"At this time, the North American Institute of Zoroastrian Studies is a virtual learning center. The North American Mobeds Council (NAMC) is exploring some locations in North America to establish the Institute’s physical presence,” clarified NAMC vice president Ervad Tehemton Mirza who has been tasked to set up this organization, create a curriculum and manage its operations. Trained at the M. F. Cama Athornan Institute in Bombay and ordained as a navar and maratab at the Iranshah, Mirza who has a certified public accountant practice in Ontario, has been volunteering religious and spiritual services in South Western Ontario and Michigan, including the training of mobedyars, both males and females.
As an educational arm of NAMC, the Institute shall have two tracks: "To train and ordain mobeds to serve the North American community; and to teach Zoroastrianism at an academic level,” noted a press release forwarded by Roshan Rivetna of Chicago. She considered the Institute "an important milestone for Zoroastrians in North America, marking our coming of age and taking our rightful place as an established religion, among others, in North America.”
Funds for the Institute will be raised and administered by NAMC which is a registered charity in Canada and USA. A capital fund-raising committee headed by NAMC president Ervad Arda-e-viraf Minocherhomjee is "working hard to raise funds for the Institute,” noted Mirza in response to Parsiana’s queries.
From l: Rohinton Rivetna, Ervads Arda-e-viraf Minocherhomjee
Photos: Jasmine D. Driverand Tehemton Mirza
Tracing the genesis of this Institute, Mirza explained that plans for the Chicago Darbe Mehr under the leadership of Rohinton and Roshan Rivetna in 1981 had envisioned the future construction of an athornan institute to serve the North American community. The project gained traction as more dar-e-mehers were established in North America and a need was felt for second generation, locally trained and initiated mobeds to service these religious centers. When identifying the infrastructure needs for the North American community in 2010, the establishment of a religious training institute was considered imperative. This project got a boost at the 2018 annual general meeting (AGM) of the Federation of Zoroastrian Associations of North America (FEZANA) by then president Homi Gandhi, Minocherhomjee and Mobed Zarir Bhandara who requested Rohinton to develop a charter for the proposed institute with close ties between NAMC and FEZANA. The charter was shelved until this year when Minocherhomjee pursued it relentlessly and the NAMC resolved to take the project under its wing at the AGM in September 2020. An advisory board consisting of senior mobeds, academics and respected community members will manage the affairs of the Institute.
In keeping with its commitment to provide religious guidance to the community and train future mobeds, currently 15 young priests are trained by the NAMC under its Young Mobeds Training Program, three youngsters from North America are studying the Avesta language, and two candidates are under training for their initiation as mobeds in North America.
The Institute is developing a training course for mobeds leading to their initiation and training them for inner and outer liturgical Zoroastrian ceremonies in the North American setting.
With the Institute providing a cadre of well-trained mobeds to serve the religious and ministerial needs of our communities, it is envisioned that in time, several North American Zoroastrian associations will engage the services of full-time professional mobeds.
The Institute has initiated monthly virtual lecture series (on Zoom), presented by learned senior mobeds, on various Zoroastrian topics. In conjunction with a group of Zoroastrians from Chicago, the Institute has initiated a discourse with a Catholic Theological Seminary to deliver a credit course on Zoroastrianism in the summer of 2021. There are plans to reach out to other seminaries and universities to provide similar educational courses on Zoroastrianism to academics and to members of all faiths. Meanwhile the Institute is crafting curriculums for certificate courses on various Zoroastrian topics.