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date | event | tags | firsts | |
1953 30 Sep | Manúchihr Hizárí and Hurmuz Zindih arrived in Tangier and were named Knights of Bahá'u'lláh for Morocco (International Zone). [BW13:454] | - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Tangier; Morocco | ||
1953 26 Sep | The martyrdom of Rahmán Kulayní Mamaqání. He was stabbed by a ruffian in a mob. [BW12p710-711] | Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Deaths; - Persecution, Mobs; Durúd, Iran; Iran | ||
1953 23 Sep | Ted and Joan Anderson arrived in Whitehorse, Canada, and were named Knights of Bahá'u'lláh for the Yukon. [BW13:457] | - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Ted Anderson; Joan Anderson; Whitehorse, YT; Canada | ||
1953 20 Sep | Countries (in which) Bahá'ís residenow aggregate over (one) hundred fifty. over seventy (have been) added (in the) course (of the) nine years separating (the) first (and) second Jubilees. [From a letter from Shoghi Effendi CBN No 46 November 1953 p1] | Statistics; - Bahá'í World Centre | ||
1953 20 Sep | The arrival of Knight of Bahá'u'lláh Mr. Max Kanyerezi in Middle Congo (now called Republic of Congo). At this time the country was, together with the Central African Republic (CAR), Chad, and Gabon, part of a much larger French territory called the Federation of French Equatorial Africa which was dissolved in 1958. [BWNS246; A Brief Account of the Progress of the Bahá'í Faith in Africa Since 1953 by Nancy Oloro-Robarts and Selam Ahderom p8]
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- Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Bahá'í World News Service (BWNS); Congo, Democratic Republic of (Zaire); - Africa | ||
1953 18 Sep | Dwight and Carole Allen arrived in Athens and were named Knights of Bahá'u'lláh for Greece. [BW13:452] | - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Athens, Greece; Greece | ||
1953 Sep | Hugh McKinley and his mother, Violet, arrived in Cyprus and were named Knights of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:450]
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- Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Hugh McKinley; Violet McKinley; Ismael Velasco; Olive McKinley; Cyprus; Famagusta, Cyprus | ||
1953 Sep | Elsa Grossman arrived in the Frisian Islands and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:452] | Elsa Grossmann; - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Islands; Frisian Islands | ||
1953 Sep | Diá'i'lláh Asgharzádih arrived in the Channel Islands and was named Knights of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:450] | - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Diaillah Asgharzadih; Channel Islands, UK | ||
1953 Sep | Howard Snider arrived in Key West and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:453] | - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Key West, FL | ||
1953 Sep | Dick Stanton arrived in Keewatin and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:453] | - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Keewatin, NT | ||
1953 12 Sep | Nellie French arrived in Monaco and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:454]
Then 85, she was the first Bahá'í to arrive in Monaco, but she passed away a few months later. For her act of service in bringing the Faith to the country, she received the accolade Knight of Baha'u'llah from Shoghi Effendi. A celebration to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the arrival of the Bahá'í Faith in the Principality was held on 24-25 April 2004 at the Theatre des Varietes in Monte Carlo, and opened with the reading of a welcoming message from the National Council of the Principality. [Newspaper Archive on BLO] |
- Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Monaco | ||
1953 Sep | Cora Oliver arrived in British Honduras (Belize) and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:449] | Cora Oliver; - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Belize | ||
1953 9 Sep | José (d. 1985) and Hilda (née Summers) Xavier Rodrigues, a Portuguese-English couple, arrived in Bissau from Portugal as the first Bahá'í pioneers to Portuguese Guinea (Guinea Bissau) and were named Knights of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:455] | - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Bissau, Guinea-Bissau; Portuguese Guinea; Guinea Bissau | ||
1953 9 Sep | Rooho'llah Mavadatt arrived in Algeria as a pioneer. [BN No277 p8] | Algeria | ||
1953 8 Sep | Jameson and Gale Bond arrived in Arctic Bay in the District of Franklin and were named Knights of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:451, SDSC127] | Jameson Bond; Gale Bond; - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Arctic Bay, NU; Franklin, QC | ||
1953 Sep | Doris Richardson arrived on Grand Manan Island and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:452] | - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Islands; Grand Manan Island, NB | ||
1953 Sep | Julius Edwards arrived in the Northern Territories Protectorate (now part of Ghana) and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:455] | - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Northern Territories Protectorate; Ghana | ||
1953 Sep | Kathleen Weston arrived in the Magdalen Islands and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:453] | - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Islands; Magdalen Islands, QC | ||
1953 Sep | The arrival of Knight of Bahá'u'lláh Enayat Sohaili in Nyasaland (now known as Malawi) [BWNS240] | - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Bahá'í World News Service (BWNS); Malawi; - Africa | ||
1953 Sep | Brigitte Lundblade (nee Hasselblatt), (b. 1923 - d. 17 May 2008) arrived in the Shetland Islands and was later honoured with being named as Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [Bahaipedia] | - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Islands; Shetland Islands; Scotland; United Kingdom | ||
1953 Sep | Ada Schott, Elizabeth Hopper, Sara Kenny and Ella Duffield arrived in the Madeira Islands and were named Knights of Bahá'u'lláh. BW13:453] | - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Islands; Madeira; Portugal; - Europe | ||
1953 Sep | Evelyn Baxter arrived in the Channel Islands and was named Knights of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:450] | Evelyn Baxter; - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Channel Islands, UK | ||
1953 Sep | Gertrude Eisenberg arrived in Las Palmas and is named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh for the Canary Islands. [BW13:450] | - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Islands; Las Palmas, Canary Islands; Canary Islands, Spain | ||
1953 Sep | Brigitte Hasselblatt arrived in Shetland and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:455] | - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Islands; Shetland Islands; Scotland; United Kingdom | ||
1953 28 Aug | Mildred Clark, a pioneer in Norway, and Loyce Lawrence (née Drugan), a nurse and hospital matron, arrived in the Lofoten Islands and were named Knights of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:453]
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- Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Sámi people; Lofoten Islands, Norway; Norway | ||
1953 (In the year) | Pioneers began to arrive in Libya;
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Mustapha Salem; Asia Zein; Feridon Zein; Rizvaniyyih Iqrari; Mohsen Enayat; Laura Kelsey Allen; Local Spiritual Assembly, formation; Mr and Mrs Nemat `Abdu'l-Wahid; Tripoli, Libya; Libya; Benghazi, Libya; Libya | ||
1953 26 Aug | Ella Bailey (b. 16 December, 1864, Houston, Harris County, Texas) passed away in Tripoli, Tarabulus, Libya at the age of 88 years. [BW12:687]
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Ella Bailey; Names and titles; In Memoriam; Births and deaths; Tripoli, Libya; Libya; Houston, TX; Texas, USA; USA | ||
1953 (Late August) | Soon after becoming a Bahá'í in Kampala, Enoch Olinga, together with fellow new believers Max Kanyerezi and Samson Mungono,
responded to the Guardian's call and left his home in Uganda, to fulfill pioneering goals accompanied by Persian pioneers
Ali and Violette Nakhjavání. Leaving in late August 1953 they traveled for almost 3 months, covering a distance
of over 5000 kilometers.
The first leg took them to Samson Mungono's post in Kamina, in the Katanga region of the Belgian Congo. They then took a grueling route to Brazzaville, where Max was dropped off and continued through the thick forests of French Congo and Gabon, hoping to pass through French Cameroons and finally reach the British Cameroons. The car broke down in the tropical forest of Gabon leaving the three remaining friends unable to continue. Enoch volunteered to walk to a town 50 miles ahead through the forbidding jungle to get help. Upon arrival Enoch was so ill he was hospitalized for two days and could not travel for a week. He told of a dream he had in which Shoghi Effendi took him in his arms to comfort and reassure him in his desperation. In mid-October they reached the British Cameroons on the very evening of the conclusion of the Holy Year. Confirmations of the monumental efforts these first African pioneers made soon followed: Enoch, Max and Samson all successfully brought many local people under the banner of the Greatest Name. [A Brief Account of the Progress of the Bahá'í Faith in Africa Since 1953 by Nancy Oloro-Robarts and Selam Ahderom p4] |
Pioneering; Max Kanyerezi; Samson Mungono; `Alí Nakhjavání; Violette Nakhjavani; Congo, Democratic Republic of (Zaire); Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo; Cameroon | ||
1953 14 Aug | In a letter written on behalf of the Guardian to the National Spiritual Assembly of Germany and Austria it was stated that:
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Germany; Austria; Soviet Union | ||
1953 11 Aug | Virginia Orbison arrived in the Balearic Islands from a pioneer post in Spain and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh for the Balearic Islands. [BW13:449]
It was neither her first nor her last pioneer experience. Between 1942 and 1946 she pioneered to Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Brazil. After World War II she went to Madrid, Spain where she helped raise the first local spiritual assembly and she did the same thing in Barcelona the following year. In July of 1953 she went to the Stockholm Intercontinental Teaching Conference where she offered to pioneer to Mallorca in one of the Balearic Islands, She stayed about one year before returning to Barcelona in August of 1954 where she attended the Iberian Teaching Conference that was attended by 60 people. Late that nine, she and nine others were arrested by the police and interrogated for 18 hours. They had thought that the Bahá'í were Communists. In 1956 she moved to Portugal where she was elected to the first Iberian Regional Spiritual Assembly. After three years she was forced to leave by the authorities because of her Bahá'í activities, holding property and owning a telephone. She was asked to go to Luxembourg where she spent nine years but made little progress in establishing the Faith. She was then asked to got to Malaga, Spain and by 1972 Malaga had a local spiritual assembly so she pioneered to Margella in 1979. The National Spiritual Assembly asked her to write a history of the Faith in Spain which was completed in 1980. As was her wish, she passed to the Abha Kingdom in 1985, still a pioneer. [KoB346-347; Wikipedia] See also Also see Bahá'í World 19 pages 715-721 or 692-697 in the print version and Bahá'í News #586 January 1980 p2-5. |
Virginia Orbison; - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Islands; Balearic Islands, Spain; Spain; Chile; Argentina; Bolivia; Peru; Ecuador; Brazil; Mallorca, Spain; Spain; Portugal; Luxembourg | ||
1953 Aug | Udai Narain Singh arrived in Sikkim and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:455; PH63] | Udai Narain Singh; - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Sikkim, India; India | ||
1953 Aug | Edythe MacArthur arrived in the Queen Charlotte Islands (now Haida Gwaii) and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:455; BWIM143-145] | - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Islands; Queen Charlotte Island, BC | ||
1953 Jul - Aug | Amín and Sheila Banání, a Persian-American couple, settled in Athens-Kifissia in August 1953 and were named Knights of Bahá'u'lláh for Greece. [BW452]
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Amin Banani; Sheila Banani; - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; In Memoriam; Athens, Greece; Greece | ||
1953 Aug | Salísa Kirmání and Shírín Núrání arrived in Karikal and were named Knights of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:452] | - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Karikal | ||
1953 Aug | Amír Húshmand Manúchihrí arrived in Liechtenstein and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:453] | - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Liechtenstein; - Europe | ||
1953 Aug | Shiyam Behari arrived in Pondicherry and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:455] | - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Pondicherry, India; India | ||
1953 2 Aug | Fred Schechter, an American, arrived in Djibouti and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh for French Somaliland. [BW13:451]
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Fred Schechter; - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Counsellors; International Teaching Centre, Members of; In Memoriam; Births and deaths; Bahá'í World News Service (BWNS); French Somaliland; Djibouti, East Africa | ||
1953 Aug | 'Abbás Vakíl arrived in Cyprus and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:450] | - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Cyprus | ||
1953 Aug | Shawkat Nahví arrived in Pondicherry and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:455] | - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Pondicherry, India; India | ||
1953 Aug | The Congo-Belgian colony had its first believers, identified under the term "The Spiritual Sowers". The story begins with Louis Selemani Bin Kimbulu (the first person to accept the Faith) and Sébastien Ilunga Ngoy Buanga Tumba, two Congolese bank officials who were living and working in neighbouring Burundi, where they received, from a servant working for a Western expatriate, a book of Bahá'í prayers which they did not hesitate to liken to a grimoire. Finding it interesting, they sent a letter for further clarification regarding the nature of the prayers to the Bahá'í Publishing House which published the book.
In response to their correspondence, an American Bahá'í living in Usumbura, present-day Bujumbura, went to meet these two men. Some time after they met, and after conducting the independent search for Truth, they decided to become Bahá'ís. This is how they began to spread the "new message" to their other colleagues at the Bank, all Congolese living in eastern DRC. Very quickly, these two young bankers succeeded in finding souls receptive to the message of the Bahá'í teachings. They were 19 in all and constituted the nucleus called "Spiritual Sowers", the founders of the Faith in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. [bahai.org; bahai.org; A Remarkable Response Film 4:18] |
Louis Selemani Bin Kimbulu; Sébastien Ilunga Ngoy Buanga Tumba; Bujumbura, Burundi; Congo, Democratic Republic of (Zaire) | first believers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo | |
1953 27 Jul | Siegfried (Fred) Schopflocher, Hand of the Cause of God, passed away in Montreal and was buried beside the grave of Sutherland Maxwell in Mount Royal Cemetery. He was born in Landkreis Fürth, Germany 26 September 1877. [BW12:664-666, LOF390, TG119, CBNS 24 July 2014, Bahá'í Chronicles, SCRIBD, Schopflocher, Siegfried (1877–1953) by Will C. van den Hoonaard]
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Siegfried Schopflocher; - Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Births and deaths; Births and deaths; In Memoriam; Hands of the Cause, Second Contingent; Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, Wilmette; Montreal, QC; Canada | ||
1953 21 – 26 Jul | The European Intercontinental Teaching Conference was held in Stockholm. [BW12:167; CBN No 46 November, 1953 p4; CBN No 47 December 1953 p6; CBN No 49 February 1954 p3]
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Conferences, Bahá'í; Conferences, Teaching; - Conferences, Intercontinental; Ten Year Crusade; Teaching; - Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Activities; Stockholm, Sweden; Sweden; - Europe | ||
1953 Jul | Jenabe and Elaine Caldwell arrived in the Aleutian Islands and were named Knights of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:449] | Jenabe Caldwell; Elaine Caldwell; - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Islands; Aleutian Islands, AK | ||
1953 Jul | Jack Huffman and Rose Perkal arrived on the Kodiak Islands and were named Knights of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:453] | - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Islands; Kodiak Islands, AK | ||
1953 Jul | Sa'íd Nahví arrived in Pondicherry and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:455] | - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Pondicherry, India; India | ||
1953 Jul | Arthur and Ethel Crane arrived in Key West and were named Knights of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW16:453] | - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Key West, FL | ||
1953 Jul | Eskil Ljungberg of Sweden, aged 67, arrived in the Faroe Islands and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:451]
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- Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Islands; Faroe Islands, Denmark | ||
1953 Jul | Rawshan Áftábí and Fírúzih Yigánigi arrived in Goa and were named Knights of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:452] | - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Rawshan Aftabi; Firuzih Yiganigi; Goa; India | ||
1953 20 Jun | Shoghi Effendi designated the Maxwell home in Montreal as a Shrine. [MtC179] | Shoghi Effendi, Life of; Montreal Shrine; Maxwell residence; Firsts, other; Montreal, QC; Canada | first Bahá'í Shrine in North America | |
1953 6 Jun | 'Izzatu'lláh Zahrá'í (Ezzat Zahrai) arrived in Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:456] | - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Zimbabwe; - Africa | ||
1953 Jun | Dunduzu Chisiza, a Nyasaland student who had recently become a Bahá'í in Uganda, arrived in Ruanda-Urundi (Burundi) and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:455] | - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Ruanda-Urundi | ||
1953 Jun | Ghulám 'Alí Kurlawala arrived in Daman and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:451] | - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Daman | ||
1953 28 May | In a message addressed on the eve of the 61st anniversary of the passing of Bahá'u'lláh, at the opening of the Ten Year Crusade, Shoghi Effendi encouraged 70 pioneers to arise to fill the goals promising that a Roll of Honour with their names would be deposited at the entrance door of the inner Sanctuary of the Tomb of Bahá'u'lláh. [MBW48-49]
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Pioneers; - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Roll of Honour; Bahá'u'lláh, Shrine of; Haifa, Israel; - Bahá'í World Centre | ||
1953 23 May | The Hand of the Cause of God, Mr. Valiollah Vargha, arrived in Guayaquil accompanied by Miss Eve Nicklin, a pioneer and the spiritual mother of Perú. He also visited Quito and left the country in early July to attend the conference in Stockholm. [Heroes of God pp53-54] | Valiollah Vargha; Hands of the Cause, Activities; Eve Nicklin; Guayaquil; Ecuador; Quito, Ecuador; Ecuador | ||
1953 3 – 6 May | The All-America Intercontinental Teaching Conference was held in Chicago. [BW12:133]
.....the lands contributed in Latin America for a similar purpose approximate one-half of a million square meters, ninety thousand of which have been set aside near Santiago, Chile, for the first Mashriqu'l-Adhkár of South America.. |
Conferences, Bahá'í; Conferences, Teaching; - Conferences, Intercontinental; Ten Year Crusade; Teaching; - Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Activities; Pioneering; Elsie Austin; Dorothy Baker; Matthew Bullock; Mamie Seto; William Kenneth Christian; Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, Santiago; Purchases and exchanges; Chicago, IL; USA; Santiago, Chile; Chile; USA | first Mashriqu’l-Adhkár in South America | |
1953 2 May | The House of Worship in Wilmette, the Mother Temple of the West, was dedicated in a public ceremony. [BW12:142, BWNS218]
Specifics
Administration: On the same day as the internment of the sacred remains of the Báb on Mount Carmel, March 21st, 1909, the first American Bahá'í Convention opened in Chicago. The Convention established the 'Bahá'í Temple Unity', incorporated to hold title to the Temple property and to provide for its construction. A constitution was framed and an Executive Board of the Bahá'í Temple Unity elected. This body became the future National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada. [BBD39; BBRSM:106; BW10:179; GPB349; PP397; SBBH1:146; BFA2:XVII, 309; BW13:849; MBW142–3] Foundation Stone: by 'Abdu'l-Bahá, 1 May, 1912 Construction Period:The purchase of the site completed: 1914. Design Chosen: 1920. Superstructure: 1921 – 1 May 1931. External Ornamentation: June 1932 -1943. Interior: 1951 Dedication: 1 May 1953 Architects: Louis Bourgeois with Alfred Shaw (interior cladding) Bourgeois became a Baha'i in New York City in 1907, and two years later responded to the call for designs for the Temple. In 1920, delegates from across the country unanimously selected his innovative design. Bourgeois traveled to Haifa to consult with 'Abdu'l-Bahá. With 'Abdu'l-Bahá's encouragement, Bourgeois refined and scaled down the size of his design. [The House of Worship Architecture] Seating: 1,191 [DP220] Dimensions: 203ft at the base and 49ft high Cost: $2.6 million (another source) $51,500 (land) plus $3,212,517.60 (construction costs 1921-1953) Dependencies: Construction of a home for the aged was began in December, 1957 and inaugurated on 1 February, 1959. It is located about three blocks away. Note: In GPB349 Shoghi Effendi states that "…this enterprise—the crowning achievement of the Administrative Order of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh in the first Bahá'í century…". References: CEBF236-241,GPB348-353, MDM121-239, The Dawning Place, The Bahá'í Faith 1844-1963 Information Statistical & Comparative p36-37. iiiii |
Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, Wilmette; - Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, Mother Temples; Lawh-i-Ahmad (Tablet of Ahmad (Arabic)); Gifts; Archives; Dedications; * Mashriqu'l-Adhkár (House of Worship); * Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, Quick facts; Alfred Shaw; Architects; Homes for the aged; - Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, Dependencies of; Bahá'í World News Service (BWNS); - Basic timeline, Expanded; Shoghi Effendi, Life of; Wilmette, IL; USA | ||
1953 1 May | The House of Worship in Wilmette was consecrated in a simple ceremony for Bahá'ís only. [BW12:143, 152; ZK93]
A most wonderful and thrilling motion will appear in the world of existence," are 'Abdu'l-Bahá's own words, predicting the release of spiritual forces that must accompany the completion of this most hallowed House of Worship. "From that point of light," He, further glorifying that edifice, has written, "the spirit of teaching … will permeate to all parts of the world." And again: "Out of this Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, without doubt, thousands of Mashriqu'l-Adhkárs will be born." "It marks the inception of the Kingdom of God on earth.[CoF69 Message of 21 March 1949] |
Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, Wilmette; * Mashriqu'l-Adhkár (House of Worship); Dedications; Wilmette, IL; USA | ||
1953 May | Mary and Reginald (Rex) Collison, an elderly Canadian-American couple, arrived in Ruanda-Urundi (Burundi) from Uganda and were named Knights of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:455]
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- Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Mary Collison; Rex Collison; Dunduzu Chisza; Alphonse Semanyenzi; Marthe Molitor; Ruanda-Urundi | First Baha'i in Rwanda | |
1953 30 Apr | Messages from Shoghi Effendi regarding a victory in France:
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Haziratul-Quds (Bahá'í centres); Hussayn Quli Kiyani; Ugo Giachery; Paris, France; France | ||
1953 29 Apr - 2 May | The All-American Jubilee celebrations began. [BW12:149] | Centenaries; USA | ||
1953 29 Apr | In a moving ceremony, Shoghi Effendi placed a silver box containing a fragment of plaster from the ceiling of the Báb's cell in Máh-Kú under a tile in the golden dome of the Shrine of the Báb. [BW12:239; ZK285] | Báb, Shrine of; Mah-Ku, Iran; Boxes containing dust, earth or plaster; Haifa, Israel; Mount Carmel; Mah-Ku, Iran; Iran | ||
1953 Ridván | Bahjí was lit for the first time by 99 four-branched wrought iron lamp posts. [GBF32; PP89–90] | Light; Firsts, other; Bahá'u'lláh, Shrine of; Bahji, Israel; Haifa, Israel | first time Bahjí lit | |
1953 Ridván | The National Spiritual Assembly of Italy and Switzerland was established. Elected were: Prof. Mario Fiorentini, Mrs. Anna Kunz, Dr. Ugo R. Giachery, Miss Elsa Steinmetz, Mrs. Stella Lonzar, Mrs. Anne Lynch, Friedrich Schar, Mrs. Marion Little, and Prof. Alessandro Bausani.
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National Spiritual Assembly, formation; Italy; Switzerland | first NSA Italy and Switzerland | |
1953 Ridván | The first local spiritual assembly in Kenya was established in Nairobi. | Local Spiritual Assembly; Nairobi, Kenya; Kenya | first Local Spiritual Assembly in Kenya | |
1953 Ridván | Mrs Meherangiz Munsiff, the wife of an Indian diplomat in London, arrived in Madagascar and was acknowledged as the first Bahá'í in the country. [BWNS288]
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Meherangiz Munsiff; Danile Randrianarivo; First Bahá'ís by country or area; Madagascar | first Bahá’í in Madagascar | |
1953 Ridván | The Ten Year Crusade (1953-1963) was launched. See MBW151-156, MBW151.
The four primary goals of the plan were outlined as follows: For the objectives of the Crusade see BW12:256–14. Among the goals to be achieved was the construction of the International Bahá'í Archives building. [BBD22; DH168; MBW43] "the first of the major edifices destined to constitute the seat of the World Bahá'í Administrative Centre to be established on Mount Carmel". [PP264]
To those Bahá'ís who arose to open new territories to the Faith during the Ten Year Crusade, the title 'Knight of Bahá'u'lláh' was given. On 27 May 1992, the Roll of Honour containing the names of all the Knights of Bahá'u'lláh was deposited beneath the entrance door to the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh. "…Sometimes people strive all their lives to render outstanding service. Here is the time and opportunity to render historic services; in fact, the most unique in history, aiding in the fulfillment of Daniel's Prophecies of the Last Day, and the 1335 days, when men are to be blessed by the Glory of the Lord, covering the entire globe—which is the real goal of the Ten Year Crusade. [DG54-55] A map of goals for the Ten Year World Crusade by Shoghi Effendi can be found in Bahá'í World, Vol. 12 (April 1950-1954). Electronic versions, in both medium and large format can be found here. The achievements of the Ten Year Crusade were celebrated at the Most Great Jubilee in April and May 1963, which commemorated the Centenary of the Declaration of Baha'u'llah's Mission. Two historic events transpired during that time: the International Convention, convened in Haifa, Israel, to elect the first Universal House of Justice; and the World Congress held in London, England. |
Statistics; Ten Year Crusade; - Teaching Plans; Shoghi Effendi, Life of; Roll of Honour; Shoghi Effendi, Basic timeline; - Basic timeline, Expanded; Shoghi Effendi, Works of; Endowments; - Bahá'í World Centre; - Worldwide | ||
1953 20 Apr | The Second Seven Year Plan ended with 2,425 localities, 611 local spiritual assemblies, 100 countries, islands and dependencies opened to the Faith. There were 12 national assemblies to this date; [UC43]
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- Teaching Plans; Second Seven Year Plan, US and CA (1946-1953); Statistics | ||
1953 19 Apr | Shoghi Effendi announced plans to build a House of Worship in Frankfurt. [BW13:733; LDG191–2]l
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Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, Langenhain; * Mashriqu'l-Adhkár (House of Worship); Shoghi Effendi, Life of; Langenhain, Germany; Frankfurt, Germany; Germany; - Europe | ||
1953 Apr | The first local spiritual assembly in Finland was established in Helsinki. | Local Spiritual Assembly; Helsinki, Finland | first Local Spiritual Assembly in Finland | |
1953 25 Mar | Enayat Sohaili, an Iranian, arrived in Mozambique from India, the first Bahá'í pioneer to the country. [BW13:290]
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Enayat Sohaili; Pioneers; Persecution, Mozambique; - Persecution, Arrests; - Persecution; First travel teachers and pioneers; Mozambique | first Bahá’í pioneer Mozambique | |
1953 19 Mar | Suhayl Samandarí arrived in Mogadishu and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh for Italian Somaliland. [BW13:452]
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- Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Mogadishu, Somalia; Italian Somaliland | first Somali Bahá’í | |
1953 (Early in the year) | Shoghi Effendi obtained a wrought-iron gate from England with the intention of installing it at the bottom of the terraces on Mount Carmel. Instead, he had it installed on the path radiating out from the entrance to the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh. The Pyramidal-obelisks and the flower-urns made of lead, border the path on either side. He had originally planned to pave the main path with Carrara marble, the same stone used in the Monument Gardens but abandoned the idea and used pebbles from the Sea of Galilee as he had done on the path between the second and third gates leading to the Shrine of the Báb and at the house of 'Abdu'l-Bahá at 7 Persian Street.
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Bahá'u'lláh, Shrine of; Collins Gate; Amelia Collins; Bahji, Israel | ||
1953 12–18 Feb | The first Intercontinental Teaching Conference was convened by the British National Spiritual Assembly in Kampala, Uganda. [BW12:121, MBW135-140; BN No 267 May 1953 p5-7]
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- Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Activities; Guardianship; Conferences, Bahá'í; Conferences, Teaching; - Conferences, Intercontinental; Ten Year Crusade; Teaching; - First conferences; Kampala, Uganda; Uganda; - Africa | first Intercontinental Teaching Conference; first international conference held in Africa | |
1953 (In the Year) | The publication of Questions about the Second Coming by George Townshend by the Bahá'í Publishing Committee in Wilmette in response to questions asked of him by the Bahá'ís of Kampala.
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- Christianity; George Townshend; Wilmette, IL; USA; Uganda | ||
1953 (In the year) | Anjoman-e Hojjatieh ("Society of Allah's Proof Over Creation"), also called the Hojjatieh Society was founded specifically as an anti-Bahá'í organization by a charismatic Shiite Muslim cleric, Shaikh Mahmoud Halabi in the aftermath of the coup d'état of 1953. Between the early 1950s and the early 1970s a great number of the future elite of the Islamic revolution were trained by Hujjatieh. During the 1979 Iranian revolution, the Society was to play an important role in stirring animosity against Bahá'ís. However, in part because of differences in theology—among other things the Hojjatieh believe a truly Islamic state cannot be established until the return of the 12th Imam—the Society fell into disfavour and was banned by the regime in 1984. [Hojjatieh Society, Wiki] | Hojjatieh Society; Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Other; - Persecution; Iran | ||
1953 (In the year) | Grant Mensah, a Ghanaian, became a Bahá'í in Ruanda-Urundi, the first person to accept the Faith in that country. | Grant Mensah; Ruanda-Urundi | first Bahá’í in Burundi | |
1953 (In the year) | Alfred Amisi (Maragoli), Jacob Kisombe (Mtaita), Laurence Ouna (Mluhya), Labi Mathew (Zulu), and Zablon Bob (Luo) were among the first Kenyans to become Bahá'ís. | First Bahá'ís by country or area; Kenya | first Kenyans Bahá’ís | |
1953 (In the year) | Áqá Rahmán Kulayní-Mamaqání was martyred in Durúd, Iran. [BW18:390] | Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Deaths; - Persecution; Durúd, Iran; Iran | ||
1953 (In the year) | The arrival of Knights of Bahá'u'lláh Dr. Mihdi Samandari and Mrs. Ursula Samandari (Newman) in Mogadishu, Somalia [BWNS230] | - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Bahá'í World News Service (BWNS); Mogadishu, Somalia; Somalia | ||
1953 (In the year) | Mr. Mohammad Ali Djalali was among the first Baha'i's to reside in Morocco, for which Shoghi Effendi gave him the title "Knight of Baha'u'llah." [BW34p239]
It is not certain which "Morocco". |
- Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Morocco | ||
1953 (In the year) | Marthe Molitor, a Belgian from Rwanda, began to teach the Bahá'í Faith in Kalina (now Gombe), a district in Léopoldville (now Kinshasa). [bahai.org] | Marthe Molitor; Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo | ||
1953 (In the year) | Bahá'ís and their houses were attacked in Bushrúyih and Fárán, Iran. [BW18:390] | Persecution, Iran; - Persecution; Bushrúyih, Iran; Faran, Iran; Iran | ||
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