UNESCO inscribes Christian pilgrimage in Iran

Pilgrimage to the St. Thaddeus Apostle Monastery in Iran has been inscribed on UNESCO’s Intangible Heritage list.

Based in northwestern Iran, the monastery hosts the annual three-day pilgrimage held each July. The commemoration ceremony venerates two prominent saints: St. Thaddeus and St. Santukhd and is the primary social and cultural event of Iranian-Armenians and followers of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

"The religious ceremony is the most important event in the life of the Iranian-Armenian community in northern Iran, as well as the Christians worldwide," Bishop Krikir Chiftjian, Prelate of Armenian Diocese in Iran’s Provinces of East and West Azerbaijan, said of the pilgrimage.

This comes as a significant achievement for Iran’s Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts, highlighting the fact that freedom of religion and constructive interfaith dialogue is an integral part of social life in the Islamic country.  

In 2018, the 7th-century St. Thaddeus along with two other monastic ensembles of the Armenian Christian faith, St. Stepanos and the Chapel of Dzordzor, was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.  

The latest inclusion is a joint inscription by Iran and Armenia and approved during the fifteenth session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, which is running online from December 14 to 19.

AG/AG