Living a quietly dangerous life, followers of Jesus in countries like Iran are seeing God move powerfully wherever there is room for them to gather. And when your faith has been pushed to the margins of society, the only room left might be your living room. Despite the dangers, house churches in Iran continue to grow and multiply. Believers face […]
Passover, Easter and soon Ramadan will be marked in isolation in the Middle East this year. We look at how alarm over a string of man-made conflicts in the region has been overtaken by fear of a new enemy and how countries are responding. You could be forgiven for forgetting the fear that circled the globe following the US strike […]
Closed Middle East churches give SAT-7 a unique role this Easter For the Middle East and North Africa, as well as the UK, the Easter festival looks very different this year. Normally overflowing church pews in countries such as Egypt, Iraq, and Lebanon are empty. From Bethlehem to Istanbul churches are closed and the region’s diverse Orthodox, Catholic and Evangelical […]
With the US embassy siege in Tehran still hanging over them and at a time of food shortages and fear, Americans Tat Stewart and his wife set off to lead a major Christian youth conference in the north of the city in the summer of 1980. In the second of two blogs, Revd Tat Stewart recalls the astonishing move of […]
A prayer shared live by Revd Keyvan Cyrus on SAT-7 PARS’ programme Signal created a powerful dialogue between the channel and its viewers, when hundreds of messages poured in as a response. “Let these diseases and microscopic organisms that can destroy our bodies be replaced by harmony and peace, mercy and healing in our bodies,” Cyrus prayed in response to the pandemic that has […]
Rising audience engagement and heartfelt viewer comments show that SAT-7’s Christian broadcasts are needed now more than ever in the Middle East and North Africa. As the coronavirus spreads and churches are closed, viewers across the region are responding to the network’s spiritual comfort, mental health support, and practical health advice. In Iran, the regional epicentre of the crisis, viewers say […]
On 15 March Syria will have been at war for nine years. Its prolonged, multi-sided conflict and the fate of the millions who are still seeking safety became the region’s headline again this month. The war in Syria entered a new phase at the end of February. After the killing of 39 Turkish soldiers in Idlib province, Turkey unleashed its […]
Five months after the 1979 revolution that a Shia Islamic government, Tat Stewart arrived to pastor a community church in Tehran. What he had never expected to see was the remarkable move of God’s Spirit among Iranian people that began in those days of turmoil and continues still today in a Church that is largely underground. In 1978, over 55,000 […]
War and peace have been the dominant themes of the Middle East this month. Iran and the United States stepped back from a major confrontation, and a much-delayed US peace plan was unveiled for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But Syria’s suffering has continued, and there are risks of a new front opening up after clashes between Syria and Turkey. Since 2018, […]
Hovan* grew up in a strict religious environment in Iran, but he never believed in God. It was only when his daughter started watching a children’s show on SAT-7 PARS that Hovan became curious about Christianity. “I grew up learning about religion, but I just couldn’t accept it in my heart,” Hovan remembers. “I wanted to avoid religious events, and […]