In Iran a metro station is named after the Virgin Mary. A choice that honors the Christians but clashes with their repression, especially converts.

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Inaugurated on Monday 13 October 2025 it is already an international case.

In Tehran the new metro station is named “Saint Virgin Mary”, as it is located near the Saint Sarkis Cathedral, in the sixth district.

In Rome, on line B, there is Santa Maria del Soccorso, in Madrid on line 4 there is Parque de Santa María and on line 12 of Paris we find the station “Notre-Dame-des-Champs” (“Our Lady of the Fields”).

We would never have expected that Iran would also adopt a “Marian” metro station, a gesture that the Armenian and Assyrian Christian communities have welcomed as an official recognition of the historical heritage of Iranian Christianity.

 

The situation of Christians in Iran

Christians in Iran number about 200,000, concentrated mainly in the major cities of Tehran and Isfahan.

The cathedral near the metro station, Saint Sarkis, is the heart of Armenian Christianity in Tehran, the largest confession. Beside the Armenian icons, unfortunately, stands a portrait of the ayatollah Khomeini, probably a tribute to be paid in order to be allowed to attend a Christian church.

The inauguration of the metro takes place against a contradictory backdrop: repression against Christians, especially converts from Islam, intensified dramatically during 2024.

The Iranian Constitution recognizes Christians as “People of the Book” and guarantees freedom of worship within the limits established by law; three seats in Parliament are reserved for them among the Armenians and the Assyro-Chaldeans. But in practice many restrictions remain in force: in schools, in language, in civil rights and in access to certain careers.

 

The interview with the Christian saved by Benedict XVI

We recently spoke with Marziyeh Amirizadeh, an Iranian Christian saved from a death sentence in Evin prison thanks to the secret intervention of Benedict XVI.

In the interview the woman tells us that most inhabitants in Iran “have turned their backs on Islam and are very open to Christianity”. However, Marziyeh specifies, “it is still dangerous” for Christians “because of the Basij secret police and other repressive bodies”.

The documented cases concern, as said, above all people converted from Islam, who are subjected to charges such as “propaganda against national security” or alleged connections with external Christian groups, accusations that lead to severe penalties.

There is therefore a strong contrast between this and the apparent symbolic concession of the metro dedicated to the Virgin Mary to pay tribute to Christianity as part of the national heritage.