The Assyrian Pentecostal Church (, ''‘Ittā d-Akhonāwāthā Pēnṭēqosṭāyē Ātūrāyē''; ), is a Reformed Eastern Christian denomination that began in ethnically Assyrian villages across the Urmia region in northwestern

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

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

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

, southeastern

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

and northeastern

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

. The indigenous Assyrian people of ancient

Assyria Assyria (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , ''māt Aššur'') was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization that existed as a city-state from the 21st century BC to the 14th century BC and eventually expanded into an empire from the 14th century BC t ...

and

Upper Mesopotamia Upper Mesopotamia constitutes the Upland and lowland, 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 regio ...

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

Church of the East The Church of the East ( ) or the East Syriac Church, also called the Church of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, the Persian Church, the Assyrian Church, the Babylonian Church, the Chaldean Church or the Nestorian Church, is one of three major branches o ...

and

Osroene Osroene or Osrhoene (; ) was an ancient kingdom and region in Upper Mesopotamia. The ''Kingdom of Osroene'', also known as the "Kingdom of Edessa" ( / "Kingdom of Urhay"), according to the name of its capital city (now Urfa, Şanlıurfa, Turkey), ...

(see also:

Assyrian people Assyrians (, ) are an ethnic group Indigenous peoples, indigenous to Mesopotamia, a geographical region in West Asia. Modern Assyrians Assyrian continuity, share descent directly from the ancient Assyrians, one of the key civilizations of Mesop ...

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 Easter ...

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

Assyrian Church of the East The Assyrian Church of the East (ACOE), sometimes called the Church of the East and officially known as the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East, is an Eastern Christianity, Eastern Syriac Christianity, Syriac Christian denomin ...

or its later 18th century AD offshoot, the

Chaldean Catholic Church The Chaldean Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Catholic Catholic particular churches and liturgical rites, particular church (''sui iuris'') in full communion with the Holy See and the rest of the Catholic Church, and is ...

, whilst others had been members of the

Syriac Orthodox Church The Syriac Orthodox Church (), also informally known as the Jacobite Church, is an Oriental Orthodox Christian denomination, denomination that originates from the Church of Antioch. The church currently has around 4-5 million followers. The ch ...

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

(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 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 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 World Assemblies of God Fellowship (WAGF), commonly known as the Assemblies of God (AG), is a global cooperative body or communion of over 170 Pentecostal denominations that was established on August 15, 1989. The WAGF was created to provi ...

. 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 Christianity, Christian holiday which takes place on the 49th day (50th day when inclusive counting is used) after Easter Day, Easter. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spiri ...

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

Holy Spirit The Holy Spirit, otherwise known as the Holy Ghost, is a concept within the Abrahamic religions. In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is understood as the divine quality or force of God manifesting in the world, particularly in acts of prophecy, creati ...

upon the followers of

Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

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

Book of Acts The Acts of the Apostles (, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; ) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of The gospel, its message to the Roman Empire. Acts and the Gospel of Luke make u ...

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

Acts of the Apostles The Acts of the Apostles (, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; ) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of The gospel, its message to the Roman Empire. Acts and the Gospel of Luke make u ...

which refers to the day of Pentecost.

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 Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

*Pastor William Nisan of Assyrian Pentecostal Church in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

*Pastor Isac Warda of Assyrian Pentecostal Church in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

*Pastor Victor Tamraz of Assyrian Pentecostal Church in

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

*Pastor Johnson Bayati of Assyrian Pentecostal Church in San Jose

Language

The liturgical language spoken by the members, church choir, and the pastors is

Assyrian Neo-Aramaic Suret ( Help:IPA for Aramaic, �suːrɪtʰor Help:IPA for Aramaic, �suːrɪθ, also known as Assyrian, refers to the varieties of Northeastern Neo-Aramaic (NENA) spoken by Christians, namely Assyrian people, Assyrians.Nordhoff, Sebast ...

, a language descended from the

Mesopotamian Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary o ...

Aramaic Aramaic (; ) is a Northwest Semitic language that originated in the ancient region of Syria and quickly spread to Mesopotamia, the southern Levant, Sinai, southeastern Anatolia, and Eastern Arabia, where it has been continually written a ...

introduced into the Assyrian Empire 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 or other period of time set aside for festivals or recreation. ''Public holidays'' are set by public authorities and vary by state or region. Religious holidays are set by religious organisations for their members and are often ...

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 Encyclopedi ...

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

s resurrection from the dead three days after his

crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the condemned is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross, beam or stake and left to hang until eventual death. It was used as a punishment by the Achaemenid Empire, Persians, Ancient Carthag ...

, and celebrate this resurrection on Easter Day,'Easter Day' is the traditional name in English for the principal feast of Easter, used (for instance) by the ''

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

'', 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, also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday, or Friday of the Passion of the Lord, is a solemn Christian holy day commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary (Golgotha). It is observed during ...

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

upon the Apostles and other followers of

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

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