The fall and rise of movements in Iran

Sad news of the demise of the Anglican Church in Iran. Once home to a thriving membership in the hundreds, since the Islamic revolution in 1979 it has dwindled to less than 100 people in a sea of militant Islam bent on its destruction.

Eight days after the revolution, the pastor of the Anglican church in Shiraz, Arastoo Sayyah, was murdered. Bishop Hassan and his family had fled the country after escaping an assassination attempt. When the bishop’s son, Bahram, returned to Iran the following year, he was murdered. Much of the church’s property was confiscated by the regime.

With its bishop in exile, its three church buildings shut and forbidden to take on new members, the future of the Anglican Church in Iran is bleak. Unless something changes, the membership will dwindle, leaving only empty buildings.

Yet 1979 also marks the beginning of the rise of underground movements of Muslims following the Messiah Jesus. They have no bishops or church buildings and don’t need permission to spread the gospel and make disciples among their friends and neighbors.

Estimates range from one to two million disciples in Iran. All around the world Iranians are among the most responsive people.

For generations, Anglicans pioneered churches among unreached peoples across the Muslim world. But Britain is no longer a colonial power. The world has changed. The paradigm has shifted. The demise of the Anglican churches in Iran is tragic, yet we must not lose sight of the movements of disciples and churches that are springing up across the Muslim world without clergy, without church buildings, and without permission.

Their only resources are the Word, the Holy Spirit, and Christ’s command to make disciples of the nations.

What the Islamists meant for evil, God meant for good.

Source: The suffocation and slow death of the Anglican Church in Iran