The Assyrian Pentecostal Church ( syr, ܥܕܬܐ ܕܐܚܘܢܘ̈ܬܐ ܦܢܛܩܘܣܛܝ̈ܐ ܐܬܘܪ̈ܝܐ, ''‘Ittā d-Akhonāwāthā Pēnṭēqosṭāyē Ātūrāyē''; fa, کلیسای پنطیکاستی آشوری), is a Reformed Eastern Christian denomination that began in ethnically

Assyrian Assyrian may refer to: * Assyrian people, the indigenous ethnic group of Mesopotamia. * Assyria, a major Mesopotamian kingdom and empire. ** Early Assyrian Period ** Old Assyrian Period ** Middle Assyrian Empire ** Neo-Assyrian Empire * Assyrian ...

villages across the

Urmia Urmia or Orumiyeh ( fa, ارومیه, Variously transliterated as ''Oroumieh'', ''Oroumiyeh'', ''Orūmīyeh'' and ''Urūmiyeh''.) is the largest city in West Azerbaijan Province of Iran and the capital of Urmia County. It is situated at an alt ...

region in northwestern

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkme ...

, spreading to the Assyrians living in the adjacent cities, and from there to indigenous Assyrian communities in the

Assyrian Homeland The Assyrian homeland, Assyria ( syc, ܐܬܘܪ, Āṯūr or syc, ܒܝܬ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, Bêth Nahrin) refers to the homeland of the Assyrian people within which Assyrian civilisation developed, located in their indigenous Upper Mesopotamia. T ...

, northern

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

, southeastern

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

and northeastern

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

. The indigenous Assyrian people of ancient

Assyria Assyria (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , romanized: ''māt Aššur''; syc, ܐܬܘܪ, ʾāthor) was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization which existed as a city-state at times controlling regional territories in the indigenous lands of the ...

and

Upper Mesopotamia Upper Mesopotamia is the name used for the uplands and great outwash plain of northwestern Iraq, northeastern Syria and southeastern Turkey, in the northern Middle East. Since the early Muslim conquests of the mid-7th century, the region has been ...

had adopted Christianity in the 1st century AD, founding the

Church of the East The Church of the East ( syc, ܥܕܬܐ ܕܡܕܢܚܐ, ''ʿĒḏtā d-Maḏenḥā'') or the East Syriac Church, also called the Church of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, the Persian Church, the Assyrian Church, the Babylonian Church or the Nestorian C ...

and

Osroene Osroene or Osrhoene (; grc-gre, Ὀσροηνή) was an ancient region and state in Upper Mesopotamia. The ''Kingdom of Osroene'', also known as the "Kingdom of Edessa" ( syc, ܡܠܟܘܬܐ ܕܒܝܬ ܐܘܪܗܝ / "Kingdom of Urhay"), according t ...

(see also:

, Assyrian people and Assyrian continuity). Those who converted to the Pentecostal Church (as well as the

Assyrian Evangelical Church The Assyrian Evangelical Church is a Presbyterian church in the Middle East that attained a status of ecclesiastical independence from the Presbyterian mission in Iran in 1870. Members Its members are predominantly ethnic Assyrians, an Eastern A ...

) in the 20th century were initially all members of the

Assyrian Church of the East The Assyrian Church of the East,, ar, كنيسة المشرق الآشورية sometimes called Church of the East, officially the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East,; ar, كنيسة المشرق الآشورية الرسول� ...

or its later 18th century AD offshoot, the

Chaldean Catholic Church , native_name_lang = syc , image = Assyrian Church.png , imagewidth = 200px , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Our Lady of Sorrows Baghdad, Iraq , abbreviation = , type ...

, whilst others had been members of the

Syriac Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = syc , image = St_George_Syriac_orthodox_church_in_Damascus.jpg , imagewidth = 250 , alt = Cathedral of Saint George , caption = Cathedral of Saint George, Damascu ...

Ancient Church of the East The Ancient Church of the East is an Eastern Christian denomination. It branched from the Assyrian Church of the East in 1964, under the leadership of Mar Thoma Darmo (d. 1969). It is one of three Assyrian Churches that claim continuity with th ...

(a 20th-century offshoot of the Assyrian Church). The vast majority of modern-day ethnic Assyrians remain adherents of these ancient indigenous Eastern Rite churches. The current church's doctrine and tradition is a continuation of the spiritual revival movements that took place in Western Iran during the 1930s. In 1940, with great diligence and personal sacrifice a young Assyrian pastor, named

Tooma Nasseri Tooma may refer to: Australia * Tooma, New South Wales, village community in Riverina, New South Wales, Australia * Tooma River, river in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales, Australia ** Tooma Dam, the dam on the Tooma River, forming the Tooma ...

began his evangelical ministry throughout Western Iran and built churches and established congregations in villages, towns, and major metropolitan cities in Iran. With the seed of

Protestant Christianity Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

planted, the Assyrian Protestant churches began to emerge throughout greater Iran in the 1950s. Currently, the Assyrian Pentecostal Church has several congregations in California, Illinois, Canada, Australia, Austria, and Iran. The Church is an affiliate with the

Assemblies of God The Assemblies of God (AG), officially the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, is a group of over 144 autonomous self-governing national groupings of churches that together form the world's largest Pentecostal denomination."Assemblies of God". ...

. Today, the church may have from 12 to 20 thousand adherents.

Name of the church

The term ''Pentecostal'' is derived from

Pentecost Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christian holiday which takes place on the 50th day (the seventh Sunday) after Easter Sunday. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and other followers of ...

, or the Jewish Feast of Weeks, which commemorates the descent of the

Holy Spirit In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is the divine force, quality, and influence of God over the Universe or over his creatures. In Nicene Christianity, the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is the third person of the Trinity. In Islam, the Holy Spirit acts as ...

upon the followers of

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

(Esho Mshexa in Assyrian Neo-Aramaic) as described in the

Book of Acts The Acts of the Apostles ( grc-koi, Πράξεις Ἀποστόλων, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; la, Actūs Apostolōrum) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of its message ...

, Chapter . Thus, the Church's name originates from the biblical passages contained within the

Acts of the Apostles The Acts of the Apostles ( grc-koi, Πράξεις Ἀποστόλων, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; la, Actūs Apostolōrum) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of its message ...

which refers to the

day of Pentecost Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christian holiday which takes place on the 50th day (the seventh Sunday) after Easter Sunday. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and other followers of ...

Statement of beliefs

*The scriptures: The Bible is the inspired Word of God. ( 2 Timothy 3:16) *The God Head: Our God is one, but manifested in three persons, The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. (John 16: 13-15) *Man, His Fall and Redemption: Through Adam's transgression and fall, sin came into the world. (Romans 5:12-21) *The New Birth: Through Jesus' death and resurrection, righteousness comes to all who believe. (John 3:3-5) *Water Baptism: Baptism in water, by immersion. ( Matthew 28:16) *Baptism in the Holy Ghost: The baptism in the Holy Ghost and fire is a gift from God. ( Matthew 3:11, Acts 1:8, Acts 2: 1-4) *Divine Healing: It is provided in the atonement of Christ and is the privilege of every member of the church today. (James 5: 14-15, Mark 16:18, Isaiah 53:4, Matthew 8:17) *Resurrection of the just and the return of our Lord Jesus Christ: His coming is imminent. The dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we that are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. (I Thess 4: 16-17, Acts 1:11)

Current Leaders

*Pastor Robert Sawra of Assyrian Pentecostal Church in Turlock *Pastor Robert Barcham of Assyrian Pentecostal Church in Urmia *Pastor Yonathan Nader of Assyrian Pentecostal Church in Chicago *Pastor William Nisan of Assyrian Pentecostal Church in Los Angeles *Pastor Isac Warda of Assyrian Pentecostal Church in Sydney *Pastor Victor Tamraz of Assyrian Pentecostal Church in Tehran *Pastor Johnson Bayati of Assyrian Pentecostal Church in San Jose

Language

The

liturgical language A sacred language, holy language or liturgical language is any language that is cultivated and used primarily in church service or for other religious reasons by people who speak another, primary language in their daily lives. Concept A sacr ...

spoken by the members, church choir, and the pastors is

Assyrian Neo-Aramaic Suret ( syr, ܣܘܪܝܬ) ( �su:rɪtʰor �su:rɪθ, also known as Assyrian or Chaldean, refers to the varieties of Northeastern Neo-Aramaic (NENA) spoken by ethnic Assyrians, including those identifying as religious groups rather than ethn ...

, a language descended from the

Mesopotamian Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the F ...

Aramaic introduced into the

Assyrian Empire Assyrian may refer to: * Assyrian people, the indigenous ethnic group of Mesopotamia. * Assyria, a major Mesopotamian kingdom and empire. ** Early Assyrian Period ** Old Assyrian Period ** Middle Assyrian Empire ** Neo-Assyrian Empire * Assyrian ...

during the 8th century BC. Prayers and scripture are read and recited from a Syriac Aramaic Bible.

Observed Holidays

The adherents of the Assyrian Pentecostal Church observe the following holidays: *Christmas: (''Eda Surah'') also referred to as Christmas Day, is an annual

holiday A holiday is a day set aside by custom or by law on which normal activities, especially business or work including school, are suspended or reduced. Generally, holidays are intended to allow individuals to celebrate or commemorate an event or tra ...

celebrated on December 25 that commemorates the birth of

."Christmas"
''

The Catholic Encyclopedia The ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'' (also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedia'') i ...

'', 1913. *New Year's Eve: (''Sheetah Khatah'') *Easter: (''Eda Gurah'') Assyrian Pentecostals celebrate

resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. In a number of religions, a dying-and-rising god is a deity which dies and is resurrected. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions, which ...

from the dead three days after his

crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagin ...

, and celebrate this resurrection on Easter Day,'Easter Day' is the traditional name in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

for the principal feast of Easter, used (for instance) by the ''

Book of Common Prayer The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the name given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The original book, published in 1549 in the reign ...

'', but in the 20th century 'Easter Sunday' became widely used, despite this term also referring to the following Sunday. or Easter Sunday, two days after

Good Friday Good Friday is a Christian holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary. It is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum. It is also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday (also Holy ...

. *Pentecost: (''Yomit Pantacostayeh'') Assyrian Pentecostals commemorate the descent of the

upon the

Apostles An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...

and other followers of

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

as described in the

, Chapter .

References

External links

* Kathryn Spellman
''Religion and Nation''
Berghahn Books, 2004 * https://web.archive.org/web/20050102051155/http://www.baylor.edu/truett/journal/index.php?id=20626 * Acts 2:1-13 (New International Version) http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%202:1-13 * * Official Website for Turlock Branch: http://www.assyrianpentecostalchurch.org/APC/index.php ''broken link'' * Official Website for San Jose Branch: https://web.archive.org/web/20081208105514/http://www.assyrianpentecostalchurch.com/ ''broken link'' {{Assyrian topics 1940 establishments in Iran Pentecostal denominations in Asia