Open Heart Conversations: Zoroastrianism with Ferzin Patel, M.A.

Who are the Zoroastrians?

In this Open Heart Conversation, we will explore Zoroastrianism, the ancient Persian religion that may have originated as early as 4,000 years ago. It is arguably the oldest and first monotheistic faith and was the state religion of three Persian dynasties until the Muslim conquest of Persia in the seventh century.

Famous Zoroastrians include Cyrus the Great, founder of the Achaemenid Persian Empire who ruled by the Zoroastrian law of asha (truth and righteousness), but didn’t impose Zoroastrianism on the people of Persia’s conquered territories.

Many scholars claimed that tenets of Zoroastrianism helped to shape the major Abrahamic religions— Judaism, Christianity and Islam —through the influence of the Persian Empire. Zoroastrian concepts, such as a single god, heaven, hell, and a day of judgment may have been first introduced to the Jewish community of Babylonia, where people from the Kingdom of Judea had been living in captivity for decades.

When Cyrus conquered Babylon in 539 B.C., he liberated the Babylonian Jews among whom many returned home to Jerusalem, where their descendants helped to create the Torah or Hebrew Bible.

In Western culture:

Farrokh Bulsara, better known as British musician Freddie Mercury, lead singer for the rock band Queen, was of Parsi descent and a Zoroastrian. His 1991 funeral was performed by a Zoroastrian priest.

Zoroastrian god Ahura Mazda served as the namesake for Japanese automaker Mazda Motor Corporation. The company hoped that an association with the “God of Light” would “brighten the image” of their first vehicles.

George R.R. Martin, creator of the fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire, which was later adapted into the HBO series Game of Thrones, developed the legend of Azor Ahai from Zoroastrianism. In it, a warrior demigod, Azor Ahai, defeats darkness with the help of the deity R’hllor, a fire god, which Martin may have modeled after Ahura Mazda.

On Sunday March 31st, join Rev. Arda Itez and Rev. Dr. Jose Roman in unveiling and celebrating the rich history and culture of this ancient tradition with Ferzin Patel, M.A., a Zoroastrian community leader and Trustee of the Dar-E-Mehr Zoroastrian Temple.