Iran: Confiscation of the largest church of the Jama'at-e Rabbani

According to Article 18, which publishes news about churches in persecution in Iran, Iranian security forces entered the confiscated garden of "Sharon" on May 13, 2022, from the property belonging to the Jama'at-e Rabbani Church in Valadabad, Karaj, and broke it. The seal of the main building of this garden was placed in front of the entrance door of the guard post. This action means the seizure and confiscation of the property by the government.

Sharon Garden is located in Valabadabad, Karaj and belongs to the Council of Jama'at-e Rabbani Church of Iran. On July 21, 2015, an organization known as the "Executive Headquarters of Imam Khomeini" issued a confiscation order accusing the Jama'at-e Rabbani Church of having links with the "CIA Spy Organization."

The Executive Headquarters of Imam Khomeini, which was established in 1989 by the order of Ruhollah Khomeini, is an Iranian governmental and quasi-governmental organization that operates under the control of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic. The headquarters is based on the systematic seizure of thousands of Iranian-owned lands and properties, including religious minorities, Iranians living abroad, and political dissidents.

Sharon Garden belongs to the churches of the Jama'at-e Rabbani of Iran and was purchased in the early 1950s. The price of Sharon Garden, with an area of more than 10017 square meters, without considering the value of the building, is estimated between sixty to one hundred billion tomans.

Some of the leaders of the Jama'at-e Rabbani Church, including the Haik Hovsepian Mehr, Hossein Soodmand, Mehdi Dibaj, and Mohammad Baqer Ravanbakhsh, were martyred. In June 2013, the largest central church of the council was closed and arrested after one of its pastors was arrested.

Currently, there are only two Armenian-speaking churches in Tehran that belong to the Jama'at-e Rabbani, which only have to hold their meetings in Armenian, and are not allowed to allow Persian speakers into the church.

 

_{Source: Article 18}