ICCO repairing Iran’s churches

IranMania News, Iran
Sept 13 2005

Tuesday, September 13, 2005 – ©2005 IranMania.com

LONDON, September 13 (IranMania) – Iran will spend five billion
rials to repair churches across the country. Islamic Culture and
Communications Organization (ICCO) said in a press release that an
annual budget has been allocated to repair churches belonging to
various Christian communities, including the Armenians, in Iran.

Iran?s cultural attache in Armenia Alireza Otoufi said that Iran
accords special importance to Iranian religious minorities and the
government has set aside five billion rials to repair the churches in
the current fiscal year (March 2005-March 2006), Iran Daily reported.

Otoufi explained that the government?s decision to that effect in a
meeting in Yerevan, Armenia with archbishops of Armenian churches in
Tehran, northern Iran and Isfahan.

He said that Iran is the only country that extends annual budget for
repairing churches.

Archbishop of Armenians in Tehran and northern Iran, Siveh Sarkisyan
said that Iran is a unique country and the government and churches
enjoyed excellent relations in the field of dialogue among religions.

Archbishop Sarkisyan appreciated the services of Iranian cultural
attache in Yerevan and said, ?Wherever, we are, we have the same
obligations for promoting religion.?

Bobken Charyan, a bishop of Isfahan archdiocese thanked the Iranian
government for its cooperation with the churches.

Copies from chapters of holy Qur?an were presented as gifts to
the guests.

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