January 30. On this date in 1926, Shoghi Effendi wrote eastern Bahá’ís "The responsibilities of the members of the Spiritual Assemblies that are engaged in teaching the Cause of God in Eastern lands have been clearly laid down in the holy Texts."

 

January 30. On this date in 1926, Shoghi Effendi wrote eastern Bahá’ís "The responsibilities of the members of the Spiritual Assemblies that are engaged in teaching the Cause of God in Eastern lands have been clearly laid down in the holy Texts."

2079. The responsibilities of the members of the Spiritual Assemblies that are engaged in teaching the Cause of God in Eastern lands have been clearly laid down in the holy Texts.

These bid them to work towards the improvement of morals and the spread of learning; to strive to eradicate ignorance and unenlightenment, eliminate prejudice, and reinforce the foundation of true faith in people's hearts and minds; to seek to develop self-reliance and avoidance of blind imitation; to aim to enhance the efficient management of their affairs, and observe purity and refinement in all circumstances; to show their commitment to truthfulness and honesty, and their ability to conduct themselves with frankness, courage and resolution.

They similarly enjoin them to lend their support to agricultural and industrial development, to consolidate the foundations of mutual assistance and co-operation, to promote the emancipation and advancement of women and support the compulsory education of both sexes, to encourage application of the principles of consultation among all classes, and to adhere in all dealings to a standard of scrupulous integrity. They further impress upon them the virtue of trustworthiness and godliness, of purity of motive, kindliness of heart, and detachment from the fetters of this material world. They call upon them so to sanctify themselves that they will rise above the corrupt and evil influences that exercise so powerful a sway over the Western world, and charge them to abide by the counsel of moderation at all times and under all conditions. They urge them to make detailed inquiry into the various branches of contemporary learning--arts and sciences alike--and to concentrate their attention on serving the general interests of the people; to deepen themselves by attentive study of the sacred Texts, and to apply the divine guidance they contain to the circumstances, needs and conditions of society today; to refrain from entering into the tangled affairs of political parties and to have neither concern for, nor involvement in, the controversies of politicians, the wranglings of theologians or any of the ailing social theories current amongst men. They finally exhort them to be sincerely obedient, in both thought and word, to the laws duly enacted by the government of the realm, and to distance themselves from the methods, concepts and ill-grounded arguments of extreme traditionalists and modernists alike; to accord honour, veneration and respect to-- and endorse the efforts of-- exponents of the arts and sciences, and to esteem and revere those who are possessed of extensive knowledge and scholarly erudition; to uphold the right of freedom of conscience; and to abstain from criticizing and disparaging the manners, customs and beliefs of other individuals, peoples and nations. These are among the most pressing requirements for the nations of the East. These are the basic, the binding, the inescapable responsibilities of the trustees of the Merciful, the representatives of the Bahá'í communities, the members of the Spiritual Assemblies.

(30 January 1926 to the Spiritual Assemblies throughout the East - translated from the Persian)

January 30. On this date in 1938, Shoghi Effendi wrote American Bahá’ís about "certain vital requirements" of the Seven Year Plan.

 

January 30. On this date in 1938, Shoghi Effendi wrote American Bahá’ís about "certain vital requirements" of the Seven Year Plan.

Certain Vital Requirements of Seven Year Plan

30 JANUARY 1938

The Seven Year Plan, with which the immediate fortunes of the American Bahá'í community are so closely interwoven, demands, at this critical stage in its development, serious and prayerful consideration of certain vital requirements, without which such a stupendous task can never be brought to a successful completion. The evolution of the Plan imposes a threefold obligation, which all individual believers, all Local Assemblies, as well as the National Assembly itself, must respectively recognize and conscientiously fulfil. Each and every believer, undaunted by the uncertainties, the perils and the financial stringency afflicting the nation, must arise and insure, to the full measure of his or her capacity, that continuous and abundant flow of funds into the national Treasury, on which the successful prosecution of the Plan must chiefly depend. Upon the Local Assemblies, whose special function and high privilege is to facilitate the admission of new believers into the community, and thereby stimulate the infusion of fresh blood into its organic institutions, a duty no less binding in character devolves. To them I wish particularly to appeal, at this present hour, when the call of God is being raised throughout the length and breadth of both continents in the New World, to desist from insisting too rigidly on the minor observances and beliefs, which might prove a stumbling-block in the way of any sincere applicant, whose eager desire is to enlist under the banner of Bahá'u'lláh. While conscientiously adhering to the fundamental qualifications already laid down, the members of each and every Assembly should endeavor, by their patience, their love, their tact and wisdom to nurse, subsequent to his admission, the newcomer into Bahá'í maturity, and win him over gradually to the unreserved acceptance of whatever has been ordained in the teachings. As to the National Assembly, whose inescapable responsibility is to guard the integrity, coordinate the activities, and stimulate the life, of the entire community, its chief concern at the present moment should be to anxiously deliberate on how best to enable both individual believers and Local Assemblies to fulfil their respective tasks. Through their repeated appeals, through their readiness to dispel all misunderstandings and remove all obstacles, through the example of their lives, and their unrelaxing vigilance, their high sense of justice, their humility, consecration and courage, they must demonstrate to those whom they represent their capacity to play their part in the progress of the Plan in which they, no less than the rest of the community, are involved. May the all-conquering Spirit of Bahá'u'lláh be so infused into each component part of this harmoniously functioning System as to enable it to contribute its proper share to the consummation of the plan.

January 30. On this date in 2006, the NSA of the U.S. wrote regarding its "decision to cease to distribute books and other items handled by Kalimát Press...in light of the pattern and motives of Kalimát Press in promoting books over the years that include material that is harmful to the interests of the Bahá'í Faith."

 

January 30. On this date in 2006, the NSA of the U.S. wrote regarding its "decision to cease to distribute books and other items handled by Kalimát Press...in light of the pattern and motives of Kalimát Press in promoting books over the years that include material that is harmful to the interests of the Bahá'í Faith."

Letter from the National Spiritual Assembly to an individual, January 2006

January 30, 2006

Dear Bahá'í Friend,

The National Spiritual Assembly has received your email messages of December 31, 2005 and January 10, 2006 and appreciates the concerns you have shared in response to its decision to cease to distribute books and other materials published, produced or marketed by Kalimát Press. First, we wish to assure you that the National Assembly has no issues with your titles ___. As you state, the manuscripts for these books were properly submitted to the National Assembly for literature review and subsequently passed.

Our decision to cease to distribute books and other items handled by Kalimát Press was reached, as indicated in our December 29, 2005 letter to all Local Spiritual Assemblies, not so much because of any specific titles but rather in light of the pattern and motives of Kalimát Press in promoting books over the years that include material that is harmful to the interests of the Bahá'í Faith. You have, in your own letter, given a good assessment of the problems inherent in such action. However, continued support of Kalimát Press under these circumstances, through distribution of its products, would be illogical and contradictory to the principles and purposes of a Bahá'í institution.

Regarding your suggestion that the National Assembly identify for the friends those titles that it finds inimical to the interests of the Faith, we are sure you will appreciate upon reflection that we are not interested in creating a list of banned books. As to the distribution of those titles of which the Assembly approves, this has been the approach for a number of years and has only emboldened and enabled Kalimát Press to carry more harmful titles. Individuals are entirely free to purchase any books and other items they choose through Kalimát Press or any other publisher or distributor. The National Assembly has simply taken the step of terminating institutional support of a company that has for many years exhibited a disregard for the repeated guidance and admonishments of Bahá'í institutions to disengage itself from affiliation with and promotion of material that harms the Faith to which it professes allegiance.

The National Assembly appreciates the seriousness of its decision and assures you that it was not taken precipitously. We regret the distress this action has caused you and your family, but we are confident that the steps you have already initiated to ameliorate this immediate challenge and your steadfast allegiance to the institutions of the Faith will in the end provide resolution and attract the confirmations of the Blessed Beauty.

You and your family are lovingly remembered in our prayers. May your every devoted endeavor on behalf of the glorious Cause of the Blessed Beauty be divinely assisted and abundantly confirmed.

With loving Bahá'í greetings,

[National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States]

January 30. On this date in in 1926, Martha Root secured the first of her eight meetings with Queen Marie of Romania, which occurred from January 1926 through February 1936. Although Bahá'ís frequently refer to her as "the first member of a royal family to embrace the Bahá’í Faith," Queen Marie's daughter, Princess Ileana of Romania, disputes this claim.

 

January 30. On this date in in 1926, Martha Root secured the first of her eight meetings with Queen Marie of Romania, which occurred from January 1926 through February 1936. Although Bahá'ís frequently refer to her as "the first member of a royal family to embrace the Bahá’í Faith," Queen Marie's daughter, Princess Ileana of Romania, disputes this claim.

"It is perfectly true that my mother, Queen Marie, did receive Miss Martha Root several times.....She came at the moment when we were undergoing very great family and national stress. At such a moment it was natural that we were receptive to any kind of spiritual message, but it is quite incorrect to say that my mother or any of us at any time contemplated becoming a member of the Baha’i faith."

While the Administrative Order publicly eschews involvement in partisan politics, it has no reservations about routinely using its media outlets to proudly tout unelected royal leaders who are Bahá'í. 

For example, on February 19, 1968, Malietoa Tanumafili II, one of Samoa's four paramount chiefs, became a Bahá'í.

Also, on April 24, 2017, the Bahá'í World News Service published a story about Djaouga Abdoulaye, who "became a Baha’i in the 1980s when the Faith initially came to Benin." The news report states that he was enthroned High Chief in July of 2016, assuming a "position of moral and customary authority for the approximately 100,000 Fulani living in the area."

While rare and not promoted in the media outlets of the Administrative Order, there have been Bahá'ís who have been elected to office, such as Ted Livingston, who was the first Bahá’í in the United States to be the mayor of a city when he was elected Mayor of Cottonwood Falls, Kansas.

From Chapter 4 of Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum's book The Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith, titled "Martha Root and Queen Marie of Rumania"...

Martha Root reported to Shoghi Effendi the account of the first of her eight interviews with Queen Marie of Rumania, which took place on January 30, 1926, in Controceni Palace in Bucharest, at the request of the Queen herself, after she had received Dr. Esslemont's book, Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era, sent to her by Martha. The Queen had evidently been attracted to the Teachings and when it was bruited about that she might visit North America, Shoghi Effendi wrote to the American National Spiritual Assembly the following instructions, conveyed in the writing of his secretary, on August 21, 1926: "We read in The Times that Queen Marie of Rumania is coming to America. She seems to have obtained a great interest in the Cause. So we must be on our guard lest we do an act which may prejudice her and set her back. Shoghi Effendi desires, that in case she takes this trip, the friends will behave with great reserve and wisdom, and that no initiative be taken on the part of the friends except after consulting the National Assembly."

January 30. On this date in 1947, Shoghi Effendi wrote American Bahá'ís "Shadow of war's tragic aftermath is deepening. Initial stage of colossal task undertaken in European continent still in balance."

 

January 30. On this date in 1947, Shoghi Effendi wrote American Bahá'ís "Shadow of war's tragic aftermath is deepening. Initial stage of colossal task undertaken in European continent still in balance."

Call to Fuller Participation

Acclaim with grateful heart evidences of steadily accelerating movement of pioneers, multiplication of conferences, consolidation of activities of national committees, progress in preliminaries of internal ornamentation of Temple, and formulation of teaching policy in southern states. Overwhelmed by tributes paid my own humble efforts by stalwart company whose championship of Faith of Bahá'u'lláh during last quarter century provided greatest support and solace, enabling me to sustain the weight of cares and responsibilities of Guardianship.

Impelled to plead afresh to ponder responsibilities incurred in transatlantic field of service. Time is flying. First year of Second Seven Year Plan is drawing to a close. Shadow of war's tragic aftermath is deepening. Initial stage of colossal task undertaken in European continent still in balance. Urge stress for entire community extreme urgency to reinforce promptly, at whatever cost, however inadequate the instruments, the number of volunteers, both settlers and itinerant teachers, whom posterity will rightly recognize as vanguard of torch-bearers of Bahá'u'lláh's resistless, world-redeeming order to despairing millions of diversified races, conflicting nationalities in darkest, most severely tested, spiritually depleted continent of globe. Prayerfully awaiting response by all ranks of community to supreme call to fuller participation in glorious enterprise.

[January 30, 1947]

January 29. On this date in 2001, the Universal House of Justice sent an email providing an overview of the various components of the Continental Board of Counsellors and their functioning. Pictured here is Hand of the Cause of God 'Ali-Akbar Furutan (front row, center) with members of the Universal House of Justice, International Teaching Centre, and Continental Counsellors standing on the stairs in front of the Seat of the Universal House of Justice, January 2001.

 

January 29. On this date in 2001, the Universal House of Justice sent an email providing an overview of the various components of the Continental Board of Counsellors and their functioning. Pictured here is Hand of the Cause of God 'Ali-Akbar Furutan (front row, center) with members of the Universal House of Justice, International Teaching Centre, and Continental Counsellors standing on the stairs in front of the Seat of the Universal House of Justice, January 2001.

On this date in 2001, the Universal House of Justice sent an email providing an overview of the various components of the Continental Board of Counsellors and their functioning.

In 1951, Shoghi Effendi, as Guardian, appointed members to the International Bahá’í Council, naming Mason Remey as the Council's President and describing it as an embryonic international House of Justice.

When Shoghi Effendi passed away in 1957 without having appointed a successor Guardian, as confirmed by a "Unanimous Proclamation of the 27 Hands of the Cause of God", the Hands of the Cause of God elected from among their own nine individuals who would serve as Custodians to help lead the transition of the International Bahá’í Council, into the Universal House of Justice.

In 1961 the International Bahá’í Council was changed to an elected body, with members of all National Spiritual Assemblies voting.

In 1963, the first Universal House of Justice was elected, and its members are elected every five years by members of each Bahá'í National Spiritual Assembly in the world. In practice, the Bahá’í electoral system most closely resembles council democracy as it still exists in Cuba, wherein individuals elect Local Spiritual Assemblies, who then elect National Spiritual Assemblies, who then elect the Universal House of Justice. With no politicking or partisanship allowed, there is little turnover in leadership and Universal House of Justice members almost invariably serve until retirement or death. New members are currently generally elected from the appointed institutions of the Bahá’í administration, particularly the International Teaching Centre. In fact, all of the current members of the Universal House of Justice previously served as members of the International Teaching Centre. In council democracies, these career bureaucrats were known as the nomenklatura.

With the eventual passing of the individual Hands of the Cause of God appointed by Shoghi Effendi and without a Guardian to appoint additional Hands, the Universal House of Justice saw the need for developing an institution for the purpose of performing the Hands'function of protection and propagation of the Faith.

In 1968 the Continental Board of Counselors was formed. The Counselors appoint Auxiliaries collectively referred to as Auxiliary Boards in smaller regional areas, who in turn appoint their own Assistants to work in localities. Auxiliary Board Members for Protection are charged with watching over the security of the Bahá’í Faith, and Auxiliary Board Members for Propagation are responsible for working with the grassroots on the global Plans established by the Universal House of Justice. Originally, members of theAuxiliary Boards were appointed by and served under the Hands of the Cause of God who directed their efforts worldwide. The first members of the Auxiliary Boards were appointed in 1954, and they were divided into five distinct geographical regions

In 1973 the administrative branch called the Institution of the Counselors was formed. Also in 1973, the International Teaching Centre was first formed by the Universal House of Justice, and originally consisted of the 17 Hands of the Cause still living at that time, plus three Counsellor members. The number of Counsellor members was raised to four in 1979, to seven in 1983, and finally to the current nine in 1988. The Counsellor members of theInternational Teaching Centre are appointed by the Universal House of Justice to five-year terms that begin shortly after the International Convention and election of the Universal House of Justice.

January 29. On this date in 1904, Lidia Zamenhof, the daughter of Esperanto creator L.L. Zamnhof, was born. She converted to the Bahá'í Faith around 1925. In late 1937 she went to the United States to teach that religion as well as Esperanto. In December 1938, on the instructions of Shoghi Effendi, she returned to Poland, where she continued to teach and translated many Bahá'í writings. The description of her life in Esther Schor's Bridge of Words might be of some surprise to those who are only familiar with her portrayal from official Bahá'í sources.

 

January 29. On this date in 1904, Lidia Zamenhof, the daughter of Esperanto creator L.L. Zamnhof, was born. She converted to the Bahá'í Faith around 1925. In late 1937 she went to the United States to teach that religion as well as Esperanto. In December 1938, on the instructions of Shoghi Effendi, she returned to Poland, where she continued to teach and translated many Bahá'í writings. The description of her life in Esther Schor's Bridge of Words might be of some surprise to those who are only familiar with her portrayal from official Bahá'í sources.

Keith Ransom-Kehler, who died of small pox in Isfahan on October 23, 1933, is considered the first American Bahá’í martyr.

May Maxwell, who died of a heart attack while teaching the Bahá’í Faith in Argentina in 1940, was designated a martyr by her son-in-law Shoghi Effendi.

But Lidia Zamenhoff, who died in a Nazi concentration camp while teaching the Bahá’í Faith in Poland, was explicitly stated not to be a martyr.

Shoghi Effendi cabled the following about May Maxwellon March 3, 1940...

ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's beloved handmaid, distinguished disciple May Maxwell (is) gathered (into the) glory (of the) Abhá Kingdom. Her earthly life, so rich, eventful, incomparably blessed, (is) worthily ended. To sacred tie her signal services had forged, (the) priceless honor (of a) martyr's death (is) now added. (A) double crown deservedly won. (The) Seven-Year Plan, particularly (the) South American campaign, derive fresh impetus (from the) example (of) her glorious sacrifice. Southern outpost (of) Faith greatly enriched through association (with) her historic resting-place destined remain (a) poignant reminder (of the) resistless march (of the) triumphant army (of) Baháʼu'lláh. Advise believers (of) both Americas (to) hold befitting memorial gathering.

Shoghi Effendi cabled the following about Lidia Zamenhofon January 28, 1946...

Heartily approve nationwide observance for dauntless Lydia Zamenhof. Her notable services, tenacity, modesty, unwavering devotion fully merit high tribute by American believers. Do not advise, however, that you designate her a martyr.

The description of her life in Esther Schor's Bridge of Words might be of some surprise to those who are only familiar with her portrayal from official Bahá'í sources.

The Bahá'í leadership organized to have Lidia brought to tour and teach in the United States. Their plan was to have her work there, but they neglected her, failing to do proper legal paperwork and poorly accommodating her.

By the time Lidia's visa expired, her extension request was denied because she was found working without a work permit, which her Bahá'í handlers had not obtained. Her friends in the United States pleaded with her to not return to Poland, on account of her Jewishness and the expected invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany, which would occur in 1939.

Lidia Zamenhof wrote Shoghi Effendi, pleading for guidance and help. In a final desperate plea she even asked him to give her asylum in Haifa, a request that was tersely denied. Shoghi Effendi told her she must return to Poland because they "need" her there to spread the Bahá'í Faith there. She returned to Poland and spent her last days recruiting for the Bahá'í Faith, ultimately managing to convert one person. Even after her return to Poland, she wrote Shoghi Effendi stating her intention to stay in Poland a few weeks and then go to France. Again, Shoghi Effendi wrote her, telling her to remain in "your native country Poland, where the Faith is still practically unknown." Lidia Zamenhof would eventually be killed by the Nazis.

Later friends of Lidia petitioned the Bahá'ís to formally declare her a martyr of the Faith. Their request was denied.

The story is related in Bridge of Words, pages 181 to 195 in the 7th and 8th sub-chapters titled "The Priestess" and "Vanishings".

Here is a passage detailing her interactions with Shoghi Effendi:

...the day her visa expired, she learned that her extension had been denied on the ground that she had violated employment regulations. If there had been any doubt, it was now clear: she had been ill-advised and ill-served by her handlers, who had failed to apply for an available waiver for employment laws. Though her friend Ernest Dodge did his utmost for months to plead her case, he was only able to secure an extension until early December.

Advice from friends streamed in: she should go to Cuba, Canada, France, California--anywhere but Poland--and reapply for a visa. Panic was not in her nature, but anxious and fearful, she once again turned to the Guardian for advice. Heller quotes her cable in full:

EXTENSION SOJOURN AMERICAN REFUSED. FRIENDS TRYING TO CHANGE GOVERNMENT'S DECISION. OTHERWISE RETURNING TO POLAND. PLEASE CABLE IF SHOULD ACT OTHERWISE.

His response was decisive:

APPROVE RETURN TO POLAND. DEEP LOVING APPRECIATION. SHOGHI.[169]

Still she waited, hoping that her fate would turn for the better. For a time, an invitation seemed to be forthcoming from Canada, but "the Canadians aren't courageous enough. . . . they 'see difficulties.'" This time, when she requested Shoghi Effendi's permission to meet him in Haifa, she was seeking refuge, not transcendence. He cabled his reply:

REGRET DANGEROUS SITUATION IN PALESTINE NECESSITATES POSTPONEMENT OF PILGRIMAGE.

She wrote, with the humility of a medieval pilgrim, that she knew it was because "such privilege is not often received and that certainly one must deserve it, and second--because of the war in Palestine." Indeed, Haifa was dangerous. Strategically important because of an oil pipeline, Haifa had been the target of attacks by displaced fellahin, by the Irgun, and by the Royal Navy trying to stem the tide of gunrunner and terrorists. Surely Shoghi Effendi knew that to ensure Lidia Zamenhof's safety, he would have to shelter her in his compound, and this he was not prepared to do.

She told her anguished friends that she intended to return to Poland: after all, Shoghi Effendi had advised it, and it was God's will that she rejoin her family in a time of trouble.

From the following section:

Protest was not an option for Lidia Zamenhof when she returned to Warsaw in the winter of 1938. She was reconciled to her fate, and when her faith needed shoring up, she wrote long letters to her Bahai friends: "If I left America," she wrote, "perhaps it was because God preferred that I work in another land." She was writing bleak allegories: Christmas trees with candles that burn for a moment and go dark; a country called "Nightland," "where the sun had not risen for so long that it had nearly been forgotten."[176] After she wrote to Shoghi Effendi that she planned to stay in Poland a few weeks, then go to France, his secretary replied:

Although your efforts to obtain a permit [in the United States] . . . did not prove successful, you should nevertheless be thankful for the opportunity you have had of undertaking such a long and fruitful journey. He hopes that experiences you have gathered during all these months . . . will now help you to work more effectively to spread the Cause in the various European countries you visit, and particularly in your native country Poland, where the Faith is still practically unknown.[127]

In a postscript, the Guardian himself wrote that he looked forward to meeting her "face to face in the Holy Land" at a time "not far distant." In the meantime, she was to bring Bahai to the Poles, lecturing, paying calls, and translating sacred Bahai texts into Polish. After eighteen months of effort, she could count all the Bahais in Poland on one hand.

The chapter goes on to detail the circumstances of her capture and death, and the last paragraph is as follows:

A few months after the war ended, the Bahai National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada began to plan a memorial service for Lidia Zamenhof. They consulted Shogh Effendi: shouldn't she be designated among the martyrs of the Bahai faith? On January 28th, 1946, the eve of what would have been Lidia's forty-second birthday, Shoghi Effendi cabled his American followers:

HEARITLY APPROVE NATIONWIDE OBSERVANCE FOR DAUNTLESS LYDIA ZAMENHOF. HER NOTABLE SERVICES, TENACITY, MODESTY, UNWAVERING DEVOLUTION FULLY MERIT HIGH TRIBUTE BY AMERICAN BELIEVERS. DO NOT ADVISE, HOWEVER, THAT YOU DESIGNATE HER A MARTYR.[183]

She had intended to give her life for the Bahai faith, but died as an Esperantist, a Zamenhof, and a Jew.

 

January 29. On this date in 1984, Edith May Miller Danielsen passed away. She had been named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh for her pioneering work to the Cook Islands. "Knight of Bahá'u'lláh" was a title conferred to Bahá'ís who introduced the Bahá'í Faith to new territories during the Ten Year Crusade.

 

January 29. On this date in 1984, Edith May Miller Danielsen passed away. She had been named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh for her pioneering work to the Cook Islands. "Knight of Bahá'u'lláh" was a title conferred to Bahá'ís who introduced the Bahá'í Faith to new territories during the Ten Year Crusade. 

What has always struck me about the designation of Knights of Bahá'u'lláh is the arbitrariness with which the "virgin territories" were defined. For example, the Cook Islands and Tonga Island, both part of the Realm of New Zealand have distinct sets of Knights, while Niue and the Chatham Islands, also part of the Realm of New Zealand, are Knightless. 

Several islands off the coast of Alaska have distinct Knights, like Baranof Island , Kodiak Island, and the Aleutian Islands. Yet other Alaskan islands, like the Pribilof Islands are Knightless.

The Brazilian state of Amapá has its own Knights (for Portuguese Guiana), while the other Brazilian states are Knightless. 

Crete and Rhodes have Knights distinct from the Knights of mainland Greece, yet other Greek islands, like Santorini and Samos, are Knightless.

Key West has its own Knight, yet the other Florida Keys are Knightless.

Tiny islands, like Grand Manan, have their own Knights. 

St. Thomas Island has its own Knight, yet the remaining Leeward Islands have one set of Knights, representing numerous politically and geographically independent islands. Similarly, the Windward Islands have one set of Knights, representing numerous politically and geographically independent islands.

January 28. On this date in 1924, Isabella D. Brittingham died. An early American Bahá'í, she converted after attending a course of "Truth Seeker" classes taught by Ibrahim George Kheiralla in New York City in 1898. She was posthumously named a Disciple of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá‎ by Shoghi Effendi.

 

January 28. On this date in 1924, Isabella D. Brittingham died. An early American Bahá'í, she converted after attending a course of "Truth Seeker" classes taught by Ibrahim George Kheiralla in New York City in 1898. She was posthumously named a Disciple of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá‎ by Shoghi Effendi.

Isabella Matilda Davis Brittingham was born on February 21, 1852 in Pennsylvania. She was the daughter of Benjamin Davis, a farmer, lumberman, and teacher. He was in turn a grandson of a signer of the Declaration of Independence–John Morton–and was a staunch Presbyterian, serving as an elder of local Presbyterian churches for sixty years wherever he lived. Her mother was Elizabeth Nicholson Hamill, also of Pennsylvania Presbyterian descent. Brittingham was the youngest of seven children. On 10 November 1886 she married James Francis Brittingham (1855-1940), a devoted Episcopalian from Princess Anne, Maryland. He was a railroad employee, which resulted in frequent moves for the couple. They resided in Pocomoke, MD, until 1895; greater New York City until 1901; Johnstown, N.Y., until 1904; Seabright and Orange, N. J. until 1909. They never had children.

In the summer of 1897 James’s sister, Charlotte E. Dixon, heard of the Bahá’í Faith in Chicago and accepted it. She immediately wrote James about it, but in an indirect fashion, because she did not want his strong Episcopal beliefs to prejudice him against the new Faith. Isabella was much more receptive and when Ibrahim Kheiralla, who first brought the Bahá’í Faith to the United States, went to New York to teach his Bahá’í lessons there, starting in February 1898, both Brittinghams were members of his first class. They soon became active Bahá’ís and began to teach the Faith to the other members of Grace Episcopal Church in Union, New Jersey. The result was the conversion of several families and the establishment of the Bahá’í community of northern Hudson County, New Jersey. In late 1899 the “North Hudson” Bahá’ís, as they called themselves, organized themselves into a community; Edward Getsinger, who visited the community after his pilgrimage to Akka, appointed a Board of Counsel of five men, including James Brittingham. Even though Isabella was not a member of the Board, she was made its corresponding secretary. When the Brittinghams moved to Johnstown, New York, west of Albany, in late 1900 they started building a Bahá’í community there as well. In November 1900 Mírzá Asadu’lláh and Haji Hassan-i-Khurásání visited the Brittinghams there and deepened their knowledge of the Bahá’í Faith.

In September 1901 Isabella Brittingham went on pilgrimage, visiting ‘Abdu’l-Bahá for several days. The knowledge of the Faith she gained helped her complete a book, The Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh in a Sequence of Four Lessons, published by the Bahá’í Publishing Society of Chicago in 1902 and subsequently issued in at least nine editions through 1920. The lessons were Brittingham’s own expansion of the last four lessons Kheiralla taught, but with some important additions. Brittingham was a theological liberal; she praised new religious movements that Kheiralla condemned, indicated belief in the theory of evolution (which Kheiralla rejected), and accepted higher biblical criticism (which Kheiralla never understood). Much of the book is a compilation of biblical prophecies that Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá claimed to fill; it also offered the American Bahá’ís one of the first accurate summaries of the life of Bahá’u’lláh available in English.

In addition to her book, Brittingham became an early traveling teacher for the Bahá’í Faith, making her perhaps the most prominent American Bahá’í woman in the 1900-12 period, and a prominent and highly respected American Bahá’í teacher right up to her death in 1924. Many of her talks were preserved in typed form; they reveal a consistent focus on the spiritual growth of the individual, and a desire to combat misunderstanding of the Bahá’í teachings, such as psychic interpretations of spirituality. She was also in frequent communication with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá; the Bahá’í National Archives in Wilmette, Ill., contains about fifty-five tablets addressed to her.

In 1905 Brittingham attended the first Nineteen-day Feast held in North America, sponsored by the New York City Bahá’í Board of Counsel. In early 1906 she traveled to every major Bahá’í community in the Midwest to promote the new institution of the Nineteen-day Feast; in early 1907 she traveled over eight thousand miles in four and a half months, visited twenty Bahá’í communities, and as she herself noted, “slept in over forty beds” in order to establish Feast on the Pacific coast and in the Mountain states.

In 1910 Brittingham began to correspond regularly with Bahá’í women in Iran, encouraging them to strive to become equal to Iranian men. Her indirect role in the development of the Iranian Bahá’í community has not previously been recognized. She played a major part in bringing into the Faith three of the four American Bahá’í women who settled in Tehran between 1909 and 1911: Dr. Susan Moody, who became a Bahá’í during Brittingham’s 1903 visit to Chicago; Brittingham’s sister’s daughter, Elizabeth Stewart; and Lillian Kappes, one of the former members of Grace Episcopal Church.

Throughout the ‘teens Brittingham traveled to teach the Faith, especially in the Pacific states and the Southwest. In Douglas, Arizona, she established an active Bahá’í community; there she brought back into the Bahá’í Faith Mrs. Nellie Stevison French, who had become disillusioned with it as a result of the moral conduct of Ibrahim Kheiralla. Mrs. French later became an important writer, editor, administrator, and teacher of the Faith. When Brittingham’s health began to decline she settled in Philadelphia, where the Revell family cared for her; in their home she died of a heart attack on January 28, 1924. Her husband remained an active Bahá’í in the New York City area until his death on July 24, 1940.

January 28. On this date in 1956, the Bahá’í composer, conductor and arranger Tom Price was born. As director The Voices of Bahá, he has directed concerts in more than forty countries. He was also the director of the choir and symphony orchestra for the second World Congress in New York in 1992.

 

January 28. On this date in 1956, the Bahá’í composer, conductor and arranger Tom Price was born. As director The Voices of Bahá, he has directed concerts in more than forty countries. He was also the director of the choir and symphony orchestra for the second World Congress in New York in 1992.