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Baháʼí Administration
The Baháʼí administration is a system of elected and appointed institutions to govern the affairs of the Baháʼí Faith, Baháʼí community. Its supreme body is the Universal House of Justice, elected every five years. Some features set apart the Baháʼí administration from similar systems of governance: elected representatives should follow their conscience, rather than being responsible to the views of electors; political campaigning, nominations and parties are prohibited; and structure and authority of institutions to lead Baháʼís flowed directly from the religion's founder, Baháʼu'lláh. The Baháʼí administration has four charter documents, the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, the Tablets of the Divine Plan, the Tablets of Baháʼu'lláh#Lawh-i-Karmil (Tablet of Carmel), Tablet of Carmel and the Will and Testament of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá. Character Consultation A central and distinct aspect of the administration of the Baháʼí Faith is the approach to decision-making through ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baháʼí Faith
The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the Baháʼí Faith and the unity of religion, essential worth of all religions and Baháʼí Faith and the unity of humanity, the unity of all people. Established by Baháʼu'lláh, it initially developed in Iran and parts of the Middle East, where it has faced Persecution of Baháʼís, ongoing persecution since its inception. The religion has 5-8 million adherents (known as Baháʼís) spread throughout most of the world's countries and territories. The Baháʼí Faith has three central figures: the Báb (1819–1850), executed for heresy, who taught that a prophet similar to Jesus and Muhammad would soon appear; Baháʼu'lláh (1817–1892), who claimed to be said prophet in 1863 and who had to endure both exile and imprisonment; and his son, ʻAbdu'l-Bahá (1844–1921), who made teaching trips to Europe and the United States after his release from confinement in 1908. After ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's death ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Democracy
Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitive Election, elections while more expansive or maximalist definitions link democracy to guarantees of civil liberties and human rights in addition to competitive elections. In a direct democracy, the people have the direct authority to Deliberation, deliberate and decide legislation. In a representative democracy, the people choose governing officials through elections to do so. The definition of "the people" and the ways authority is shared among them or delegated by them have changed over time and at varying rates in different countries. Features of democracy oftentimes include freedom of assembly, freedom of association, association, personal property, freedom of religion and freedom of speech, speech, citizenship, consent of the governe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Covenant-breaker
Covenant-breaker is a term used in the Baháʼí Faith to refer to a person who has been excommunicated from the Baháʼí community for breaking the Covenant of Baháʼu'lláh, meaning actively promoting schism in the religion or otherwise opposing the legitimacy of the chain of succession of leadership. Excommunication among Baháʼís is rare and not used for transgressions of community standards, intellectual dissent, or conversion to other religions. Instead, it is the most severe punishment, reserved for suppressing organized dissent that threatens the unity of believers. Currently, the Universal House of Justice has the sole authority to declare a person a Covenant-breaker, and once identified, all Baháʼís are expected to shun them, even if they are family members. According to ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, Covenant-breaking is a contagious disease. The Baháʼí writings forbid association with Covenant-breakers and Baháʼís are urged to avoid their literature, thus providing a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
International Teaching Centre
The International Teaching Centre (ITC; ) is a Baháʼí institution based in the Baháʼí World Centre in Haifa, Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr .... Its duties are to stimulate and coordinate the Continental Board of Counselors and assist the Universal House of Justice in matters relating to the teaching and protection of the faith. The duties of the International Teaching Centre include coordinating, stimulating, and directing the activities of the Continental Boards of Counsellors and acting as liaison between them and the Universal House of Justice. History The institution was first formed in 1973 by the Universal House of Justice, and the inaugural meeting was held on June 14, 1973. The International Teaching Centre originally consisted of the 17 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Institution Of The Counsellors
The Institution of the Counsellors () is the current appointed branch in the administrative system of the Baháʼí Faith. It consists of the 9 International Counsellors of the International Teaching Centre, the 90 Continental Counsellors, their Auxiliary Board Members, and assistants. The Counsellors, a respected and high-ranking position, are appointed to 5-year renewable terms, and organized into boards working on 5 continents that are coordinated by the International Teaching Centre. The Institution of the Counsellors was created in 1968 by the Universal House of Justice to perpetuate the work done previously by the Hands of the Cause. The functions of the institution are generally "protection" from schism and "propagation", or spreading, of the religion at an international level. Members of the institution have no legislative or executive power, and do not fill the role of clergy, but they are tasked with "stimulating, counseling, and assisting" the elected institutions an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hands Of The Cause Of God
Hand of the Cause was a title given to prominent early members of the Baháʼí Faith, appointed for life by the religion's founders. Of the fifty individuals given the title, the last living was ʻAlí-Muhammad Varqá, who died in 2007. Hands of the Cause played a significant role in propagating the religion, and protecting it from schism. With the death of Shoghi Effendi in 1957, the twenty-seven living Hands of the Cause at the time would be the last appointed. The Universal House of Justice, the governing body first elected in 1963, created the Institution of the Counsellors in 1968 and the appointed Continental Counsellors over time took on the role that the Hands of the Cause were filling. The announcement in 1968 also changed the role of the Hand of the Cause, changing them from continental appointments to worldwide, and nine Counsellors working at the International Teaching Centre took on the role of the nine Hands of the Cause who worked in the Baháʼí World Centre. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nineteen Day Feast
Nineteen Day Feasts are regular community gatherings, occurring on the first day of each month of the Baháʼí calendar (and are often nineteen days apart from each other). Each gathering consists of a Devotional, Administrative, and Social part. The devotional part of the Nineteen Day Feast can be compared to Sunday Services in Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ..., Friday Prayers in Islam, or Saturday Prayers in Judaism; however, the Baháʼí Faith has no clergy nor is congregational prayer performed at these meetings. Purpose Baháʼís see the Feast in both practical and spiritual terms. It is both an administrative meeting, and at the same time it is an uplifting spiritual event, and thus it has a central purpose to the Baháʼí community li ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spiritual Assembly
Spiritual Assembly is a term given by ʻAbdu'l-Bahá to refer to elected councils that govern the Baháʼí Faith. Because the Baháʼí Faith has no clergy, they carry out the affairs of the community. In addition to existing at the local level, there are national Spiritual Assemblies (although "national" in some cases refers to a portion of a country or to a group of countries). Spiritual Assemblies form part of the elected branch of the Baháʼí administration. Nature and purpose Baháʼu'lláh, ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, and Shoghi Effendi stated how Spiritual Assemblies should be elected by the Baháʼís, defined their nature and purposes, and described in considerable detail how they should function. Since these institutions are grounded in the Baháʼí authoritative texts, Baháʼís regard them as divine in nature, and contrast the wealth of scriptural guidance with the paucity of scriptural texts on which Jewish, Christian, and Islamic religious institutions are based. The U ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Haifa
Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area in Israel. It is home to the Baháʼí Faith's Baháʼí World Centre, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a destination for Baháʼí pilgrimage. Built on the slopes of Mount Carmel, the settlement has a history spanning more than 3,000 years. The earliest known settlement in the vicinity was Tell Abu Hawam, a small port city established in the Late Bronze Age (14th century BCE).Encyclopaedia Judaica, Encyclopedia Judaica, ''Haifa'', Keter Publishing, Jerusalem, 1972, vol. 7, pp. 1134–1139 In the 3rd century CE, Haifa was known as a Tool and die maker, dye-making center. Over the millennia, the Haifa area has changed hands: being conquered and ruled by the Canaanites, History of ancient Israel and Judah, Israelites, Phoenicians, Assy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baháʼí World Centre
The Baháʼí World Centre is the name given to the spiritual and administrative centre of the Baháʼí Faith, representing sites in or near the cities of Acre and Haifa, Israel. Much of the international governance and coordination of the Baháʼí Faith occurs at the Baháʼí World Centre, including global teaching plans and study and translation of the Baháʼí holy writings. The Universal House of Justice, representing the supreme governing body of the Baháʼí Faith, resides in Haifa. The Baháʼí World Centre is also a major destination for religious tourism, and the current destination for Baháʼí pilgrimage, attracting annually about one million visitors. The location of the Baháʼí World Centre originated in Baháʼu'lláh's banishment and imprisonment to the fortress of Acre in 1868 by Ottoman authorities. Many of the locations at the Baháʼí World Centre, including the terraces and the Shrine of the Báb which constitute the north slope of Mount Car ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Seat Of The House Of Justice
A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but may also refer to concentrations of power in a wider sense (i.e "seat (legal entity)"). See disambiguation. Types of seat The following are examples of different kinds of seat: * Armchair, a chair equipped with armrests * Airline seat, for passengers in an aircraft * Bar stool, a high stool used in bars and many houses * Bench, a long hard seat * Bicycle seat, a saddle on a bicycle * Car seat, a seat in an automobile * Cathedra, a seat for a bishop located in a cathedral * Chair, a seat with a back * Chaise longue, a soft chair with leg support * Couch, a long soft seat * Ejection seat, rescue seat in an aircraft * Folding seat * Hard seat * Infant car seat, for a small child in a car * Jump seat, auxiliary seat in a vehicle * Pew, a long seat in a church, synagogue, or courtroom * Saddle, a type of seat used on the backs of animals, bicycles, lap etc. * Slidi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quorum
A quorum is the minimum number of members of a group necessary to constitute the group at a meeting. In a deliberative assembly (a body that uses parliamentary procedure, such as a legislature), a quorum is necessary to conduct the business of that group. In contrast, a plenum is a meeting of the full (or rarely nearly full) body. A body, or a meeting or vote of it, is quorate if a quorum is present (or casts valid votes). The term ''quorum'' is from a Middle English wording of the commission formerly issued to justices of the peace, derived from Latin ''quorum'', "of whom", genitive plural of ''qui'', " who". As a result, ''quora'' as plural of ''quorum'' is not a grammatically well-formed Latin-language construction. In modern times a quorum might be defined as the minimum number of voters needed for a valid election. Quorums are often required by traditional handbooks of parliamentary procedure such as Robert's Rules of Order. However, quorums have been criticized by s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
