A Brief History of the Bahá'í Faith

Third Epoch of the Formative Age: 1963 - 1986

• 28 Apr 1963  First Bahá'í World Congress in London, England. The Hands of the Cause of God, in an unprecedented gesture of renunciation, disqualified themselves from eligibility for the election of the Universal House of Justice. The nine members of the first Universal House of Justice are elected by the members of the 56 existing national spiritual assemblies of the world. The first membership included Bahá'ís of Jewish, Christian and Muslim backgrounds and several ethnic origins. The Bahá'í Faith, having withstood the attacks of those who would destroy it, and those who would fragment it into dozens of sects, emerges as one unified Faith with one sole living authority: the Universal House of Justice; truly the Day that shall never be followed by Night referenced in the Bible.
• 30 Apr 1963  Presentation of the members of the first Universal House of Justice; reading of its first message in London, England.

The first elected members of the Universal House of Justice in the gardens surrounding the Shrine of the Báb on Mt. Carmel.   Starting from the left: Charles Wolcott, Amoz Gibson, Hushmand Fatheazam, Hugh Chance, H. Barrah Kavelin, Ian Semple, Lutfu'lláh Hakim, David Hofman, 'Ali Nakhjavání.

• 13 Dec 1963 Bahá'í prisoners in Morocco were released under order of the Supreme Court after having been imprisoned under threat of death.
• 21 Apr 1964  The Universal House of Justice launches a Nine Year Plan which was to be completed in 1973, the centenary of Bahá'u'lláh's revelation of the Kitáb-i-Aqdás.
• 26 Apr 1964  Election of the first National Spiritual Assembly of the Hawaiian Islands.
•  4 Jul 1964  Dedication of the Mother Temple of Europe in Langenhain, Germany.

The Bahá'í House of Worship at Langenhain, Germany.

• 31 March 1966  Eduardo Duarte Vieira died in prison in Portuguese Guinea (now Guinea-Bissau) after months of harassment and beatings because of his faith. He was designated the first African martyr.
• 19 Feb 1968  First Ruling Monarch to become a Bahá'í accepts the Faith: His Highness Malietoa Tanumafili II - Head of State of Western Samoa.

His Highness Malietoa Tanumafili II Head of State of Western Samoa

• 22-23 June 1968 First National Bahá'í Youth Conference in the United States was held in Wilmette, Illinois.
• by April, 1969  The Universal House of Justice had appointed 11 Continental Board Counsellors to serve the Faith in roles of protection and propagation.
• 21 April 1970  Eleven more national spiritual assemblies are formed, bringing the total to 94.
• 21 April 1971  By now, 10,360 Local Spiritual Assemblies exist, and Bahá'ís reside in 46,334 localities.
• August 1971  The Universal House of Justice erected a 35-foot obelisk on Mount Carmel near Haifa, marking the spot where a House of Worship will be built in the future.
• 19 Dec 1971  Erection of Obelisk on Mt. Carmel to mark site of future Mashriqu'l-Adhkár.

Obelisk on Mt. Carmel marking the site of the future Mashriqu'l-Adhkár

• 29 April 1972  Dedication of Mother Temple of Latin America in Panama. By now, the Spiritual Assembly of Iraq has been dissolved because of persecution against Bahá'ís in that land.

Bahá'í House of Worship, Panama City, Panama.

• 15 Mar 1973  Mazra'ih is purchased.

The house of Mazra'ih is located four miles north of Akká.  It once belonged to 'Abdu`u'lláh Páshá, from whom 'Abdu'l-Bahá rented for Bahá'u'lláh who took up residence there in June 1877. He lived in the house for two years while technically still a prisoner before moving to Bahjí.

• 21 Apr 1973  The Universal House of Justice launches a FiveYear Plan.
•  5 Jun 1973  Announcement of the establishment of the International Teaching Centre in Haifa.
•  7 Feb 1974  Announcement of the design for the Permanent Seat of the Universal House of Justice.
• 13 July 1974  Dedication of the John Bosch Bahá'í Summer School in Santa Cruz, California.
• 14 Jan 1975  Purchase of the house of 'Abdu'lláh Páshá and 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Holy House in 'Akká, birthplace of Shoghi Effendi.

House of 'Abdu'lláh Páshá

• 17 Jun 1975  Announcement of beginning of excavation for the Seat of the Universal House of Justice.
• 12 Sep 1976  His Highness Malietoa Tanumafili II of Western Samoa visits Shoghi Effendi's grave in London, England.
• 12 Oct 1977  World's first Bahá'í cultural and educational radio station, in Ecuador, makes its first broadcast.
• 1978   Religious fanaticism in Irán sparks the beginning of persecution against the Bahá'ís of Irán.
• 27 Jan 1979  Foundation Stone Ceremony, site of future House of Worship, Western Samoa, with His Highness Malietoa Tanumafili II.
• 21 Apr 1979  The Universal House of Justice launches a Seven Year Plan.
• 1980's As a result of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, members of the Faith were beaten, many businesses were confiscated or destroyed, hundreds of houses burned, and efforts began with a view to forcing Bahá'ís to recant their faith. Bahá'ís were hunted out and discharged from all forms of government employment. Prominent members of the community were dragged before revolutionary tribunals and, in June of 1980, after summary mock trials, a series of executions began. Bahá'í girls kidnapped from their families and raped, the bodies of highly-respected Bahá'ís dragged through the streets, cemeteries bulldozed, their tombstones auctioned, widows forced to pay the price of the bullets which had been used to execute their husbands, and appalling tortures practiced on prisoners in the unending attempt to force the Bahá'ís to recant their faith. Bahá'í marriages, regardless of duration, were declared null and void, Bahá'í marital life was deemed prostitution (itself punishable by death), and Bahá'í children were judged illegitimate. A "Law of Retaliation" exempted crimes against Bahá'ís from any punishment under the law. Bahá'í holy places were seized and publicly desecrated, Bahá'í children were expelled from schools throughout Iran, and retired Bahá'ís were summoned to repay not only the pensions to which they had contributed during government service but also the salaries that had been paid to them during their years of employment.
• 31 Jan 1983  Universal House of Justice occupies its Permanent Seat on Mt. Carmel.

Permanent Seat of the Universal House of Justice, Haifa, Israel

• 21 April 1983  In the last five years, the House of the Báb and the ancestral home of Bahá'u'lláh in Tákur were razed and scores of Iranian Bahá'ís were executed: their crime - being Bahá'í.
• 18 June 1983 the Islamic revolutionary authorities in Shíráz hanged ten Bahá'í women and teenage girls who had refused to recant their Faith and convert to Islám including 17 year old Muna Mahmudnizhad, whose death became an international rallying point in the movement to press Iran to end persecution of Bahá'ís. Three days earlier the same authorities had hanged six men, including the husbands, fathers, and sons of four of the women.
• 29 Aug 1983 Iran's Prosecutor-General announced the formal banning of all Bahá'í religious institutions in the country, and declared membership in them and service to them to be criminal offences. In accordance with the Bahá'í principle of obedience to government, the Iranian community immediately complied, dissolving both its National Spiritual Assembly and all of its local Assemblies throughout the country. In an open letter to the government, some two thousand copies of which were audaciously distributed by hand to the ministries, the press, and other public agencies, the community announced its complete submission, protested the treatment accorded to their Faith, and called on the government to fulfill the promise made by the Prosecutor-General that Bahá'ís would at least be permitted, as individuals, to practice their religion in the privacy of their own homes. In fact that promise was not kept.
• 20 Oct 1983  The Universal House of Justice issued a letter to the Bahá'í world outlining the principles of the Faith concerning social and economic development.
• 21 April 1984  Nine new National Spiritual Assemblies are formed, bringing the number to 143. The Bahá'ís of Irán continue to be persecuted. Some six hundred men, women and children are currently in prison. The administrative functions have long been disbanded there.
• 1 Sep 1984  Dedication of the House of Worship in Apia, Western Samoa.

Bahá'í House of Worship, Apia, Independent Samoa (formerly Western Samoa).

• Oct 1985  The Universal House of Justice publishes "The Promise of World Peace". This statement on peace is formally presented to virtually all rulers, whether individuals or parliaments, of the world and to the leading thinkers of the world.
• 17 Nov 1985  Universal House of Justice announces interment of the remains of Mírzá Muhammad-Qulí (faithful half-brother of Bahá'u'lláh) in new Bahá'í  cemetery looking towards the Qiblih of the Faith (i.e. the resting place of Bahá'u'lláh).
• 13 Dec 1985  The United Nations General Assembly adopts their first resolution on human rights that specifically mentions the situation of the Bahá'ís in Iran.

A Brief History of the Bahá'í Faith
The Heroic Age: The first epoch: the Báb  The second epoch: Bahá'u'lláh  The third epoch: 'Abdu'l-Bahá
The Formative Age:  The first epoch: 1921 to 1947  The second epoch: 1947 to 1963  The third epoch: 1963 to 1986  The fourth epoch: 1986 to 2001 The fifth epoch: 2001 to present