A Residence of Eight Years in Persia among the Nestorian Christians

The American Protestant mission to the Assyrians commenced in 1835 under the leadership of Rev. Justin Perkins. This mission to the Assyrians or the Nestorian Mission, as it was originally called, had its headquarters in Urmia and was to last until the exodus of the Assyrians from their homelands in 1918 during World War I. After eight years in the mission, Perkins returned to the United States for a leave and wrote a detailed account of his experiences which was published in 1843 under the title “A Residence of Eight Years in Persia among the Nestorian Christians”. On this first leave, he brought with him Mar Yohannan, one of the Assyrian bishops of Urmia. This is the first well documented account of the visit of any Assyrian to the United States. Perkins served in Urmia until August 1869. He died on December 31st, 1869.