- 1934-11-08 —
There were ten Bahá'ís in Addis Ababa when the first LSA was elected. Its members were Atto Sium Gabril-ch, Atto Haila Gabril-vc, Habib Boutros, Sabri Elias-sec, Edouard Goubran, El-Saad Said, E-saad Mansour, Abdu'llahi ahmed, and Aurahil Egsabaihir.
- A cable announcing formation of the Assembly was sent to Shoghi Effendi, who replied "rejoiced, praying, love, gratitude".
- In 1934 Sabri Elias was able to have Baha'u'lláh and the New Era translated into Amharic and then published. This was an important step in disseminating the teachings of the Bahá'í Faith across the country. The book was distributed to local libraries and to Bahá'ís around the world. In 1936, a copy of the book was given to the then - Ethiopian King, His Majesty Haile Selassie when he was visiting Jerusalem by a Canadian Bahá'í Mrs. Lorol Schipeflocher. [bahai.org]
- A circular letter of 21 August 1935 informed LSAs that spiritual meetings had been suspended due to the "present condition of Ethiopia". Elias was forced to leave Ethiopia by socio-political events in 1935, but he and Mrs Elias returned to Addis Ababa in January 1944. [BW10p57]
- This Assembly became the first incorporated Local Spiritual Assembly in Africa. [BW13p287]
- 1934-11-25 —
The first Spiritual Assembly of Addis Ababa was formed. [BW6:70]
- The community was established by Sabri Elias, and Fahima Elias, pioneers from Egypt who thus earned the title Knights of Bahá'u'lláh. Later Elias was asked to return home with other foreigners. [BW6:71]
- Ethiopia was the only independent Kingdom in Africa at this date. [BW6:70]
- Wikipedia says that the Assembly was formed in "late 1934".
- 1956-04-21 — The local spiritual assembly of Addis Ababa incorporated, the first one in Africa to do so. [BW13:287]
- 1961-04-21 — The National Spiritual Assembly of North East Africa had been led by the former National Spiritual Assembly of Egypt and Sudan since 1956. In 1960 difficulties in Egypt made it impossible to administer territories outside of the country so a regional administrative committee was formed and this, in turn, was replaced with the new (regional) National Spiritual Assembly of Ethiopia with its headquarters in Addis Abba. [BW13p287]
- 1975-04-21 — The Universal House of Justice changed the name of the National Spiritual Assembly of North East Africa to the National Spiritual Assembly of Ethiopia. The only difference in the area of jurisdiction was that it no longer included Somalia. [BW16:144]
- 2014-00-00 —
An office of the Bahá'i International Community was opened in Addis Ababa to work in collaboration with governmental, intergovernmental, and non-governmental agencies operating on the African stage. The office maintained strong ties with the African Union, which traced its roots to Addis Ababa in 1963. At the 50th anniversary of that founding, African leaders commissioned Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want. This document painted a vivid picture of where Africans would like to see their continent in 50 years' time.
- The Office worked in five thematic areas: peace and security, the environment and climate change, inequalities between the materially rich and poor, the equality of men and women, and education for all. [BIC website; BIC News]
- 2023-01-23 — The Addis Ababa Office of the Bahá'í International Community (BIC) released a short video titled Women in Peace, exploring the important role that women can play in the peace-building process. Dr Solomon Belay of the BIC said that there is a relationship between the advancement of women and the creation of prosperous and peaceful societies and that full participation of women in all spheres of society is required, especially in leadership roles. [BWNS1640]
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