Iran arrests Pastor, then closes his Church


By Joseph DeCaro, Worthy News Correspondent

TEHRAN, IRAN (Worthy News)– Iranian agents closed Iran’s largest Persian-language Pentecostal church Monday, one week after arresting its pastor during worship services, according to Fox News.

Apparently the closing of Tehran’s Central Assemblies of God was part of the Islamic Republic’s crackdown on Christians before the presidential election in June to replace Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

“These incidents appear to be an attempt to stop worship services from being conducted in Farsi, the language of the majority of Iranians,” George Wood, general superintendent for the Assemblies of God (U.S.), told BosNewsLife, a news service that reports on the plight of Christians in the Middle East.

Previously on May 21, Iranian authorities abducted Pastor Robert Asserian while he was conducting services; his whereabouts are still unknown.

“Before going to the church, authorities raided Pastor Asserian’s home where they confiscated a computer and several books,” Wood told BosNewsLife. “Then, they found Pastor Asserian at the church leading the prayer service, immediately arrested him and announced the church’s imminent closure.”

The number of Iranian Christians, many of them converts from Islam, is estimated at only 100,000 in a nation of mostly 75 million shi’a Muslims.

We're being CENSORED ... HELP get the WORD OUT! SHARE!!!

Latest Worthy News

Britain and Germany Sign Defense Treaty Amid Uncertainty Over Trump
Christians Targeted in Indonesia’s West Java as Mobs Attack Homes and Churches
Mass Baptism in Bournemouth Seen as Sign of Revival in Britain
Tensions Flare in Spain as Anti-Migrant Clashes Rock Torre Pacheco
U.S. Officials Confirm Fordow Nuclear Facility ‘Obliterated,’ While Questions Remain Over Isfahan and Natanz
Israel Defends Syrian Druze Amid Sweida Bloodbath; Erdogan Condemns Strikes as ‘Terrorism’
Netanyahu Government Teeters as Shas Ministers Resign over Ultra-Orthodox Draft Dispute, Coalition Reduced to 60 Seats
Tensions Rise as U.S. Ambassador Huckabee Blasts Israeli Interior Ministry Over Christian Visa Denials
Trump Presses Netanyahu After Israeli Strike on Catholic Church in Gaza Kills Three
Fair Use Notice:This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Worthy Christian News