Chronology of the Bahá'í Faith

home Canada 1700s 1800s 1810s 1820s 1830s 1840s 1850s 1860s 1870s 1880s 1890s
1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s
 

Date 1954-03-0, descending sort earliest first

date event tags firsts
1954 Mar Olivia Kelsey and Florence Ullrich (later Ullrich-Kelley), a young college graduate, and Olivia Kelsey, an accomplished Bahá'í author and poet, arrived in Monaco from the United States and were named Knights of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:454; Collins 4.6 and 7.1359]

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]

  • See Bahá'í Chronicles for the story of the life of Florence Maria Ullrich Kelley (b. November 3, 1932 d. February 17, 2016)
  • - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Monaco
    1954 4 Mar The arrival of Knights of Bahá'u'lláh Elena (Marsella) and Roy Fernie in Kiribati (Gilbert Islands). They had come from the National Spiritual Assembly of Panama. [BWNS301, BW13:452]
  • They had left their home in Panama and their service on the National Spiritual Assembly of Panama to pioneer. They arrived on the island of Abaiang (aka Charlotte Island, of the Gilbert Islands), on March 4, 1954 and for this service they were named Knights of Baha'u'llah. About the first of June 1954, former Catholic seminarian and mission teacher Peter Kanere Koru became the first convert on the island.
  • Their teaching work brought opposition from the Roman Catholic priest who told his congregation not to attend the Bahá'í meetings. He began to criticize them in the Roman Catholic newsletter and actually contributed to the knowledge of the Faith because the newsletter had a wide distribution.
  • The priest persisted in his opposition by informing his bishop who asked the government to send the Fernies away and to send Peter Kanere, a native Bahá'í, back to his native island of Tabiteuea. At the time, to be a registered religious organization required a membership of at least 100 believers so the government-approved sending the Fernies away however, in a single night some 300 people registered. A certificate of registration was issued on the 24th of September, 1955, but not before they managed to exile Roy Fernie. Elena continued the teaching work on her own and was responsible for firmly establishing the Faith on Abaiang.
  • Meanwhile, Peter Kanere, back on his home island, managed to teach a Protestant minister who was under discipline of his church at the time. Together they spread the Faith on Tabiteuea. [Island Churches: Challenge and Change by Makisi Finau page 101]
  • For more details on the life of Roy Fernie see Bahaipedia.
  • See also The Origins of the Bahá'í Faith in the Pacific Islands: The Case of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands by Graham Hassall.
  • And Bahá'í Faith in the Asia Pacific: Issues and Prospects also by Graham Hassall.
  • Elena Maria Marsella published The Quest for Eden in 1966.
  • - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; First Bahá'ís by country or area; Islands; Bahá'í World News Service (BWNS); Tabiteuea; Kiribati; Gilbert and Ellice Islands first Bahá'í on Kiribati (Gilbert Islands)
    1954 Mar Qudratu'lláh Rawhání and Khudárahm Muzhgání arrived in Mahé and were named Knights of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:454] - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Mahé, India
    1954 1 Mar Shirin Fozdar visited Cambodia to receive the first medallion and Certificate of Satrei Vatthana (Champion of Women) from His Majesty King Norodom Sihanouk. She was the first Bahá'í to enter the country.
  • She was not able to teach the Faith openly but she did speak about it to the king's parents.
  • Shirin Fozdar; King Norodom Sihanouk; Cambodia first medallion and Certificate of Satrei Vatthana (Champion of Women) recipient; first Bahá’í in Cambodia
    1954 1 Mar Alvin J. Blum and his wife, Gertrude (née Gewertz), arrived in Honiara and were named Knights of Bahá'u'lláh for the Solomon Islands. They were accompanied by their eight-year-old daughter Keithie. [BW13:456; BWNS291] - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Islands; Solomon Islands
    1954 Mar Greta Jankko arrived in the Marquesas Islands and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:454] Greta Jankko; - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Islands; Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia
    1954 spring The Síyáh-Chál and some surrounding property was acquired by the Bahá'ís. [BW12:64–5; SE153; SS45]
  • The purchase cost was $400,000 which was contributed by a Persian believer Habib Sabet. [BW12:65; CBN No 53 June 1954 Insert p2] iiiii
  • Siyah Chal (Black Pit); Purchases and exchanges; Tehran, Iran; Iran

    Try also a shorter date like or 1954-03 or 1954-0

    try also the Chronology Canada — 1954-03-0 or 1954-03 or 1954-0

    Home Site Map Links Tags Chronology About Contact RSS