Thousands of Christians Make Pilgrimage to Ancient Iranian Church
"The site of the pilgrimage is a church called Qareh Kelisa (which means 'black church') built on the site of St. Thaddeus's grave after he was slain by a pagan king. Dominating the surrounding landscape, the church is said to have withstood over one-and-a-half millennia of wars and earthquakes."
(Chaldoran, Iran)—An AFP report in the Middle East Times notes that every summer for the past half-century, thousands of Armenian pilgrims from Iran and beyond have descended in a remote locale in Iran for three days of worship marking the feast of the 1st century missionary St. Thaddeus. The site of the pilgrimage is a church called Qareh Kelisa (which means "black church") built on the site of St. Thaddeus's grave after he was slain by a pagan king. Dominating the surrounding landscape, the church is said to have withstood over one-and-a-half millennia of wars and earthquakes.
It may seem remarkable that such a tradition holds strong in one of the world's most strictly Islamic countries, says reporter Stuart Williams, but Iran is home to hundreds of thousands of Armenians and a string of historically important churches. The presence of Armenians in northern Iran, he notes, dates back thousands of years to when Persian Shah Abbas famously brought hundreds of Armenian craftsmen to his imperial capital of Isfahan in the 17th century. (Photo: AFP - Behrouz Mehri)
This year up to 4,000 pilgrims have reportedly pitched their tents on the hillside to mark the event.
"The most important thing is that in a Muslim nation we have preserved this church," said Ani, 32, a female computer scientist and choir singer. "In Turkey, some Armenian churches have been ruined. It is a point of pride that in this country we have this church. The government of Iran values it and appreciates it."
Describing the festivities, Williams notes: "Arms aloft, two other men surround the musicians in a traditional dance, joined immediately by two women who kick their legs and twirl their hands in time to the music. The campers play Armenian "rabiz" music and have brought copious amounts of food to indulge in one of the most Armenian of passions—the "khorovats" or open-air barbecue."
