Armenian Churches Host Bible Conference in Tehran
A committee in Iran representing the Armenian Church, the Chaldean Church, the Armenian Evangelical Church and the Armenian Catholic Church recently held a three-day conference on the Bible.
A committee in Iran representing the Armenian Church, the Chaldean Church, the Armenian Evangelical Church and the Armenian Catholic Church recently held a three-day conference on the Bible “to give help to Iran’s Armenian Christian minority in their spiritual and community life as Christians.”
The conference, entitled ‘The Bible and the Youth of the 21st Century’, was the first public function of the Inter-Church Publication Committee. Participants included teachers, Sunday School teachers and church youth workers.
According to Alik, a Tehran-based Armenian newspaper which reported on the conference, throughout the three days the Scriptural focus was on the Second Letter of Timothy. The main speakers consisted of the Rev Henrik Shahnazarian of the Armenian Evangelical Church, who led a study on 2 Tim. 2:14-26; and the special guest, Dr H Hovhannisian, a well-known psychologist based in France who led a study on 2 Tim. 3:10-12. During the conference, participants also had an opportunity to reflect on these passages in groups.
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Over two days, Hovhannisian presented his topic, outlining the challenges of the 21st century to a life of faith as well as the challenges of the faith to 21st century youth. There were extended sessions for questions and discussion.
Other speakers included Bishop Nshan Karakehyayan, who spoke on ‘The Inspiration and Authority of the Holy Scriptures’, and Archbishop Sebouh Sarkissian who gave ‘An Introduction to the Old and New Testaments’.
After the conference, Hovhannisian visited a number of churches in Tehran where he led studies on ‘The Bible and Youth’ and ‘The Bible and the Family’.
The newspaper noted that there had been great interest in the conference locally and that “there are plans in the future to involve not only target groups but the faithful at large.”
