by Cardinal Dominique Joseph Mathieu OfmConv*
Tehran – One of the city’s public transport systems is the underground. Tehran’s underground has seven lines, with 160 stations covering a total length of 292.1 km, of which 67.5 km are part of a suburban train line.
The Tehran underground began operating on 7 March 1999 and is now used by an average of 2.5 million commuters per day.
Extension work is underway on all lines, to the north-west and south-east for the pink line 6. It was inaugurated in 2019 and has 25 active stations over 32.5 km. Once completed, it should extend for 38 km with 32 stations.
The Maryam-e Moghaddas station, located 34 metres underground, will open soon. Given its unique position on the horizontal axis at the centre of line 6, it is considered a major station.
Regarding the name of the station, the director of Tehran’s Centre for Communications and International Affairs, Amir Mohammadkhani, explains that, given its proximity to the Armenian Apostolic Cathedral, it represents a tribute to the Armenian Christian community, as well as to the high rank of Mary.
The name “Saint Mary” was suggested by the municipal administration and approved by the relevant authorities. According to Mohammadkhani, this demonstrates the Tehran City Council’s attention to cultural and religious diversity in the capital.
At the time of its construction, the station was named after Shahid Nejatollahi, an Iranian student named Kamran, who was killed by the forces of the previous regime during the student sit-in in 1979. His surname means “God’s greeting” and the term “Shahid” refers to a person killed for their faith, a martyr.
The station is located next to the religious centre of the aforementioned Armenian community, with Sainte-Marie Park adjacent to their cultural centre, and across Karim Khan Zand Avenue in District 6, the Cathedral Church of St. Sarkis, the only church that is always open even outside of liturgical celebrations.
Among the religious minorities that enjoy freedom of worship in Iran, Armenian Christians are the most numerous, with approximately 120,000-150,000 members according to some sources and 355,000 according to others. 75,000 Armenians live in Tehran. Two of the five seats reserved for religious minorities in the Iranian Parliament are reserved for them, and they are the only minority with “observer” status on the Guardian Council and the Expediency Council.
Iran and Armenia have millennia-old cultural ties. Their relationship is of strategic importance to Iran, as its North-South corridor is an indispensable passageway to the markets of the countries bordering the Black Sea. The recent peace treaty between Armenia – whose prime minister is in conflict with the Armenian Apostolic Patriarch – and Azerbaijan, under the auspices of the United States, threatens this trade route.
The external part of the station and the main entrance portal are made of white stone and Romanesque-style stained glass windows to harmonize with the façade of the Church of St. Sarkis opposite. Above three stained glass windows, including the entrance window, the main and secondary names of the station and the line number are engraved in Persian and English. Behind the stained glass window opposite the Church of St. Sarkis, a 2.30 m high stone statue depicting the Virgin Mary standing with the baby Jesus on her left arm will be unveiled on the day of the inauguration. The cost was covered by a benefactor from the Armenian community.
Inside, above the first ramp in the station’s basement, the Persian inscription “In the name of God” is engraved, as in all stations in the network, but here it is also translated into English, Armenian and Arabic on a red-ochre background. According to Mayor Alireza Zakani, the station, whose design incorporates light, arches and a quiet underground space, combines the delicacy of church architecture with the geometric calm of Iranian architecture. According to him, the station also evokes the divine woman who awakened the world with her purity and nurtured a great prophet.
The interior of the station, similar to the interior architecture of an Armenian church, is decorated with bas-reliefs depicting Jesus and Mary, as well as symbols borrowed from the Church of St Sarkis, in honour of its community. The municipal authorities consider this work of art, managed by the Municipal Organization for Urban Art and Beautification, to be a celebration of Tehran’s multi-religious identity through its public spaces.
Escalators and staircases are lined with texts under the arcades that accompany commuters. The white arches of the walls and ceilings, the shades of blue of the vaults and domes of the intermediate platforms, are inspired by the colors attributed to Mary.
On the first level, a statement by the Supreme Guide, engraved on a silver plaque, adorns the wall opposite the staircase. It concerns the ‘Prophet Jesus’ and reads: “Jesus Christ did not hesitate for a moment to fight evil and invoke goodness throughout his stay among human beings.”
One floor below, two silver plaques in the centre of two central arches repeat the Supreme Guide’s statements about Jesus: “The message of Jesus Christ was to free humanity from darkness, ignorance, corruption, deprivation and discrimination”. This is written on the left, while on the right we read: “Jesus, son of Mary , was the herald of divine mercy, blessing and guidance for all humanity”.
At the centre of a large central arch on the next level, a medallion with a special luminous effect reproduces, on a metal plate, verses 29-34 of Sura 19 of the Qur’an on Mary:
– So she pointed to him [the child]. They said, ‘How can we speak to one who is in the cradle a child?’
– But [the child] said, “Indeed, I am the servant of Allah. He has given me the Scripture and made me a prophet.
– And He has made me blessed wherever I am and has enjoined upon me prayer and zakah as long as I remain alive
– And [made me] dutiful to my mother, and He has not made me a wretched tyrant.
– And peace is on me the day I was born and the day I will die and the day I am raised alive.”
– That is Jesus, the son of Mary – the word of truth about which they are in dispute.
The foyer evokes the signs and traces of the architecture and atmosphere of a church. The use of light blue lighting for the ceiling of the ticket hall reinforces the feeling of peace for commuters.
Reliefs combining architecture, Christian and Muslim symbolism, floral art and Persian poetry are located at the height of the access ramps to the underground trains.
A bas-relief at the ticket hall depicts Jesus with a halo, his arms outstretched and his hands turned downwards, walking on waves of blue water. His pleated tunic forms waves behind him. Despite his closed eyes, his gaze is directed towards infinity. In the upper left and lower right diagonals of the cruciform figure of Jesus, stellar geometric shapes are depicted.
On the right are engraved, from right to left, two verses from a poem by Hafez: “Rejoice, O my heart, the breath of the Messiah is near, from his sweet breath emanates the scent of the One who is approaching. Do not lament the pain of separation, for last night I consulted the oracles and the name of a Saviour was the answer.” Abû Bakr Ibn Abî Ad-Dunyâ reports from Bikr Ibn “Abd Allah Al-Mazani: “The apostles lost their prophet ‘Îsâ and were told: ‘Go towards the sea”. So they set off and when they reached the sea they saw him walking on the water, being lifted up and lowered by the waves. He was wearing a cloth, half of which covered the upper part of his body and the other half the lower part, and he was walking towards them.” Two bas-reliefs are located in front of the underground platforms.
A bas-relief depicts the mountains overlooking Tehran against a background of two wavy lines rising to the left. On either side are green trees, the one on the right a little denser, which appears to belong to the cypress family. An ancient symbol of Persia, art, literature and Islamic culture, with its evergreen nature, its uprightness and its rapid growth, it often represents immortality, eternal life and freedom. On the left, in grey, is the Armenian Apostolic Cathedral, with its three typical conical towers, the two lower ones, below the mountain peaks, surmounted by a globe with an anchor , and the highest one, pointing to the top of the mountains, has a cross above the convex curve that delimits the mountain and the sky. Its two doors are dark, only the central portal has steps leading diagonally towards the centre of the panel. On the right, an imposing mosque follows the curve of the mountain. More symbolic than specific, it may have been inspired by a famous mosque in the area. In any case, it represents the symbol of the majority religion. Its two towers point between the two curves of the peaks, and the dome, with its flagpole pointing towards the highest cavity of the peak, flies its banner high in the sky.
The steps of the three light-coloured doors of the mosque are perpendicular to the picture, while only the central door of the two dark doors of the church has a diagonal staircase. The two religious buildings are meant to symbolize cultural coexistence. At the centre, a green geometric rose window, with a twelve-pointed star symbolizing divine order and representing unity and perfection, connects the two religious architectures horizontally.
Vertically, it connects heaven and earth. The seven feet of corn, symbolizing fertility and abundance, signify that life on earth is nourished by divine light.
Two bas-reliefs depict Mary, who is important in Islamic tradition and venerated by both Christians and Shiite Muslims. The latter respect her as the mother of the prophet Jesus.
The first, located opposite the bas-relief depicting the church and mosque, shows two-thirds of Mary’s silhouette in the centre of the panel, with a large halo symbolizing her holiness, her hands clasped on her chest and her eyelids closed, her gaze fixed ahead.
To her left and right, a flowerbed of tulips of different colours and rice stalks, as well as bunch of grapes and leaves in the upper left and right corners. On the left, a dove of peace with an olive branch in its beak. The elegant shape of the tulips evokes beauty and harmony. In Islam, they remind us of the fleeting nature of life and symbolize faithful and everlasting love.
Opposite, Saint Mary, immaculately white, appears, like the flowerbed of tulips – from Iran, Afghanistan and Kazakhstan – rooted in the earth, but standing straighter than them, at the centre of the painting. On the other side, the green geometric rose window connects the church and the mosque horizontally and connects the sky and the earth vertically. The fragile dove gliding down towards St Mary’s stands opposite the imposing, static mosque. The mountain peaks and the sky correspond to the lush celestial vine, with four large bunches at the height of the mosque and another six at the height of the church.
The second Marian bas-relief consists of two mirror-image omega letters, connected by twigs, the work of God; the second, surmounted by artificial structures, resembles a bridge. On the left side, a tree with its green foliage and the church of St Sarkis stand on paved ground.
On the right side, Mary is seated on a block resting on a path bordered by tufts of green grass. Jesus, with his eyes closed like his mother, is standing on the block to her right, leaning on Mary’s shoulder. In the right-hand corner, there is a triangular rocky hill with leafless trees.
Opposite it, another bas-relief shows an idyllic landscape. In the background, a mountain range. In the centre, a lake and, below, the mouth of a river between two rocky planes. The one on the left, with lilies, symbols of purity and innocence, which in a spiritual context can be associated with peace and divine beauty. The one on the right, with an olive tree, which occupies a special place in the Qur’an, as it is mentioned several times as a symbol of peace, blessing and mercy. At the centre of the painting, in a multicoloured pink stained-glass window, a dove flies over the water, symbolizing the Spirit.
The bas-reliefs are mainly sandy ochre in colour, with a few touches of green. Ochre conveys a sense of peace and is a symbol of life and eternity, conveying ritual values. In Islam, green symbolizes the highest material and spiritual riches, as this color evokes fertility. Worn by the Prophet, it evokes paradise and eternal life. It is the sacred colour par excellence; the Qur’an is often covered in it. As Islam developed mainly in arid regions of the world prone to drought, green is always a positive colour, associated with vegetation, renewal, spring, the sky, happiness, hope and paradise, blessing and holiness.
Maryam-e Moghadass underground station
The images and texts that lead you there are summarized in verse 171 of Sura 4: ‘O People of the Scripture, do not commit excess in your religion or say about Allah except the truth. The Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, was but a messenger of Allah and His word which He directed to Mary and a soul [created at a command] from Him. So believe in Allah and His messengers. And do not say, “Three”; desist – it is better for you. Indeed, Allah is but one God. Exalted is He above having a son. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. And sufficient is Allah as Disposer of affairs’.
On earth – in the park – and in the abyss – of the station – the gazes of Jesus Christ and His Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, are fixed on the commuters. But, since the eyelids of Mary and Jesus are closed or without pupils, there is no exchange of glances, except that of the “eye of the dove”.
May the divine light of the dove rise from the depths and illuminate the hearts of commuters of good will, so that with the eyes of faith – a “vision of the dove” – contemplate, behind the gazes of the triad “Jesus-Mary-dove”, the Love of the one God, which inflames and ignites hearts to walk with gentleness, humility and a desire for peace, on the path of journeys and encounters that the Creator orchestrates for his children.
The Holy Spirit will descend into hearts like a dove, to urge us to imitate Mary’s humble heart and follow Jesus on his path of peace. True peace finds its source in the Trinity: the Father who speaks, the Son who accepts, and the Holy Spirit who pours himself out upon us.
*Archbishop of Tehran-Isfahan
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