [[Armenia]], but one estimate from 1999 placed the number as high as 310,000.<ref>{{cite book|last=Gorder|first=Christian|title=Christianity in Persia and the Status of Non-Muslims in Iran|url=https://archive.org/details/christianitypers00gord|url-access=limited|year=2010|publisher=Lexington Books|page=[https://archive.org/details/christianitypers00gord/page/n41 19]}}</ref> Other estimates since 2000 have placed the number of Christians with Iranian citizenship as high as 109,415 in 2006.

Significant immigration of [[Assyrians in Iraq|Assyrians]] from [[Iraq]] has been recorded during this period, due to massacres and harassment in [[Iraq under U.S. Military Occupation|post-Saddam Iraq]]. However, most of those [[Assyrians in Iran]] do not have Iranian citizenship, and therefore are not included in the data. In 2008, the central office of the International Union of Assyrians was officially transferred to Iran after being hosted in the United States for more than four decades.<ref>''[[Tehran Times]]'': [http://old.tehrantimes.com/index_View.asp?code=180160 Assyrians’ central office officially transferred to Iran] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150331174726/http://old.tehrantimes.com/index_View.asp?code=180160 |date=31 March 2015 }}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
!rowspan=2| Census
!rowspan=2| Total
!colspan=2| Christians
!rowspan=2| +/−
|-
! #
! %
|-
| 1976<ref name="cen19761986">Statistical Centre of Iran: [http://amar.sci.org.ir/Detail.aspx?Ln=E&no=95486&S=GW 6. Followers of selected religions in the 1976 & 1986 censuses] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029184117/http://amar.sci.org.ir/Detail.aspx?Ln=E&no=95486&S=GW |date=29 October 2013 }}</ref>
| align=right| 33,708,744
| align=right| 168,593
| align=right| 0.500%
| ...
|-
| 1986<ref name="cen19761986"/>
| align=right| 49,445,010
| align=right| 97,557
| align=right| 0.197%
| {{decrease}} −42%
|-
| 1996<ref>Statistical Centre of Iran: [http://amar.sci.org.ir/Detail.aspx?Ln=E&no=91751&S=GW 2. 17. Population by religion and ostan, 1375 census] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130618134922/http://amar.sci.org.ir/Detail.aspx?Ln=E&no=91751&S=GW |date=18 June 2013 }}</ref>
| align=right| 60,055,488
| align=right| 78,745
| align=right| 0.131%
| {{decrease}} −19%
|-
| 2006<ref>Statistical Centre of Iran: [http://amar.sci.org.ir/Detail.aspx?Ln=E&no=98501&S=GW 2. 15. Population by religion and ostan, 1385 census] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130618152155/http://amar.sci.org.ir/Detail.aspx?Ln=E&no=98501&S=GW |date=18 June 2013 }}</ref>
| align=right| 70,495,782
| align=right| 109,415
| align=right| 0.155%
| {{increase}} +39%
|-
| 2011<ref>Statistical Centre of Iran: [https://web.archive.org/web/20130117230014/http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/sources/census/2010_PHC/Iran/Iran-2011-Census-Results.pdf Population by religion, 2006–2011]</ref>
| align=right| 75,149,669
| align=right| 117,704
| align=right| 0.157%
| {{increase}} +8%
|}

On 2 February 2018, four [[United Nations]] human rights experts said that members of the Christian minority in Iran, particularly those who have converted to Christianity, are facing severe discrimination and religious persecution in Iran. They expressed their concerns over treatment of three Iranian Christians imprisoned in Iran.<ref>Iran must ensure rights of Christian minority and fair trial for the accused– UN experts [http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=22629&LangID=E Iran must ensure rights of Christian minority and fair trial for the accused– UN experts] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180210002327/http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=22629&LangID=E |date=10 February 2018 }}</ref>

Iranian Christians tend to be urban, with 50% living in Tehran.<ref>[[University of Maryland]] "Minorities at Risk" Project. ''[http://www.cidcm.umd.edu/mar/assessment.asp?groupId=63010 Assessment for Christians in Iran] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304050236/http://www.cidcm.umd.edu/mar/assessment.asp?groupId=63010 |date=4 March 2016 }}''. Page dated 31 December 2006. Assessed on 9 October 2011.</ref>

Christianity remains the second-largest non-Muslim minority religion in the country.<ref>{{cite book|author=Barry Rubin|title=The Middle East: A Guide to Politics, Economics, Society and Culture|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8vBnBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA354|year=2015|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-45578-3|page=354|access-date=25 August 2017|archive-date=29 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200729121749/https://books.google.com/books?id=8vBnBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA354|url-status=live}}</ref>

A June 2020 online survey found a much smaller percentage of Iranians stating they believe in Islam, with half of those surveyed indicating they had lost their religious faith.<ref name="iilost-2020"/> The poll, conducted by the Netherlands-based GAMAAN (Group for Analyzing and Measuring Attitudes in Iran), using online polling to provide greater anonymity for respondents, surveyed 50,000 Iranians and found 1.5% identified as Christians.<ref name="iilost-2020">{{cite news |title=Iranians have lost their faith according to survey |url=https://iranintl.com/en/iran/iranians-have-lost-their-faith-according-survey |access-date=29 August 2020 |agency=Iran International |date=25 Aug 2020 |archive-date=8 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200908140324/https://iranintl.com/en/iran/iranians-have-lost-their-faith-according-survey |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":2111">{{cite web|date=2020-08-23|title=گزارش نظرسنجی درباره نگرش ایرانیان به دین|url=https://gamaan.org/2020/08/23/gamaaan-religiosity-survey/|access-date=2020-08-29|website=گَمان – گروه مطالعات افکارسنجی ایرانیان|language=fa-IR|archive-date=8 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201008163002/https://gamaan.org/2020/08/23/gamaaan-religiosity-survey/|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Christian converts from Islam ==

Beginning in the 1970s, some [[Protestantism|Protestant]] pastors started to hold church services in homes in Persian, rather than in one of the ethnic Christian minority languages such as Armenian or [[Syriac language|Syriac]]. One of the key leaders who spearheaded this movement was the [[Assemblies of God]] bishop [[Haik Hovsepian Mehr]]. Worship in homes rather than in church buildings, and the utilization of the national language ([[Persian language|Persian]]), which was spoken by nearly all Iranians, combined with dissatisfaction at violence connected to the [[Iranian Revolution]], led to substantial numbers of Iranian Muslims converting from Islam to Christianity. This took place both within Iran and abroad, among the [[Iranian diaspora]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1= Miller|first1=Duane Alexander|title=Power, Personalities and Politics: The Growth of Iranian Christianity since 1979|journal=Mission Studies|date=2015|volume=32|issue=1|pages=66–86|doi= 10.1163/15733831-12341380|url=https://www.academia.edu/12098327|access-date=18 August 2015}}</ref> It is currently illegal to distribute Christian literature in the official language, Persian.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.dw.com/en/what-its-like-to-be-a-christian-in-iran/a-19002952|title=What it's like to be a Christian in Iran | date = 2016-01-25 |website=Deutsche Welle |access-date= 2018-04-11 |archive-date=12 April 2018|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180412083359/http://www.dw.com/en/what-its-like-to-be-a-christian-in-iran/a-19002952|url-status=live}}</ref>

Muslims who [[apostasy in Islam|change their faith]] to Christianity are subject to societal and official pressure which may lead to the [[death penalty]].<ref>{{cite magazine |title= Iran to Punish Apostasy with Death |url= http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/the-price-of-faithlessness-iran-to-punish-apostasy-with-death-a-538466.html |magazine= [[Der Spiegel]] |date= 28 February 2008 |access-date= 2 January 2018 |archive-date= 3 December 2018 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20181203173946/http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/the-price-of-faithlessness-iran-to-punish-apostasy-with-death-a-538466.html |url-status= live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.deathpenaltyworldwide.org/country-search-post.cfm?country=Iran |access-date=25 February 2018 |title=Archived copy |archive-date=7 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190407144305/https://www.deathpenaltyworldwide.org/country-search-post.cfm%3Fcountry%3Diran |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.fidh.org/IMG/pdf/Rapport_Iran_final.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=25 February 2018 |archive-date=19 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190419061540/https://www.fidh.org/IMG/pdf/Rapport_Iran_final.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Although the Civil Code does not provide explicitly for the death penalty – with the crime being punishable by fines, lashing, and prison terms – judges can impose the death penalty if they desire.<ref name="Afshari2011140">Afshari, Reza (2011). ''Human Rights in Iran: The Abuse of Cultural Relativism''. [[University of Pennsylvania Press]], p. 140, {{ISBN|978-0-8122-2139-8}}</ref> Iran was number nine on [[Open Doors]]’ 2022 World Watch List, an annual ranking of the 50 countries where Christians face the most extreme persecution.<ref>{{cite web | publisher = Open doors | place = UK | url= https://www.opendoorsuk.org/persecution/world-watch-list/iran/?ref=wwmap | title=Iran is number 9 on the World Watch List }}</ref>

[[Pentecostalism|Pentecostal]] pastor Hossein Sudmand was charged with apostasy and executed in 1990.<ref name="Afshari2011140"/> [[Mehdi Dibaj]] was arrested and imprisoned for more than 10 years before he was sentenced to death in 1993, but after international pressure, he was freed in 1994, although the death sentenced was not lifted. He was murdered the next year.<ref>Afshari, Reza (2011). ''Human Rights in Iran: The Abuse of Cultural Relativism''. [[University of Pennsylvania Press]], pp. 140f., {{ISBN|978-0-8122-2139-8}}</ref><ref>[https://www.iranrights.org/memorial/story/12920/mehdi-dibaj Mehdi Dibaj] {{Webarchive|url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170702220223/https://www.iranrights.org/memorial/story/12920/mehdi-dibaj |date=2 July 2017 }} Human Rights & Democracy for Iran.</ref> In 2011, [[Youcef Nadarkhani]], an [[Jama'at-e Rabbani|Jammiat-e Rabbani]] pastor, was allegedly sentenced to death for refusing to recant his faith.<ref>{{cite news |title= Iranian Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani's potential execution rallies U.S. Christians |first= Adelle M. |last= Banks |url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/on-faith/us-christians-rally-around-iranian-pastor/2011/09/28/gIQA11YJ5K_story.html |newspaper= [[The Washington Post]] |date= 28 September 2011 |access-date= 5 October 2011 |quote= Religious freedom advocates rallied Wednesday (Sept. 28) around an Iranian pastor who is facing execution because he has refused to recant his Christian faith in the overwhelmingly Muslim country. |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190502051126/https://www.washingtonpost.com/on-faith/us-christians-rally-around-iranian-pastor/2011/09/28/gIQA11YJ5K_story.html |archive-date= 2 May 2019 |url-status= dead}}</ref> More recently the Iranian-American pastor and former Muslim [[Saeed Abedini]], who in 2013 was sentenced to eight years prison, allegedly "Helped to build the country's underground Christian church network".<ref>{{cite news |title= Iran's Oppressed Christians |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/15/opinion/irans-oppressed-christians.html |newspaper= [[The New York Times]] |date= 14 March 2014 |access-date= 28 June 2014 |archive-date= 29 August 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140829152721/http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/15/opinion/irans-oppressed-christians.html |url-status= live }}</ref> [[Television in Iran|Satellite TV networks]], such as Mohabat TV, Sat7 Pars, and [[Trinity Broadcasting Network|TBN]] Nejat TV, distribute educational and encouraging programs for Christians, especially targeting Persian speakers. Some Christian ex-Muslims emigrate from Iran for educational, political, security or economic reasons.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Miller|first=Duane Alexander|title=The Conversion Narrative of Samira: From Shi'a Islam to Mary, her Church, and her Son|journal=St Francis Magazine|date=October 2009|volume=5|issue=5|pages=81–92|url= http://stfrancismagazine.info/ja/images/pdf/7DuaneMillerSFM5-5.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029201952/http://stfrancismagazine.info/ja/images/pdf/7DuaneMillerSFM5-5.pdf|archive-date=29 October 2013|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Miller|first=Duane Alexander|title=The Secret World of God: Aesthetics, Relationships, and the Conversion of 'Frances' from Shi'a Islam to Christianity|journal=Global Missiology|date=April 2012 |volume=9|issue=3|url=http://nazarethseminary.org/datadir/en-events/ev78/files/Miller%20Duane%20Secret%20World%20of%20God%20v2.pdf|access-date=19 November 2012|archive-date=29 October 2013|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131029195123/http://nazarethseminary.org/datadir/en-events/ev78/files/Miller%20Duane%20Secret%20World%20of%20God%20v2.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Nasser|first=David|title=Jumping through Fires|year=2009|publisher=Baker|location=Grand Rapids}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Rabiipour|first=Saiid|title=Farewell to Islam|year=2009|publisher= Xulon}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url= https://www.tbn.org/press-releases/tbn-nejat-television-takes-powerful-message-hope-millions-across-iran-middle-east|title=TBN Nejat Television Takes Powerful Message of Hope to Millions Across Iran, Middle East, Europe, and Beyond|date=2015-02-12|work=TBN|access-date=2017-10-06|archive-date=6 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171006062335/https://www.tbn.org/press-releases/tbn-nejat-television-takes-powerful-message-hope-millions-across-iran-middle-east|url-status=live}}</ref>

It is difficult to obtain accurate figures for Protestants of all denominations and [[Catholic Church|Catholics]] in Iran.<ref name="Sanasarian200044">Sanasarian, Eliz (2000). ''Religious Minorities in Iran'' (Cambridge Middle East Studies). [[Cambridge University Press]], p. 44, {{ISBN|0-521-77073-4}}</ref> Complicating the matter is the mixture of ethnic identity with religious affiliation, and the number of Muslim converts to Christianity, who as discussed above have a strong incentive to conceal themselves.<ref name= "Sanasarian200044"/><ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.theguardian.com/world/iran-blog/2014/may/12/iran-converted-christians-sanctuary-germany-muslim|title='Our second mother': Iran's converted Christians find sanctuary in Germany|first=Liana|last= Aghajanian|date=12 May 2014|website=the Guardian|access-date=26 August 2021|archive-date= 14 December 2017|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20171214213046/https://www.theguardian.com/world/iran-blog/2014/may/12/iran-converted-christians-sanctuary-germany-muslim|url-status=live}}</ref> Most informants often referred to "only a few thousand" in estimating the overall numbers of non-ethnic Christians in Iran. According to the data from the mid 1990s, all Protestant churches in Iran claimed an ethnic and Iranian membership of 5,000, 8,000, 10,000 or 15,000.<ref name="Afshari2011140"/><ref name= "Sanasarian200044"/> A 2015 study estimated (describing this as a conservative estimate) that there were 100,000 Christian believers from a Muslim background living in Iran, most of them evangelical or Pentecostal Christians.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Johnstone|first1=Patrick|last2=Miller|first2=Duane Alexander|title=Believers in Christ from a Muslim Background: A Global Census|journal= Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion |date=2015|volume=11|page=8| url= https://www.academia.edu/16338087|access-date=30 October 2015|archive-date=28 September 2019|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190928201901/https://www.academia.edu/16338087/Believers_in_Christ_from_a_Muslim_Background_A_Global_Census|url-status=live}}</ref> Significant numbers of Muslim converts to Christianity in Iran are estimated to range from 300,000 to 500,000 by various sources.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://landinfo.no/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Iran-Christian-converts-and-house-churches-1-prevalence-and-conditions-for-religious-practice.pdf|title=Report: Iran: Christian converts and house churches (1) –prevalence and conditions for religious practice Translation provided by the Office of the Commissioner-General for Refugees and Stateless Persons, Belgium|date=22 February 2009|publisher=Office of the Commissioner-General for Refugees and Stateless Persons, Belgium|quote=In his research article, Miller (2015, p. 71) points to an anonymous, but the well-informed source that estimated that in 2010, there were about 100,000 converts in Iran... estimated the number of Christian ethnic Persians to be about 175,000. these were claimed to be converts of  Shiite  Muslim background. }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.journalofdemocracy.org/articles/iranians-turn-away-from-the-islamic-republic/#f19-text|title=Iranians Turn Away from the Islamic Republic|date=22 January 2020|publisher=Journal of Democracy}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/iran-blog/2014/may/12/iran-converted-christians-sanctuary-germany-muslim|title='Our second mother': Iran's converted Christians find sanctuary in Germany|date=12 May 2014|work=The Guardian|quote=The underground nature of the Christian conversion movement has made numbers impossible to determine accurately. Estimates range from 300,000 to 500,000 by various sources.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.state.gov/reports/2019-report-on-international-religious-freedom/iran/|title=2019 Report on International Religious Freedom: Iran|date=12 May 2019|publisher=United States Department of State|quote=estimates citing figures lower than 10,000, and others, such as Open Doors USA, citing numbers above 800,000, Many Protestants and converts to Christianity from Islam reportedly practice in secret.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/are-irans-christian-converts-at-greater-risk-after-soleimanis-demise-616790|title=Are Iran's Christian converts at greater risk after Soleimani's demise?|date=7 February 2018|publisher=The Jerusalem Post|quote=Conservative estimates place the number of Christians in Iran between 500,000 to 800,000 believers, but others claim there are more than one million. Traditionally, Christian families amount to around 250,000, while the remainder consists of converts from Islam. Most converts from Islam belong to the underground Protestant house-church movement, which Iran considers to be illegal. Meanwhile, according to Islamic and Iranian law, conversion from Islam is a capital offense.}}</ref> Other estimates put the numbers between 800,000 and 3 million.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.justice.gov/eoir/page/file/1253351/download|title=Iran: Christians and Christian converts - Department of Justice|date=20 February 2020|publisher=Home Office|quote=Open Doors, interviewed by the UK Home Office on 8 August 2017, stated that many converts do not publicly report their faith due to persecution, so it is difficult to record the exact numbers of Iranian Christian converts. Open Doors believes the number to be 800,000, although this is a conservative estimate. Other estimates put the number between 400,000-500,000 right up to 3 million... A March 2019 US Congressional Research Service report on Iran put the 300,000|access-date=25 May 2022|archive-date=1 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101033507/https://www.justice.gov/eoir/page/file/1253351/download|url-status=dead}}</ref>

According to scholar Ladan Boroumand, "Iran today is witnessing the highest rate of Christianization in the world."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.journalofdemocracy.org/articles/iranians-turn-away-from-the-islamic-republic/|title=Iranians Turn Away from the Islamic Republic|date=20 January 2020|publisher=Journal of Democracy}}</ref> According to scholar Shay Khatiri of [[Johns Hopkins University]], “[[Islam]] is the fastest shrinking religion in there [Iran], while Christianity is growing the fastest”,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jewishpress.com/indepth/columns/the-lions-den-daniel-pipes-columns-indepth/irans-christian-boom/2021/06/29/ |title= Iran's Christian Boom|date=29 June 2021|publisher=JewishPress|quote= Shay Khatiri of Johns Hopkins University wrote last year about Iran that “Islam is the fastest shrinking religion there, while Christianity is growing the fastest.”}}</ref> and in 2018 "up to half a million Iranians are Christian converts from Muslim families, and most of these Christians are evangelicals."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://providencemag.com/2020/08/america-must-focus-religious-persecution-iranian-christian-converts/ |title=America Must Focus on Religious Persecution against Iranian Christian Converts|date=3 August 2020|publisher=providence|quote= Speaking of faith and Iran, most people think of Islam. Yet Islam is the fastest shrinking religion there, while Christianity is growing the fastest. According to a report by the Department of State from 2018, up to half a million Iranians are Christian converts from Muslim families, and most of these Christians are evangelicals. Recent estimates claim that the number might have climbed up to somewhere between one million and three million. This is up from 100,000 in 1994, and a majority of these converts are reportedly women. A recent documentary, Sheep among Wolves, documents the lives of these converts and shows how Iran is the “fastest-growing church” in the world. }}</ref> He adds that "recent estimates claim that the number might have climbed up to somewhere between 1 million and 3 million".<ref name= "providence">{{cite web|url= https://providencemag.com/2020/08/america-must-focus-religious-persecution-iranian-christian-converts/ |title=America Must Focus on Religious Persecution against Iranian Christian Converts|date=3 August 2020|publisher= providence|quote= Recent estimates claim that the number might have climbed up to somewhere between one million and three million.}}</ref>

In May 2019 Iran's Intelligence Minister [[Mahmoud Alavi]] expressed concern over Iranian Muslims converting to Christianity and said the Intelligence Ministry have dispatched agents active in "countering the advocates of Christianity" to areas where there is a potential for people to convert.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Iran Intelligence 'Summons' People 'Who Showed Interest in Christianity' |url= https://en.radiofarda.com/a/iran-intelligence-ministry-summons-iranian-who-showed-interest-in-christianity-/29921102.html |publisher=[[Radio Farda]] |date=4 May 2019 |access-date=8 June 2019 |archive-date=6 June 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190606155443/https://en.radiofarda.com/a/iran-intelligence-ministry-summons-iranian-who-showed-interest-in-christianity-/29921102.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In June 2024, it was reported that the Iranian judiciary sentenced five Christian converts to a total of over 25 years in prison.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-06-24 |title=Christian converts sentenced to total of 25 years in jail by Iranian judiciary - report |url= https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-807424 |access-date=2024-06-24 |website=The Jerusalem Post}}</ref>

== The Bible in languages of Iran ==
[[File:St. Sarkis Church, Tehran.jpg|thumb|St. Sarkis Church, Tehran]]

[[Armenians|Armenian]] and [[Assyrian people|Assyrian]] Christians use Bibles in their own languages.

Multiple [[Bible translations into Persian|Persian translations and versions of the Bible]] have been translated in more recent times, although distribution of Christian literature in Persian is currently illegal.<ref name="Country policy and information note: Christians and Christian converts, Iran, September 2022">{{cite web|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/iran-country-policy-and-information-notes/country-policy-and-information-note-christians-and-christian-converts-iran-september-2022-accessible|title=Country policy and information note: Christians and Christian converts, Iran, September 2022|website=gov.uk|access-date=7 April 2023}}</ref><ref name="2021 Report on International Religious Freedom: Iran">{{cite web|url=https://www.state.gov/reports/2021-report-on-international-religious-freedom/iran/|title=2021 Report on International Religious Freedom: Iran|website=state.gov|access-date=7 April 2023}}</ref><ref name="What its like to be a Christian in Iran">{{cite web|url=https://www.dw.com/en/what-its-like-to-be-a-christian-in-iran/a-19002952/|title=What its like to be a Christian in Iran|website=dw.com|access-date=7 April 2023}}</ref><ref name="Iran continues to persecute Christians in violation of international law">{{cite web|url=https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/iran-continues-to-persecute-christians-in-violation-of-international-law-614804|title=Iran continues to persecute Christians in violation of international law|website=jpost.com|date=21 January 2020 |access-date=7 April 2023}}</ref>

Portions of the Bible are translated into [[Azerbaijani language|Azeri]],<ref name="Building Bridges with the Word">{{cite web|url=http://korpu.net/|title=موقدّس کئتاب|website=korpu.net|access-date=26 August 2021|archive-date=18 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110618052114/http://www.korpu.net/|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Mazandarani language|Mazanderani]], [[Gilaki language|Gilaki]],<ref name="گیلک مدیا – فیلم و صوت به زبان گیلکی">{{cite web|url=https://www.gilakmedia.com/glk/%D8%AE%D9%88%D8%B4-%D8%A8%D9%8E%D9%85%D9%88%DB%8C%DB%8C%D8%AF%DB%8C|title=خوش بَموییدی &#124; گیلک مدیا|date=28 September 2009|website=www.gilakmedia.com|access-date=26 August 2021|archive-date=26 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210826203634/https://www.gilakmedia.com/glk/%D8%AE%D9%88%D8%B4-%D8%A8%D9%8E%D9%85%D9%88%DB%8C%DB%8C%D8%AF%DB%8C|url-status=live}}</ref> Bakhtiari, Luri, [[Kurdish language|Kurdish]] ([[Kurmanji]] and [[Sorani]]).

==Freedom of religion==
In 2023, the country was given a score of zero out of four for religious freedom.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://freedomhouse.org/country/iran/freedom-world/2022|title=Iran: Freedom in the World 2022 Country Report|website=Freedom House}}</ref>

In the same year, it was ranked as the eighth most difficult place in the world to be a Christian.<ref>{{Cite web | publisher = Open doors | place = UK |url= https://www.opendoorsuk.org/persecution/world-watch-list/iran/|title=Iran}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal|Christianity|Iran}}

* [[Catholic Church in Iran]]
* [[Christianity in the Safavid Empire]]
* [[German Speaking Evangelical Congregation in Iran]]
* [[Christians in the Persian Gulf]]
* [[Iranian Armenians]]
* [[Iranian Assyrians]]
* [[List of religious centers in Tehran#Churches]]
* [[Religion in Iran]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite journal |last1=Miller |first1=Duane Alexander |title=Power, Personalities and Politics: The Growth of Iranian Christianity since 1979 |journal=Mission Studies |date=2015 |volume=32 |issue=1 |pages=66–86 |url=https://www.academia.edu/12098327 |publisher=Brill|doi=10.1163/15733831-12341380 }}
* Gillman, Ian and Hans-Joachim Klimkeit, ''Christians in Asia before 1500'', Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, 1999.
* {{cite book |first=Richard |last=Foltz |author-link=Richard Foltz |title=Religions of Iran: From Prehistory to the Present |publisher=Oneworld publications |location=London |year=2013 |isbn=978-1-78074-308-0}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20040625122043/http://www.iranchamber.com/religions/history_of_christianity_iran1.php ''A Brief History of Christianity in Iran'' by Massoume Price]
* Moffett, Samuel Hugh, ''A History of Christianity in Asia: Beginnings to 1500'', San Francisco, Harper and Row, 1992.
* Statistical Information from: [https://web.archive.org/web/20050205045537/http://www.gmi.org/ow/country/iran/owtext.html Operation World Website]
* [http://www.iranchamber.com/monuments/historical_churches_iran.php Christian architecture in Iran] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605042641/http://www.iranchamber.com/monuments/historical_churches_iran.php |date=5 June 2011 }}
* [http://www.payvand.com/news/04/dec/1207.html RFE/RL article on Christians in Iran]
* Bradley, Mark, ''Iran and Christianity: Historical Identity and Present Relevance'' Continuum, London, 2008
* Jenkins, Philip, ''The Lost History of Christianity: The Thousand-Year Golden Age of the Church in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia and How it Died'', HarperOne, New York, 2008
* Römer, Benedikt, ''The Iranian Christian Diaspora: Religion and Nationhood in Exile'', I.B. Tauris, London/New York, 2024

== External links ==
* [http://www.farsinet.com/ FarsiNet] Large Iranian Christian internet portal (mostly evangelical)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080316085600/http://www.iranchurches.ir/ www. IranChurches.ir] The Base of Iranian Historic Churches
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090302212151/http://www.onlinekelisa.com/ Online Kelisa] Iranian Virtual Church
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20090302043022/http://christforiran.com/ www. christforiran.com]}} Iranian Christian resources
* [http://www.acryfromiran.com/ A Cry from Iran] - an award-winning documentary video (DVD) telling the story of some Iranian Christian martyrs
* [http://www.Irankelisa.com www. Irankelisa.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100827195246/http://irankelisa.com/ |date=27 August 2010 }} Virtual Iranian seminary for Christians residing in Iran.
* [http://www.gilakmedia.com/ www. gilakmedia.com] Gilak Media - Digital Scripture in Video, Audio and Print form in the Gilaki language.
* [https://archive.today/20130206124022/http://church-in-iran.de/ Christchurch Teheran]

{{Religion in Iran}}
{{Asia topic|Christianity in}}
{{Christianity in Iran}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Christianity in Iran}}
[[Category:Christianity in Iran| ]]