Obituary: Tateos Michaelian
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Tateos Michaelian, minister of the church, translator: born 1932; died Tehran c29 June 1994.
TATEOS MICHAELIAN, acting chairman of the Council of Protestant Ministers in Iran, has been murdered in Tehran. Michaelian, who was 62, disappeared from his home on 29 June and his son was summoned to identify his body on 2 July. Part of his head had been shot away. The Iranian authorities claim he was murdered by one of the opposition groups, as his body was found in a house rented by some students. He had often received anonymous death threats.
Michaelian was a former Executive Secretary of the Presbyterian Synod in Iran. From the 1960s until 1980 he was general secretary of the Iranian Bible Society, and had translated numerous Christian books into Persian. He took over as chairman of the Council of Protestant Ministers in January, following the murder of Bishop Haik Hovsepian Mehr. Like Hovsepian Mehr and many Protestant Christians in Iran, Michaelian was of Armenian origin.
Like all Iran's Christians, Michaelian had to tread a difficult path after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. In the early 1980s, in an interview in a French magazine, he criticised restrictions on Christians following the revolution. Three years later he was summoned by the authorities and accused of counter-revolutionary activity, which he strongly denied. Last December he agreed to sign a controversial government declaration that there is religious freedom in Iran.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments