Christian mother narrates Ayatollah Khamenei's visit to her family

His behavior and manners were so simple and intimate that at that time I was no longer anxious and my heart had calmed down. Now I wished that this visit could have lasted for hours.

News ID: ۳۸۵۱۴۸

پنجشنبه - ۳۱ اسفند ۲۰۱۶ / 2016 31 December

On the blessed eve of the birth anniversary of Jesus Christ (pubh), Sahba Publication Co. realsed a book entitled 'Christ in the Night of Glory'. Parts of the book have been made available to Khamenei.ir by Sahba. The book entails accounts of 34 memories written on the visits made by the Leader of the Revolution, Ayatollah Khamenei, to the families of Iranian Christian martyrs.

Let's read together one unique account from the book:

The story of Leader’s presence at the home of Christian martyr

It is natural that when a country is engaged in a long, extensive war, the young people go and fight. But what makes the imposed war on Iran different is the way that these young people see the war, how their families reflect on the sacrifices of their young, beloved ones and how a family who has lost their sons feel about them. These are the clearest manifestations of their outlook towards the war. Here is when the difference between a war caused by the arrogant powers and a defensive war on the basis of values and the valour of the martyrs manifests itself, such was the scene of the war in Iran in the 8 year-war and the magnificent scene of patient, resisting families who had lost their dearest ones.

The picture becomes touchingly more significant when it involves members of the small Christian minorities in the face of the martyrdom of their youth.

In the course of the war, there were some 48 martyrs, 105 wounded and 35 war prisoners from among the small Armenian –Christian minority. There were also some 30 Armenian men, women and children who died during air-attacks and bombings. The same kind of sacrifices were witnessed among the yet smaller Assyrian-Christian minority; more than 30 of them were martyred defending their country in the unjust, unequal war imposed on the Iranian nation for they considered themselves as part of this oppressed nation and the war as a national question and they did whole - heartedly participated in the war effort. Apart from these efforts, the Armenians were also very active in the war’s relief work; they did set up a headquarters for this purpose from the early days of the war under the supervision of their religious authority.

During those days of hardship the Iranian Armenians proved how they felt about the imposed war on their fellow-countrymen: at the beginning of the Christian year 1982, they decided not to celebrate the New Year in respect for thousands of families whose sons had been martyred during the war as victims of Saddam Hussein’s crimes.

Ayatollah Khamenei was the first person who valued this significant action by the Armenians.

In his message concerning the Christian New Year he said:

I congratulate this New Year, which commemorates the blessed birth of Messiah, Mary’s son, the grand prophet of God, to all Christians in our country and to the true followers of Jesus Christ and wish the best of happiness and salvation by asking the Word and Spirit of God to help them. The new year begins at a time when millions of people who thirst for justice, peace and love pray for the realization of Christ’s promises in the future ...in our country the blood of many of our people including the Christians were shed for defending our land …Now the Iranian Christians have decided not to celebrate the new year in sympathy with families who have lost their loved ones during this war …I, in the name of the Iranian nation, express my appreciation for this kindness and insight and I hope that under our Islamic state and the rule of the Quran, the new year will be a year of happiness and progress for the Christian community, and I wish happiness and success for all Christians throughout the world.

Ayatollah Khamenei started his routine for visiting the families of the war martyrs since 1984 and in this very year, he also visited a few families of the Christian martyrs on the occasion of the Christian New Year.

The Iranian Christians are mainly Armenians and Assyrians and there have been martyrs from among both communities. The Leader of the Islamic Republic has visited the families of either group on a yearly basis.

The Leader’s presence at the homes of the martyrs in the Iranian, Christian communities which contains sensitive, interesting and attractive points gives us a deep insight into the importance of this matter.

Galoust, "the good news of coming back”, He who never came back

Martyr Galoust Baboumian

source: khamenei.ir