The Rise of Christianity in Iran

Richard Payne, the Neubauer Family Assistant Professor at the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, presents “The Rise of Christianity in Iran”.

During the history of the Iranian Empire, 226 — 636 CE, Christian institutions came to flourish in the Iranian world, from Eastern Arabia to Bactria. Bishoprics multiplied, sophisticated Christian literatures developed in Syriac and Middle Persian, and monasteries were established at a dizzying pace. And yet the rulers of this empire were avowed Zoroastrians, adherents of a religion supposedly hostile to Christianity. The lecture will examine how Christian institutions took shape, expanded, and accumulated social and economic capital within a Zoroastrian political system.