Wakefield Cathedral hosts historic service

The Holy Communion scripture was delivered in Persian for the first time to cater for the growing new Anglican congregation.

On Saturday, the Cathedral was packed with 450 worshipers from parishes across the country including British, Iranian and other nationality Christians.

The Bishop of Loughborough, the Rt Rev Guli 
Francis-Dehqani, led the 
inaugural service, which was delivered in both Farsi and English.

The service also featured the first publication of the English-Farsi liturgy.

Bishop Francis-Dehqani fled to the UK from Iran with her family when she was just 14-years-old. Her father was the late Bishop Dehqani-Tafti, the first Persian Bishop of Iran, who was forced into exile with his family after an attempt on his life and the murder of one of his sons.

Bishop Francis-Dehgani said: “We are finding that many Iranians are coming to be baptised and be part of the Church. That’s a really joyful thing for us to celebrate.

“I came this country during the very early stages of the revolution back in Iran. We found ourselves in England thinking we would be here for a few weeks or months. But as it turned out, I was unable to return.

“It is a very emotional day for me. It’s the first time I have ever led a service in Persian so that in itself, surrounded by so many Iranians, makes it very much feel like it is the start of something new.”

The Bishop of Bradford, the Rt Rev Toby Howarth, also led the service, with the sermon delivered by the Bishop of Durham, the Rt Rev Paul Butler.