Kimberly Ladouceur

The Iranian Government passed a ruling on October 31 that the Central Assemblies of God Church in Tehran was to shut its doors for Friday services as they are no longer allowed to take place. This termination of services is being seen as a way of ‘intimidating’ Christians, according to one source, and is outwardly opposed by the masses.

Many Christians in Iran have long since decided to take their faith ‘underground’ and not practice in churches, but in houses and other safe havens. This has been to avoid any religious persecution, often seen by members of publicly known Christian churches and worship places. It is now the fear that, due to the sudden shift of the Revolutionary Guard’s intolerance for Christians, the persecution may no longer only be an issue for those who had not before hid their faith from the government.

Iran’s demand that the church be shut down on Fridays has greatly affected Tehran’s Christian population —The Assembly of God Church is one of the largest in the country. In fact, according to the Rev Sourik, who is the bishop of the Assemblies of God churches in Iran, the reaction of the people upon hearing that their government was obstructing Friday worship were sombre.

In a Farsi Christian News Network report, Sourik said that ‘the announcement of the termination of the Friday services was received with shock and utter surprise and resulted in many openly weeping in the church service’.