ISFAHAN – In a move that blends diplomacy, symbolism and public appeal, Isfahan’s governor has released two open letters to Christian leaders, calling on them to “raise their voices against this oppression and injustice” and express solidarity with the people living in Iran amid rising tensions involving the United States and Israel.
The letter, written in both Farsi and English and sent directly to the recipient and published in the press at the same time, was addressed to Aram I, the great Catholic of Cilicia, and Pope Leo XIV, the supreme pontiff of the Catholic Church.
Governor Mehdi Jamalinjad frames his appeal not only as a political message, but also as a call rooted in a common religious and civilizational heritage. He describes Isfahan as “a precious compendium of the world’s civilizations, history, cultural heritage and handicrafts,” underscoring its long-standing identity as a meeting place of faiths.
“Isfahan…has long been recognized as a center of peaceful coexistence between monotheistic and theistic religions, and a center of solidarity and dialogue,” he wrote, pointing to the historic New Julfa neighborhood, home to Armenian Christians, and to its Safavid-era tradition, where “the sound of church bells mingled with the call to prayer from grand mosques.”
The timing of the letter is closely related to recent developments on the ground. Jamalinjad said he was writing this after attending the funeral of Armenian Christian Abanes Simonian, whom he described as “a devoted Armenian Christian who was martyred in a brutal and merciless American and Israeli attack.”
The funeral and memorial service for the Armenian martyr was held in the 400-year-old Church of St. Mary in Isfahan’s New Julfa district, with the participation of Muslims and Christians, where Christian religious ceremonies were officially held and church bells rang in remembrance.
Both letters explicitly call for moral solidarity. “Our specific request is that His Holiness will raise his voice… so that this cry against injustice will resonate even more powerfully,” he wrote, adding that such support would reflect solidarity with “the dear people of Iran and Isfahan” and help protect their “precious and magnificent world heritage belonging to all humanity.”
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