Saints Thaddeus and Bartholomew Church of Tehran

Saints Thaddeus and Bartholomew Church of Tehran, (Armenian: Սուրբ Թադևոս-Բարդուղիմեոս եկեղեցի, Persian: کلیسای تادئوس و بارتوقیمئوس مقدس), is an Armenian Apostolic church in Tehran, Iran. It is the oldest church in Tehran.

Location
It is located in Armenians Alley کوچه ارامنه, Molavi Avenue (fa), south of Tehran Grand Bazaar, close to now destroyed southern gate of Tehran.

History
Armenians migrated from New Julfa to Tehran during the reign of Karim Khan Zand, mainly to involve in his construction plans to make Tehran his capital. These Armenians built Saints Thaddeus and Bartholomew Church in 1768. It was consecrated by Grigor Ter-Hovhannesian in September 1788.

The church building occupies an area of about 220 m², with a small courtyard in combination with a courtyard and rooms totally in an area of 350 m², imitating small churches of New Julfa. In late 18th and early 19th century, the church was the first and only cemetery of Christians in Tehran.

In 1970, original frescoes were discovered underneath the plaster on the interior walls.

Notable burials

 * Charles Scott (1805–1841) – son of Sir Walter Scott
 * Prince Alexander of Georgia (1770–1844) – Georgian royal prince
 * William Glen (1778–1849) – British Christian preacher
 * Captain Zatti (d.1849) – Austian teacher at Dar ol-Fonun
 * Henry Lindsay Bethune (1787–1851) – Scottish military officer
 * David Mghrdichian Davidians (fa) (1788–1852) – doctor
 * Charles Wright Parker Alison (1810–1872) – British envoy

The church contains also a memorial stone for the killed Russian ambassador Alexander Sergeyevich Griboyedov (+ 1829) whose body was kept here until the transfer to his final grave in Tbilisi.