Hawzah News Agency – Church leaders in Iran warmly welcomed WCC acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca and the WCC delegation: Prof. Dr Simone Sinn, dean of the Bossey Ecumenical Institute and Dr Abraham Silo Wilmar, programme executive for Interreligious Dialogue and Cooperation, during their visit to the country in the first week of March. Archbishop Sebouh Sarkissian of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Diocese of Teheran, met them at the premises of the Saint Sarkis Cathedral in Tehran with members of his church.

Archbishop Sarkissian shared information about the situation of Armenians in Iran, and emphasised the importance of schools and other Armenian institutions for their community. At the same time he underlined that Armenians actively contribute to the wider society. There are, for example, several dozens of professors from among the Armenian community in Iran who teach in higher education institutions.

The WCC delegation also met with Archbishop Sipan Kashchian, Armenian Apostolic Diocese of Isfahan and Southern Iran. In their conversation, Archbishop Kashchian and the WCC acting general secretary spoke about the negative effects of the sanctions on the people of Iran, and expressed the urgent need for these to be lifted.

The WCC delegation also visited the Assyrian Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Teheran. Rev. Ninus Moghadas-nia and the elders of the church warmly welcomed the guests from Geneva. The WCC acting general secretary offered a prayer in the sanctuary, and listened to the sharing of the pastor and elders. Furthermore, one of the members of the congregation who is a member of the Iranian parliament spoke about the developments in the country. The WCC acting general secretary encouraged the members of the congregation in their faithful ministry to their community, and their witness in the wider society.

The WCC delegation also held a dialogue meeting at the Center for Interreligious Dialogue of the Islamic Culture and Relations in Teheran with clergy and high-level representatives from Muslim and Zoroastrian communites in Iran as well as with representatives of the Assyrian Church of the East in Iran, Diocese of the Armenian Catholic Church in Iran, and the Chaldean Catholic Church in Iran.