June 1870: The Great Sacrifice: the great tragedy of the death of the Purest Branch -- Mirza Mihdi, a son of Baha'u'llah

Mirza Mihdi, designated Ghusnu'llahu'l-Athar (The Purest Branch) by his Father, was the second surviving son of Baha'u'llah. He was the full brother of 'Abdu'l-Baha (Ghusnu'llahu'l-A'zam: The Most Great Branch) having the same mother, Navvabih Khanum. In 1870, he was twenty-two years old. It was his wont to go in the evening to the roof-top of the citadel to pray and meditate. There one gets a wonderful view of the pellucid blue of the Mediterranean, with the silhouette of Mount Carmel beyond the seascape; and to the other side lies stretched the plain of 'Akka with the majestic peak of Mount Hermon in the background. One evening, Mirza Mihdi, pacing up and down that roof-top engrossed with his thoughts and meditations, did not notice an open skylight and plunged through it to the floor below, falling upon a crate which pierced his chest. The injury proved fatal.

June 1931: The Guardian explains that “Temple and teaching work should be continued to be regarded as the twin outstanding activities of the Believers in America.”

Shoghi Effendi believes that the Temple and teaching work should be continued to be regarded as the twin outstanding activities of the Believers in America. Everything else should be subordinated to this urgent need. The work of applying the exterior ornamentation to the completed structure should proceed steadily and as speedily as possible. Shoghi Effendi feels that the full effect and influence of the Temple can be revealed only when the work in its entirety it accomplished. All the beauty and glory of the Temple depends upon the exterior garment of stone with which it is to be adorned, while the consummation of the task will in itself act as a magnet that will draw the promised blessings of the Master. Nothing short of continued self-sacrifice can achieve this end. In fact, the greater the obstacles in our way, the greater will be the reward we are destined to reap. The present financial depression should be regarded both as a challenge and an opportunity to prove the reality and potency of our faith. Shoghi Effendi will continue to pray for the American Believers who are destined to render still more glorious services to the Cause in the future. (Message dated June 20, 1931 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi; Baha’i News, August 1931)

June 1926: The Spiritual Assembly of Montclair, NJ is elected for the first time

The Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of Montclair, NJ, came into existence in June of 1926 – about 14 years after the historic visit of the Master. (Adapted from Baha’i News, September 1926)

June 1845: The Message of the Báb is proclaimed publically for the first time

After his return to Shiraz from Mecca (his pilgrimage with the Báb), Quddus met a believer by the name of Ismu'llahu'l-Asdaq, Mulla Sadiq-i-Khurasani. Quddus entrusted him with a copy of one of the Báb’s Tablet, the Khasa'il-i-Sab'ih, and stressed the necessity of putting into effect immediately all its provisions. Among its precepts was the emphatic injunction of the Báb to every loyal believer to add the following words to the traditional formula of the adhan:[Muslim call to prayer] "I bear witness that He whose name is Ali-Qabl-i-Muhammad [‘Ali preceding Muhamad, meaning the Báb] is the servant of the Baqiyyatu'llah."[The Remenant of God, one the Titles of Baha’u’llah] Mulla Sadiq, who in those days had been extolling from the pulpit-top to large audiences the virtues of the imams of the Faith, was so enraptured by the theme and language of that treatise that he unhesitatingly resolved to carry out all the observances it ordained. Driven by the impelling force inherent in that Tablet, he, one day as he was leading his congregation in prayer in the Masjid-i-Naw, suddenly proclaimed, as he was sounding the adhan, the additional words prescribed by the Báb. The multitude that heard him was astounded by his cry. Dismay and consternation seized the entire congregation. (Adapted from the Dawn-Breakers, by Nabil; and The Báb, by Balyuzi]

June 1912: While in New York, ‘Abdu’l-Baha declares His own station as the ‘Center of the Covenant’ – New York becomes the City of the Covenant

The next day, June 19th, was an historic day for the Bahá'ís of New York, for on that day 'Abdu'l-Bahá named their city the City of the Covenant. He spoke in their gathering of the Tablet of the Branch, revealed by Bahá'u'lláh in Adrianople, and declared His own station: the Centre of the Covenant. In New York He had made this emphatic, authoritative statement in public, and therefore New York was invested with that distinction. On the same day He received the manuscript of The Brilliant Proof which He greatly admired, and arranged for its translation and publication in the United States. (Balyuzi, 'Abdu'l-Baha - The Centre of the Covenant, p. 219)

May 1944: Model of the superstructure of the Shrine of the Báb was completed and displayed

Under the Guidance of the Guardian, Sutherland Maxwell completed the model of the superstructure for the Shrine of the Báb in May 1944. (Adapted from the ‘Historical Dictionary of the Baha’i Faith’ by Hugh Adamson)

May 1897: Lua Moore (Getsinger) accepts the Faith

Louisa (Lua) Moore accepted the Faith of Baha’u’llah on 21 May 1897. A year later, she married Edward Getsinger, a professional lecturer with a degree in homeopathic medicine. Within a few months, Edward had also become a Baha'i. In the spring of 1898, the Getsingers went to California to teach, where they introduced Phoebe Hearst to the Faith. When Mrs. Hearst decided to visit 'Abdu'l-Baha in 1898, she invited the Getsingers to travel with her. 'This first pilgrimage by American Baha’is completely transformed the Getsingers and pushed them to the forefront of the Faith in Arnerica.

Both Edward and Lua were deeply involved in the project to build the Temple in Chicago and in the efforts to save the American Baha'I community from the Covenant-breaking activities of Ibrahim Kheiralla, despite the fact that Kheiralla had originally been their teacher. The Getsingers travelled extensively across America at the behest of the Master, teaching in small towns and areas that rarely received Baha’i teachers. Lua also travelled to Paris and Haifa, where she stayed for a year, in 1902.

When 'Abdu'l-Baha arrived in America, Lua had been in California, at the request of the Master, for over a year and was a bit disheartened, writing that 'I have no permission to leave Cal. as yet. . .' But she was soon allowed to travel east. While Lua awaited permission to travel, Edward was busily occupied with the Master's arrangements, working from seven in the morning until eleven at night. Since 'Abdu'l-Baha moved only as directed by the spirit, Edward's job was doubly difficult.

In 1913 Lua and Edward visited 'Abdu'l-Baha in Egypt, then travelled at His request to India. Edward returned to America in July 1914, but Lua carried on until November, when she sailed to Haifa and stayed in 'Abdu'l-Baha household for seven months. He finally told her to return to America and teach, so in September 1915 she left Haifa with war refugees on the American navy ship Des Moines. When she reached Egypt, she was too ill to continue, so she stayed, continuing to teach in spite of her illness until her heart failed on I May 1916.(Earl Redman, ‘Abdu’l-Baha in Their Midst)

May 1926: Toronto Daily Star, May 4, 1926, prints Queen Marie’s testimony concerning the Baha’i Faith

“It is a wondrous Message that Baha’u’llah and his son 'Abdu'l-Baha have given us. . . . It is Christ's Message taken up anew, in the same words almost, but adapted to the thousand years and more difference that lies between the year one and today. . . . I commend it to you all. If ever the name of Baha’u’llah or 'Abdu'l-Baha comes to your attention, do not put their writings from you." (Toronto Daily Star, May 4, 1926; quoted in ‘The Baha’i Faith, the Emerging World Religion’, by William Hatcher and Douglas Martin)

May 1953: A Knight of Baha’u’llah arrives in Morocco

Austin Elsie Helen was a Baha'i pioneer, diplomat, administrator, and distinguished lawyer. She was the first black woman graduate of the law school at the University of Cincinnati and in 1937 became the first black woman to serve as assistant attorney general in Ohio. She became a Baha'i in the mid-1930s. During these years she rose through positions of increasing responsibility within the District of Columbia and the U.S. government. From 1939 to 1944, she served as national president of Delta Sigma Theta, a public service sorority. Her Baha'i service included membership of the local Spiritual Assembly of Cincinnati. In 1945 she was elected to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada. In 1953 she went on pilgrimage and met Shoghi Effendi. On returning to the United States she resigned from the National Spiritual Assembly to fulfill a pioneer goal of the Ten Year Crusade. She arrived in Morocco in May 1953 and in so doing earned the title Knight of Baha'u'llah for that country.

May 2001: The Opening of the Terraces on Mount Carmel

Statement of the Universal House of Justice for the Opening of the Terraces on Mount Carmel

Haifa, Israel,
22 May 2001

[Delivered by Dr. Albert Lincoln, Secretary General of the Bahá'í International Community]

With joyful and thankful hearts, we welcome all who have come from near and far to join us on this auspicious occasion for the Bahá'ís of the world. We acknowledge with deep appreciation the presence of so many distinguished guests.

A century and a half have passed since that unspeakable tragedy in the northwest of Persia when the Báb faced the volley fired at Him from the rifles of 750 soldiers. The soldiers had followed the orders of the highest authorities in the land. The Báb's mangled body was then thrown on the side of a moat outside the city, abandoned to what His cold-blooded persecutors thought would be a dishonourable fate. They had hoped thus to put an end to the growing influence of His teachings on masses of people throughout the country. These masses had accepted, in the face of intense persecution, the Báb's claim to prophethood, and their lives were being transformed spiritually and morally as He prepared them for what He said was the dawn of a new age in which a world civilization would be born and flourish. The expectations that stirred countless hearts were heightened even more sublimely by the Báb's announcement that One greater than He would soon arise, One who would reveal the unparalleled character of the promised world civilization that would signify the coming of age of the entire human race.

May 1942: The passing of Hand of the Cause ‘Abdu’l-Jalil Bey Sa’ad

‘Abdu’l-Jalil was an early Egyptian believer and a civil magistrate by profession when he was introduced to the Faith by Mirza Abu'l-Fadl. He was a distinguished judge of the civil courts and as such was able to render significant services to the Faith. He wrote extensively advocating the principle that all religions should be treated equally. In spite of much opposition he was able to ensure that the Baha'i Declaration of Trust for legal recognition of the Faith was accepted. After writing a series of articles in defense of the Faith he was transferred, as a disciplinary measure, to a remote locality in upper Egypt, where he used the opportunity to translate The Dawn-Breakers and Baha’u’llah and the New Era into Arabic. For many years he was the chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Egypt and the Sudan He obtained the permission to build a Haziratu'l-Quds in Cairo and was often found on site supervising the work. He died suddenly on 25 May 1942 and was posthumously appointed as a Hand of the Cause by Shoghi Effendi, in 1943. He was Egypt's first and only Hand of the Cause of God. (Adapted from the ‘Historical Dictionary of the Baha’i Faith’ by Hugh Adamson)

May 1863: Baha’u’llah leaves the Garden of Ridvan

The departure of Bahá'u'lláh from the Garden of Ridvan, at noon, on the 14th of Dhi'l-Qa'dih 1279 A.H. (May 3, 1863), witnessed scenes of tumultuous enthusiasm no less spectacular, and even more touching, than those which greeted Him when leaving His Most Great House in Baghdad. "The great tumult," wrote an eyewitness, "associated in our minds with the Day of Gathering, the Day of Judgment, we beheld on that occasion. Believers and unbelievers alike sobbed and lamented. The chiefs and notables who had congregated were struck with wonder. Emotions were stirred to such depths as no tongue can describe, nor could any observer escape their contagion.

Mounted on His steed, a red roan stallion of the finest breed, the best His lovers could purchase for Him, and leaving behind Him a bowing multitude of fervent admirers, He rode forth on the first stage of a journey that was to carry Him to the city of Constantinople. "Numerous were the heads," Nabil himself a witness of that memorable scene, recounts, "which, on every side, bowed to the dust at the feet of His horse, and kissed its hoofs, and countless were those who pressed forward to embrace His stirrups." "How great the number of those embodiments of fidelity," testifies a fellow-traveler, "who, casting themselves before that charger, preferred death to separation from their Beloved! Methinks, that blessed steed trod upon the bodies of those pure-hearted souls." "He (God) it was," Bahá'u'lláh Himself declares, "Who enabled Me to depart out of the city (Baghdad), clothed with such majesty as none, except the denier and the malicious, can fail to acknowledge." These marks of homage and devotion continued to surround Him until He was installed in Constantinople. (Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, p. 155)

May 1844: The Birth of ‘Abdu’l-Baha

'Abdu'l-Baha was born in Tihran, Iran, on 23 May 1844. While still a child, He recognized His Father's station even before it had been openly revealed. He shared Baha’u’llah's banishment and exile and often served as His Father's deputy when dealing with officials and the public. Baha'u'llah described the station of 'Abdu’l-Baha in the Suriy-i-Ghusn (Tablet of the Branch). In the Kitab-i-'Ahdi (Book of the Covenant), He named 'Abdu'l-Baha as His successor and the authorized Interpreter of His Writings.

'[T]hough essentially human and holding a station radically and fundamentally different from that occupied by Baha'u'llah and His Forerunner,' Shoghi Effendi has explained, 'Abdu'l-Baha was 'the perfect Exemplar of His Faith . . . endowed with superhuman knowledge, and to be regarded as the stainless mirror reflecting His light.’ While not regarding 'Abdu'l-Baha as a prophet, Baha'is show special respect to His unique station by capitalizing pronouns referring to Him.

In about 1873 'Abdu’l-Baha married Munirih Khanum. Of their nine children, four daughters lived to adulthood. His eldest daughter Diya’iyyih was the mother of Shoghi Effendi.

April 1853: Baha’u’llah arrives in Baghdad

On January 12, 1853, “Bahá'u'lláh, together with some of the members of His family, and escorted by an officer of the Imperial body-guard and an official representing the Russian Legation, set out on His three months' journey to Baghdad. Among those who shared His exile was His wife, the saintly Navvab, entitled by Him the "Most Exalted Leaf," who, during almost forty years, continued to evince a fortitude, a piety, a devotion and a nobility of soul which earned her from the pen of her Lord the posthumous and unrivalled tribute of having been made His "perpetual consort in all the worlds of God." His nine-year-old son, later surnamed the "Most Great Branch," destined to become the Center of His Covenant and authorized Interpreter of His teachings, together with His seven-year-old sister, known in later years by the same title as that of her illustrious mother, and whose services until the ripe old age of four score years and six, no less than her exalted parentage, entitle her to the distinction of ranking as the outstanding heroine of the Bahá'í Dispensation, were also included among the exiles who were now bidding their last farewell to their native country. Of the two brothers who accompanied Him on that journey the first was Mirza Musa, commonly called Aqay-i-Kalim, His staunch and valued supporter, the ablest and most distinguished among His brothers and sisters, and one of the "only two persons who," according to Bahá'u'lláh's testimony, "were adequately informed of the origins" of His Faith. The other was Mirza Muhammad-Quli, a half-brother, who, in spite of the defection of some of his relatives, remained to the end loyal to the Cause he had espoused.

April 1848: On the orders of the Persian Grand Vizir the Báb is transferred from the fortress of Mah-Ku to the fortress of Chihriq

The Báb is transferred “to the fortress of Chihriq (about April 10, 1848), surnamed by Him the Jabal-i-Shadid (the Grievous Mountain). There He was consigned to the keeping of Yahya Khan, a brother-in-law of Muhammad Shah. Though at the outset he acted with the utmost severity, he was eventually compelled to yield to the fascination of his Prisoner. Nor were the kurds, who lived in the village of Chihriq, and whose hatred of the Shí'ahs exceeded even that of the inhabitants of Mah-Ku, able to resist the pervasive power of the Prisoner's influence. They too were to be seen every morning, ere they started for their daily work, to approach the fortress and prostrate themselves in adoration before its holy Inmate. "So great was the confluence of the people," is the testimony of a European eye-witness, writing in his memoirs of the Báb, "that the courtyard, not being large enough to contain His hearers, the majority remained in the street and listened with rapt attention to the verses of the new Qur'án." (Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, p. 19)

April 1911: Louis Gregory makes a six-day pilgrimage to visit ‘Abdu’l-Baha in Ramleh, Egypt

Louis Gregory, the future Hand of the Cause of God, made a six-day pilgrimage to visit 'Abdu'l-Baha at Ramleh, at the direct invitation of the Master, from the 10th to the 16th of April. As soon as possible after his arrival, Gregory went to a store run by Mirza Hasan Khurasani (Khorassani), where he met several of the local Baha'is. He had a letter of introduction from Edward Getsinger, that had been translated into Persian, which he gave to Muhammad Yazdi. Yazdi asked: ‘"You want to see our Lord?" . . . Upon giving my assent, he agreed to act as guide . . . I reasoned that . . . I had no wish to take him away from his business. But he put my objections aside, saying, “This is spiritual business!”’ Louis Gregory was taken to 'Abdu'l-Baha's meeting where he met several others including Louisa Mathew, an English woman who would figure prominently in his future. Like many others, he wrote a pen-portrait of 'Abdu'l-Baha:

March 1957: The Guardian appoints Agnes Alexander a Hand of the Cause

On the passing of George Townshend, Agnes Alexander was appointed a Hand of the Cause and the Guardian sent the following cablegram to the Baha'i world on 27 March 1957: 

Inform Hands and national assemblies of the Baha'i world of the  passing into Abha Kingdom of Hand of Cause George Townshend, indefatigable, highly talented, fearless defender of the Faith of  Baha'u'llah.  Agnes Alexander, distinguished pioneer of the Faith, elevated  to rank of Hand of Cause. Confident her appointment will spiritually reinforce teaching campaign simultaneously conducted in north, south and heart of Pacific Ocean.(Shoghi Effendi, 27 March 1957, in Messages to the Baha'i World.) 

March 1957: Hand of the Cause George Townshend passes away

George Townshend was born in Dublin, Ireland, and educated at Oxford. Townshend was ordained as an Anglican priest in 1906 in the United States. He first heard of the Baha'i Faith after his return to Ireland when a friend wrote to him from the United States. He soon began to work for the Faith although it was not until 1947 that he formally resigned his orders and became a full member of the Baha'i community. He was among the first group of Hands of the Cause named by Shoghi Effendi in 1951. He wrote a number of books, the most well-known being The Promise of all Ages (1934), The Heart of the Gospel (1939), and Christ and Baha'u'llah (1957). He died 25 March 1957. (Wendi Momen, A Basic Baha’i Dictionary)

March 1922: The Guardian invites a number of well-known believers to the Holy Land for consultation

In March, 1922 Shoghi Effendi called a number of well-known believers to the Holy Land for consultation concerning the advisability of calling for the election of the Universal House of Justice. It became apparent that the election of that body had to wait until such time as local and national spiritual assemblies could be formed in various countries and were fully functioning. (Adapted from ‘The Child of the Covenant’, by Adib Taherzadeh, p. 294)