A Holy Communion service was conducted in Farsi for the first time in a Church of England cathedral last weekend.
Wakefield Cathedral in Yorkshire hosted hundreds of Iranians at the service on Saturday which was presided over by Guli Francis-Dehqani, the Bishop of Loughborough.
The bishop was just a teenager when her family fled Iran for the UK after her brother was murdered for being a Christian during the early stages of the revolution which eventually overthrew the country’s monarchy.
Dr Francis-Dehqani told The Telegraph that the translated service was “hugely significant” in terms of the life of the Church of England, not to mention a “very emotional” day for her.
“We are finding that many Iranians are coming to be baptised and be part of the church,” she said. “That’s a really joyful thing for us to celebrate.”
The Telegraph reported that the Church of England does not have official figures on how many Iranians have joined the church but noted that over the past three years some 75 churches from across England have requested help due to the number of Iranians turning up for services.
Iran is number nine on Open Doors’ World Watch List of the 50 countries where it’s hardest to be a Christian. The organisation, which supports the persecuted church, says that Christians who evangelise Muslims can be thrown in prison or have their churches closed and that those who convert from the Islamic faith can face the death penalty.
