SHAFAQNA- IRNA: On Saturday, in the Pir-e Naaraki house of worship in Mehriz, Yazd, Zoroastrians started their one-week annual ceremony .
Every year more than 2,000 Zoroastrians from all over Iran attend the event.
On the sidelines of the religious ceremony, Zoroastrians awarded brilliant students, appreciated benefactors, renewed their allegiance to the Islamic Republic of Iran, and wished the country success and prosperity.
Chek Chek, Khatun-Banu, Pir-e Narestaneh, Pir-e Herisht, Seti Pir, Pir-e Elyas, Shah Vahram, Pir-e Shah Mehr-Izad, and Chehel-Cheragh are among the notable Zoroastrian houses of worship in Iran.
Zoroaster was an ancient spiritual leader, whose teachings eventually became the dominant in Ancient Persia.
Zoroaster, also known as Zarathustra or Ashu Zarathushtra, is called Zartosht in Persian. He was born 3,000 years B.C. in Takht-e Soleyman village, northwestern Iran. His father’s name was Pourushasp.
Religious minorities in Iran freely perform their rituals, among which are Zoroastrian Gahanbar and Christian Badarak at Qara Kelisa Church (meaning Black Church in Azeri) in Chaldoran, West Azarbaijan province.
Around 150,000 Zoroastrians live all over the world, 30,000 of whom are in Iran. The number of Zoroastrians living in Yazd is about 6,000.
The Article 13 of the Iranian Constitution clearly states that Zoroastrian, Jewish, and Christian Iranians, as religious minorities, and the followers of these religions may freely exercise their religious ceremonies, and are free to exercise matters of personal status and religious education and follow their own rituals.
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