SHOGHI EFFENDI INFORMS
THE UNITED NATIONS OF HIS ROLE AS THE "APPOINTED HEAD" OF
THE FUTURE BAHÁ'Í "WORLD COUNCIL" PRIOR TO
ITS FORMATION IN 1951
In July 1947, some three and one
half years prior to his appointment of the International
Bahá'í Council on 9 January 1951, Shoghi
Effendi prepared a statement for submission to the United
Nations Special Palestine Committee that has been
published in pamphlet form under the title of: "The Faith
of Bahá'u'lláh." with the subtitle, "A
World Religion."
On page 3 of this document one may
note the following significant paragraph which
incontestably proves, in Shoghi Effendi's own words, that
the one who presides as President of the International
Bahá'í Council — this "World Council"
— can be none other than the Guardian of the
Faith.
"The passing of
'Abdu'l-Bahá marked the termination of the first
and Heroic Age of the Bahá'í Faith
and signalized the opening of the Formative Age
destined to witness the gradual emergence of its
Administrative Order, whose establishment had been
foretold by the Báb, whose laws were revealed by
Bahá'u'lláh, whose outlines were delineated
by 'Abdu'l-Bahá in His Will and Testament, and
whose foundations are now being laid by national and
local councils which are elected by the professed
adherents of the Faith, and which are paving the way for
the constitution of the World Council, to be designated
as the Universal House of Justice, which in conjunction
with me, as its appointed Head and the authorized
interpreter of the Bahá'í teachings, must
coordinate and direct the affairs of the
Bahá'í community, and whose seat will be
permanently established in the Holy Land, in close
proximity to its world spiritual center, the
resting-places of its Founders."
Author: Joel Bray
Marangella
SHOGHI
EFFENDI FORETELLS THE IMMINENCE OF HIS PASSING COINCIDENT
WITH THE ACTIVATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL
BAHÁ’Í COUNCIL BEFORE RIDVÁN
1963.
SHOGHI EFFENDI’S MESSAGE OF NOVEMBER 23, 1951
THAT INDIRECTLY AND UNDENIABLY PORTENDED HIS IMMINENT
PASSING AND CONFIRMED THE IDENTITY OF HIS APPOINTED
SUCCESSOR
* * * * * * * * *
EXTRACT: "For unlike the
first and second Seven Year Plan, inaugurated by the
American Bahá’í Community, the scope
of the third Seven Year Plan, the termination of which
will mark the conclusion of the first Epoch in the
evolution of the Master Plan designed by
‘Abdu’l-Bahá will embrace all the
continents of the earth, and will bring the Central Body directing these
widely ramified operations into direct contact with all
the National Assemblies of the Bahá’í
world, which, in varying degrees, will have to contribute
their share to the world establishment of the Cause of
Bahá’u’lláh, as prophesied by
‘Abdu’l-Bahá and envisioned by
Daniel,—a consummation that, God willing, will be
befittingly celebrated on the occasion of the Most Great
Jubilee commemorating the hundredth anniversary of the
formal assumption by Bahá’u’lláh
of His Prophetic Office."
* * * * * * * * *
Shoghi Effendi unquestionably
indicated that he envisaged an active role for the
International Bahá’í Council before
the expiration of the Ten Year Global Crusade (at
Ridván 1963) and that the Council, in this role,
would be directing the NSA’s in achieving the
respective goals that had been assigned to them during
this Crusade. And, furthermore, Shoghi Effendi had
indirectly and in this obscure way, predicted his own
passing which would have to take place in order for the
Council to become an actively functioning body under the
Presidency of Mason Remey but a prediction which none of
the believers perceived at the time or afterwards and,
most critically, none of the Hands of the Cause,
following his passing, with such dire consequences for
the Faith.
As Shoghi Effendi had indicated,
in the message quoted above, that this
"Central
Body" — the International
Bahá’í Council — would be
assuming, if not initially, at least some time during the
World Crusade starting in 1953, an active role
in "directing these widely ramified
operations" of the National Assemblies
throughout the world as they endeavored to accomplish the
respective goals that had been assigned to them by
him, it was crystal clear that, upon the assumption of
this
active role at some time during the Crusade, Mason
Remey, as the President of this now active supreme
Administrative Body of the Faith would automatically
become the second Guardian of the Faith.
Author: Joel Bray Marangella
SHOGHI
EFFENDI’S ONLY PROCLAMATION IGNORED
On 9 January 1951, Shoghi Effendi
issued the one and only
Proclamation of his ministry. As this
Proclamation was dispatched in cablegram form and even
though it opened
with the words: "Proclaim to National
Assemblies of East and West weighty epoch-making
decision of
formation of the first International
Bahá’í Council..." subsequent
events would prove that it
was never recognized as such, not only by the
National Assemblies to which this Proclamation was
significantly
addressed but by the entire Bahá’í
world as well, in spite of the superlative and
unprecedented
terms used by Shoghi Effendi to describe this
"historic" decision and "the greatest
event shedding lustre on the...
Author: Joel Bray Marangella
A LETTER
AND FIVE MESSAGES ACCLAIMING SHOGHI EFFENDI'S "EPOCH-MAKING"
DECISIONS, BOTH IGNORED AND FORGOTTEN AND THEIR IMPORT
UNPERCEIVED.
In the first
conclave held by the Hands of the Cause in 'Akká, following
the passing of Shoghi Effendi, upon finding that
Shoghi Effendi had not left a will and testament and
ignoring the fact that the Guardian is enjoined under the
terms of the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá to
appoint his successor "in his own
life-time," took no time to review, much less
consider, the importance and significance of several
"epoch-making" and "historic"
decisions that he had acclaimed and in one case
proclaimed, in messages he had dispatched to the
Bahá'í World during the closing years of
his ministry, hastily and tragically reached the
erroneous conclusion that the Guardianship had come to a
premature end.
Having overlooked, inexcusably
ignored and obviously forgotten these decisions, one of
which was of such momentous import that it was announced
in a Proclamation sent via
cablegram to the then National Spiritual Assemblies of
the Bahá'í World. This message, opening
with the word: "Proclaim," pertained to his
decision to establish "at long last" the
"first International Institution" of the
Faith at the World Center. This decision was followed by
a message of unsurpassed significance that projected his
early passing and identified, indirectly his appointed
successor.
The messages in which these
decisions were acclaimed and, in one instance proclaimed,
are published, with one notable exception, in the book
entitled: MESSAGES TO THE BAHÁ'Í WORLD,
1950-1957.
Author: Joel Bray Marangella
THE
ESSENTIALITY OF THE GUARDIANSHIP TO THE WORLD ORDER OF
BAHÁ’U’LLÁH.
A paper written by Joel Bray Marangella
IRREFUTABLE
EVIDENCE THAT SHOGHI EFFENDI, THE FIRST GUARDIAN OF THE
BAHÁ’Í
FAITH, APPOINTED A SUCCESSOR.
A paper written by Joel Bray Marangella
"EVEN
NOW THEY REFUSE TO FACE THE UNDENIABLE
FACTS"
"If indeed the Hands had given due
consideration to this message of supreme importance that
had been unquestionably a Proclamation issued by Shoghi
Effendi (and the only one he had issued during his
ministry) they would have further noted in his follow-up
message of 2 March 1951, that he had publicly identified
Mason Remey, whose unparalleled services to the Faith for
half a century had made him unquestionably the most
distinguished living Hand of the Cause and eminently
worthy of his appointment by Shoghi Effendi as the
President of “this first embryonic
International Institution”—an
Institution which could be none other than the
embryonic Universal House of Justice.
Author: Joel Bray Marangella
UNANSWERED
LETTERS TO
RUHÍYYÍH KHÁNUM.
Preface and Index of Unanswered
Letters sent to Rúhíyyih
Khánum by the Third Guardian of the
Bahá’í Faith: Ridván 1988
—
Naw-Rúz, 1999
Author: Joel Bray Marangella
THE FINAL
LETTER TO RUHÍYYÍH
KHÁNUM.
The fourth and final letter sent
to Rúhíyyih Khánum by the
Third
Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith,
dated Naw-Rúz, 1999
Author: Joel Bray Marangella
EXCERPTS
FROM MAY MAXWELL’S HAIFA NOTES
January–March 1937
AN
ILLUSTRATIVE CHART
A chart (PDF) depicting the
development of the International Bahá'í
Council as projected by Shoghi Effendi in his one and
only Proclamation of 9 January, 1951 and the parallel
development of the other institutions of the
Administrative Order.
Author: Joel Bray Marangella
OPEN
LETTERS OF 9 JULY 1960 AND 21
OCTOBER 1960
Written by Joel Bray Marangella, former Chairman of
the National Spiritual Assembly of France and Auxiliary
Member to the Hands of the Cause in Europe, stating
the reasons for his acceptance of Mason Remey as the
second
Guardian of the Faith. These "Open Letters" were posted to a
large number of friends, following receipt of Mason
Remey's Proclamation.
A BRIEF
HISTORY OF THE VIOLATION OF THE COVENANT OF
BAHÁ’U’LLÁH AT THE WORLD CENTER
OF THE
BAHÁ’Í FAITH FOLLOWING THE PASSING
OF THE FIRST GUARDIAN OF THE BAHÁ’Í
FAITH.
Written by Joel Bray Marangella
"HERALD OF THE COVENANT" WINTER 1974/75
"THE
TREE OF THE COVENANT"
A Statement of Beliefs of the Orthodox
Bahá’ís under the Living Guardianship.
"HERALD OF THE
COVENANT"— WINTER
1973/74
(Published by the European Bureau of the Orthodox
Bahá’í Faith)
WHAT IS THE
MEANING OF LOYALTY TO THE COVENANT OF
BAHÁ'U'LLÁH AND WHO ARE THE PRESENT
DAY COVENANT BREAKERS?
Written by Joel Bray Marangella
"HERALD OF THE COVENANT"—NOVEMBER 1977
COMMENTARY
ON THE WILL AND TESTAMENT OF
‘ABDU’l-BAHÁ
Written by Joel Bray Marangella
"HERALD OF THE
COVENANT" — JANUARY 1985
THIS BODY
REIGNS INGLORIOUSLY, SHAMELESSLY AND IGNOBLY OVER THE
WRECKAGE NEFARIOUSLY WROUGHT BY
THE FORMER HANDS OF THE CAUSE OF THE
DIVINELY-CONCEIVED ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER BEQUEATHED TO US
BY
‘ABDU’L-BAHÁ, DECLARING THIS ORDER
NOW DEFUNCT AND THE GUARDIANSHIP OF THE FAITH ENDED FOR
ALL
TIME.
The body referred to above is the
sans-Guardian and hence headless, illicitly formed and
illegitimate Universal House of Justice, with its seat in
Haifa, the election of which first took place at
Ridván 1963.
The wreckage of the
divinely-conceived Bahá’í
Administrative Order and the man-made substitute
organization over which this so-called Universal House of
Justice now presides is the tragic result of the
following inexcusable multiple failures on the part of the
former Hands of the Cause immediately following the
passing of Shoghi Effendi in their first conclave held in
‘Akká from 18-25 November, 1957.
Author: Joel Bray Marangella
TO:
THOSE DIRECTING AFFAIRS AT THE
BAHÁ’Í WORLD CENTER:
WHAT POSSIBLE ANSWER CAN YOU GIVE TO FUTURE
BAHÁ’Í GENERATIONS?
Author: Joel Bray Marangella
TO: THOSE
DIRECTING AFFAIRS AT THE BAHÁ’Í WORLD
CENTER:
THE TABLET OF THE HOLY
MARINER DOOMS BOGUS UHJ TO EXTINCTION
Author: Joel Bray Marangella
A CRITIQUE
OF ADIB TAHERZADEH’S BOOK: "THE COVENANT OF
BAHÁ’U’LLÁH" REVEALING ERRONEOUS
STATEMENTS AND INTERPRETATION PERTAINING TO THE
CONTINUATION OF THE GUARDIANSHIP.
Author: Joel Bray Marangella
THE
ILLEGITIMATE REIGN OF THE "CUSTODIANS" AT THE
BAHÁ’Í
WORLD CENTER THAT WAS NEVER MEANT TO BE
"How [was this body of the
Hands] to assume the reins
of authority with no document to support us, other
than general theological statements about the
Hands?"
The above question posed by
Rúhíyyih Khánum, widow of
Shoghi
Effendi, first Guardian of the
Bahá’í Faith, is found in the
introduction of a book titled:
"The Ministry of the Custodians" and, while
she is referring to the entire body of the Hands, the
question is equally applicable to the body of nine
Hands of the Cause that the Hands selected from their own
number, to direct the affairs of the Faith from Haifa
following the passing of Shoghi Effendi in November 1957
upon
which they bestowed the appellation of
"Custodians of the Bahá’í
World Faith."
In a resolution signed by all the Hands on 25
November, 1957, they stated that "The
Custodians shall be
deemed to succeed the Guardian of the
Bahá’í Faith." As this
body is not one of the
Institutions delineated in the divinely-conceived and
sacred Will and Testament of
‘Abdu’l-Bahá, it
clearly possessed no legitimacy in the
divinely-conceived "Administrative Order which
the master-hand of
its perfect Architect [‘Abdu’l-Bahá]
has fashioned" and therefore was never meant
to be.
(The last quote is from the writings of Shoghi
Effendi.)
Author: Joel Bray Marangella
THE
UNDENIABLE FALSEHOOD PROPAGATED BY THE TWENTY-SIX HANDS
OF THE CAUSE THAT ONLY AN AGHSÁN COULD
INHERIT THE GUARDIANSHIP
The Aghsán have been
identified by Shoghi Effendi, both in God Passes By
(p.239) and in the Gleanings from the Writings of
Bahá’u’lláh (p.244), as
the sons of Bahá’u’lláh.
Therefore, the Aghsán were contemporaries
of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and could never have
outlived Shoghi Effendi and been available, even if they
had remained loyal to the Covenant, for appointment as
successors to Shoghi Effendi.
Author: Joel Bray Marangella
AFNÁN as "branch"
Believers holding the view that
the Guardian has been restricted in his choice of a
successor to an Aghsán can do nothing
less than reconsider their stand in view of the quoted
phrase.
Author: Joel Bray Marangella
IF ONLY THE
HANDS HAD TAKEN THE TIME
Most importantly, the Hands would
have come to
understand that, upon the passing of Shoghi Effendi,
the embryonic Head of this embryonic Universal House of
Justice appointed by Shoghi Effendi, now activated as a
functioning body, would remain its
permanent and "sacred head"
throughout all the stages of its development, projected
by Shoghi Effendi (as long as he
lived). Upon attaining this understanding, the Hands
would have been startled by the sudden realization that
the
appointed and hence permanent and irremovable HEAD of
this embryonic organism — THE PRESIDENT OF THE
INTERNATIONAL BAHÁ’Í COUNCIL
— Mason Remey, who had been appointed by Shoghi
Effendi to
this office could be none other than the second
Guardian of the Faith who had been awaiting recognition
by both
them and the believers throughout the world.
Author: Joel Bray Marangella
"ET
TU" FAITHLESS HANDS OF THE CAUSE
For those unfamiliar with the
history of Julius Caesar, it was he who is alleged to
have made this surprised exclamation, "Et tu
Brutus!" as recounted by Shakespeare in one of his
plays and since portrayed on both stage and screen, when
Brutus, who had been appointed to a high postion and had
been highly trusted as a faithful subject, so
unexpectedly proved unfaithful as he treacherously joined
a group of fellow-conspirators in stabbing Caesar to
death.
Author: Joel Bray Marangella
THE
LAMENTATION OF SHOGHI EFFENDI
Consider the lamentation of Shoghi
Effendi in the
Abhá Kingdom and his deep sorrow when he
observes that his untiring labors of thirty-six years to
faithfully
erect the administrative institutions of the Faith
strictly in complete accordance with the sacred,
divinely-conceived and immortal provisions of the
Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and
which, in
the closing years of his ministry, had culminated so
gloriously in the erection, "at long
last" of the highest institutions
of the Administrative Order at the World Center of the
Faith
had been, upon his passing, almost completely brought
to naught by a tragic, hasty and unwarranted decision of
the
Hands of the Cause.
Author: Joel Bray Marangella
"THIS MOST
GREAT ORDER"
Author: Joel Bray Marangella
HOW AND WHY
SHOGHI EFFENDI OBSCURED THE APPOINTMENT OF HIS SUCCESSOR
AND THE CONSEQUENCES.
Author: Joel Bray Marangella
THE FAILED
ABORTION OF "THE CHILD OF THE COVENANT" — THE
"DIVINELY-CONCEIVED" BAHÁ’Í
ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER DELINEATED IN THE WILL AND TESTAMENT
OF ‘ABDU’L-BAHÁ
"Furthermore, the Hands did not
permit the International Bahá’í
Council to exercise the active role that Shoghi Effendi
had projected for it in his message of 23 November 1951,
cited above, but appointed a
body of nine Hands titled "Custodians of the
Bahá’í World Faith," a superfluous and
illegitimate body
completely outside the provisions of the Will and
Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá which usurped
not only the functions of the International Council but
those of the Guardianship as well for a brief period of
some five and a half years when they were assumed by an
equally illegitimate sans-Guardian Universal House of
Justice elected in 1963."
Author: Joel Bray Marangella
KNOWLEDGE
OF WHICH LANGUAGE IS ESSENTIAL FOR PRESENT-DAY AND FUTURE
GUARDIANS OF THE FAITH?
"Some of the heterodox believers
have expressed the view that it is essential that any
successor to Shoghi Effendi, as Guardian of the Faith,
possess a knowledge of Persian (Farsi) or Arabic to be
able to properly perform the function of Guardianship
under the provisions of the Will and Testament of
‘Abdu’l-Bahá, not to mention their
equally fallacious view that only an Aghsan is
eligible to inherit the Guardianship which is patently
false based on Shoghi Effendi's statement in God Passes
By that the term Aghsan refers to the Sons of
Bahá’u’lláh and therefore,
as contemporaries of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, they
would obviously never outlive Shoghi Effendi and be
available for appointment as his successor.
Author: Joel Bray Marangella
EVEN NOW,
I COULD ALSO SIGN IT
One of the arguments that has been
used against the second Guardian of the Faith, Mason
Remey, in refutation of his accession to the
Guardianship, is that he signed the proclamation issued
by the Hands of the Cause on 25 November 1957 at the
conclusion of their first conclave in the Holy Land in
which they stated three reasons why Shoghi Effendi had
been unable to appoint a successor and therefore, as they
believed, the Guardianship of the Cause of God, as
delineated in the divinely-conceived and sacred Will and
Testament of `Abdu´l-Bahá had already come to
its untimely end only thirty-six years after His
Ascension and the inception of the Administrative Order.
which "the master-hand of its perfect
Architect" had fashioned.
Author: Joel Bray Marangella
THE SATANIC
COLLUSION TO TERMINATE THE INSTITUTION OF THE
GUARDIANSHIP
Between ten Persian Hands of the
Cause who, during the first conclave of 26 of the 27
Hands of the Cause held in ‘Akká,some two
weeks following the passing of Shoghi Effendi,
ignominiously conspired, to put an end to the
Guardianship and the widow of Shoghi Effendi,
Rúhíyyih Khánum, a very
charming, intelligent, much loved and revered person who
had served for many years as a highly capable, devoted
and faithful secretary to Shoghi Effendi in his
correspondence with the English speaking believers
Author: Joel Bray Marangella
