 | The text below this notice was generated by a computer, it still needs to be checked for errors and corrected. If you would like to help, view the original document by clicking the PDF scans along the right side of the page. Click the edit button at the top of this page (notepad and pencil icon) or press Alt+Shift+E to begin making changes. When you are done press "Save changes" at the bottom of the page. |
IX
THE INTERNATIONAL BAHA’I COUNCIL
THE formation of the International Bahá’í Council was announced by the Guardian of the Cause of God in his cable of January 9, 1951, and was hailed by him as the “...greatest event shedding lustre second epoch Formative Age Bahá’í Dispensation potentially unsurpassed any enterprise undertaken since inception Administrative Order Faith morrow ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Ascension . . .”
Shortly after its appointment the Council’s membership was enlarged by the Guardian to comprise “Amatu’l—Baha Rúḥíyyih, chosen liaison between me Council. Hands Cause Mason Remey, Amelia Collins, Ugo Giachery, Leroy Ioas, President, Vice-President, Member at Large, Secretary-General respectively. Jessie Revell, Ethel Revell, Lotfu’lláh Ḥakím, Treasurer, Western, Eastern Assistant Secretaries.” On May 4, 1955, the membership was raised to nine through the appointment of Sylvia Ioas.
The services of the members were farranging and are reflected in many sections of the international survey of Bahá’í activities which appears on pp. 245—310 of this volume. Perhaps the highest mission entrusted to them, bringing imperishable honour to the Council, was the beloved Guardian’s appointment of five members to be his special representatives at the nine Intercontinental Conferences held in 1953 and 1958.
In a letter to the American Bahá’í Community‘dated July 19, 1956, Shoghi Effendi recorded for posterity the achievements of the International Bahá’í Council up to that time, in a tribute to their “stupendous work” for the “expansion and consolidation of the international institutions of the Faith. . . The erection of the International Archives in the close neighbourhood of the Báb’s holy Sepulchre; the extension of the international Bahá’í endowments on the slopes of Mount Carmel; the formation of several Israel Branches of Bahá’í National Spiritual Assemblies; the embellishment of the precincts of the resting—places of both the Bath and Baha’u‘Him; the purchase of the site of the first
Mashriqu’l-Adhkár of the Holy Land; the preparation of the designs for the International Bahá’í Archives on Mount Carmel, and Of the Mother Temples of Persia and of Africa; the inauguration of the preliminary steps for the eventual construction of Bahá’u’lláh’s Holy Sepulchre; the measures adopted, with the assistance of various officials of the State of Israel, for the eviction of the Covenant-breakers from the immediate precincts of the Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh and the elimination of any influence they still exercise, after the lapse of over sixty years, in the close vicinity of that Most Holy Spot—in these, as well as in other various subsidiary activities, constantly increasing in number as well as in diversity at the spiritual and administrative Centre of the Bahá’í world. have the members of the little band, assiduously labouring under the shadow of the Holy Shrines, and befittingly representing the American Bahá’í Community, conspicuously participated, and through their dedicated services, added fresh lustre to the annals of the Community to which they belong.”
Following the passing of Shoghi Effendi on November 4, 1957 the International Bahá’í Council continued to perform its duties at the World Centre of the Faith under the direction of the Hands of the Cause residing in the Holy Land, in accordance with the proclamation issued by the body of the Hands of the Cause from their meeting in Bahjí': “As to the International Bahá’í Council, appointed by the Guardian and heralded in his communications to the Bahá’í world, that body will in the course of time finally fulfil its purpose through the formation of the Universal House of Justice, that supreme body upon which infallibility, as the Master‘s Testament assures us, is divinely conferred: ‘The source of all good and freed from all error.’ The main work of the Council has been to act as the Guardian’s representative in matters involving the Israeli government and its courts of law.”
In their message to the Bahá’í world dated
395
[Page 396]
396 THE BAHA’I WORLD
NATIONAL HAZiRATU’L—QUDS
San Salvador, El Salvador, purchased Cuidad Trujillo, Dominican Republic, October 1955. purchased February 1956.
Lisbon, Portugal. purchased June Helsingfors, Finland, purchased 1957. October 1955.
[Page 397]
THE INTERNATIONAL BAHA’I
November 4, 1959, the Hands of the Cause announced: “. . . another milestone in Bahá’í history will be reached with the election of the International Bahá’í Council during Riḍván 1961. The embryonic institution established and so highly extolled by the beloved Guardian will thus enter its final stage preceding the election of the Univeral House of Justice. The members of all the National and Regional Spiritual Assemblies of the Bahá’í world, duly constituted in Riḍván 1960, will take part in a postal ballot to elect nine members to the International Council. This International Bahá’í Council is to work under the direction and supervision of the Hands of the Cause residing in the Holy Land, serve a two-year term of office, and cease to exist upon the occasion of the election of the Universal House of Justice. All the Bahá’ís Of the world, men and women alike, are eligible for election. As the Chief Stewards of the Faith are wholly occupied with specific tasks assigned them by the beloved Guardian and perforce assumed since his passing, they should not be considered for election to this Council. Two; of the functions originally allotted to the Council by the beloved Guardian, namely, to forge links with the authorities of the State in which the World Centre is situated, and to conduct negotiations related to matters of personal status with civil authorities, will still be discharged, and to them are added the following: To assist the Hands of the Cause in the care of the properties at the World Centre, and in the establishment of the Universal House of Justice; and in any other functions which the Hands may assign from time to time.
“We wish to assure the believers that every effort will be made to establish a Bahá’í Court in the Holy Land prior to the date set for this election. We should however bear in mind that the Guardian himself clearly indicated that this goal, due to the strong trend towards the secularization of religious courts in this part of the world, might not be achieved.”
Just before Riḍván 1960, Charles Mason Remey, hitherto the President of the Council, attempted to usurp the Guardianship of the Cause of God. The International Bahá’í Council immediately rejected Mr. Remey’s claim, recording this action in a letter dated May 13, 1960 to the Hands of the Cause, the
COUNCIL 397
Chief Stewards of Bahá’u’lláh’s embryonic World Commonwealth.
At Riḍván 1961, the Hands of the Cause residing in the Holy Land cabled: “Deepest gratitude Bahá’u’lláh’s unfailing blessings enabling Bahá’í world eighth year Crusade elect International Bahá’í Council succeeding first historic body appointed by Guardian, joyfully announce membership: Jessie Revell, ‘Ali Nakhjavani, Lotfu’llah Ḥakím, Ethel Revel], Charles Wolcott, Sylvia Ioas, Mildred Mottahedeh, Ian Semple, Borrah Kavelin. Invite believers join us ardent prayers historic step may release spiritual impetus assist attainment goals sacred plan so dear heart beloved Guardian.”
Following the first meeting of the new Council in June 1961, the following officers were announced: ‘Ali Nak_hjavéni, President; Sylvia Ioas, Vice-President; Charles Wolcott, Secretary—General; Jessie Revell, Treasurer; and Ian Semple, Assistant Secretary. Borrah Kavelin was designated Member-at-Large.
The account of that first meeting, as well as items of important news from the World Centre of the Faith and around the world were published in the seven issues of a News Letter which the Council produced at the request of the Hands of the Cause. The following excerpts cover the most outstanding events which occurred at, the World Centre during the period 1961 to 1963.
Newsletter dated July 29, 1961
“The days of our first meetings as an elected body were a moving and intensely interesting experience for the members of the International Bahá’í Council, whether they had been serving here for many years, or were newly arrived.
“On Sunday, the 25th of June, the Council joined the Hands of the Cause in the Home of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and drove with them to Bahjí, where after deeply moving moments of prayer and supplication in the Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh, a joint meeting was held in the hall of the Mansion. Here the Hands conveyed to the Council the terms of reference with which it was to start its work, reiterating what they announced in 1959 from the annual gathering of the Hands in the Mansion of Bahá’u’lláh, that two of the functions originally allotted to the Council by the beloved Guardian, namely, ‘to forge links with’ and
[Page 398]
398
THE Bahá’í WORLD
MEMBERS OF THE FIRST ELECTED INTERNATIONAL BAHA’I COUNCIL, JUNE 25, 1961
Left to right, Mrs. Sylvia Ioas, Mr. Charles Wolcott, Miss Jessie Revell, Miss Ethel Revell, Mr. Ian Semple, Mr. Borrah Kavelin, Dr. Luṭfu’lláh Ḥakím, Mr. ‘Ali Nak_hjavéni, and Mrs. Mildred Mottahedeh.
“conduct negotiations related to matters of personal status with’ the civil authorities here in the Holy Land, would continue to be discharged. To these were added duties involving the legal and financial protection and management of various properties at the World Centre; assisting the Hands in preparation for holding the World Congress and electing the Universal House of Justice, both events which will take place in 1963; the issuing of a Bahá’í News Letter from the World Centre; arrangements regarding guiding at the Shrine of the Báb and supervision of various other local matters.
"The room provided for the meetings of the Council is the circular room in the Western Pilgrim House where the beloved Guardian used to dine with the pilgrims. The small room off it, through which he used to leave, has been equipped as an office. In this place, hallowed in the memories of so many believers who had the bounty of meeting Shoghi Effendi, the Council met for eight days. From time to time we went to the Master’s House for a meeting with the Hands,
or would go out to inspect properties, or consult insurance agents and so forth as we considered in detail the work before us. The volume of work at the World Centre is prodigious, and it is the ardent desire of the International Council to render every help it can to the Hands of the Cause, whose already voluminous mail has increased since the formation of the twenty-one new National Spiritual Assemblies last Riḍván, and will no doubt continue to increase as the victories of the Crusade are won. . .”
News Letter dated Seplember 30, 1961
.. Here in the Holy Land it was found possible during July to resume the work of furnishing and equipping the new Archives Building. Led and inspired by the indefatigable energy of Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum a band of the believers resident here began the task of moving cabinets, lining them with beautiful cloths, stencilling them with exquisite Japanese designs, and all the other multitude of little details that are required to ensure that a befitting setting is prepared for
[Page 399]
THE
the infinitely precious objects which are preserved here. During the progress of the work the revered Hand, Mr. Hasan Balyuzi, came from England to assist Rt'ihiyyih Khánum with the preliminary arrangement of the Archives themselves. All about us as we worked were objects recalling with ineffable poignancy the lives and sufferings of the Central Figures of our Faith and those holy souls who served Them with such devo-tion: a portion of the blood-stained shirt of the Báb; locks of the flowing black hair of Bahá’u’lláh lovingly preserved by the Greatest Holy Leaf; the sword of Mulla Husayn; and such uniquely precious documents as the original Tablets to the Letters of the Living, and Tablets in Bahá’u’lláh’s own hand addressed to the Most Great Branch.
"As the work progressed and the various cabinets, pictures and ornaments were assembled and arranged in the breathtakingly beautiful Archives Building, we were struck again and again by the manner in which each article preserved or bought by the beloved Guardian for this room seemed to fit into its own special place, as if he could have had the whole finished effect in mind when he was gathering them. It is with humble gratitude to him that we can see at last the fulfilment of that vision which he had from the outset of the Crusade; and for the first time, this winter, and always thereafter, the pilgrims will thus be able to view the sacred Archives in the glorious setting which Shoghi Effendi had designed and destined for them.”
News Letter dated December 30, 1961
. . At the World Centre the newly-elected members of the International Bahá’í Council have been presented by the Hands of the Cause residing in the Holy Land to the President of Israel and Mrs. Ben Zvi. They recalled their visit to His Eminence Shoghi Effendi and his showing them the Shrines and Gardens on Mount Carmel. The President also mentioned that in 1909 or 1910 they had had the honour of meeting ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in Bahjí and He had told them many things about the Faith. At the close of the audience the President extended his good wishes and greetings to the Bahá’ís throughout the world. A most cordial friendly spirit prevailed throughout the entire interview.
INTERNATIONAL BAHA’l COUNCIL
399
“... Reports received of the visit of Amatu’l-Bahá Rt’ihiyyih Lhénum on her way to dedicate the Mother Temple of the Antipodes, have been most encouraging. Accompanied by Miss Jessie Revel], the Treasurer of the International Bahá’í Council, she visited Burma. Malaya,Thailand and Vietnam. Owing to illness, she was not able to proceed as planned to New Zealand, but Miss Revell valiantly carried on alone, and bore the brunt of the heavy program that had been arranged for the week’s stay in that country; she spoke in Auckland, Hamilton and Wellington, met and consulted with the friends from many local areas as well as attended with the National Assembly a reception given by the Mayor of Wellington; and was able to meet with the Maoris of Rotoiti and Kihikihi who received her most warmly. Favourable publicity appeared in nine different newspapers. . .”
News Letter dated April 5, 1962
“ The preparations for the World Congress to be held in London are now well under way. The Congress Arrangements Committee met at the end of January and the most urgent decisions have been communicated to the National Spiritual Assemblies. The holding of the Congress was announced to the world at large through a press conference held in Haifa on Monday, 5th March, and increasing interest in this event is being shown in many quarters. Some fifteen reporters attended the conference, and the press release was communicated to all the major international wire services. Since then we have been receiving a series of articles which have been appearing in newspapers in this country. The news was also broadcast.
“In the Holy Land, the passing of the dearly loved Hand of the Cause Amelia Collins was a great loss to the World Centre of the Faith. For many years she had been in continual pain, but in spite of this had continued to serve the Faith with an indomitable courage which was a challenge and inspiration to her fellow—servants in the Cause of God.
“In our last News Letter we mentioned the visit of the International Council to the President of the State. In a series of visits to Jerusalem some of the Hands introduced the President and Secretary-General of the Council to a number of officials of the State,
[Page 400]
400
THE Bahá’í WORLD
PRESIDENT WILLIAM TUBMAN OF LIBERIA BEING RECEIVED BY MR. CHARLES WOLCOTT ON BEHALF OF THE WORLD CENTRE, J UNE, 1962
On the left of the picture is Mayor Aba Khoushy, and on the right, the Ambassador of Liberia to the State of Israel.
and the Council is now continuing with these courtesy visits. In response to invitations given on such visits, the Minister of the Interior and the Minister of Justice both visited the Shrine of the Bath during February. We have also received a visit from a delegation of prominent parliamentarians of the recently-formed African Republic of Niger, accompanied by the acting Ambassador of the Cote d’Ivoire; these being part of the continual stream of visitors to the Shrine.
“On the 14th February the Council gave a reception in the Western Pilgrim House to over 150 of the prominent citizens of Haifa.
“In these-ways the Cordial relations between the World Centre of the Faith and the State in which it is situated, which were so assiduously built up in the lifetime of the beloved Guardian, and developed subsequently by the Hands in the Holy Land, are being continuously fostered . . .”
News Letter dated July 16, 1962
“. . . On 28th June, an historic event of singular importance took place in Haifa when President Tubman of Liberia visited the
Shrine of the Báb. This is the second official visit'of the head of a sovereign state, the first having been that of President Ben Zvi of Israel during the lifetime of Shoghi Effendi. It is surely much more than mere coincidence that the first head of a sovereign state from abroad to visit the Holy Shrines should be President not only of an African republic but of the first black African republic of that continent. President Tubman was received by Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khénurn, Mr. Ferraby, Mr. Furfitan and Mr. Haney on behalf of the Hands of the Cause, and Mr. Wolcott and Miss Jessie Revell representing the International Council. This event must have given great joy to the heart of our beloved Guardian, who had laboured so painstakingly to win for the Faith the recognition it merits, and which was denied its longsufl‘ering Founder, with such baneful results for the present generations of mankind. “Another distinguished visitor was Mr. Olaf Telefson, the first resident Ambassador from Norway, who visited the Shrine in March, accompanied by Mrs. Telefson and the Norwegian Honorary Consul. On another
[Page 401]
THE INTERNATIONAL Bahá’í COUNCIL 401
occasion the Cultural Attaches of all the Embassies in Israel visited the Shrine . . .”
News Letter dated September 17, 1962
“. . We have just experienced a most happy and significant occasion at the World Centre. Mr. Apollo Milton Obote, Prime Minister of Uganda, accompanied by his Personal Secretary, Mr. Paul M. Nsibiwa and the Director of Public Relations of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, visited the Shrine of the Báb on Wednesday, 5th September, and then had luncheon with the Hands and members of the International Bahá’í Council in the House of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
“Not long before, on 21st August, Sir Barnet Janner, a Member of the British House of Commons and Chairman of the Jewish Board of Guardians in Britain, also visited the Shrine and stayed for refreshments and a very cordial hour’s conversation with the Hands and members of the International Council.
“On Tuesday, 11th September the President and Secretary-General of the International Council visited Jerusalem to officially inform the Director of the Prime Minister’s Office of the forthcoming International Convention. The arrangements for this are now well in hand, and those National Assemblies which have not yet informed the Council of their expected attendance are urged to do so as soon as possible . . .”
News Letter dated January 19, 1963
The whole of this News Letter is devoted to the persecution of the Faith in Morocco, a crisis with which the Council, and particularly two of its members, Mrs. Mottahedeh and Mr. Kavelin, was closely concerned.
The first four months of the year 1963—the last months in the life of the International Bahá’í Council—were dominated by the preparations for the first International Bahá’í Convention. Arrangements were carefully made for the reception of the members of the National Spiritual Assemblies as they arrived from all the corners of the earth; their first days in Haifa were spent in visits to the Holy Shrines and to the other spots in ‘Akká and Haifa sacred to the memory of Bahá’u’lláh and the Master.
On the morning of the First Day of Riglvén, after praying in the Shrine of the Báb, the delegates gathered in the House of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to cast their ballots for the election of the first Universal House of Justice. With deep emotion and hearts overflowing with gratitude and praise to Bahá’u’lláh, the members of the International Bahá’í Council, in the presence of the Hands of the Cause of God, witnessed this historic moment of the efllorescence of the institution on which they had been privileged to serve, into the Universal House of Justice, that “last unity crowning the structure of the embryonic World Order of Bahá’u’lláh”.
BAHA’I SHRINE AND ARCHIVES DOMINATE THE CITY OF HAIFA
The immortal classic style of Greek architecture was chosen by Shoghi Effendi for the Archives Building whose general proportions are a copy of the famous Parthenon in Athens.
2017
I‘VHVH EIHJ.
CI'IHOAA
