Athornan (priestly) or Behdhin (non-priestly) caste or lineage. The first Mobedyar was ordained in Virginia in late 1997. Another NAMC-trained Mobedyar was ordained in California in 2004, after several years of serving the community. In 2008, the NAMC amended the original resolution passed in 1999 to broaden the criteria for the eligibility and training of Mobedyars to include Zoroastrian women. As of 2010, the North American Mobeds Council had successfully trained six Mobedyars to perform outer liturgical ceremonies and bereavement services in the absence of an ordained Priest. In 2009-2010, the chairman of the Council of Zoroastrian Priests in Tehran, Iran, Mobed Soroushpur, suggested opening the priesthood to Zoroastrian women after research on ancient Zoroastrian documents that revealed evidence of female clergy in ancient Persian times. "The concepts of equality have always been at the basis of our culture. In antiquity, there were many female priests, politicians, warriors and this even up to the Sasanian time,” he said. Potential corroboration may be found in the oral tradition of the Parsis, which acknowledges a female Zoroastrian priest named Testar as among the Zoroastrians who fled religious persecution and forced conversions in Arab-conquered Persia to establish a new homeland in Sanjan, Gujarat around the 9th Century AD. In 2011, eight female Mobedyars (also termed Mobediars) were certified to serve the Zoroastrian community as Mobedyars. However, female Mobedyars in Iran may be restricted in their ability to serve their community in the same manner as Mobeds, such as tending to fires in Zoroastrian temples. Zoroastrian women have since been ordained in Iran and North America to serve the community as Mobedyars, meaning assistant Mobeds. Since the Mobedyar program was initiated in North America, there has been some pushback on the restrictions placed on ordained Mobedyars by the NAMC regarding the types of ceremonies Mobedyars may perform, as the community also grapples with the question of whether to permit any Zoroastrian to train to become a full-fledged Mobed, irrespective of caste, lineage, or gender. The concept of a "universal priesthood" would promote and encourage persons to train to become Mobeds and Mobedyars "regardless of their gender, ancestry or background". References Sources Mobed