A mobed, mowbed, or mobad (Middle Persian: 𐭬𐭢𐭥𐭯𐭲) is a
Zoroastrian
Zoroastrianism ( ), also called Mazdayasnā () or Beh-dīn (), is an Iranian religion centred on the Avesta and the teachings of Zarathushtra Spitama, who is more commonly referred to by the Greek translation, Zoroaster ( ). Among the wo ...
cleric of a particular rank. Unlike a ''
herbad
Hērbad (also ''hīrbad'', ''hērbed'' or ''ērvad'') is a title given to Zoroastrian priests of minor orders.
In the present day, ''hērbad'' is the lowest rank in the Zoroastrian priesthood, and is granted following the basic ''navar'' ceremon ...
'' (''ervad''), a ''mobed'' is qualified to serve as celebrant priest at the
Hormizd I
Hormizd-Ardashir, better known by his dynastic name of Hormizd I (also spelled Hormozd I or Ohrmazd I; ), was the third Sasanian King of Kings (''shahanshah'') of Iran, who ruled from May 270 to June 271. He was the third-born son of Shapur I (), ...
appointed
Kartir
Kartir (also spelled Karder, Karter and Kerdir; Middle Persian: 𐭪𐭫𐭲𐭩𐭫 ''Kardīr'') was a powerful and influential Zoroastrian priest during the reigns of four Sasanian kings in the 3rd century. His name is cited in the inscriptions ...
''mowbadān-mowbad'' "high priest of ''priests''".
The term mobad is a contraction of Old Persian ''magupati'', the first half of the expression derived from and . The word was borrowed as ka, მოგუ-ი ''mogu-i'' and and from
Parthian
Parthian may refer to:
Historical
* Parthian people
* A demonym "of Parthia", a region of north-eastern of Greater Iran
* Parthian Empire (247 BC – 224 AD)
* Parthian language, a now-extinct Middle Iranian language
* Parthian shot, an archery sk ...
as .
Through and ,
proto-Iranian
Proto-Iranian or Proto-Iranic is the reconstructed proto-language of the Iranian languages branch of Indo-European language family and thus the ancestor of the Iranian languages such as Persian, Pashto, Sogdian, Zazaki, Ossetian, Mazandara ...
''*magu-'' is also identified as the origin of the Latin word ''magus'', a " magi''an''". Through the Greek adjective and , mobed is distantly related to the English language word "
magic
Magic or magick most commonly refers to:
* Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces
** ''Magick'' (with ''-ck'') can specifically refer to ceremonial magic
* Magic (illusion), also known as sta ...
Parsis
The Parsis or Parsees () are a Zoroastrian ethnic group in the Indian subcontinent. They are descended from Persian refugees who migrated to the Indian subcontinent during and after the Arab-Islamic conquest of Iran in the 7th century, w ...
, are required to be male from a priestly family (the "Athornan" class or caste). According to Parsi tradition, Athornan mobeds have held the responsibility of preserving and promoting religion since pre-Zoroastrian times of the mythical King
Jamshid
Jamshid () (, ''Jamshēd''; Middle- and New Persian: جم, ''Jam''), also known as ''Yima'' (Avestan: 𐬫𐬌𐬨𐬀 ''Yima''; Persian/Pashto: یما ''Yama''), is the fourth Shah of the mythological Pishdadian dynasty of Iran according to ' ...
.
Due to the shortage of priests, the community in India considered a project to train any Parsi man to serve as a mobed assistant or ''paramobed'' in the 1970s. The plan was launched in the early 2000s using a new term for these priestly assistants: ''behdin pasban''s.
In 1995, the North American Mobeds Council (NAMC) created a program to teach and ordain assistants called ''mobedyar''s or ''paramobed''s to address the shortage of available mobeds across North America. The program was initially open to any male Zoroastrian, irrespective of Athornan (priestly) or Behdhin (non-priestly) caste or lineage. The first mobedyar was ordained in Virginia in late 1997. Another NAMC-trained mobedyar was ordained in California in 2004 after several years of serving the community.
In 2008, the NAMC amended the original resolution passed in 1999 to broaden the criteria for the eligibility and training of mobedyars to include women. As of 2010, the North American Mobeds Council had successfully trained six mobedyars to perform outer liturgical ceremonies and bereavement services in the absence of an ordained priest.
In 2009-2010, the chairman of the Council of Zoroastrian Priests 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. ...
, Mobed Soroushpur, suggested opening the priesthood to women after research on ancient Zoroastrian documents that revealed evidence of female clergy in ancient Persian times. "The concepts of equality have always been at the basis of our culture. In antiquity, there were many female priests, politicians, warriors and this even up to the Sasanian time," he said. Potential corroboration may be found in the oral tradition of the Parsis, which acknowledges a female priest named Testar as among those who fled religious persecution and forced conversions in Arab-conquered Persia to establish a new homeland in
Sanjan, Gujarat
Sanjan is a town situated in Umargam taluka in the Valsad district in the state of Gujarat, India. Sanjan is located around 70 km from the Valsad city. It is the earliest settlement of the Parsis in India.
Geography
Sanjan Bandar, also c ...
around the ninth century.
In 2011, eight women were certified to serve the community as mobedyars. However, female mobedyars in Iran may be restricted in their ability to serve their community in the same manner as mobeds, such as tending to fires in
fire temple
A fire temple (; ) is a place of worship for Zoroastrians.
In Zoroastrian doctrine, ''atar'' and '' aban'' (fire and water) are agents of ritual purity.
Clean, white "ash for the purification ceremonies sregarded as the basis of ritual lif ...
s.
Zoroastrian women have since been ordained in Iran and North America to serve the community as mobedyars. Since the mobedyar program was initiated in North America, there has been some pushback on the restrictions placed on ordained mobedyars by the NAMC regarding the types of ceremonies mobedyars may perform. The community is grappling with the question of whether to permit any Zoroastrian to train to become a full-fledged mobed irrespective of caste, lineage, or gender. The concept of a universal priesthood would promote and encourage persons to train to become mobeds and mobedyars "regardless of their gender, ancestry or background".
References
Sources
* {{citation , last= Boyce , first= Mary , year= 2001 , orig-date= 1979 , title= Zoroastrians, their religious beliefs and practices , url= https://books.google.com/books?id=a6gbxVfjtUEC , place= London , publisher=
Routledge
Routledge ( ) is a British multinational corporation, multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, academic journals, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanit ...