{"id":59909,"date":"2026-07-21T10:21:52","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T01:21:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/?p=59909"},"modified":"2026-07-21T10:31:06","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T01:31:06","slug":"vomk-report-409","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/2026\/07\/21\/vomk-report-409\/","title":{"rendered":"IRAN: AUTHORITIES SEEK TO SEIZE OLDEST PROTESTANT CHURCH BUILDING IN \u201cFUTILE SYMBOLIC MOVE\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”59911″ img_size=”full” css=””][vc_custom_heading text=”A historic Christian compound in Tehran, which was established in 1876 and is home to Iran’s oldest Protestant church building, is facing possible confiscation by the country’s government. But according to Voice of the Martyrs Korea Representative Dr. Hyun Sook Foley, the action is a \u201cfutile symbolic move\u201d which, while unfairly punishing the small number of Christians who still worship and live there, is unlikely to slow the rapid spread of Christianity across the country. ” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:1.2em|text_align:left|color:%23111111″ google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal” css=”” el_class=”headline”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]\u201cThe Protestant population in Iran is widely considered one of the\u00a0<\/span>most vibrant and\u00a0<\/span>fastest growing<\/span>\u00a0in the world, and Iran\u2019s government has been\u00a0<\/span>completely\u00a0<\/span>unable to stop the spread,\u201d says Representative Foley. \u201cThe seizure of the St. Peter Evangelical Church is a futile symbolic move by the Iranian government which<\/span>\u00a0punishes the small handful of Christians who still worship there, in a blind effort to strike a blow back at\u00a0<\/span>the country\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>mushrooming\u00a0<\/span>Protestant population, which has grown from a few thousand in 1979 to between 800,000 and 1.2 million today.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]Representative Foley notes that\u00a0<\/span>nearly all<\/span>\u00a0of Iranian\u00a0<\/span>Protestants<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>already\u00a0<\/span>meet in homes and other underground locations because of government bans on open Christian worship. She calls a\u00a0<\/span><\/span>statement by the World Council of Churches<\/span><\/span><\/a>\u00a0protesting the\u00a0<\/span>recent high-profile\u00a0<\/span>seizure of\u00a0<\/span>church buildings<\/span>\u00a0by the Iranian government<\/span>\u00a0\u201cmisguided and wrongly focused.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”59913″ img_size=”large” css=””][vc_custom_heading text=”t. Peter Evangelical Church (Photo: Wikipedia \/ Herbert Karim Masihi (CC))” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230a0101|line_height:1.45em” css=””][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]\u201cThe statement by the World Council of Churches (WCC) calls for the protection of the historic church buildings in Iran, but it omits the two things of greatest importance: First, it does not mention that the church in Iran as one of the fastest growing Christian communities in the world.<\/span>\u00a0As a result, it gives the\u00a0<\/span>false\u00a0<\/span>impression that Christianity is an ancient, disappearing minority<\/span>\u00a0there<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0Second, it does not call on Iran to stop persecuting the underground Christians themselves,\u00a0<\/span>or<\/span>\u00a0to release the more than 250 Christians in Iran who are estimated to be in prison simply for their faith.<\/span>\u00a0This should be the focus of the WCC\u2019s statement<\/span>\u00a0and its efforts<\/span><\/span>.<\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]St. Peter Evangelical Church was built by American missionaries on 10 hectares of land granted by the\u00a0<\/span>King of\u00a0<\/span>Persia. The comp<\/span>ound<\/span>\u00a0now consists of a church building, two\u00a0<\/span>schools<\/span>\u00a0and dozens of residential homes. In 1998, authorities ordered that the land be transferred to the Islamic government, along with several other church properties across the country. However, the ruling was not enforced at that time. In 2008,\u00a0<\/span>Iran\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>Council of Evangelical Churches learned of the decision and protested, but all appeals were\u00a0<\/span>ultimately rejected<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]Recently, governing authorities ordered 20 families living\u00a0<\/span>on the property<\/span>\u00a0to vacate their homes within two weeks. Members of the congregation have also been informed that they must find another church to attend.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]Representative Foley says that the government\u2019s attempted seizure of the property is\u00a0<\/span>unfair to the small community of Christians<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>who live and worship\u00a0<\/span>there,\u00a0<\/span>but that she is concerned that reporting on the incident has\u00a0<\/span>actually\u00a0<\/span>aided<\/span>\u00a0the government, not the Protestant community.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][\/vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”59915″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center” css=””][vc_custom_heading text=” An Iranian Christian shares a Christian resource with a friend on a public bench. (VOM file photo) ” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230a0101|line_height:1.45em” css=””][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]\u201cNews reports even from Christian media have described\u00a0<\/span>St. Peter Evangelical Church\u00a0<\/span>as \u2018<\/span>one of the last remaining Protestant congregations in the city<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span>.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0Th<\/span>at is factually incorrect. There are thousands of thriving Protestant congregations throughout\u00a0<\/span>Tehran<\/span>\u00a0and around the country, but they meet in homes, not old buildings. The reporting\u00a0<\/span>makes it sound like the Iranian government has been successful in its efforts to\u00a0<\/span>eradicate<\/span>\u00a0Christianity. But nothing could be further from the truth,\u201d she says.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]Representative Foley says she believes it is important for Christians in the rest of the world to understand the\u00a0<\/span>full\u00a0<\/span>story of Iranian\u00a0<\/span>underground Christians\u00a0<\/span>when\u00a0<\/span>they read news reports on the\u00a0<\/span>government\u2019s anti-Christian activities. She<\/span>\u00a0says\u00a0<\/span>her organization is currently preparing its September newsletter about\u00a0<\/span>the spread of the\u00a0<\/span>g<\/span>ospel in Iran and the Middle East and has released a book about Iran\u2019s underground Christians entitled \u201cIran: Encounter with Hope.\u201d \u201cIt\u2019s the story of Iranian Christians who steadfastly maintain their faith, discovering hope in Jesus Christ even amidst the chaos of falling bombs and government threats,\u201d says Representative Foley. The book is available for order through the organization\u2019s website or by calling the organization.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]\u201c<\/span><\/span>Even in the midst of intense persecution,\u00a0<\/span>Iranian Christians have never gone into hiding<\/span>,\u201d says Representative Foley. \u201cThey are not a dying minority. T<\/span>hey\u00a0<\/span>have\u00a0<\/span>rarely\u00a0<\/span>ever\u00a0<\/span>meet<\/span>\u00a0in buildings<\/span>. They have been in\u00a0<\/span>homes and even in\u00a0<\/span>the streets for years\u2014not protesting for their rights but making a bold witness for Christ. They\u00a0<\/span>lack political freedom but\u00a0<\/span>have freedom in Christ,<\/span>\u00a0and they have used this freedom to evangelize, even when it has resulted in them being sent to prison.\u00a0<\/span>So<\/span>\u00a0we\u00a0<\/span>should pray that the Iranian government does not carry out its plan to seize the\u00a0<\/span>St Peter\u2019s C<\/span>hurch building<\/span>. We should pray for the Christian families who are affected. But if the government does\u00a0<\/span>continue to seize old church\u00a0<\/span>building<\/span>s<\/span><\/span>,\u00a0<\/span><\/span>we know that\u00a0<\/span>it will only make the Iranian church even harder to stop by moving them completely out of old buildings and into homes and streets across the country<\/span>, joining the majority of Protestants who already worship there<\/span><\/span>.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]Individuals interested in learning more about the work of Iranian underground Christians can visit Voice of the Martyrs Korea\u2019s country profile on Iran at\u00a0<\/span><\/span>https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/country-profile\/IRAN\/<\/span><\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_column][\/vc_column]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”59911″ img_size=”full” css=””][vc_custom_heading text=”A historic Christian compound in Tehran, which was established in 1876 and is home to Iran’s oldest Protestant church building, is facing possible confiscation by the …","protected":false},"author":1959,"featured_media":59912,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[140,20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-59909","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-vomk-report","category-intercession"],"translation":{"provider":"WPGlobus","version":"3.0.2","language":"en","enabled_languages":["ko","en","zh","ru"],"languages":{"ko":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"en":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"zh":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"ru":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59909","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1959"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59909"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59909\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":59918,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59909\/revisions\/59918"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59912"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59909"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59909"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59909"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}