The tradition that the three kings who came to worship Christ at his birth were Persians is so old and honourable that one must begin with it. An earlier historian of Christian missionary work in Iran began his book by quoting from St John Chrysostom's sixth Homily on Matthew's Gospel where he writes:

The Incarnate Word on coming to the world gave to Persia, in the persons of the Magi, the first manifestations of His mercy and light . . . so that the Jews themselves learn from the mouths of Persians of the birth of their Messiah. Persico sermone didicerunt quae prophetis nuntiantibus discere noluerunt. Still within the Gospel narrative we may hazard a guess that news

of the new religion was also brought to Iran by some of those Parthians, Medes and Elamites whom Luke mentions as being present in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost. Perhaps some of these men and women may have brought to Iran the first rumours of the new religion, or may even have practised it themselves.