Ministry of the Custodians:
An Account of the Stewardship of the Hands of the Cause 1957-1963

by / on behalf of Universal House of Justice and Ruhiyyih (Mary Maxwell) Khanum

Haifa: Bahá'í World Centre, 1992

single page

chapter 1

(Communication)	(Date of Communication)	PAGE
Preface		xix
The Hands of the Cause of God		xxii
Introduction		1
1957
Message from Haifa	Nov. 6, 1957	25
Official Statement from the Hands of die Cause in the Holy Land, Haifa	Nov. 15, 1957	26
"Bahá'í Hands meet for Obsequies", press report, Haifa	Nov. 18, 1957	26
Official Statement from the Hands of the Cause in the Holy Land, Haifa	Nov. 19, 1957	27
Hands of the Cause, Unanimous Proclamation of the		27
Bahji	Nov. 25,1957	28
Affidavit of Corinne True	Nov. 30, 1957	30
Hands unanimously constitute a body of nine Hands at the World Centre	Nov. 25, 1957	31
Resolution of the Hands defining duties of the nine Custodians, Bahji	Nov. 25, 1957	32
Resolution of the Hands defining functions of the nine Custodians and the International Bahá'í Council	Nov. 25, 1957	34
Proclamation from the First Conclave	Nov. 25, 1957	35
Press Release from the World Centre	Nov. 1957	39
Statement to all National Spiritual Assemblies from the Hands of the Cause in the Holy Land	Dec. 2, 1957	40
Unanimous Pledge of Loyalty from 26 National Spiritual Assemblies to the Hands and Custodians		41
Cable announcing all properties in Bahji legally registered Israel Branch American National Spiritual Assembly	Dec. 5, 1957	50
Cable appealing to believers to ensure success forthcoming five Intercontinental Conferences	Dec. 11, 1957	50
The Passing of Shoghi Effendi by (Amatu'l-Baha Ruhiyyih Khanum,	Dec. 22,1957	51
Cable, fulfilment of Shoghi Effendi's plans for Bahji,	Dec. 25, 1957	51
1958
All Bahá'í religious festivities suspended for nine months	Jan. 1, 1958	55
To All Who have left their homeland to pioneer	Jan. 5, 1958	55
To the Intercontinental Conference, Kampala	Jan. 23-28, 1958	56
Cable to American Hands and National Spiritual Assembly regarding the statement "A New Bahá'í Era"	Feb. 3, 1958	60
To the Hands of the Cause in the Holy Land from the United States National Spiritual Assembly regarding "A New Bahá'í Era"	Feb. 4,1958	61
To the Members of the National and Regional Spiritual Assemblies East and West	Feb. 13, 1958	61
Cable to the American Hands regarding statement "A New Bahá'í Era"	Feb. 16, 1958	64
To the Hands and National Spiritual Assembly of the United States regarding the statement "A New Bahá'í Era"	Feb. 17, 1958	64
To all National Spiritual Assemblies requesting statistical information	March 4, 1958	66
To the Hand of the Cause Horace Holley regarding the statement "A New Bahá'í Era"	March 10, 1958	66
To all Hands of the Cause regarding the work of the Custodians and the other Hands	March 21, 1958	67
To the Intercontinental Conference, Sydney	March 21-24, 1958	72
Cable inviting "believers contribute special memorial fund beloved Guardian"	April 19, 1958	76
To Annual Bahá'í Conventions,	Ridvan Message 1958	76
Election of the first National Spiritual Assembly of France	Ridvan 1958	86
Pledge of loyalty from the National Spiritual Assembly of France to the Hands and Custodians		90
Cable, death of Ahmad Sohrab	April 27, 1958	90
To the Intercontinental Conference, Chicago	May 2-4, 1958	90
To all Hands of the Cause	June 12, 1958	98
Statement of the Hands of the Cause regarding the Guardianship	June 12, 1958	100
To the Intercontinental Conference, Frankfurt	July 25-29, 1958	102
Nine months after the passing of the Guardian, message of the Custodians to the Bahá'í world	Aug. 8, 1958	106
Custodians notify Hands date of the next Conclave, November 21st	Aug. 11, 1958	108
To all National Spiritual Assemblies, the passing of Shoghi Effendi should not be officially commemorated	Aug. 11, 1958	109
Cable announcing the reopening of pilgrimage	Aug. 24, 1958	110
To European National Spiritual Assemblies regarding distribution of funds contributed at the Frankfurt Conference	Aug. 31, 1958	110
To the Intercontinental Conference, Singapore	Sept. 21-29, 1958	111
To various National Spiritual Assemblies regarding erection of the monument on the Guardian's resting-place	Oct. 17, 1958	116
Cable to the Bahá'í world announcing completion of the monument on the Guardian's resting-place	Nov. 1, 1958	117
Conclave Message to the Bahá'ís of East and West	Dec. 6, 1958	117
Message of the Custodians to all Hands	Dec. 26, 1958	123
1959
To all National Spiritual Assemblies regarding goals still to be achieved	Jan. 6, 1959	129
To all Hands of the Cause conveying general news of the Bahá'í world	March 17, 1959	131
To Annual Bahá'í Conventions,	Ridvan Message 1959	134
Election of the first National Spiritual Assembly of Turkey	Ridvan 1959	148
Election of the South Pacific Regional National Spiritual Assembly	Ridvan 1959	151
Election of the first National Spiritual Assembly of Burma	Ridvan 1959	155
Election of the first National Spiritual Assembly of Austria	Ridvan 1959	158
Cable, progress of the global Crusade	June 7, 1959	160
Cable announcing identification and transfer of the remains of the Bab's cousin	June 14, 1959	161
Custodians notify Hands date of next Conclave, October 23rd	June 30, 1959	161
Request to new National Spiritual Assemblies for Resolution regarding the Custodians of the Faith	Sept. 2, 1959	162
Cable, appeal to German Bahá'í Community for pioneers	Sept. 2, 1959	163
To all Hands of the Cause forwarding suggested agenda for the next Conclave	Sept. 11, 1959	163
To all recently formed National Spiritual Assemblies regarding purchase Temple sites	Oct. 8, 1959	164
Cable, removal of remains of the father of Bahá'u'lláh and reinterment in Bahá'í burial ground	Oct. 9, 1959	165
Cable announcing Horace Holley and John Ferraby as Custodians	Nov. 5, 1959	165
Conclave Message to the Bahá'ís of East and West	Nov. 7, 1959	165
To all National Spiritual Assemblies, Hands' appeal for letters from the Guardian to be sent to the World Centre	Dec. 4, 1959	171
Appeal to all Hands of the Cause and National Spiritual Assemblies to win the Guardian's Crusade	Dec. 22, 1959	171
1960
Letter of the Custodians to all Hands of the Cause	Jan. 8, 1960	177
To all Hands forwarding first Newsletter issued by the Custodians	Feb. 11, 1960	178
To all National Spiritual Assemblies forwarding from the Hands their first World Centre Newsletter	Feb. 11, 1960	178
News from the World Centre	Feb. 11, 1960	178
To All National Spiritual Assemblies regarding semi-annual statistical reports	Feb. 21, 1960	183
To Annual Bahá'í Conventions,	Ridvan Message 1960	183
Cable to all Hands and National Spiritual Assemblies repudiating Remey claim	April 28, 1960	196
Letter to Remey enclosing Hands Holy Land cable	April 30, 1960	197
To the National Spiritual Assembly and believers of France regarding the visit of Hand of the Cause A. Q. Faizi	May 5, 1960	197
Letter of Hands in the Holy Land to all Hands and National Spiritual Assemblies, with enclosures	May 10, 1960	198
To all Hands of the Cause reporting Mr. Faizi's visit to France	May 14,1960	202
To all Hands of the Cause and National Spiritual Assemblies from the Custodians, messages expressing loyalty to the Hands	May 28, 1960	204
To all Hands of the Cause reporting election of new French National Spiritual Assembly and requesting all Hands send written personal rejection Remey claim	June 15, 1960	208
To all National Spiritual Assemblies, unanimous rejection by all National Spiritual Assemblies of Remey claim	July 5, 1960	209
To all Hands notifying them of the date of the next Conclave and reporting Remey situation	July 7, 1960	210
Cable to all National Spiritual Assemblies announcing the passing of Hand of the Cause Horace Holley	July 13, 1960	217
To all Hands forwarding Newsletter issued by the Custodians	July 21, 1960.	218
To all National Spiritual Assemblies forwarding Newsletter issued by the Custodians	July 21, 1960	218
News from the World Centre	July 21, 1960	219
Cable to all National Spiritual Assemblies announcing expulsion Remey	July 26, 1960	223
Cable to all National Spiritual Assemblies repudiating Remey's unfounded claims	Aug. 3, 1960	223
To all Hands of the Cause appreciating their prompt approval expulsion Remey	Aug. 9, 1960	224
To all National Spiritual Assemblies regarding the situation of the Faith in the Middle East	Aug. 27, 1960	228
To all Hands of the Cause forwarding suggested agenda for the next Conclave	Aug. 31, 1960	229
Appeal to the Bahá'ís of East and West for upsurge of activity	Sept. 7, 1960	229
To all National Spiritual Assemblies refuting statements of Remey	Oct. 15, 1960	231
Cable announcing corner-stone first European Bahá'í Temple to be laid in Frankfurt, Germany on Nov. 20th	Oct. 29, 1960	236
Conclave Message to the Bahá'ís of East and West	Nov. 4, 1960	237
Ballot papers for election of the International Bahá'í Council mailed to all National Spiritual Assemblies	Nov. 13, 1960	245
Cable to all National Spiritual Assemblies announcing the passing of Hand of the Cause Clara Dunn	Nov. 21, 1960	245
Cable, occasion laying corner-stone Mother Temple of Europe, congratulations to German National Spiritual Assembly	Nov. 24, 1960	245
1961
To all National Spiritual Assemblies requesting confirmation of receipt of ballot papers	Jan. 1, 1961	249
To all National Spiritual Assemblies suggesting send congratulations on early completion Mother Temple of Africa	Jan. 4, 1961	249
Cable to all National Spiritual Assemblies announcing laying of the corner-stone of the first European Bahá'í Temple	Jan. 12, 1961	249
Dedication of the Mother Temple of Africa	Jan. 14, 1961	250
Cable informing die Bahá'í world of the dedication of the Mother Temple of Africa	Jan. 24, 1961	253
To all National Spiritual Assemblies appealing for funds to build the Mother Temple of Europe	Feb. 12, 1961	253
To all National Spiritual Assemblies regarding the election of 21 new National Spiritual Assemblies in Latin America	March 6, 1961	255
Cable to all National Spiritual Assemblies enumerating unprecedented victories past year	March 13, 1961	256
Cables to all National Spiritual Assemblies announcing the passing of Hand of the Cause Corinne True	April 4 and April 6, 1961	257
To Sponsoring Regional Assemblies of Latin American Conventions enclosing Ridvan Message	April 10, 1961	257
To Annual Bahá'í Conventions,	Ridvan Message 1961	258
Message of the Custodians to the 21 new National Spiritual Assemblies of Latin America	Ridvan 1961	274
Acknowledgements of receipt of ballots for the election of the International Bahá'í Council	various dates	282
Cable announcing membership of the elected International Bahá'í Council	April 25, 1961	282
Cable instructing previous message (April 25th) be shared with all Hands and National Spiritual Assemblies	April 26, 1961	282
Cable to American National Convention expressing admiration their spirit and services	May 1, 1961	282
Request to new National Spiritual Assemblies for Resolution supporting the Custodians of the Faith	May 23, 1961	283
Cable announcing formation 21 Latin American National Spiritual Assemblies and other victories	May 28, 1961	284
Hands in the Holy Land welcome the International Bahá'í Council members	June 25, 1961	285
Program of joint meeting of the Hands in the Holy Land and the International Bahá'í Council		285
Assignments of the International Bahá'í Council	June 25, 1961	286
Cable to the Bahá'í world announcing first meeting of Custodians and newly-elected International Bahá'í Council	June 25, 1961	286
Excerpts from Minutes of first full International Bahá'í Council meeting	June 25-July 5, 1961	287
Cable announcing election of officers of the International Bahá'í Council	June 29, 1961	291
To the 21 National Spiritual Assemblies in Latin America stressing imperative need for both teaching and economy	July 7, 1961	291
To all Hands of the Cause conveying news of activities of the Hands and recent victories	July 8, 1961	293
To all National Spiritual Assemblies regarding voting rights	July 16, 1961	295
To all Hands of the Cause forwarding suggested agenda for the next Conclave	July 17, 1961	297
Hands in the Holy Land introduction to the World Centre Newsletter	July 31, 1961	298
To all 21 Latin American National Spiritual Assemblies regarding teaching and expansion	Aug. 3, 1961	299
To all National Spiritual Assemblies suggesting greetings be sent on historic occasion dedication Bahá'í Temple, Sydney	Aug. 8, 1961	301
To all Hands of the Cause from the Custodians, general news	Aug. 12, 1961	301
To all National Spiritual Assemblies regarding pioneers' remaining at their posts (with enclosure)	Aug. 30, 1961	303
To all Hands of the Cause from the Custodians, general news	Sept. 5, 1961	304
To various National Spiritual Assemblies regarding the Bahá'í situation in Turkey	Sept. 14, 1961	306
Dedication of the Mother Temple of the Antipodes	Sept. 15, 1961	309
Cable informing the Bahá'í world of the dedication of the Mother Temple of the Antipodes	Sept. 18, 1961	312
Conclave message to the Bahá'ís of East and West	Nov. 5, 1961	313
Cable, on occasion 40th anniversary passing of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, urging believers hold special prayers for mass conversion	Nov. 6, 1961	323
To all National Spiritual Assemblies regarding pilgrimage to the World Centre	Dec. 10, 1961	324
To all National Spiritual Assemblies regarding World Congress Arrangements Committee	Dec. 10, 1961	324
To the 21 Latin American National Spiritual Assemblies regarding Bahá'í literature	Dec. 24, 1961	325
To all National Spiritual Assemblies requesting that "revered" not be associated with Hands' names	Dec. 25, 1961	326
To all Hands of the Cause conveying general news of the Bahá'í world	Dec. 27, 1961	327
1962
Cable to all National Spiritual Assemblies announcing the passing of Hand of the Cause Amelia Collins	Jan. 1, 1962	333
To all Hands and National Spiritual Assemblies regarding who is eligible to attend the International Convention	Feb. 22, 1962	333
To all National Spiritual Assemblies, semi-annual reports needed not later than March 15 for Ridvan Message	Feb. 22, 1962	334
A Newsletter has been issued from the World Centre, at different periods and under different headings, for well over 50 years.
To Sponsoring Regional Spiritual Assemblies of 11 European Goal Countries enclosing Ridvan Message	April 12, 1962	334
To the Indian National Spiritual Assembly's representative attending the first Bahá'í Convention of Ceylon	April 13, 1962	335
Election of the first National Spiritual Assembly of Ceylon, message to the inaugural Convention	April 1962	336
Cable congratulating European Teaching Committee, sixteen years service	April 20, 1962	338
Bahá'í world informed Local Spiritual Assemblies may be constituted any time between Ridvan 1962-1963	April 20, 1962	339
Cable to Annual American Bahá'í Convention	Ridvan 1962	339
To Annual Bahá'í Conventions,	Ridvan Message 1962	340
To Conventions for the election of the 11 independent European National Spiritual Assemblies,	Ridvan Message 1962	352
Cable praising world-wide labours American Bahá'í Community	April 28, 1962	360
Cable to all National Spiritual Assemblies enumerating remarkable victories past year	May 11, 1962	360
To all Hands of the Cause notifying them Hasan Balyuzi will serve as provisional Custodian	July 13, 1962	361
Cable, Hands postpone date of next Conclave	July 24. 1962	362
To the National Spiritual Assemblies of the Goal Countries of Europe regarding winning their goals	July 27, 1962	362
To all National Spiritual Assemblies regarding maintaining goals won during the World Crusade	July 27, 1962	363
To all Hands regarding the forthcoming Conclave, the International Convention and the World Congress	July 27, 1962	364
To all National Spiritual Assemblies urging the Bahá'ís to arise and complete the Crusade goals	Aug. 16, 1962	365
To all Hands of the Cause conveying general news of the Bahá'í world	Aug. 22, 1962	366
To the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States concerning the Morocco Case	Aug. 22, 1962	368
Cable to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and the National Spiritual Assembly of France concerning the Morocco Case	Aug. 26 and 28, 1962	369
Cable appealing to the Australian Bahá'ís to arise and win their home-front goals	Sept. 3, 1962	369
To all National Spiritual Assemblies requesting semi-annual reports by Sept. 30th	Sept. 5, 1962	370
To all Hands of the Cause regarding Remey sympathizers in Chile	Sept. 7, 1962	371
To all Hands of the Cause regarding use of the Long Obligatory Prayer	Sept. 13, 1962	372
To the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States concerning the Morocco Case	Sept. 23, 1962	373
To all Hands of the Cause conveying general news of the Bahá'í world	Sept. 26, 1962	374
To all Hands of the Cause reporting Chilean Bahá'ís denounce Remey	Oct. 10, 1962	375
To all National Spiritual Assemblies announcing Hands will publish statistical pamphlet for World Crusade	Oct. 11, 1962	377
Cable to all National Spiritual Assemblies announcing Central and East African National Spiritual Assembly area has over 50,000 Bahá'ís	Oct. 12, 1962	378
Conclave Message to the Bahá'ís of East and West	Nov. 4, 1962	378
To all National Spiritual Assemblies sending ballot papers and instructions for election Universal House of Justice	Nov. 4, 1962	390
Cable to the Bahá'í world sharing news of latest victories and statistics	Nov. 7, 1962	393
To all National Spiritual Assemblies, allocation of delegates	Nov. 8,1962	394
To all National Spiritual Assemblies regarding publicity policy for 1963 Ridvan events in Haifa and London	Nov. 25, 1962	395
Cable to Bahá'í Wilmette conveying sentences in the Morocco Case and advising action to be taken	Dec. 17, 1962	397
Cables to all National Spiritual Assemblies in Europe and to North West Africa concerning the Morocco Case	Dec. 23, 1962	397
Cables to all National Spiritual Assemblies in the Western Hemisphere and 12 National Spiritual Assemblies in Africa, Asia and Australasia concerning the Morocco Case	Dec. 23 and 26, 1962	397
Cable to Bahá'í Wilmette informing appeal filed in Morocco Case	Dec. 25, 1962	398
To specific National Spiritual Assemblies requesting them and their Local Spiritual Assemblies to write directly to the Moroccan Ambassador	Dec. 27, 1962	398
1963
To 37 National Spiritual Assemblies informing them of the increase in number of delegates for their National Conventions	Jan. 27, 1963	403
To all Hands of the Cause forwarding suggested agenda for the next Conclave	Feb. 18, 1963	403
To the International Bahá'í Council, three Hands appointed to consult with Congress Arrangements Committee	March 8, 1963	405
To all Hands of the Cause forwarding preliminary draft of the World Congress program	March 11, 1963	405
List of National Spiritual Assembly members, 25 March 1963, the Electoral College of the Universal House of Justice		406
Cable expressing admiration, gratitude to Chief Executors of the Divine Plan on achievement of Guardian's goals	April 1, 1963	413
To the National Spiritual Assemblies of the United States and Europe, information on the Morocco Case	April 4, 1963	414
Conclave Message cabled to the Bahá'ís of East and West	April 9, 1963	420
Hands of the Cause to the International Bahá'í Council expressing appreciation their services and valuable collaboration	April 12,1963	421
Cabled message to the Bahá'í prisoners in Morocco	April 15, 1963	423
Cable to Persian Bahá'ís expressing eve Most Great Jubilee Hands' admiration and gratitude	April 15, 1963	424
Cable to Persia requesting assure believers 'Iraq loving remembrance Holy Shrines	April 19, 1963	424
Program of the First International Bahá'í Convention for the election of the Universal House of Justice	April 21-23, 1963	424
Cable announcing election of the Universal House of Justice and names of its members	April 21, 1963	425
Resolution of the Hands of the Cause regarding conduct of their affairs at the World Centre and abroad	May 9, 1963	426
Cable to Annual Bahá'í Conventions, Ridvan Message	May 19, 1963	427
To the Hands in the Holy Land from the Universal House of Justice conveying its official address	May 26, 1963	428
To all Hands of the Cause conveying Ridvan Message	May 27, 1963	428
Hands Holy Land statement to Universal House of Justice recording events first historic International Bahá'í Convention	June 7, 1963	429
Universal House of Justice to Hands Holy Land informing them their functions as "Custodians" are terminated	June 7, 1963	430
To all Hands of the Cause enclosing legal termination Custodian's functions	June 14, 1963	430
(End Sections)
Declaration by the Custodians releasing their powers to the Universal House of Justice		433
Reference Sources		437
Index		439- 485

Click on any of the numbers below to jump to a specific page of Ministry of the Custodians: Introductory Pages: i ii iii iv v vi vii viii Contents (this page above): ix x xi xii xiii xiv xv xvi xvii xviii Preface and "Hands of the Cause": xix xx xxi xxii xxiii xxiv Introduction: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 1957: 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 1958: 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 1959: 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 1960: 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 1961: 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 1962: 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360 361 362 363 364 365 366 367 368 369 370 371 372 373 374 375 376 377 378 379 380 381 382 383 384 385 386 387 388 389 390 391 392 393 394 395 396 397 398 399 400 401 402 1963: 403 404 405 406 407 408 409 410 411 412 413 414 415 416 417 418 419 420 421 422 423 424 425 426 427 428 429 430 431 432 433 434 435 436 Reference Sources: 437 438 Index: 439-485

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THE MINISTRY OF THE CUSTODIANS 1957-1963

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THE MINISTRY OF THE CUSTODIANS

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Light and glory, greeting and praise be upon the Hands of His Cause, through whom the light of long-suffering hath shone forth, and the declaration of authority is proven of God, the Powerful, the Mighty, the Independent, and through whom the sea of bestowal hath moved, and the breeze of the favour of God, the Lord of mankind, hath wafted. BAHA'U'LLAH

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Mansion of Bahá'u'lláh,
Bahji, Akka, Israel,
November 25, 1957.

[SIGNATURES OF 26 HANDS APPEAR ON THIS PAGE]

Signatures of the 26 Hands of the Faith present in Bahji who signed the Proclamation on November 25, 1957.

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[GROUP PHOTOGRAPH OF HANDS APPEARS ON THIS PAGE]

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[A GROUP PHOTOGRAPH OF HANDS TAKEN IN APRIL, 1963 APPEARS ON THIS PAGE]

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This book of messages of the Hands of the Cause, from the passing of the Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith, in November 1957, to the formation of the first Universal House of Justice in 1963, is based on the files of the Hands in the Holy Land and on my personal experience as one of the Custodians of the Bahá'í Faith for five and a half years. It does not pretend to be a history but rather a record of the remarkable and unique accomplishments of an unpretentious group of world religious officials who, with no forewarning or preparation, suddenly, under the most tragic circumstances, found themselves called upon to seize the helm of their Faith, protect it from dissolution and schism, win the goals of an ambitious, far-flung, world ten-year-teaching campaign, which had only reached its half-way point, and steer it to the victory of unitedly electing its Supreme Body in 1963! In other words, it is a view from the inside looking out, as one of the Hands in the Holy Land saw it, throughout that dangerous, challenging, but obviously divinely protected period which will, I am confident, increasingly be seen as one of the most extraordinary victories-won by a handful of high-ranking officers of the Bahá'í Faith, as Shoghi Effendi designated us-ever witnessed in the religious annals of mankind.

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Centre as Custodians, devoting their full time to its interests, obviously had to be supported as part of the expense of running our International Headquarters. We had a strong sense of the need for economy on the one hand, and of the stupendous sums of money we should require in order to win the goals of our Guardian's World Crusade on the other.

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authority to their permanent established authority according to the Holy Texts.

RUHIYYIH

APPOINTED BY BAHA'U'LLAH DURING HIS MINISTRY,¹ 1863-1892

OUTSTANDING BELIEVERS REFERRED TO BY 'ABDU'L-BAHÁ, AS HANDS OF THE CAUSE DURING HIS MINISTRY,¹ 1892-1921

APPOINTED POSTHUMOUSLY BY SHOGHI EFFENDI DURING HIS MINISTRY, 1921-1957

HANDS OF THE CAUSE APPOINTED BY SHOGHI EFFENDI

INDIVIDUAL APPOINTMENTS BY SHOGHI EFFENDI

The words of the Universal House of Justice, the Supreme Body of the Bahá'í Faith, in its first message to the Bahá'ís of the world, dated April 30, 1963, at the time of the World Congress in London, are the best tribute to our role in history: "We do not wish to dwell on the appalling dangers which faced the infant Cause when it was suddenly deprived of our beloved Shoghi Effendi but rather to acknowledge with all the love and gratitude of our hearts the reality of the sacrifice, the labour, the self-discipline, the superb stewardship of the Hands of the Cause of God. We can think of no more fitting words to express our tribute to these dearly loved and valiant souls than to recall the words of Bahá'u'lláh Himself: 'Light and glory, greeting and praise be upon the Hands of His Cause, through whom the light of long-suffering hath shone forth, and the declaration of authority is proven of God, the Powerful, the Mighty, the Independent; and through whom the sea of bestowal hath moved, and the breeze of the favour of God, the Lord of mankind, hath wafted."'

To this unique testimony should be added the. fact that although the Hands were firmly established as the ruling and guiding body of the entire Bahá'í world, I can bear witness that never for a single instant were the Hands influenced by either ambition or self-esteem. Our sole objective, the purpose of our every effort, was to succeed in electing in 1963 the Universal House of Justice. The Universal House of Justice itself testified that: "The entire history of religion shows no comparable record of such strict self-discipline, such absolute loyalty, and such complete self-abnegation by the leaders of a religion finding themselves suddenly deprived of their divinely inspired guide. The debt of gratitude which mankind for generations, nay, ages to come, owes to this handful of grief-stricken, steadfast, heroic souls is beyond estimation."

Although Bahá'u'lláh created the Institution of the Hands, appointing during His own lifetime four distinguished Persian believers to fulfil this function, and His son and successor, 'Abdu'l-Bahá, later referred to four more outstanding Persian followers of His Father as Hands, it remained for Shoghi Effendi-according to the explicit text of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Will and Testament the Hands may only be appointed by the Guardian himself-to add forty-two more names to this unique list of people heading the appointive half of Bahá'u'lláh's World Order, thus raising the total to

From 1951 to 1957 Shoghi Effendi constantly supervised and guided the Institution of the Hands, that half of the institutions of the World Order of Bahá'u'lláh which has the specialized function to both propagate and protect it. Like a wise gardener, tending and pruning a rare, promising and cherished fruit tree, he watched over us as we Hands served him at the World Centre and in the five continents of the globe. It was he who developed the second phase of our activities through adding, in April 1954, to the powers of our Institution by authorizing us to appoint Auxiliary Boards. Looking back, I believe this constant care and encouragement he gave us succeeded in creating among us not only a sense of passionate loyalty and devotion to him, but a sense of belonging, as a group, to the Institution of the Guardianship.

I would never claim that my impressions are a reflection of Shoghi Effendi's motives; anyone who ever pretends to really understand the Centre of the Covenant-be it Bahá'u'lláh, 'Abdu'l-Bahá, or Shoghi Effendi-immediately presumes equality, which is of course out of the question and utterly ridiculous. However, as a close observer, one has a right to one's opinions. I believe, in choosing those he elevated to the rank of Hand during their lifetime, Shoghi Effendi was primarily influenced by their already demonstrated devotion and capacity to serve the Faith, or the indications he saw in them of a great potential capacity to do so. In rare cases, such as Corinne True, or "Mother" Dunn, it was, I think, a well-deserved crown of reward placed upon their heads for a singularly long and distinguished period of service. The Guardian was certainly not influenced for a moment by what the opinion of the Bahá'ís might be of his choice. He was equally uninfluenced by how we might personally feel; three of us were appointed to our face, so to speak: I was present when he told Fred Schopflocher at the Pilgrim House table that he was making him a Hand; Freddie turned so white I thought he was going to faint! He told Musa Banani; likewise on his pilgrimage, that he was appointing him a Hand; Mr. Banani; begged not to be! I was not present but I heard this. And he told me, after my father died, that he was appointing me a Hand in his place; all my tears and remonstrances and begging him not to had no effect. Shoghi Effendi was singularly uninfluenceable.

Of the thirty-two Hands he appointed during their lifetime the geographic distribution was as follows: Holy Land 4, Asia 10, America 6, Europe 6, Africa 4, Australasia 2; sometimes he associated these appointments with a continental distribution. The final eight Hands-whose names were announced a month before he died and who, with the other nineteen still living Hands, were suddenly obliged to assume the leadership of the Cause of God pending the time when the Universal House of Justice could be elected on a firm basis-were characterized in surprising and significant terms: he said they had been chosen from four continents of the globe and represented not only the black and white races but were of Afnan,1 Christian, Muslim, Jewish and pagan backgrounds. Surely this was a most phenomenal statement, to bring up Enoch Olinga's "pagan" background, considering that his immediate ancestors had been Christians. It certainly emphasized the total lack of any form of prejudice within the Bahá'í Faith; I am sure, however, that the Guardian made Enoch's appointment, like all the other appointments of Hands, on the sole basis of individual merit. I think, moreover, the fact that Enoch was a black African, from a continent which in many cases still had a pagan

Whatever the reason for Shoghi Effendi's choice of Hands, he once said to me that these were the best he had to choose from; I got the impression he wished he had better. Knowing myself, and my fellow Hands, I am sure all of us lamented in our hearts that we were not worthier, had not more capacity in every way to serve him. Before he died Shoghi Effendi had succeeded in making us feel we were a body to assist him, a world-wide, developing Institution, with an integral and essential part to play in promoting the growth and expansion of our Faith. We were wholly his creation.

The Guardian, in a cable to the Bahá'í world dated January 9, 1951, had proclaimed his "weighty epoch-making decision" to form the first International Bahá'í Council, the "forerunner" of the "supreme administrative institution"' of the Faith, which was destined to emerge in the fullness of time, and he characterized this "historic decision" as "Marking most significant milestone evolution Administrative Order Faith Bahá'u'lláh course last thirty years." Those thirty years were his own ministry since the passing of 'Abdu'l-Bahá in 1921. This first International Bahá'í Council was not elected but selected by Shoghi Effendi himself from individual believers of long standing and proven dedication to the service of the Cause. Less than one year later, on December 24, 1951, he announced the names of the first contingent of Hands. In view of the clear distinction in the Teachings between the elected Universal House of Justice and the appointed Hands of the Cause, it seems to me portentous that the first membership of the International Bahá'í Council included three people soon to be nominated Hands, and that, at the time of the beloved Guardian's passing, five of its officers, so designated by him, namely, myself as liaison between it and him, Mason Remey, its President, Amelia Collins, its Vice-President, Leroy Ioas its Secretary General, and Ugo Giachery, its Member at Large-who lived in Italy and functioned as a European Hand, but frequently visited Haifa at Shoghi Effendi's request-were all Hands of the Cause. In addition to being members of the International Bahá'í Council, these Hands, resident and serving at the World Centre, constituted a separate body, specified by Shoghi Effendi to act as liaison between him and the other Hands throughout the world, conveying their messages to him and his to them,

Historic and stirring events moved rapidly during those last years of the Guardianship: on June 30, 1952, Shoghi Effendi wrote of the Faith that "at long last the machinery of its highest institutions has been erected," and that around its most holy Shrines "the supreme organs of its unfolding Order, are, in their embryonic form, unfolding . . ." Block by block he had been laying the foundations of the future World Commonwealth of Bahá'u'lláh in what he termed the "heart and nerve-centre" of the Faith situated in the Holy Land. By April 1954, two years and four months after his first announcement of the appointment of Hands of the Cause, he was able, in a cable addressed to them and to the Bahá'í world, to state how greatly he valued the support of their members at the World Centre, citing five particular fields of service that he considered outstanding: the erection of the superstructure of the Bab's Shrine on Mount Carmel; the reinforcement of the World Centre's ties with the new State; the extension of international endowments in the Holy Land; and, in his own words, the "initiation preliminary measures establishment Bahá'í World Administrative Centre"; to this grandiose picture of our support of his work he added our participation in the four successive Intercontinental Teaching Conferences held at the inception of his World Crusade.

In this same message an immense step forward took place in the world-wide function of the Hands-now nineteen in number-four in the Holy Land and fifteen in the various continents, namely, six in Asia, one in Africa, four in Europe, one in Australasia and three in the Americas through the Guardian's instructions that these continental Hands should appoint Auxiliary Boards, of nine members each, to assist them in their continental areas. He also specified that in addition to acting as deputies of the Hands in their respective continents, they would "aid and advise them in the effective prosecution of the Ten Year Plan" and that, at a later period, they would assist "in the discharge of their dual and sacred task of safeguarding the Faith and of promoting its teaching activities." In October 1957 Shoghi Effendi implemented this duty to safeguard the Faith, shortly before his passing, by creating an additional Auxiliary Board, whose function was to be, under the direct guidance of the Hands of the Cause, "watching over the security of the Faith". He had already stated, only five months before he passed away, in a general communication

The temporary headship of the Bahá'í Faith by the Hands of the Cause appointed by Shoghi Effendi commenced with his wholly unexpected and sudden passing through a heart attack in London, England, on November 4, 1957, after he had fully recovered from Asiatic flu, an event which shook the Bahá'í world to its roots. I sent a cable as follows, via Haifa (our usual practice), on that same day, which announced, from the World Centre, his passing:

RUHIYYIH

Once this official and tragic announcement had gone forth from the World Centre, subsequent messages perforce were sent direct from London. On November 5th another cable went out to all National Spiritual Assemblies:

RUHIYYIH

This terrible news evoked throughout the Bahá'í world a passionate wave of response; cables and letters expressing the shock and sorrow of the believers and their firm loyalty to the Hands poured in after his passing.

Eighteen Hands of the Cause assembled in London to attend the funeral of their Guardian. Those who were unable to be present were either too old and frail to do so, or, in some cases, were requested to remain at their posts for the protection of the Faith at this moment of great crisis.

The following cables were sent on two successive days after the funeral, held on November 9th in the Great Northern London Cemetery:

RUHIYYIH

RUHIYYIH

The labours of the Hands of the Cause at the time of this unique crisis followed an unbroken pattern till the day the Universal House of Justice was elected on April 21, 1963. The Hands who had gathered in London met and, in spite of their shock and grief, decided not an instant's time must be lost in holding a plenary meeting of our entire body at our World Centre in the Holy Land. This was called for November 18th. Our first act was to choose a delegation to open the apartment of Shoghi Effendi which had been sealed by the International Bahá'í Council right after his passing (in addition to being locked by him when we left Haifa, as was his usual custom) and to make an exhaustive search for any document he might have left-a Will or otherwise. There was no such thing to be found.

The general body of the Hands then met in the upper hall of the

When one adds to the staggering total of the above enumerated problems the fact that all this rested on the shoulders of twenty-seven Hands, the first of whom had only been called to their high office six years previously and the last of whom were appointed a bare four weeks before Shoghi Effendi passed away, one gets some idea of the state and the burden of the Hands of the Cause of God.

As we sat in the great upstairs hall of the Mansion-so sacred, so private-our historic Proclamation was worked out; it was signed by all the Hands of the Cause except Corinne True, then aged 96, who was unable to travel from the United States to the Holy Land but quite capable of being one of the signatories by consent of that historic document. Clara Dunn, 88, was, however, present in Haifa and signed the document herself, but because of age and infirmity was not able to attend our meetings. When one remembers that of the twenty-five of us gathered in the Mansion, most of our Persian Hands spoke little or no English at this time and none of the Western Hands spoke any Persian except myself-and my vocabulary in no way covered the issues facing us-and that only two of the Persian Hands were completely bilingual and therefore we had to translate every word, back and forth-as each Hand, conscious of the frightening responsibilities resting upon us, insisted on exact translation of the opinions voiced in the other language not his own-and that this

At this first Conclave we were faced with the inescapable obligation of voting from amongst the membership of the Hands of the Cause for who would, if chosen by all of us, accept to live and serve at the World Centre as one of the nine legal Custodians. For those who were not already part of the body of the Hands in Haifa this meant literally burning all their bridges behind them. I can remember the words of Paul Haney, an economist just promoted in the prominent investment firm to which he had belonged for some years, with the assurance of financial increases and a substantial pension on retirement, as he bowed his head and said, "You are only called once."

We had, from our very first Conclave, a fixed procedure: every morning we went to pray in the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh before our meetings started and our last act every evening was to visit the room in which He passed away for closing prayers. If my memory serves me, the longest Conclave lasted twenty-two days-all the days being the same. We were not interested in days off!

A policy was established that no notes of individual Hands would be taken out of that hall, but would be gathered and burned at the end of the day by one of the Hands. As our consultations were full, free and frank, the notes-in discussions involving more than twenty people, where each one had to wait his turn-were obviously far too pertinent to risk individual opinions leaving that room. Any carelessness, any gossip or speculation at such a juncture could have divided the Hands from each other and split the Bahá'í Faith.

After long and often agonizing consultation and soul-searching which took place in discussion at more than one Conclave-we finally agreed as a body to announce to the Bahá'í world that the Institution of the Hands, different in both nature and function from the structure constituting the elected administrative bodies of the Faith, placed us in a separate category and we requested the believers not to vote for the Hands of the Cause in Bahá'í elections. We Hands burned in the fire of this weighty decision until it became clear to us that greater strength, diversity, and breadth lay in keeping these two aspects of the system of Bahá'u'lláh separate and therefore more mobile, each free to function in its own field.

When the Guardian passed away the paramount, supremely urgent task confronting us at our first Conclave was to ensure that everything connected with the affairs, direction and administration of the Faith was solidly and speedily vested in the Institution of the Hands. We were blessed in the unity and strength we found among ourselves-some of the

All the legal powers at the World Centre of the Faith-which had been vested in Shoghi Effendi as the appointed successor of 'Abdu'l-Bahá -- were left in limbo when he passed away as he himself had made neither a Will nor a statement of his intentions. The holdings at the World Centre, including its sacred Shrines, its historic buildings, hundreds of square metres of prime real estate, and substantial local bank accounts, were therefore in great danger. The Hands were able, however, to successfully and legally establish the principle that the Guardian held all properties as the Head of the Faith and not as an individual, and to have this priceless heritage safely placed in the hands of the Custodians. A further large deposit, invested for safekeeping in Switzerland in both his and my name, I later turned over to the Universal House of Justice after its election. I remember remonstrating with Shoghi Effendi when he made this arrangement, that it was unnecessary to include my name on this account; but when he passed away so suddenly in London I was in a position, with grace and dignity, to draw on this money to pay for all his funeral expenses and our hotel bills and later to design and supervise the construction and erection of the monument, in white Carrara marble, marking his grave, without turning to any Bahá'í source for assistance. This was a great consolation to me in my sorrow and surely reflected the mercy of God in an hour of terrible trial and suffering.

Following the historic inaugural Conclave in Bahji from November 18th to the 25th, 1957, one of the first acts of the Custodians was to fulfil what had been a cherished plan of Shoghi Effendi himself, namely, to tear down the long, two-storey house occupied by a remnant of the Covenant-breakers, a building which abutted on the garden wall of the Mansion of Bahá'u'lláh in Bahji towards the north, the legal possession of which he had acquired, after years of effort, shortly before his passing. We accomplished this in December 1957 not only in a spirit of fidelity to his wishes, but, in our deep sorrow, longing to please him by fulfilling one of his last cherished plans for the beautification of the precincts of our Most Holy Shrine, the Qiblih of our Faith. As the clouds of dust arose from the demolition of this ugly building, in some strange way it assuaged our aching hearts. It was a revelation to me, when we extended the pattern of Shoghi Effendi's garden into the space the demolished building had occupied, to see how, within half a metre, the large symmetrical design of the existing gardens he had made was completed.

Indeed, in the years following his passing, in one field after another, one plan Shoghi Effendi had made after another, whether in connection with the Bahá'í properties in the Holy Land or throughout the world in detailed national plans and objectives, was fulfilled. This included the five large Intercontinental Conferences he announced would be held during 1958-the midway point of his decade-long global Spiritual Crusade. In spite of our heartbreak, the fidelity of the Hands was so great we each went to the Intercontinental Conference the Guardian had specified. He had sown and we reaped, and still do, his harvest.

In the meetings of the Custodians we almost never worked to an agenda and had no rigid format. We had decided, from the time of our first Conclave that, in order to protect the Cause of God, we would have no officers, such as President, Chairman, Secretary, etc. lest one of the male Hands, holding such a position, should begin to assume in the eyes of the Bahá'ís the function of the leader, and, God forbid, begin to be seen as a sort of second Guardian in importance. I think this was one of our wisest decisions and a great shield for the purity of our services. Likewise, in the Custodian's meetings we had no "head", but took the chairmanship in rotation. We did, however, divide our work in the sense that Persian Hands handled the correspondence in Persian and Arabic and those of us from the West, all correspondence in western languages.

In spite of all our devotion and sacrifices, one of our greatest problems was to ensure, all the year, every year, that a quorum of Hands was present in the Holy Land for our decisions. Within the first two years of our ministry two of the Custodians found they could not continue to serve in a permanent capacity at the World Centre, and in order to maintain our number at nine, it was necessary to select two other Hands to replace them. In November of 1959 the Hands announced that John Ferraby and Horace Holley-an immemorial figure in the development of the Administrative Order in America, which was the world prototype-had been chosen to serve as Custodians.

During the period of our ministry we were grieved by the death of four of our fellow-Hands, two of whom were Custodians. Only eight months after having been chosen as a Custodian, Horace Holley passed away, in July 1960; William Sears was called upon to serve as his replacement. On January 1, 1962, our dear Amelia Collins died and Hasan Balyuzi was appointed to act as a Custodian temporarily to fill the vacancy created by her passing.

If one is to understand how the Institution of the Hands achieved the preservation of the Faith between the passing of its hereditary Head and the election of its Supreme Body, one cannot do so without a clear picture of the stage of development at which the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh found itself

It is beyond the scope of this introduction to present all the goals of Shoghi Effendi's vast Ten Year Teaching and Consolidation Plan; 2 only the most arduous and costly tasks which faced the Hands will be mentioned. The Guardian, by the time of his passing, had either inaugurated, changed, or accomplished some of his own goals; a few, dependent on political situations, proved unfeasible. The monetary tasks alone which faced the Hands were formidable. Shoghi Effendi had called for the "doubling" of Bahá'í Houses of Worship. The "Mother Temple of the West", situated in the United States, near Chicago, whose cornerstone 'Abdu'l-Bahá Himself had laid in 1912, the Guardian had, with the greatest difficulty, over a period of three decades-decades which included the "Great Depression" in the United States, which began in 1929 and

During the five years prior to Shoghi Effendi's passing it became evident there was no hope of building a Mashriqu'l-Adhkar in Persia as both the official and popular hatred of the Bahá'ís had not modified in over a century.¹ The Guardian, saddened and indignant, decided to compensate the steadfast, continuously oppressed and persecuted believers in that country by erecting not two but three Temples. He launched, in his own words, an "ambitious three-fold enterprise, designed to compensate for the disabilities suffered by the sorely-tried Community of the followers of His Faith in the land of His birth, aiming at the erection, in localities as far apart as Frankfurt, Sydney and Kampala, of the Mother Temples of the European, the Australian and African continents, at a cost of approximately one million dollars, complementing the Temples already constructed in the Asiatic and American continents. One-third of this sum 1, gladly and with a grateful heart, pledge at this auspicious hour, a sum which, when added to the funds already donated for this laudable purpose ... will constitute well-nigh half of the entire amount required to ensure the consummation of this stupendous, epoch-making undertaking."

The Guardian, before announcing these decisions, had privately calculated that about one-half of the cost he already had in hand or was assured of receiving; the remainder, so to speak, he trusted in God to provide. He gave them first the Mother Temple of Africa in its heart, Kampala, Uganda, and later, to everyone's joy and surprise, he added the Mother Temple of the Antipodes in Sydney, Australia, and finally, the last of those to be built, the Mother Temple of Europe in Frankfurt. Fortunately for the Hands, he had already advanced his plans for these three Temples by approving their designs. It was a great blessing for the Bahá'ís of the world that the Commander-in-Chief of the forces of Bahá'u'lláh's world-conquering spiritual army had announced and set in motion himself such momentous projects. But think of the agony of twenty-seven heart-broken Hands faced with the duty of fulfilling these commitments! The cornerstone of the African Temple in Kampala was laid on January 26, 1958; that of Sydney on March 22, 1958; and that of Frankfurt on November 20, 1960. Triumphantly the Custodians were able to see the first of these

It is, I think, impossible for others to understand how hard the Hands in the Holy Land daily worked, how much we struggled to raise the money for and to build these three large and imposing edifices for Shoghi Effendi Many times the diminishing number of Hands resident at the World Centre have said to each other: "We could not again pass through even five minutes of the suffering we went through in those years!"

One of our most pressing worries concerned the heavy financial obligations left us in the plans of Shoghi Effendi regarding not only the construction of Bahá'í Temples but other properties, and the monetary support we had to give to the new National Bahá'í Assemblies in developing countries. The national Bahá'í bodies in a position to provide any substantial aid at that period were those of Iran and America.

The main income of the Hands was from the contributions of the Persian Bahá'í community, which was the oldest and at that time the most affluent Bahá'í community in the world. This monetary aid we estimated at about $100,000 a year. In June 1960, as we considered our financial position, we felt obliged to vote this entire sum for Temple construction, the expenses of the Institution of the Hands and support to the National Assemblies, nearly all of which at that period were not self-supporting and received most of their annual budget from the Hands at the World Centre.

The munificent financial contributions of our fellow-Hand and Custodian Amelia Collins were of great assistance to the Hands; her outstanding generosity afforded infinite comfort to our heavily-burdened minds and hearts as we faced the ever-increasing financial needs of the Faith. The following minute from our Conclave meeting in 1959 conveys only one instance of her magnanimous spirit: "Milly offered to provide one-third entire sum to be given by Hands Holy Land to Hands in the continents."

The Hands living at the World Centre practised rigid economy; as the pilgrimage had been suspended for a nine-month period of mourning throughout the Bahá'í world after the passing of Shoghi Effendi our Eastern and Western Pilgrim Houses were available and the newly-chosen Custodians and their wives resided in them for some time, only moving to more suitable accommodation when the pilgrimage was reopened.

With very few exceptions, the Hands had all been, at some period, members of various National Spiritual Assemblies; they were highly informed and highly skilled Bahá'ís They not only had a right to hold individual opinions but did so very strongly. Like most consultative bodies, we got over the bumps, the exasperation at interminable waits for one's turn to speak, the long-windedness which our passionate sense of responsibility and the fact that most of us were public speakers, produced. But there was one agonizing issue we could not agree on. Year after year we could come to no conclusion about whether the Guardianship was closed for the period of this Faith. The death of Shoghi Effendi had really been like an arrow shot into our hearts. Each one struggled with his bereavement in his own way. One of us, Mason Remey, one of the oldest and most distinguished, solved his personal dilemma by concluding that the Bahá'í Faith could not go on without a Guardian and that undoubtedly Shoghi Effendi's successor was himself-for various invalid and unprovable reasons, such as that he was one of the earliest, famous believers of the West, had been made a Hand of the Cause by Shoghi Effendi and President of the International Bahá'í Council. All this was true, but it still did not make him the second Guardian. Mason Remey's activities, beginning in 1960, when he "proclaimed" himself the second Guardian, were a profound source of embarrassment to his fellow-Hands who, in addition to all their other heavy, heartbreaking responsibilities, now found themselves obliged to progressively remonstrate with, admonish, warn, expose and finally excommunicate him. This extraordinary and sudden display of unexpected pride and conceit passed over the Bahá'í world, producing a brief flutter in France, a passing ripple in Chile and sundry vibrations in the United States, Pakistan and one or two other countries, and was soon gone forever. For those who, like myself and Paul Haney, had known and loved him all our lives, and Milly Collins, who had been a particularly old friend and co-worker, it was a very bitter and tragic experience. Unfollowed and unmourned, alone and isolated in his old age, when he died he was buried by his young secretary who was not a Bahá'í Although this whole episode had no effect on the Faith, it added to the burdens of the Custodians, consumed hours of consideration better spent on constructive matters, and saddened our hearts. Like any branch cut off from the root, the Remey incident withered away.

Far more distressing to the Custodians, and indeed to the entire Bahá'í world, was the case of the fourteen Bahá'í prisoners in Morocco, three of whom were condemned to death and five to life imprisonment for no other reason than their religious beliefs. Comparable to the case of the Persian Bahá'ís during the lifetime of Shoghi Effendi in 1955, when a violent national attack on the part of the fanatical Muslim clergy took

Suddenly a spotlight was focused on a small group of Bahá'ís in the northern provincial town of Nador who were imprisoned and accused, fundamentally, of heresy, some of them being sentenced to death. From its onset this case became a constant preoccupation of the Custodians; ceaseless anxiety and effort, and in the end acute anguish, became our daily lot as the date for the execution of three of the prisoners in that city approached. The extraordinary amount of material and comment covering this case-which began in April 1962 and ended in December 1963 -- cannot be presented here. The facts, the highlights, and some of the major documents are, however, included.

The Moroccan case involved the imprisonment of 14 Bahá'ís in three cities, 7 in Nador, 2 in Fez, and 5 in Tetuan in the northern Province of Nador; the arrest of the first five took place on April 10, 1962. Already, however, throughout the Riff area religious opposition of the Muslim community had been steadily increasing; some of the homes of the Bahá'ís had been searched by the police and their Bahá'í literature seized, and in January 1962 a well-known Professor of Fine Arts at the University of Tetuan was dismissed from his post and warned to have no association with his co-religionists. Another Bahá'í a resident of Nador, lost his government job shortly thereafter.

All the accused were men of good repute; with one exception they were all young men, holding respected jobs, with some standing in the community; among them was a teacher, a Customs official and a police inspector. Six of them were single, eight were married, and seven had children. The youngest was only 20 years old, the eldest 38. One of the first five arrested, under police interrogation, was hung upside down by the feet but refused to divulge the names of any other Bahá'ís all of them

On October 31st; the fourteen Bahá'í men were brought to the Regional Court of Nador to hear the charges against them and were formally accused of: Rebellion, Disorder, Attack on Public Security, Forming an Association of Criminals, and Attack on Religious Faith. The difference between Bahá'í religious laws-fasting, prayer, pilgrimage, etc.-and those of Islam, were compared in detail by the Court.

The first intimation we received at the World Centre of the arrest of the Bahá'ís was a newspaper article from Morocco; on April 14th, news of these happenings burst in the press through an article in the prestigious Le Courier du Maroc. While the case was being widely publicized in Moroccan newspapers and spreading to the foreign press, the Custodians were constantly in touch with the Bahá'í National Spiritual Assemblies in those days 44 in number-most notably that of the United States of America, in which country is situated the seat of the United Nations, by which we were recognized as a Non-Governmental Organization with observer status, under the title of the Bahá'í International Community", which officially represented at that time Bahá'í communities in 257 countries, territories and dependencies. All national Bahá'í bodies were likewise urged to bring as much pressure, by every means within their power, upon the Moroccan authorities in defence of the innocence of their fellow believers, whilst the Bahá'ís of the entire world, with full hearts, prayed for their protection and release.

Between the date the Moroccan Bahá'ís had been arrested, in April, and the stage of our open, world-wide publicity, every effort to protect the prisoners and prove their innocence had been undertaken by the Hands in the Holy Land. Two distinguished Moroccan lawyers had been engaged in their defence and a famous French lawyer had come from Paris to join them.

The Custodians felt very strongly that no attack should be made on the central authorities but that the blame should rest-where it in fact originated-on a small, fanatical, prejudiced and misinformed group of local leaders, who unfortunately at that period did not seem susceptible to any central State control from Rabat.

Throughout the hearings it was repeatedly asserted that one of the cardinal teachings of the Bahá'í Faith is obedience to government, that the Bahá'í International Community is accredited to agencies of the United Nations as a Non-Governmental Organization, and so on, to no avail.

On December 14, 1962 the Regional Court of Nador pronounced its verdict. Of the original 14 people involved in the case, four were acquitted, stating they were Muslims, one was acquitted through what appears to be