Chronology: Chronology: Date 1954-03

Chronology of the Bahá'í Faith

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Date 1954-03, sorted by date, descending

date	event	tags	firsts
1954 25 Mar 195-	Leland Jensen arrived on Réunion Island from the United States and ws named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:455] He was later declared a Covenant-breaker.	- Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Covenant-breaking; France; Leland Jensen; Reunion Island
1954 25 Mar 195-	The passing of Marion Jack (General Jack) (b. St. John, New Brunswick) at her pioneer post in Sofia, Bulgaria at the age of 87. She had been at her post since 1931. [BWNS385; Never be Afraid to Dare p. 227] Shoghi Effendi called her 'a shining example to pioneers of present and future generations of East and West'. [CF163] For her obituary see BW12:674–7. See also BFA2155; MC359. For a photo of her gravestone see CBNOct1972p.10. See Bahá'í Chronicles for a biography. For a photo by the Bahá'ís of Sofia see BW5p464. See also Marion Jack: Immortal Heroine by Jan Jasion See CBN October1979 for tributes as well as a photo of her gravesite. See The Early Years of the British Bahá'í Community (1898-1911) p128-129.	- Biographies; - Births and deaths; - In Memoriam; - Pioneers; - Pioneers; Bahá'í World News Service (BWNS); Bulgaria; Marion Jack; Sofia, Bulgaria
1954 21 Mar 195-	Shoghi Effendi announced that there were Bahá'ís in 219 countries. [MBW57]	Statistics
1954 19 Mar 195-	Paul Haney was appointed Hand of the Cause of God following the death of Hand of the Cause of God Dorothy Baker. [GBF111; MBW57]	- Hands of the Cause; Dorothy Baker; Hands of the Cause, Appointments; Paul Haney
1954 19 Mar 195-	In the unfoldment of the Institution of the Hands of the Cause the Guardian instructed the fifteen Hands of the Cause outside the Holy Land to appoint, during Riḍván 1954, “by virtue of their supreme function as chosen instruments for the propagation of the Faith," five auxiliary Boards, one for each of the five continents. This body of the Hands of the Cause was, in the Guardian’s words, “now entering (the) second phase (of) its evolution signalized (by) forging (of) ties (with the) National Spiritual Assemblies (Of the) Bahá’í world (for the) purpose (of) lending them assistance (in) attaining (the) objectives (of the) Ten Year Plan.” The task of the auxiliary Boards was to “increasingly lend (their) assistance (for the) promotion (of the) interests (of the) Ten-Year Crusade.” Their function was to act “as deputies, assistants and advisers of the Hands,” “working in conjunction” with the National Spiritual Assemblies on each continent. Their duties had been defined by the Guardian in his cablegram of October 8, 1952, launching the World Crusade: to “assist, through periodic systematic visits (to) Bahá’í centers (in the) efficient, prompt execution” of the twelve projected National teaching plans. The five auxiliary Boards appointed by the fifteen Hands of the Cause were announced as follows: African: John Allen; Miss Elsie Austin; ‘Alí Nakhjavání; Jalál Nakhjavání; John Robarts; William Sears; Muḥammad Mustafá Soleiman; Valerie Wilson; Aziz Yazdi American: Canada: Rowland Estall; Central America: Esteban Canales South America: Mrs. Gayle Woolson; Mrs. Margot Worley United States and inter-America: William de Forge; Mrs. Margery McCormick; Mrs. Katherine McLaughlin; Mrs. Florence Mayberry; Dr. Sarah Pereira Asiatic: Miss Agnes Alexander; Mrs. Elena Marsella Fernie; Abul Qasim Faizí; Abbas Ali Butt; Carl A. Scherer; Daoud Toeg; Kazem Kazemzadeh Australian: H. C. Featherstone; Miss Thelma Parks European: Mrs. Marion Hofman; Mrs. Dorothy Ferraby; Eugen Schmidt; Mrs. Anna Grossmann; Louis Henuzet; Joel Marengella; Miss Elsa Steinmetz; Mrs. Angeline Giachery; Mrs. Tove Deleuran. [BW12p40]	Auxiliary Board Members, Appointments; Auxiliary board members
1954 Mar 195-	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 195-	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.	- First Bahá'ís by country or area; - Islands; - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Bahá'í World News Service (BWNS); Gilbert and Ellice Islands; Kiribati; Tabiteuea, Kiribati	first Bahá'í on Kiribati (Gilbert Islands)
1954 Mar 195-	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 195-	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.	Cambodia; King Norodom Sihanouk; Shirin Fozdar	first medallion and Certificate of Satrei Vatthana (Champion of Women) recipient; first Bahá’í in Cambodia
1954 1 Mar 195-	Alvin J. Blum (1912-1968) and his wife, Gertrude (née Gewertz) (1909-1993), 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; KoB151, 194-196, 198, 207] See BTSG82 for more information on the Blums.	- Islands; - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Solomon Islands
1954 Mar 195-	Greta Jankko arrived in the Marquesas Islands and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:454]	- Islands; - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Greta Jankko; Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia
1954 spring 195-	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	Iran; Purchases and exchanges; Síyáh-Chál (Black Pit, Tehran); Tehran, Iran