Iran
In the Bible and History
Iran is the former Persia, known and feared in ancient times as a great power. Persia conquered Jerusalem and destroyed all the churches. They only spared the Church of the Nativity because there were frescoes of the Wise Men and the Persians saw them as Zoroastrians. Christianity did not make many inroads in Persia and today Christians make up less than 1% of the population. Most practice their religion without hinderence although legal decisions concerning Christians and Muslims most often go to Muslims and there is some discrimination.
Parts of Iran were Mesopotamia and several tribes, such as the Parthians, Elamites and Mesopotamians were present at the first Pentecost.
Travel in Iran is restricted at this time.
