The Armenian Christian community in Shiraz built St. Mary in the early 17th century, around the same time the Safavid king Abbas I was settling Armenians at Isfahan's New Julfa. The small church is buried in the alleys north of the bazaar and is easily missed — there is little to mark it from the street.
Inside, the painted altar, the carved wooden iconostasis, and the few simple pews suggest a small but enduring congregation. Services are still held occasionally. The church gives a quiet reminder that Shiraz, like much of historic Iran, has long been religiously plural.