Presbyterians in Persia: Christianity, Cooperation, and Control in Building the Mission at Orumiyeh

Abstract

The establishment of a mission station in Orumiyeh, Persia was the beginning of a vast mission project in the country — spanning more than 100 years and resulting in the appointment of the first United States minister to Persia. This mission was the result of a series of coincidences and particularities, including the socio-economic and political situation of the community of Assyrian Christians to whom it was directed. Beyond this, however, the mission was founded on friendship and affection between Assyrian Christians living in Orumiyeh and the American missionaries. This intersection of familiarity and foreignness, ensconced in recollections of linguistic developments, shared religious practice, and everyday moments spent together, reveal much about the fragile, complicated, and ultimately intimate nature of empire.