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Chronology of the Bahá'í Faith

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Date 2021-04, sorted by date, descending

date event tags firsts
2021 30 Apr
202-
A volume of newly translated tablets (76) penned by 'Abdu'l-Bahá entitled Light of the World; Selected Tablets of 'Abdu'l-Bahá was released online and in print.
  • It was made available in a variety of formats online, PDF, DOCX, and HTML.
  • Light of the World (book); * `Abdu'l-Bahá, Writings and talks of; - Bahá'í World Centre
    2021 29 Apr
    202-
    A sentence was issued against a Qatar citizen and a Bahá'í, Remy Rowhani, on charges linked to his religious beliefs after a secret hearing was held in his absence. No evidence had been presented at any time to substantiate the charges against Mr Rowhani. To then issue a prison sentence and fine in absentia was contrary to due process and was further evidence of an official policy of discrimination against the Bahá'ís. [The European Times 11 June 2022] Persecution, Qatar; Remy Rowhani; Qatar
    2021 27 Apr
    202-
    The National Spiritual Assembly of the United States provided guidance on the question of the vaccination for the coronavirus. They included five letters from the Universal House of Justice on the subject. [27 April 2021]
  • [10 July 2020]
  • [8 December 2020]
  • [15 December 2020]
  • [11 February 2021]
  • [26 February 2021]
  • Vaccination; Covid-19 (Corona virus); United States (USA)
    2021 26 Apr
    202-
    It was reported that the murder case of Ata'u'llah Rezvani, a Bahá'í citizen of Bandar Abbas, had been referred to Branch 6 of the Bandar Abbas Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor's Office for retrial, eight years after the incident took place. This case had been removed from the archives of the Bandar Abbas court for investigation after years of sabotage and judicial procrastination. [Iran Press Watch] Ataullah Rezvani; * Persecution, Iran; Bandar Abbas, Iran; Iran
    2021 Ridván
    202-
    In its Ridván Message the Universal House of Justice lowered the age from 21 to 18 at which a believer may vote in Bahá'í elections while the age at which one could serve on a Spiritual Assembly remained the same at 21 years. [Ridván 2021] Elections; Voting
    2021 Ridván
    202-
    The formation of the National Spiritual Assembly of Timor-Leste with its seat in Dili. [Ridván 2021 p8]
  • The Timorese Bahá'ís were anticipating the National Assembly's election when the country was struck by Cyclone Seroja. Severe floods began on 4 April, bringing tragic loss of life across the country from landslides and mosquito-borne diseases. [BSNW1507]
  • National Spiritual Assembly, formation; Dili, East Timor; Timor Leste, East Timor,
    2021 Ridván
    202-
    The formation of the National Spiritual Assembly of Croatia with its seat in Zagreb. [Ridván 2021 p8; BWNS1506]

    Formally part of a regional spiritual assembly of Slovenia and Croatia, the left the National Spiritual Assembly of Slovenia with its seat in Ljubljana, Slovenia. [BINS317:2; BW93–4:82; BW94–5:25, 3–6]

    National Spiritual Assembly, formation; Zagreb, Croatia; Croatia; Ljubljana, Slovenia; Slovenia
    2021 Ridván
    202-
    Core Activities: 2016 100,000          2021 300,000

    Participants in Core Activities: 2016 approx 333,000          2021 2,000,000

    Number of National and Regional Training Institutes in Operation:      2021 329

    Number of participants who have complete at least one book in the sequence:      2021 750,000

    Number of courses completed by participants in the main sequence of courses: 2016 approx. 666,666     2021 2,000,000

    Number of Clusters with an Intensive Program of Growth:      2021 approx. 4,000

    Number of Cluster that have passed the third milestone: 2016 20 in 40 countries          2021 1,000 in nearly 100 countries. [Riḍván Message 2021]

    Statistics; - Institute process; Core activities; - Bahá'í World Centre
    2021 - 2022
    202-
    The One Year Plan

    At Riḍván 2021, the followers of Bahá'u'lláh will embark on a Plan lasting a single year. Brief, but pregnant with portent, this one-year endeavour will begin a new wave of Plans bearing the ark of the Cause into the third century of the Bahá'í Era. During the course of this auspicious twelve months, the Bahá'í world's commemoration of the centenary of the Ascension of 'Abdu'l-Bahá will include a special gathering at the Bahá'í World Centre to which representatives of every National Spiritual Assembly and every Regional Bahá'í Council will be invited. This, however, is to be but the first in a sequence of events that will prepare the believers for the demands of the decades to come. The following January, the elapse of one hundred years since the first public reading of the Master's Will and Testament will be the occasion for a conference in the Holy Land bringing together the Continental Boards of Counsellors and all members of the Auxiliary Boards for Protection and Propagation. The spiritual energy released at these two historic gatherings must then be carried to all the friends of God in every land in which they reside. For this purpose, a series of conferences will be convened worldwide in the months that follow, a catalyst to the multi-year endeavour that shall succeed the coming One Year Plan. [Ridván Message 2018]

    Objectives

  • extend the time for establishing IPGs
  • consolidate the achievements of the 5 year Plan
  • embrace larger numbers
  • Draw on "untapped potential' to overcome any obstacles impeding growth-preparing for the demands to come.
  • Year of "profound reflection on the life of 'Abdu'l-Bahá and the strength of the Covenant"
  • Still further advances in entry by troops
  • - Teaching Plans; One Year Plan (2021-2022); - Bahá'í World Centre
    2021 Ridván
    202-
    The National Spiritual Assembly of São Tomé and Principe was re-established. [Ridván Message 2021 p8]
  • São Tomé and Principe was a secular state in which the freedom of conscience, religion and worship was deemed inviolable according to the constitution that was put into effect in 2003. However, religious groups had to register with the government. If a religious group did not register, it was subject to fines and possible expulsion if it was of foreign origin. To register, a group had to have at least 500 members. It is speculated that the National Spiritual Assembly had to cease operations sometime after this went into effect. [US State Department 2019 Report on International Religious Freedom: Sao Tome and Principe]
  • National Spiritual Assembly, formation; Sao Tome and Principe; Principe
    2021
    202-
    The end of the Five Year Plan marked the conclusion of a series of plans that began in 1996 with the Four Year Plan (1996-2000) and the call to establish a series of Training Institutes. Next came the Twelve Month Plan (2000-2001) followed by four Five Year Plans, 2001-2006,2006-2011, 2011-2016 and finally, the Fourth Five Year Plan (2016-2021). For a synopsis of the progress of the Faith during this period see the Ridván Message.

    Achievements of the last Five Year Plan (2016-2021)

  • Two Bicentenaries were commemorated, the anniversary of the birth of Bahá'u'lláh on the 21st and the 22nd of October in 2017 and the birth of the Báb on the 29th and 30th of October in 2019.
  • The last continental House of Worship was completed in Santiago in 2016.
  • Other Houses of Worship were completed, Battambang (National)(2017), Villa Rica Cauca (Local) (2018), Port Moresby(National) (2016), Matunda Soy (Local) (2019), and Tanna (Local) (2019).
  • Designs for Houses of Worship in Bihar Sharif and Kinshasa were completed in 2020.
  • Some 300,000 core activities were sustained, a rise from 100,000 at the beginning of the Plan. Participation had risen above 2,000,000 (3 fold).
  • There were some 329 national and regional training institutes in operation.
  • By this time 750,000 people had completed Book 1. The number of courses completed by individuals was at 2,000,000, a rise of over 1/3 in 5 years.
  • Clusters where there were Intensive Programs of Growth was at 4,000 (hindered by the global health crisis).
  • Those Clusters where the third Milestone was passed was at 200 in 40 counties at the beginning of the Plan has risen to 1,000 in 100 countries. There were over 30 clusters where the number of core activities exceeded 1,000, in places, several thousand involving the participation of more than 20,000 people in a single cluster.
  • Evidence of the society-building power of the Faith was becoming more and more evident. In some instances there has been a movement of populations where age-old hostilities were being left behind. A significant advance in the process of entry by troops has been achieved.
  • There has been an "undreamed capacity to learn, to grow, and to serve humanity.

    This date marked the beginning of the Third Epoch of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Divine Plan. [Message 30 December 2021]

  • Statistics; - Institute process; Core activities; Five Year Plan; - Teaching Plans; Cycles, Eras, Ages and Epochs; Tablets of the Divine Plan
    2021 8 Apr
    202-
    The Bahá'í World Centre announced the completion of a two-year project of seismic strengthening and restoration work on the House of 'Abbúd. Bahá'u'lláh and His family moved to the house next door, the House of 'Údí K̲h̲ammár, in 1871. In March of 1873, the owner of the adjacent house, Ilyás `Abbúd, offered to provide a room in his house for `Abdu'l-Bahá and Munírih Khánum after their marriage. He did this by opening a door in a contiguous wall. Later in 1973 'Abbud moved to the mansion at Bahji and the two houses fully were joined. The building had last been restored in the 1950's by the Guardian in preparation to receive pilgrims.

    The restoration work was done to reproduce the House exactly as it had been when the Holy Family occupied it. No effort was spared. Even traditional glass-blowing techniques were used to produce the windowpanes. [BWNS1501]

    House of Abbud (Akká); House of Udi Khammar (Akká); Ilyas Abbud; Pilgrimage; - Restoration and renovation; - Bahá'í World Centre
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