Posted by Rob on July 15, 2101 at 22:57:20:

In Reply to: Re: Re: Breaking the covenant posted by Diosa on July 15, 2101 at 22:42:29:

Diosa,

A Covenant breaker is any former Baha'i who has, by virtue of thier having attempted to create a sect of the Baha'i Faith or has ceated disharmony by misrepresenting the Faith's teachings and lead Baha'is away from the true teachings, is excommunicated from the Baha'i Faith by the Universal House of Justice. They are no longer considered by the Bahai's to be a Baha'i in any way, shape or form. A very few souls have been excommunicated during the history of the Faith. Excommunication is not to be regarded as the same as a Baha'i who loses their right of membership in the Faith's organization for lesser violations of Baha'i laws.

In the case of a Covenant breaker, they may rejoin the Baha'i community if they truly repent of their misdeeds and see the errors of their ways. The remaining living Hands of the Cause of God, and now, practically speaking, the Baha'i Counselors in the Holy Land, are the only Baha'is permitted by the Universal House of Justice to correspond with those excommunicated souls when repentive statements have to be considered.

The purpose of excommunicating these souls and requiring the Baha'is shunning them whenever possible, is for the purpose of protecting the unity of the faith and because justice demands some form of punishment in the face of such attempts to cause disunity of the faith.

The names of some Covenant breakers are recounted in Baha'i history books, not a few of whom were members of Baha'u'llah's family who attempted to gain leadership of the Faith through deceitful means.

Rob

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