For the first time in the last 100 years a deaconess has been ordained by the Armenian Church of Iran.
Ani Kristi Manvelian has been serving at the Church for about 15 years, and she was ordained a deaconess in the fall of 2017, the Armenian Diocese of Tehran informed News.am.
"The Church law permits a virgin girl to be ordained a deaconess," said the diocese representative. "In the history of Iran, however, this is the first case in the last 100 years that we have a deaconess."