Pastor Mohammed Bajher Yusefi, affectionately known by his flock as "Ravanbaksh"
(soul giver), was slain on Saturday September 28, 1996.
Remember those in prison, as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as
if you yourselves were suffering. Hebrews 13:3, NIV
Pastor Mohammed Bajher Yusefi, affectionately known by his flock as "Ravanbaksh"
(soul giver), was slain on Saturday September 28, 1996.
Pastor Yusefi had left his
house in Sari at 6 a.m. to spend time in prayer, but
he never returned. The Iranian authorities notified
the family later that evening that his body had been
found hanging from a tree in a nearby forest.
The 35-year-old pastor converted from Islam at the
age of 24. After attending Bible school, he entered
into full-time ministry and became pastor of the
Assembly of God churches in Sari, Gorgan, and Shahr in
the province of Mazandaran.
Pastor Yusefi is survived by his wife, Akhtar, who
also is from a Muslim background, his 7-year-old son
Stephen, and his 9-year-old daughter Ramsina. He had
also raised the two sons of Rev. Mehdi Dibaj while he
was in prison for 9 years, because he too had refused
to deny his faith in Christ and return to Islam. Three
months after Mehdi Dibaj was released from prison in
June 1994, Mehdi was abducted and later found dead.
Pastor Yusefi is the fifth Christian leader in recent
years to have been martyred in Iran. In addition to
Mehdi Dibaj, also murdered in 1994 were Rev. Tateos
Mikaelian and Rev. Haik Hovsepian-Mehr. In 1990, Rev.
Hossein Soodmand was martyred. The persecution of
evangelical Christians in Iran is wide-spread.
Converts to Christianity are especially targeted and
are arrested and tortured because of their
faithfulness to Christ.
Iranian Martyrs of Church Leaders
Another Iranian Christian Pays The Ultimate Price
"Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection...
they were stoned; they were sawn in two; they were put to death by the sword... the world was
not worthy of them." -- Hebrews 11: 37-38.
Iranian Assemblies of God pastor Mohammad Bagher Yusefi has been found dead in a forest
near his home city of Sari, the capital of the north western Iranian province Mazandaran.
Mohammad Yusefi left his house at 6 o'clock in the morning on Saturday 28th September for
prayer and never returned. Later that evening his family were contacted by the local authorities
who said his body had been discovered hanging from a tree. Although the authorities say they are
investigating Yusefi's death, there can hardly be any doubt that he has been martyred because he
was a Christian leader from a Muslim background. Mohammad Yusefi was the pastor of the
Assemblies of God churches in Mazandaran, and had recently been responsible for seeing the
church grow in size in the city of Gorgan. Mohammad Yusefi had also raised two sons of Rev.
Mehdi Dibaj while he was in prison for 9 years because he refused to deny his faith in Christ.
Sixty year old Rev. Dibaj was released after an international campaign, but was murdered three
months later in similar circumstances. Yusefi's body is expected to be released by the authorities
today and a Christian funeral is planned for Saturday 5th October.
Thirty four year old Mohammad Bagher Yusefi, was born in a Muslim family, but became a
Christian as a young man. He was a very committed Christian, a gifted evangelist and pastor. He
became known as Ravanbakhsh which in Persian means "Soul Giver." Those who knew him
were especially struck by his gentleness and humility. He loved music and wrote many indigenous
Mazandarani Christian songs.
Mohammad Bagher Yusefi leaves behind his wife, Akhtar, who is also a committed Christian from
a Muslim background, and two children, a daughter Ramsina aged 9 and a son, Stephen aged 7.
Akhtar became a Christian under the ministry of Rev. Hossein Soodmand who was martyred in
1990. The grieving family will be comforted by the prayers of Christians around the world as this
sad news reaches them.
According to strict Islamic law Muslims who change their religion should be killed. Mohammad
Bagher Yusefi is the seventh Christian leader to be killed in Iran since the 1979 revolution. At the
beginning of the revolution the Anglican Church, which was mainly made up of converts from
Islam was attacked. Rev. Sayyah the priest in Shiraz had his throat cut, and Bahram
Deghani-Tafti, the son of the Anglican bishop, was shot. More recently Islamic hostility to
Christianity has concentrated on the Assemblies God churches as Muslims are becoming
Christians in their churches. In December 1990 Rev. Soodmand, the leader of the church in
Mashad, was executed by hanging in a prison in Mashad and then in January 1994 Bishop Haik
Hovsepian Mehr and in July, the same year, Rev. Mehdi Dibaj were killed. Also in that year the
sixty-two year old leader of the Presbyterian church, Rev. Tateos Michaelian, was murdered
after taking over Bishop Hovsepian's position as Chairman of the Protestant Council of Ministers.
Though grieving at the moment the leaders of the church in Iran are determined to continue the
work of preaching the Gospel. They fully believe the words of the great early church leader,
Tertullian, "that the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church" and are expecting the church to
grow.
With a population of over 65 million and influence over much of the Middle East and Central Asia,
Iran represents a great challenge to the world-wide church. Though small and living in constant
danger of persecution, the church in Iran has been a faithful witness. Since the 1979 Islamic
Revolution Iranians have become responsive to the Gospel and many have become Christians.
The martyrdom of Mohammad Bagher Yusefi echoes a Macedonian call to Christians around the
world to partner Iranian Christians in proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ by all possible means
to the Persian Speaking World.
"Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection...
they were stoned; they were sawn in two; they were put to death by the sword... the world was
not worthy of them." -- Hebrews 11: 37-38.
2015 - December 19 - A number of house Church leaders and members in Isfahan are harassed and brought to Security and Information Office for questioning
2013 - October 21 - Pastor Eddie Romero - Tonight, at about 10:30PM (9:00AM Tehran time) Pastor Eddie Romero approached the notorious Evin Prison in Tehran and made a declaration of protest on behalf of five Iranian prisoners: Farshid Fathi, Saeed Abedini, Mostafa Bordbar, Alireza Seyyedian, and Mohammed Ali Dadkhah.
For more information go to: exodus8one.org
2013 - October 5 - Maryam Naghash-Zargaran - Maryam (aka Nasim) an Iranian Christian Prisoner in Evin Prison was Transferred to Hospital
2012 - January - The Governor General of Tehran Province, Morteza Tamadon, acknowledged in a statement on 4th January that a number of evangelical Christians had been arrested. He referred to their 'corrupting' influence and warned that further arrests are imminent.
2011 - December - Alireza Seyyedian - Alireza a Follower of Jesus since 2006, was arrested and sentenced to six years in December 2011. He is kept in the section 350 of Evin Prison where political prisoners are held.
2011 - September - Mehdi "Petros" Foroutan, a 27-year-old pastor in Iran, was arrested in January 2010 and charged with crimes against national security and blasphemy against Islam. (as of 2/24/2012 - 154 days in Prison)
2011 - May - Behnam Irani, a 41-year-old pastor from Kraj, Iran, was convicted of crimes against national security in January 2011 and sentenced to one year in prison. After voluntarily surrendering to authorities on May 31 to begin his sentence, he learned that he would be forced to serve five years in connection with a previous conviction.
2011 - Rev. Behrooz Khanjani trial hearing on 4/5/2001, He is married with a 6 yo child and has already spent over 8 months in prison
2011 - Rev. Leonard Keshishian, the pastor of the Assemblies of God Church in Isfahan has been arrested
2010 - December 26 - Farshid Fathi - was arrested on Dec. 26, 2010 in a wave of arrests of believers in Tehran and other areas. He was sentenced to six years of imprisonment on March 5, 2012. Farshid's appeal against the charges was rejected in June 2012. He is due to serve the rest of his sentence in Evin Prison.
2010 - October - a young believer has died in Iran after he had been severely beaten by a relative who objected to his strong faith in Christ. He leaves behind a wife and two young children. (Reported by Elam)
2010 - September 23, Nine followers of Jesus were detained in Hamedan, the capital of Hamadan province, on charges of evangelism, which potentially carries the death penalty under strict laws in Iran.
- According to a report by FCNN (Farsi Christian News Network), 4 followers of Jesus Christ from Hamadan were arrested on September 4, 2010. Three of them were released on April 30, 2011, after 8 months in prison (Arezoo Teymouri & her husband Arash Karmanjai and Sonia Keshish Ovanesian). Vahid Abrahemian is still under arrest as of April 30, 2011.
2010 - July 24 at 9:00 p.m., 27-year-old Neshan Saeedi was spending a quiet evening at home with his wife and young daughter when plain-clothes security forces entered his house and arrested him. The security officers searched the home and seized personal belongings such as a computer, CDs containing films of Christian seminars and teachings, Christian books and Bibles, and family photo albums. As of September 09, 2010 - there is no information about the condition of Neshan.
2010 - July 18, 15 Christians detained in Mashhad,Iran's second largest city, remain detained and are "under pressure pressure to recant their faith but are refusing to do so." - (Reported by The Voice of the Martyrs)
2010 - April 29, Ali Golchin (29), has been held in solitary confinement in Tehran's Evin prison since he was arrested in his home town of Varamin on April 29. After weeks of appealing to the authorities, Ali's father was finally allowed access to him on June 17 -- though they were allowed only 10 minutes together. Ali was released on bail on July 25.
2008 - Sakineh Rahnama), August 3, wife of Abbas Amiri, died from injuries sustained when secret police raided a house church service hosted at their house and severly beat her.
2008 - Abbas Amiri), August 1, House Church Isfahan, died from injuries sustained when secret police raided a house church service hosted at their house and severly beat him.
2007 - In June, a number of Iranian Christians have been arrested and are held in unknown places, including Mr. fard from Tehran.
2007 - Mohammad Ali Jafarzadeh, May 2007, Executed (hanged) in Evin Prison
2007 - Mohammad Jaberi, May 2007, Executed (hanged) in Evin Prison
2007 - Mr. Patrick, an Iranian Christian and a member of Church of Kermanshah was arrested in May.
2007 - Several Iranian Christians from Church of Mashhad were arrested in February.
2006 - 14 Iranian Christians from Church of Rasht were arrested in December.
2006 - Iranian secret police began to raid and arrest leaders of the Islamic republic's indigenous "Jesus Only" movement Sunday December 10, arriving unannounced in the early morning hours to search their homes in Tehran, Karaj, Rasht and Bandar-i Anzali.
2005 - Pastor Ghorbandordi Tourani - Iranian House Church Leader murdered near his house in Gonbad-e Kavous, November 22
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