- 1863-04-22 — Declaration of Bahá'u'lláh in the Garden of Ridván.
The garden was located in a large agricultural area immediately north of the walls of the city of Baghdad, about 450 metres (1,480 ft) from the city's northern Mu'azzam gate. Located on the eastern bank of the Tigris River in what is now the Bab al-Mu'azzam neighbourhood of Baghdad's Rusafa District, it was directly opposite the district in which Bahá'u'lláh lived during his stay in the city, on the river's western bank. [Wikipedia]
Extract from a Tablet of Baha'u'llah-Khadimu'llah. (Edited provisional translation below)
"On the first day that the Ancient Beauty occupied the Most Great Throne in a Garden which hath been designated Ridván, the Tongue of Grandeur uttered three blessed verses.
[1] The first of them was that in this Manifestation the use of the sword in holy war is put aside.
[2] Secondly, prior to the completion of a millennium any theophanological claim put forward by any person must be considered baseless. In this respect the year should be considered a complete year.
[3] Thirdly, the True One, exalted be His Glory, at that time manifested all the Divine Names upon all things.
"Verily, all created things were immersed in the sea of purification when, on that first day of Ridván, We shed upon the whole of creation the splendours of Our most excellent Names and Our most exalted Attributes". [Kitab-i-Aqdas para75 p47]
And the following choice verse was subsequently revealed but has been ordained to be of the same rank as the preceding three; namely, whatever personal designations are mentioned before the Face, whether living or dead, such have thereby attained the Presence of God by virtue of being mentioned by the King of Pre-Existence.
[UCMERCED site] - 1875-00-03 —
`Abdu'l-Bahá rented a small garden near `Akká for Bahá'u'lláh's use. [BBD196–7; DH95]
- See DH95 for its situation.
- This garden on the river Na`mayn was later named Ridván by Bahá'u'lláh. [DH95]
- 1877-06-00 —
Possibly the first visit of Bahá'u'lláh to the Ridván Garden outside `Akká. [BBD196–7; DH95; GPB193]
- See DH95–101 for a description of the garden and Bahá'u'lláh's use of it.
- See CH96–8 for Túbá Khánum's description of the garden.
- See RoB4p15 for the Tablet He revealed. Adib Taherzadeh made the following comment:
"A Tablet of Bahá'u'lláh revealed there and translated into English hangs on the wall of that room today. Its perusal enables the reader to see how much Bahá'u'lláh enjoyed the Garden and how much He loved the beauty of nature. ... Rádíyih, who is mentioned in this Tablet, was a sister of Munírih Khánum, the wife of 'Abdu'l-Bahá. The dinner was given on behalf of her husband who was not present at the time. He was her cousin Siyyid 'Alí, the only son of Mírzá Hádí, a distinguished Bábí, and the illustrious Shams-i-Duhá." (More about Shams-i-Duhá can be found in Memorials of the Faithful p175.
- The Tablet can also be found on Bahai-Library where it was named Tablet of the Garden of Ridván (Lawh-i-Bágh-i-Ridván). Note that the name was not applied to this Tablet in RoB4p15-16 from where it was copied.
- The gathering in the Ridván Garden was held in honour of Siyyid Àlí, son of Mírzá Hádí and Shams-i-Duhá. He was not in attendance but was represented by his wife, Rádíyih.
- 1881-00-00 —
The Ridván Garden and the Firdaws Garden were purchased in the name of Bahá'u'lláh. [BBD84, 196; DH95, 103]
- Most of the flowering plants in the Ridván Garden were brought by pilgrims from Iran. [CH96]
- 2016-10-13 —
The public dedication of the Mother Temple of South America in Santiago, Chile. The opening ceremonies were attended by over 5,000 people from 110 countries. Live video coverage of the public opening ceremony was provided on the Bahá'í World News Service website for approximately 90 minutes and the video recording has been made available at that website.
- The Mashriqul-Adhkár (Dawning-Point of God's Remembrance) is located outside of Santiago in Peñalolen, a commune whose name means "reunion of brothers" in the local language. [BWNS1128].
-
The temple was built in the foothills of the Andes, between mountains and city. The 2,415 square-metre edice (26,000-square-feet) is essentially one large room with nine doors made of bronze. The interior is surrounded by a dome that is made up of nine elements – called petals. These begin wide at the bottom of the building and then narrow upward to meet in a spiral at the top, separated by crescent-shaped windows and a round window at the top. The outer surfaces of these petals are made of 32-millimetre-thick panels of cast glass, which have a ruddy, milky quality to them; the inner surfaces are made of smooth Portuguese marble. Both layers are translucent.
- Each of the nine wings of the building has two surfaces – one of cast glass and one of stone both of which rest on the steel structure. Each of those two surfaces has more than 1,000 separate components in more than 150 different shapes categorized as droops, slumps, bullnoses, shoulders, elbows, or spines. Each piece, which had to be crafted in three dimensions, was shaped using digital models. [BWNS1126]
- Canadian architect, Siamak Hariri, began work on the $20-million project in 2003. [BWNS1127] The landscape architect was Juan Grimm, one of the most well-known landscapers of Latin America.
- The Universal House of Justice was represented by Counsellor Antonella Demonte from the International Teaching Centre.
- Message from the Universal House of Justice.
- Pictures
- Day 1
- Day 2
- Day 3
Specifics
Location: Santiago, Chile
Foundation Stone:
Construction Period: 2013 – October 2016
Site Dedication:13-16 October 2016
Architect: Siamak Hariri
Landscape Architect: Juan Grimm
Seating:
Dimensions:2,415 square-metre (26,000 square-feet)
Cost: approximately $30m
Dependencies:
References:
BWNS800,
BWNS921,
BWNS940,
BWNS959,
BWNS982,
BWNS1123,
BWNS1125,
BWNS1055,
BWNS1199
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Since its dedication in October 2016, the Temple has been a recipient of an International Architecture Award as well as awards for structural artistry from the Institution of Structural Engineers, for innovation in architecture from the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, for innovation from the American Institute of Architects, for design excellence from the Ontario Association of Architects, for "Best in Americas, Civil Buildings," from World Architecture News, and for Architectural and Cultural design from American Architecture Prize. [BWNS1262]
- The Temple design won the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) International Prize. This renowned prize is awarded every two years and was created to celebrate socially transformative, respectful, uplifting and inclusive architecture. [FloorNature site.]
- This site states that since the opening some 1.4 million people have visited. Some weekend have had up to 36,000 visitors.
- This site has some spectacular photographs.
- The announcement that Hariri Pontarini Architects had won the prize on the 25th of October, 2019.
- Some spectacular pictures, some of which were taken during the construction.
- See a short video made by Hariri Pontarini Architects.
- 2017-09-01 —
The opening of Cambodia's first "Local House of Worship" in Battambang, just over two years after the design of the building was unveiled in July 2015. News of this project was announced in 2012 along with other projects in Bihar Sharif, India; Matunda Soy, Kenya; Norte del Cauca, Colombia; and Tanna, Vanuatu.
- The Mashriqul-Adhkár was designed by Phnom Penh-based architect Tang Sochet Vitou. It is situated on a 9-hectare property of which 1.5 hectares is used for the temple, an administrative building as well as gardens and ponds. The temple is a frequent topic of conversation among the local population. Even before its completion, it had galvanized action towards the betterment of the community and brought neighbours together. it will help provide for the spiritual needs of Cambodia's growing Bahá'í community which, according to the Ministry of Cult and Religion's most recent annual report, numbers about 12,000 although some adherents say the figure may now be closer to 20,000. Bahá'í communities were first recorded in the kingdom in the 1920s and since 1992 they have grown steadily with the help of aid workers and Asian immigrants.
- In a letter dated 18 December 2014, the Universal House of Justice explained that a Bahá'í House of Worship is a "collective centre of society to promote cordial affection" and "stands as a universal place of worship open to all the inhabitants of a locality irrespective of their religious affiliation, background, ethnicity, or gender and a haven for the deepest contemplation on spiritual reality and foundational questions of life, including individual and collective responsibility for the betterment of society."
- The dedication was marked by a two-day conference bringing together over 2,500 people from Battambang and every other region of Cambodia. A number of Cambodian dignitaries attended along with representatives of other Bahá'í communities in Southeast Asia. The Universal House of Justice was represented by Ms. Sokuntheary Reth who served on the Continental Board of Counsellors in Asia.
- See the letter from the Universal House of Justice, dated 1 September, 2017, for the message to the gathered friends.
Specifics
Location: Battambang, Cambodia
Design unveiled:July 2015
Groundbreaking ceremony: 14 November, 2015
Construction Period:January 2016 to September 2017
Site Dedication: 1 September, 2017
Architect: Tang Sochet Vitou
Architectural firm: Architecture Design Intelligence (ADI)
Seating:
Dimensions: Inside height 11.8m
Cost:
Dependencies:
References:
[BWNS906,
BWNS1062,
BWNS1082,
BWNS1100,
BWNS1120,
BWNS1137,
BWNS1157,
BWNS1185,
BWNS1187,
BWNS1189,
BWNS1190 (slide show),
BWNS1191 (video),
BWNS1192]
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