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Centennial anniversary of founding of Baha’i faith in North Florida

October 11, 2019
In observing the centennial of the Baha’i Faith in Northeast Florida, a group of St. Johns County Baha’is visited the gravesites of two early St. Augustine Baha’i’s at Woodlawn Cemetery. The graves were those of Dr. Nathan Collier, president of the Florida Normal and Industrial Institute, who died in 1941, and Miss Sarah Ann Blocker, dean of women at the institute, who died in 1944. Originally, both Collier and Blocker were interred on school property, but were moved to Woodlawn Cemetery in St. Augustine when the school relocated to Miami Gardens in the late 1960s. The school is now known as... Read more about Centennial anniversary of founding of Baha’i faith in North Florida

The Bahá’í Faith

The Bahá’í Faith first took shape in 1863 when Bahá’u’lláh (1817-1892) declared himself a divine messenger and the messianic figure predicted by the Bab (1819-1850). The religion stresses the oneness of God, the divine origin of all the world’s major religions and their main ethical teachings, the essential harmony of science and religion, the common foundation of all religions, the equality of men and women, and the need to eliminate prejudice of all kinds. The Faith is based on the writings of Bahá’u’lláh, the Báb and `Abdu’l-Bahá, which are considered sacred texts. The Bahá’í Faith is... Read more about The Bahá’í Faith

spiritual assembly

The spiritual assembly is the basic organizational structure of the Bahá’í Faith. Local spiritual assemblies may be formed anywhere that nine or more Bahá’ís live, and national spiritual assemblies are created at the national or regions level when local development is sufficient. Today, there are more than 11,000 local assemblies around the world, and national spiritual assemblies have been elected in 182 countries. Assemblies are elected in a spiritual atmosphere of prayer, where each person silently considers the qualities of an assembly member, prays, and votes his or her conscience. There... Read more about spiritual assembly

Nine Holy Days

The Bahá’í year includes nine holy days: the first, ninth and twelfth day of Ridvan (when Bahá’u’lláh declared himself a messenger of God, April 21-May 2); the anniversary of the Báb's declaration that he was the Promised One of Shi’ite Islam (May 23); the anniversary of the birth of Bahá’u’lláh (November 12); the anniversary of the birth of the Báb (October 20); the anniversary of the ascension of Bahá’u’lláh (May 29); the anniversary of the martyrdom of the Báb (July 9); and the feast of Naw-Ruz (New Year, March 21). On these days Bahá’ís should suspend work. The various holy days are... Read more about Nine Holy Days

Báb, the

In 1844, Siyyid 'Ali-Muhammad of Shiraz (1819-1850 CE) took the title of the “Báb” (or “Gate”), and claimed to be the promised one expected by Shi’ite Islam as well as prophecies of other world religions, and the Herald of One greater soon to come. In his short six-year ministry he produced over 2,000 works. Because his teachings were considered blasphemy by the Shi'ite clerics, the Báb was executed by firing squad on July 9, 1850. Despite the repeated pogroms against his followers, the movement continued to grow, eventually developing into the Bahá’í Faith.

Ridvan

The Feast of Ridvan celebrates the declaration by Baha’u’llah that he was a messenger of God, an event which took place between April 21 and May 2, 1863. Three of the nine Holy Days of the Bahá’í calendar fall within this period: the first, ninth, and twelfth day of the month of Ridvan.

Baha’u’llah

Bahá’u’lláh (1817–1892) was born in Iran as Mirza Husayn 'Ali and became the most influential of the early followers of the Báb. He acquired the title Bahá’u’lláh (Arabic for "the Glory of God") in 1848. In 1863 he announced a claim to be a messenger of God, the one whose coming was predicted by the Bible, the Qur’an, and by his forerunner, the Báb. Because of his claims, Bahá’u’lláh was repeatedly imprisoned and banished. In his forty-year ministry he produced over over 18,000 unique works, mostly letters and prayers, which defined the basics of his religion. He died in 1892 in Akka, a... Read more about Baha’u’llah

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