Church of Iran: History

A Very Brief Introduction to The Christian Heritage of Iran and The Church of the East

Iran in the Bible

The Empire of the Medes and Persians conquered the Babylonian Empire and spread to the borders of India and Greece. It was unlike previous ancient empires which had taken people away from their own land into exile. Cyrus the Great and his successors allowed the twenty-three conquered peoples of their Empire to continue their own customs and religion provided that they paid tribute to the King.

A clay cuneiform tablet proclaiming these rights by King Cyrus has been excavated. A copy of this tablet, placed in the foyer of the United Nations building in New York today, has been described as the first Declaration of Human Rights in human history.

In the Old Testament Isaiah writes that God says to Cyrus: (Isaiah 44:28 - 45:6)

"who says of Cyrus, He is my shepherd and will accomplish all that I please; he will say of Jerusalem, Let it be rebuilt, and of the temple, Let its foundations be laid."

"This is what the Lord says to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of to subdue nations before him and to strip kings of their armor, to open doors before him so that gates will not be shut: I will go before you and will level the mountainsa ; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who summons you by name. For the sake of Jacob my servant, of Israel my chosen, I summon you by name and bestow on you a title of honor, though you do not acknowledge me. I am the Lord, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged me, so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting people may know there is none besides me. I am the Lord, and there is no other."