Parsi Zoroastrian High Priests Question Validity Of Priesthood Initiation Ceremonies In North America, Issue Public Notice

Mumbai: In a public notice issued last week, the six Parsi Zoroastrian high priests, the community's highest religious authorities, have questioned the legitimacy of ceremonies to initiate individuals into the priesthood in North America, stating that the rituals are contrary to established religious traditions and lack religious sanction.

Community Members From India, UK And North America Seek Clarification

In a notice dated November 2, the high priests said they had received several representations from community members in India, North America, the United Kingdom and elsewhere, seeking clarity and guidance on the issue.

The notice does not name the organisations conducting the ceremonies or specify the particular religious prerequisites that it believes have not been fulfilled. However, a priests' council in North America had announced that, for the first time on the continent, a Zoroastrian priest would be initiated as an Athravan on October 17 in Houston.

Udvada High Priest Confirms Issuance Of Public Notice

Parsi priests, known as Dasturs or Vada Dasturjis, traditionally head the major Atash Behrams, the highest grade of Zoroastrian fire temples. FPJ spoke to Dastur Khurshed Dastoor, the high priest of the Atash Behram at Udvada in Gujarat, the holiest Zoroastrian shrine, who confirmed that the high priests had issued the notice.

The notice states that certain groups in North America have been conducting Athravan (Navar) ceremonies and claiming to initiate individuals into the priesthood. However, the high priests categorically stated that these ceremonies do not fulfil the essential prerequisites laid down by long-standing religious traditions and practices.

'Priests Must Be Trained And Initiated In India,' Says Ervad Bahadur Sanjana

Ervad Bahadur Sanjana, 84, a priest who was initiated in Navsari, Gujarat, said India was the only place where priests could be initiated. "They have to be trained and initiated in India, after which they go abroad to provide religious services to the Zoroastrian diaspora," he said.

Describing these attempts as efforts to circumvent the sacred and time-honoured tenets of the religion in the name of pragmatism and democracy, the notice said such activities could mislead members of the community and undermine traditions handed down by Asho Zarathustra, the religion's prophet.

The notice further stated that such attempts, under the guise of pragmatism and democracy, sought to mislead fellow Zoroastrians and showed disregard for the religious traditions handed down by the prophet Zarathustra under the divine guidance of Dadaar Ahuramazda, the Creator.

The high priests also referred to a detailed opinion on the matter provided by Dasturji Dr Firoze M Kotwal in September 2023, which offered explicit guidance on the issue. "Regrettably, that opinion, too, was not accorded due importance," they said.

The high priests added that, as the religious heads of the Parsi Zoroastrian community, they considered it their responsibility to issue the public notice to guide their humdeens (co-religionists), caution them against participating in activities contrary to established religious traditions and advise them against seeking the services of individuals whose priestly status had not been established in accordance with prescribed religious requirements.

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