When the Bishop of Loughborough was 13-years-old, her brother was murdered for being a Christian. Born and raised in Iran, she was forced to flee her homeland in 1980 on the grounds of religious persecution - a story that is all too familiar for many Iranian Christians.

Now, as the ordained Bishop of Loughborough, the Rt Revd Guli Francis-Dehqani is leading the Church of England’s growing community of Iranians who have found a home in the Anglican church.

This unprecedented shift was yesterday marked with a “historical” service at Wakefield Cathedral in Yorkshire, where the Holy Communion scripture was delivered in Persian for the first time to cater for the growing - yet traditionally unusual - new Anglican congregation.

With the Cathedral packed full of 450 Persian Christians from parishes all over the UK, Rev Francis-Dehqani led the inaugural service, delivered in both Farsi and English.

“This translated service is hugely significant in terms of the life of the Church of England,” Rev Francis-Dehqani told The Telegraph.