Bishop of the Jamiat-e Rabbani church (part of the Assemblies of God church movement) until his death.
While Armenian by ethnicity he had a strong motivation to evangelise Iranian Muslims. He was an outspoken Christian apologist and evangelist. and a gifted musician.Many of his sermons and songs are still available on the internet.
He was responsible for initiating increased collaboration between evangelical churches within Iran after the Iranian Revolution. He was the Chairman of the Council of Protestant Ministers of Iran.
He was murdered after protesting about the treatment of his friend and colleague Mehdi Dibaj at the hands of the Iranian government. While the government initially denied all involvement in his death and even charged two members of the Mujahideen al-Khalq with his murder, Iranian Christians and independent observers never doubted taht he was murdered for his beliefs and outspokeness by Iranian security personnel. This view was confirmed in 2001. The murder was part of the series of political murders of authors and activists ordered by Saeed Emami, exposure of which shook the Iranian political extablishment.
He was succeeded by his brother Edvard Hovsepian Mehr in his role as Bishop of the Jammiat-e Rabbani Church.
See also: Politics of Iran, Christians in Iran