| Assyrian Evangelical Church | |
|---|---|
 St. Thomas Evangelical Church inTehran, Iran. | |
| Type | Eastern Reformed Christian |
| Classification | Protestant |
| Orientation | PresbyterianReformed |
| Region | Australia,Canada,United States,Iran,Iraq,Turkey,Syria |
| Origin | 1870 |
| Part of a series on |
| Assyrians |
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| Assyrian culture |
| By country |
| Assyrian diaspora |
| Language |
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| Persecution |
TheAssyrian Evangelical Church is aPresbyterian church in theMiddle East that attained a status of ecclesiastical independence from the Presbyterian mission inIran in 1870.[1]
Its members are predominantly ethnicAssyrians, anEastern Aramaic speakingSemitic people who are indigenous toUpper Mesopotamia (what had beenAssyria between the 25th century BCE and 7th century CE), and descendants of the ancient Assyrians. (seeAssyria,Assyrian continuity andAssyrian people).
Most Assyrian Evangelicals (as well as members of theAssyrian Pentecostal Church), before conversion toProtestantism, had initially been members of theAssyrian Church of the East; its later 18th century offshoot, theChaldean Catholic Church; or theSyriac Orthodox Church. The vast majority of ethnic Assyrians remain adherents of these ancientEastern Rite churches to this day.
Here is a list of the core beliefs of the Assyrian Evangelical Church:[2]
There are several Assyrian Evangelical churches in the diaspora, e.g. inSan Jose,Sydney,Melbourne,Turlock, andChicago. There are also a few inLebanon and as well as inJordan, although Arabic services are more common in these countries.
Theliturgical language spoken by the members, church choir, and the pastors isSuret, a language descended from theMesopotamianAramaic introduced into theAssyrian Empire during the 8th century BC. Prayers and scripture are read and recited from a Syriac Aramaic Bible.[3]
In 2010,Iranian Assyrian pastor Wilson Issavi was arrested inKermanshah and detained for 54 days for allegedly attempting to convert Muslims to Christianity. Whilst in prison, Issavi was allegedly tortured as he had bruises and marks from beatings on his body.[4]
| Catholic Church | |
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| Oriental Orthodoxy | |
| Church of the East | |
| Protestantism | |
| Missionaries | |
| See also | |
Ethno-linguistic group(s) indigenous to theMiddle East; also known as Syriac-Arameans or Chaldeans | |||||||||
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| Syriac Christianity |
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| Neo-Aramaic dialects | |||||||||
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