- 1836-00-00 — The Carmelite Monastery and church were constructed near the cave of Elijah. It was influential in attracting Christians to Haifa. [SYHp9]
- 1883-08-00 —
Bahá'u'lláh travelled to Haifa on the second of four known visits (His first is His brief stop there before travelling to Akká in 1868). This second visit lasted at least three weeks. [BBD94; DH109; GPB194]
- He stayed in Bayt-i-Fanduq, a house in the German Templar colony, that had served as a guest house, part of which stands today. The building was located at the northeast corner of Meir Rutberg and Yafo Street. [BKG373–4; BPP173; DH10:
- During this visit Bahá'u'lláh referred to Mount Carmel as the 'Mountain of God':
For a few days the Mountain of God became the seat of the Temple and this is the Station which had been mentioned in the past Books. The voice of the Spirit (Jesus Christ) had been raised in this place and all the other Prophets have told of this Station. This is the mountain of God. [Journey to the Mountain p17]
- 1891-06-27 —
Bahá'u'lláh visited Haifa for the fourth time. [BKG374; DH109; GPB194; RB4:351]
- He stayed three months. [BBD94; BKG374; DH109; GPB194; RB4:351]
- He lived in the house of Ilyás Abyad near the Templar colony, His tent pitched nearby on the foot of Mount Carmel on HaGefen Street. This house was subsequently a boarding school and then became office space for the Mercantile Bank. [BKG374; DH186]
- Bahá'u'lláh instructed to the Master to arrange the transportation of the remains of the Báb from Persia to the Holy Land and their internment in a mausoleum below the clump of cypress trees at a spot which He indicated with His hand. It is stated that there were 15 tiny cypress trees at that time, each one the size of a finger. See Rob4p363 for a photo of the site indicated. [AB45; BKG374; DH134–5; GPB194]
- For a story of the difficulties in obtaining land for access to the site of the Shrine of the Báb see SES79-80.
- One day He pitched His tent a few hundred yards east of the Carmelite monastery and visited the monastery. His tent was also close to the Templar building with the inscription "Der Herr ist nahe" over the door. The spot is now marked by a circle of cypress trees. While there He fell ill and was invited in the Templar home and was seen by a Templar doctor, probably Dr J. Schmidt in the room at the north-west corner of the ground floor [DH186]
- Bahá'u'lláh visited the cave of Elijah. [BKG375; DH174; RB4:3512]
- He revealed the Lawh-i-Karmil (Tablet of Carmel), the `Charter of the World Spiritual and Administrative Centres of the Faith' near the site of the future Mashriqu'l-Adhkár. [BBD1 18–19; BKG375; DH109, 174; MBW63; RB4:352]
- For the text of this Tablet see BKG376–7, G14–17 and TB3–5.
- For an analysis of the text see RB4:353–67.
- See the article "Carmel: The Mountain of God and the Tablet of Carmel" by Zikrullah Khadem, ZK279-300.
- See PG102-103 for a recounting of a commemoration of Bahá'lláh's visit on the 21st of October 1919. At that time 'Abdu'l-Bahá entertained guests from India, Persia, Kurdistan, Egypt, and England in a tent which had been erected on the same spot where His tent had been pitched.
- 1892-06-30 — `Abdu'l-Bahá went to Haifa and Mount Carmel and isolated Himself in a small apartment in the stone building west of the lower cave of Elijah. [DH59, 188]
- 1897-05-15 — Finding the situation in `Akka intolerable, `Abdu'l-Bahá had moved to Haifa's Retreat of Elijah on Mount Carmel for two months. [MBBA69]
- 1900-00-00 —
`Abdu'l-Bahá began to build the foundations of the Shrine of the Báb. [CB223]
- Note that the number 8 is prominent in the design of the Shrine of the Báb and the gardens. Mr. Giachery noted that Shoghi Effendi reported 'Abdu'l-Bahá to have said that it was because the Báb was the eighth Manifestation of those religions whose followers still exist. [SER84]
- 1901-00-00 — Siyyid Mustafá Rúmí sent from Rangoon a sample of the marble that the sarcophagus for the remains of the Báb was to be made from. Mishkin-Qalam asked for permission to design a Greatest Name for the sarcophagus, and, as was his custom, he signed the design. In the time of Bahá'u'lláh he signed his work with "The servant of the Threshold of Bahá,
Mishkin-Qalam" but for this work his proposal had the signature, "The servant of `Abdu'l-Bahá, Mishkin-Qalam." 'Abdu'l-Bahá did not approve. Throughout His ministry, `Abdu'l-Bahá greatly disapproved of believers composing verses about, or glorifying, His Person in any way. He would admonish them to focus their praise on Bahá'u'lláh. [MBBA155-157]
- 1909-03-21 —
`Abdu'l-Bahá laid the sacred remains of the Báb in their final resting place at the Shrine in Haifa. [AB126; BBD210; DH138; GBF103; GPB276]
- See AB126–30, CT84 and GPB273–8 for details of the occasion and its history.
- The Shrine was a simple rectangular structure of six rooms. [DH71, ZK284]
- The marble sarcophagus used for the remains of the Báb was a gift from the Bahá'ís of Rangoon. [AB129; MC155]
- For details of the sarcophagus see RB3:431.
- 1911-00-00 —
The publication of The Mountain of God by E. S. (Ethel Stefana) Stevens (later Mrs E M Drower, Lady Drower) in London by Mills and Boon. The romantic novel is noteworthy for the author's pen portrait of 'Abdu'l-Bahá and it records impressions of the Bahá'í community as well as life in 'Akká and Haifa in 1911.
- See Symbols of Individuation in E. S. Stevens's The Mountain of God by Cal E. Rollins. PDF.
- See World Order 4:3 (Spring 1970), pages 28-52 together with World Order 4:4 (Summer1970), pages 33-50 for excerpts from the book.
- Photo of the cover.
- She also published two articles about the Faith, Abbas Effendi: His Personality, Work, and Followers in The Fortnightly Review, New series vol 95, no 534, 1 June 1911, pp. 1067–1084 and
The Light in the Lantern in Everybody's Magazine, vol 24, no 6, Dec 1911, pp. 755– 786.
- 1918-09-23 —
"During the early years of World War I, though no longer imprisoned, 'Abdu'l-Bahá faced repeated threats against His life by authorities who were antagonistic towards Him and the Bahá'ís. The Commander of the Ottoman fourth army corps had even threatened to crucify 'Abdu'l-Bahá if the Turkish army were ever to be displaced out of Haifa." Lady Blomfield in London had learned of these threats and through her contacts in Cabinet, the British Army was instructed to protect Him and His family. [BWNS69, BWNS1202]
The British army took the city in the 1st Battle of Haifa: The battle was won due to a courageous uphill assault by the Jodhpur Lancers of the Indian Army who took the German and Turkish artillery and machine gun emplacements on top of Mount Carmel by surprise. This attack is believed to have been one of the last cavalry charge in modern military history. Each year, on this date, the Indian Army commemorates this victory as Haifa Day. [AY104; BBR335; DH148, Scroll In 68095]
- For details of the battle see BBR335-6.
- For letters from the British authorities stating that `Abdu'l-Bahá is safe see BBR336-7.
- For a photos see The Indian Weekender 5 October, 2018 as well as Wikipedia.
- For videos see India Today, The Battle of Haifa Part 1, The Battle of Haifa Part II.
- See the story as recounted by Col (Dr) Divakaran Padma Kumar Pillay.
- See as well Battle of Haifa: The Last Great Cavalry Campaign in History
by Ajeet Singh Choudhary. This article provides a comprehensive historical account of the Jodhpur Lancers and Battle of Haifa.
- See PG85-86, on the 23rd of August, 1919 'Abdu'l-Bahá, in conversation with Major-General Watson, referring to the success of the British army in taking Haifa stated, "God hath wished it to be so, it was His Divine aid and assistance that made it possible." and "It was God that helped you from every standpoint."
- 1921-11-29 —
The funeral of `Abdu'l-Bahá. [BW15:115]
- For details of the funeral see AB464-74; BW1:23-6; BW15:115-19; GPB312-14; and SW12, 17:259-67.
- For Western and newspaper accounts see AB474-80; BBR347-9; BW1:26-8; and BW15:119-20.
- For eulogies to `Abdu'l-Bahá see AB481-2, BW1:28-9 and BW15 120-1.
- Ten thousand people attend `Abdu'l-Bahá's funeral. [v7]
- For a number of pictures of the funeral procession see SW12, 91:290, 292-8.
- Bahíyyih Khánum looked for instructions on where to bury `Abdu'l-Bahá and, finding none, entombed Him in a vault next to the one where the remains of the Báb lay. [AB464; GBF14]
- Also see Balyuzi, `Abdu'l-Bahá; Blomfield, The Chosen Highway; Honnold, Vignettes from the Life of `Abdu'l-Bahá; SW12, 15:245 and several following issues.
- Photo.
- The Greatest Holy Leaf engaged a locksmith to change all the locks in the Master's house. During the funeral procession she remained there and asked that a policeman be assigned to stand outside the door. During the procession Mirza Muhammad-Ali and his brother, feigning sadness, asked the policeman if they could enter the Master's house to express their condolences to the Greatest Holy Leaf. She turned them away at the door saying that this was not the time. He had attempted a kind of a palace coup. The Greatest Holy Leaf had foreseen that he would attempt just that. The House of the Master was more than a residence; it was the visible administrative centre of the Cause. Other than the Shrine of the Báb, it was the only Bahá'í edifice in the Holy Land at that time. [An account of the passing of 'Abdu'l-Bahá p42]
- 1922-04-21 —
The Shrines of Bahá'u'lláh and the Báb were electrically illuminated for the first time. [PP69]
- For the story of this project see He Loved He Served.
- 1925-10-00 — Faced with the possibility of Jewish developments on land near the Shrine of the Báb, Shoghi Effendi appealed to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada to purchase the land in question. They responded quickly to the request. [BA92-3, SETPE1p108, PP97]
- 1929-02-14 —
Work began on the three additional chambers of the Shrine of the Báb after the rock had been excavated from behind the building during the previous year. [DH154]
- Haji Mahmúd Qassabchí, the builder who had completed the repairs on the House of Bahá'u'llah in Baghdad was chosen to be in charge of the work. Shoghi Effendi later designed one of the doors to the Shrine as "Báb-i-Qassabchi" in his honour. The remaining two doors were named after Sutherland Maxwell, the architect of the superstructure, and ego Giachery who had served as liaison with the various Italian marble companies involved. The door to the octagon was named after Leroy Ioas who overlooked much of the work on the Shrine. [CEBF320]
- Originally the centre room had been separated by wooden walls and doors. These were removed and replaced by archways. [SETPE1p164]
- These rooms, when completed, are used as the International Bahá'í Archives. There was a second repository of the archives at this time near the resting place of the Greatest Holy Leaf. [GPB347]
- 1932-07-15 —
The Greatest Holy Leaf, Bahíyyih Khánum, 'outstanding heroine of the Bahá'í Dispensation' passed away in Haifa about one hour after midnight. [BW5:169; GPB108]
- Her passing marked the end of the Heroic Age of the Faith. [BBD102; WOB98]
- She was comparable in rank to Sarah, Ásíyih, the Virgin Mary, Fátimih and Táhirih. [GPB347] And from the publication in her honour by the World Centre in 1982 p34...
- Shoghi Effendi was in Switzerland and immediately went to Italy to commission a memorial for her grave. [DH156]
- Shoghi Effendi asked the Bahá'í World to observe a period of mourning for her of nine months. [This Decisive Hour #3]
- For Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá revealed in her honour see BW5:171–3; by Bahá'u'lláh; by 'Abdu'l-Bahá; and for tributes by Shoghi Effendi as well as by Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhiyyih Khánum.
- See BW19 pg39-74 The Greatest Holy Leaf, The Fiftieth Anniversary of the Passing of Bahiyyih Khanum.
- For Shoghi Effendi's tribute to her see BW5:174–9.
- For Marjory Morten's obituary of her see BW5:181–5.
- The design of the monument for the resting place of the Greatest Holy Leaf is a symbol of the Bahá'í administrative order. [CB298]
- See also Bahíyyih Khánum published by the World Centre in 1982 and Khánum, The Greatest Holy Leaf by Marzieh Gail published by George Ronald in 1982; BBD42; CB121–2, 305; DH156–61; GBF65–8; PP144–8.
- See A Gift of Love; Offered to the Greatest Holy Leaf by Abu'l-Qasim Faizi.
- Meditation on Passing of Bahíyyih Khánum from Bahíyyih Khánum, compiled by the Research Department pp23-30
- See The Greatest Holy Leaf's Unparalleled Role in Religious History and the Significance of the Arc, the Site of Her Resting Place by Baharieh Rouhani Ma'ani. The paper was presented at the Irfan Colloquia Session #121 [English], Louhelen Bahá'í Center: Davison, Michigan, USA, October 10–13, 2013 and has been published in Lights of Irfan, volume 15.
- 1934-05-10 —
Bahá'í properties on Mount Carmel were granted tax exemption. [GBF122; PP269, 285-286; BN No 84 June 1934 p14]
- Shoghi Effendi stated that this was tantamount to securing indirect recognition of the Faith. [GBF122; PP269]
- 1938-04-30 —
Munírih Khánum, the Holy Mother, wife of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, passed away. [BBD166; BW8:260; CB358; DH161]
- Note: UD119 records this was 28 April.
- She died while the American National Convention was in session in Chicago. Shoghi Effendi cabled the Convention to say that all Ridván celebrations were to be suspended and that the delegates should devote a special session to her remembrance. [SEPE1p266]
- Shoghi Effendi interred her body just west of the Shrine of Bahíyyih Khánum and erected a simple monument over her grave. [DH161]
- For excerpts from her autobiography see BW8:259–63.
- For tributes to her see BW8:263–7.
- 1939-00-02 — Shoghi Effendi ordered twin monuments from Italy similar in style to that of the Greatest Holy Leaf and sought permission from the British authorities to reintere the remains of Navváb and the Purest Branch on Mount Carmel near those of Bahíyyih Khánum and the Holy Mother. Marble for the monuments came from Chiampo, Italy as for the Archives Building, the Shine of the Báb, the Seat of the Universal House of Justice, The Terraces project, and the Houses of Worship in India and Samoa. It was cut and chiseled by a firm called Margraf, formerly known as Industria Marmi Vincentini.
[DH162; PP259]
- 1939-12-03 —
Shoghi Effendi obtained permission from the British authorities in Palestine to reinter the bodies of Navváb and the Purest Branch on Mount Carmel. [DH162; PP260]
- For the report of the Haifa District Commissioner see BBR460–1.
- 1939-12-05 —
Shoghi Effendi disintered the remains of Navváb and the Purest Branch. [DH162; PP260]
- He went to the 'Akká cemetery at daybreak to and removed the remains of Navváb to a new coffin. [DH162; PP260]
- He then went to the Nabí Sálib cemetery and transfered the remains of the Purest Branch to a second new coffin. [DH162; PP260]
- He transported them both to Mount Carmel, near the grave of the Greatest Holy Leaf. [DH162; PP260]
- 1939-12-24 —
Shoghi Effendi reinterred the remains of Navváb and the Purest Branch. [DH162; GBF116; GPB347–8]
- Two vaults were cut into the solid rock in the garden area near the monument of the Greatest Holy Leaf. [DH162]
- For Shoghi Effendi's cable announcing this see DH162 and PP262.
- For Shoghi Effendi's letters and cables concerning this see BW8:245–53, DH162 and PP261.
- For a description of the reinterment see BW8:253–8.
- For the prayer of visitation to the resting place of Navváb see BW8:251 and DH166.
- 1940-02-09 —
The monuments of Navváb and the Purest Branch were dedicated at a ceremony in Haifa. [ZK293]
- For details of the ceremony, see ZK293–6.
- Marble* for the Monument Gardens came from Chiampo, Italy as did marble for the Archives Building, the Resting Place of Shoghi Effendi, the Seat of the Universal House of Justice, the Terraces Project, and the Houses of Worship in India and Samoa. [BWNS1223]
*Edward Keith-Roach OBE (Born 1885 Gloucester, England— died 1954) was the British Colonial administrator during the British mandate on Palestine, who also served as the governor of Jerusalem from 1926 to 1945 (excluding a period in the 1930s when he was governor of the Galilee). He was nicknamed "Páshá of Jerusalem".
He approved exemption from duties and established a policy that was continued by Israel that allowed materials for the BWC to enter duty free, such as the marble for the buildings on the Arc.
[Shoghi Effendi, Uncompiled Published Letters]
- 1942-12-31 — Shoghi Effendi asked Sutherland Maxwell to design the superstructure of the Shrine of the Báb. [BBD210; DH140; GBF103–5]
- 1944-05-23 —
Shoghi Effendi unveiled the model of the Shrine of the Báb at the centenary celebration of the Declaration of the Báb in Haifa. [BBD210; BW10:154, 157; DH140; GBF104; PP239–40; UD166]
- BW10:157 suggests this was 24 May.
- 1946-04-11 — Shoghi Effendi instructed Sutherland Maxwell to set plans in motion for the first stages of the building of the superstructure of the Shrine of the Báb. [GBF104–5]
- 1949-00-00 —
Construction began on the superstructure of the Shrine of the Báb. [BBD210]
- The architect, Sutherland Maxwell, fell desperately ill during the winter of 1949-1950. " He reached a point where he seemed to have no conscious mind left, could not recognize me, his only and idolized child, at all, and had no more control over himself than if he were six months old." [PP155]
- He was taken to Switzerland where he rapidly recovered. By 1951 his health was so frail he returned to his native Montreal. [PP156]
- 1950-07-09 —
The Centenary of the Martyrdom of the Báb was commemorated.
- For Shoghi Effendi's message to the Bahá'ís on this occasion see BW12:191–3.
- For accounts of commemorations around the world see BW12:205–8.
- A small group of Bahá'í pilgrims visited the site of the Báb's martyrdom and other places associated with His life. [BW12:217–26]
- The columned arcade and parapet of the Shrine of the Báb were completed. [ZK284–5]
- 1951-04-02 — Shoghi Effendi announced the completion of two additional terraces, a scheme initiated a quarter of a century prior, to fulfill the Master's plan to connect, through a series of nine terraces, the Shrine of the Báb with the Templar Colony at the foot of Mount Carmel. [CBN No 19 April 1951 p4]
- 1952-03-01 — The Octagonal component of the Shrine of the Báb was completed. [The Bahá'í Faith 1844-1952 Information Statistical & Comparative p6]
- 1952-03-04 — Shoghi Effendi described plans for a marble colonnade to encircle the Shrine of the Báb as an intermediate step to building a superstructure for the Shrine and sent his ideas to Italy for scale drawings and estimate. [SE133–4]
- 1953-04-29 — In a moving ceremony, Shoghi Effendi placed a silver box containing a fragment of plaster from the ceiling of the Báb's cell in Máh-Kú under a tile in the golden dome of the Shrine of the Báb. [BW12:239; ZK285]
- 1953-10-00 —
The superstructure of the Shrine of the Báb was completed. [BBD210; CB324–5; PP235; ZK85–6]
- Marble for the Shrine of the Báb came from Chiampo, Italy as did marble for the Archives Building, the Resting Place of Shoghi Effendi, the Seat of the Universal House of Justice, the Terraces Project, the Monument Gardens and the Houses of Worship in India and Samoa. It was cut and chiseled by a firm called Margraf, formerly known as Industria Marmi Vincentini. [BWNS1223]
- 'Abdu'l-Bahá described the Shrine of the Báb as the first Mashriqu'l-Adhkár. [ABF18]
- In a letter from the International Bahá'í Council dated the 2nd of May 1955, they reported on the great interest that has been taken in the Shrine of the Báb since the completion. [CBN No65 Jun 1955 p1; BN 292 Jun 1955 p4]
- 1954-04-06 — Shoghi Effendi announced that plans for the International Bahá'í Archives had been completed and that steps had been taken to begin its construction. [PP264BBD22–3; DH169; GBF117–8; MBW64]
- 1954-04-06 — In his Ridván Message Shoghi Efffendi announced that:
The site for the first Mashriqu'l-Adhkár of the Holy Land has been selected--an area of approximately twenty thousand square meters--situated at the head of the Mountain of God, in close proximity to the Spot hallowed by the footsteps of Bahá'u'lláh, near the time-honoured Cave of Elijah, and associated with the revelation of the Tablet of Carmel, the Charter of the World Spiritual and Administrative Centres of the Faith on that mountain. Funds totalling one hundred thousand dollars have, moreover, been contributed by one of the Hands of the Cause*, residing in the Holy Land, and negotiations have been initiated with the Israeli authorities for the purpose of effecting the immediate purchase of the selected site.
(*Hand of the Cause Milly Collins) [MBW63; DoH175]
In another message about a year later he provided further details. [MBW78-79] - 1954-04-26 — President of Israel Ben Zvi and his wife visit the Shrines on Mount Carmel, the first official visit paid by a head of a sovereign state to the Shrines of the Báb and 'Abdu'l-Bahá. [GBF139–140; MBW68; PP2923]
- 1954-10-01 — The title of the a parcel of land on Mount Carmel was transferred to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Canada, Israel Branch. The title deed was for Parcel No. 304, Block 10811 Mount Carmel, Haifa.
- 1954-11-01 —
A plot of land of slightly less than half an acre (1,300 metres) owned by Farah Sprague (Farahangiz Khanum), a Covenant-breaker, was purchased (after expropriation by the Finance Minister of the state of Israel on the recommendation of the mayor of Haifa), overcoming the final obstacle to beginning the construction of the International Bahá'í Archives. This concluded a thirty-year struggle in the acquisition of land on the Arc for the Guardian. [LI210-211; DH169; MBW73–4; CBN No 60 January 1955 p1]
- He said, in a letter dated the 27th of November 1955...
"The truculence, greed and obstinacy,
of this breaker of the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh,
demonstrated by her persistent
refusal to sell and by the exorbitant
price subsequently demanded, raised,
during more than thirty years, an almost
insurmountable obstacle to the acquisition
of an area, which, however
circumscribed, occupies a central position
amidst the extensive Baha'i domains
in the heart of God's holy Mountain, is
situated in the vicinity of the Báb's
Sepulchre, overlooks the Tomb of the
Greatest Holy Leaf, and adjoins the
resting-places of the Brother and the
Mother of Abdu'l-Bahá, and which,
through deliberate neglect, has. been
allowed to become an eyesore to all
those who throng the embellished precincts
of a Mausoleum rightly regarded
as the second holiest Shrine in the Bahá'í world.
The ownership of this plot will now
enable us to locate the site, excavate the
foundations, and erect the structure, of
the International Bahá'í Archives, designed
by the Hand of the Cause, Mason
Remey, President of the International
Bahá'í Council, which will serve as the
permanent and befitting repository for
the priceless and numerous relics associated
with the Twin Founders of the
Faith, with the Perfect Exemplar of its
teachings and with its heroes, saints
and martyrs, and the building of which
constitutes one of the foremost objectives
of the Ten-Year Plan. [CBN No 60 January 1955 p1]
- 1954-11-27 — Shoghi Effendi described the significance of the world administrative centre of the Faith and the 'structures, which will serve as the administrative seats of such divinely appointed institutions as the Guardianship, the Hands of the Cause, and the Universal House of Justice' to be ranged along a 'far-flung arc'. [MBW74]
- 1957-04-21 —
In his last Ridván message Shoghi Effendi announced that the exterior of International Bahá'í Archives had been completed and that the roof was in place. [VBHP38; DH169; GBF63–4; PP264–6]
It had cost approximately a quarter of a million dollars and was, like the Shrine of the Báb, ordered in Italy, entirely carved and completed there, and shipped to Haifa for erection; not only was each separate stone numbered, but charts showing where each on went facilitated its being place in its proper position." [PP265]
- Ugo Giachery supervised the work in Italy and Leroy Ioas in Haifa. Because the landscaping had been completed prior to the completion of the construction, it had to be built from the rear with only a space of about 5 metres on three sides to work in. [PP265]
- For details of its construction and photographs see BW13:403–33.
- 1957-12-02 — The titles to the Shrine of the Báb, the Mansion of Bahjí, and all other buildings and lands which the Covenant-Breakers had owned were transferred to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States.
- 1962-06-28 —
President Tubman of Liberia visited the Shrine of the Báb.
- This is the second official visit of a head of state (but the first foreign head of state) and is notable in that Liberia is the first black republic on the continent of Africa. [BW13:400]
- See BW13:400 for picture.
- 1971-08-00 — The Universal House of Justice erected an obelisk on the site of the future House of Worship of the Holy Land on land that was purchased in 1953 with a gift of $50,000 from Milly Collins. [MBW63, 78-79, BBD 172; BW15:177–8; DH175; MUHJ83–4, SES18-20]
- 1983-01-01 —
The Seat of the Universal House of Justice was completed; the Universal House of Justice officially occupied the building. [BBD204; BW19:23; VV62]
- For a description and history of the building see BW19:24–6.
- Marble for the Seat of the Universal House of Justice was quarried from Mount Pentelikon, just north of Athens and was cut and chiseled by Margraf, a firm from Chiampo, Italy formerly known as Industria Marmi Vincentini. [BWNS1223]
- For pictures see BW18:466–72 and Construction.
- See video called Ark of Destiny.
- 1987-04-30 — The Universal House of Justice indicated that the way was open to erect the remaining buildings on the arc at the Bahá'í World Centre. [AWH51; Message 30 April 1987]
- 1987-08-31 — The Universal House of Justice called for the erection of the remaining three buildings along the Arc at the Bahá'í World Centre—the Centre for the Study of the Sacred Texts, the Seat of the International Teaching Centre and the International Bahá'í Library—as well as an expansion of the International Archives building and the creation of 19 monumental terraces from the foot of Mount Carmel to its crest. [AWH50–4, 90; BBD21; VV96; Message 31 August 1987]
The Guardian, in a message to the Bahá'ís of the World dated 27 November 1954, written after the expropriation of the plot of land owned by the Covenant-breaker Farahangiz Khanum, (the daughter of Mírzá Asadu’llah Isfahani, sister of Fareed and wife of Sydney Sprague) who had refused to sell for more than thirty years, said that the way was now clear to construct the International Archives Building. He went on to say,:
The raising of this Edifice will in turn herald the construction, in the course of successive epochs of the Formative Age of the Faith, of several other structures, which will serve as the administrative seats of such divinely appointed institutions as the Guardianship, the Hands of the Cause, and the Universal House of Justice. These Edifices will, in the shape of a far-flung arc, and following a harmonizing style of architecture, surround the resting-places of the Greatest Holy Leaf, ranking as foremost among the members of her sex in the Bahá’í Dispensation, of her Brother, offered up as a ransom by Bahá’u’lláh for the quickening of the world and its unification, and of their Mother, proclaimed by Him to be His chosen “consort in all the worlds of God.” The ultimate completion of this stupendous undertaking will mark the culmination of the development of a world-wide divinely-appointed Administrative Order whose beginnings may be traced as far back as the concluding years of the Heroic Age of the Faith.
This vast and irresistible process, unexampled in the spiritual history of mankind, and which will synchronize with two no less significant developments—the establishment of the Lesser Peace and the evolution of Bahá’í national and local institutions—the one outside and the other within the Bahá’í world—will attain its final consummation, in the Golden Age of the Faith, through the raising of the standard of the Most Great Peace, and the emergence, in the plenitude of its power and glory, of the focal Center of the agencies constituting the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh. The final establishment of this seat of the future Bahá’í World Commonwealth will signalize at once the proclamation of the sovereignty of the Founder of our Faith and the advent of the Kingdom of the Father repeatedly lauded and promised by Jesus Christ. [Messages to the Bahá'í World p74-75]
In a message to the Project Manager of the Mount Carmel projects dated 31 May 1987, the Universal House of Justice indicated that "...the institutions mentioned by the beloved Guardian in the passage in which he spoke of the completion of the Arc being contemporaneous with the establishment of the Lesser Peace did not include the Library. And there is no reason in principle why it should not be constructed at a later date." In addition, given the proximity of the International Teaching Centre to the future site of the International Bahá'í Library, if they were to be constructed simultaneously it would further congest an already busy building site and access to the Seat of the Universal House of Justice. [Vineyard of the Lord No 4 July 1994 p8] - 1989-02-21 — The Office of the Project Manager for the Arc Project was established, and a technical staff was assembled. Geological testing at the sites of the designated buildings on the Arc began—a step preliminary to the ground breaking anticipated by the entire Bahá’í world. [Ridván Message 1989]
- 1990-03-20 — The Bahá'í World Centre received official approval from the District Town Planning Commission for the initiation of the Projects on Mount Carmel. This paved the way for the ultimate issuance of building permits. [Ridván 1990]
- 1991-06-17 — The contracts were signed for the second phase of construction for the terraces to the Shrine of the Báb.
- 1993-12-24 — It was announced in a Haifa weekly that the Municipality of Haifa had decided to implement a project for the restoration and development of the German Templar Colony under the auspices of the Land Authority of Israel, the Ministry of Tourism and the Municipality of Haifa and will be overseen by the Steering Committee of the City of Haifa. The Architect and the Project Manager of the Arc Project, Mr F Sahba was invited to serve as a member of this Committee and as the Chief Advisor of the Municipality of Haifa for the restoration project. In this capacity Mr Sahba proposed that the centreline of Ben Gurion Street be aligned with the Shrine of the Báb and the Terraces. At that time it was at a deviation of 1.86 meters. [Vineyard of the Lord No 1 January 1994 p7 and No 5 September 1994 p7]
- 2001-01-08 —
- 2001-05-00 — The inauguration of the Centre for the Study of the Texts. The facility was completed and occupied in 1999. It consists of study rooms for resident and visiting scholars, meeting and conference rooms, a large reference library, a secretariat and ancillary spaces totalling 7750 sq. metres (83,420 sq. ft) Much of the building is located below ground. It has been integrated into the mountain with a portico that reflects the classical motifs of the other buildings on the Arc. The offices of the building are provided with natural light directly or through light wells, patios and skylights. Below ground it is connected to an extension to the Archives which provides secure, climate-controlled storage vaults for the original, hand written papers that constitute the Bahá'í Sacred Texts. The architect was Hossein Amanat. [amanatarchitect.com]
"The Centre for the Study of the Texts . . . will be the seat of an institution of Bahá'í scholars, the efflorescence of the present Research Department of the World Centre, which will assist the Universal House of Justice in consulting the Sacred Writings, and will prepare translations of and commentaries on the authoritative texts of the Faith." [AWH p52]
"The building was completed and occupied in 1999. It now houses the Research Department, and is the temporary home of the International Bahá'í Library and other offices." [Visiting Bahá'í Holy Places p. 35; BW99-00p38-39]
- 2001-05-23 —
At dusk on the evening of the 22nd of May, the opening of the Terraces of the Shrine of the Báb, a $250M project that begun ten years earlier and transformed the ancient barren face of the mountain into 19 majestic terraced gardens cascading down the length of the mountain. [BWNS121; BW01-02p37-73]
- See the message To the Believers Gathered for the Events Marking the Completion of the Projects on Mount Carmel.
- The nineteen Canadian believers who had the extraordinary blessing of being present in the Holy Land for the official opening of the Terraces of the Shrine of the Báb were: Dr. Akouete Akakpo-Vida, Mr. Riel Aubichon, Mr. Garrett Brisdon, Mrs. Pearl Downie, Mrs. Nellie Ironeagle, Mrs. Aghdas Javid, Mr. Joseph Kowtow, Mrs. Joo Jong Kung, M. Fréderic Landry, Ms. Giselle Melanson, Mr. Borna Noureddin, Mr. James Patrick, Mrs. Valerie Pemberton-Piggott, Mlle. Cindy Poitras, Mrs. Janice Schlosser, Mlle. Caroline Simon, Mrs. Doris Toeg, Mrs. Linda Wilkinson, and Mme. Elizabeth Wright. In addition, several students from the Maxwell International Bahá'í School were present as members of the delegations from their home countries.
- The event was attended by some 4,500 people, 3,300 of them Bahá'ís, as representative of more than 200 countries and territories. [One Country Vol.13 Issue 1]
- For the statement read by Dr. Albert Lincoln, Secretary-General of the Bahá'í International Community at the official opening of the flight of terraces see Ruhi 8.3 page 93. [BWNS119]
- See video From Darkness to Light Recalling the Events at the Official Opening of the Terraces on Mount Carmel May 2001.
- See The Opening of the Terraces (May 2001):
Reflections of a Participant by Thelma Batchelor.
- Gyr Kvalheim was the Managing Director of the Inaugural Events Office. [BWNS118]
- 2001-06-04 —
The public opening of the terraces surrounding the Shrine of the Báb on Mount Carmel. [BWNS134, BWNS221, BWNS123, BWNS122, BWNS121, BWNS120]
- For statement from the Universal House of Justice see: BWNS119.
- Other coverage: BWNS118, BWNS117, BWNS115, BWNS96, BWNS94, BWNS87, BWNS79.
- Also see: The Bahá'í Gardens.
- Marble for the terraces in the Bahá'í Gardens was cut and chiseled by Margraf, a firm from Chiampo, Italy formerly known as Industria Marmi Vincentini. [BWNS1223]
- See YouTube video Not Even a Lamp.
- See YouTube video Sacred Stairway: Pathway to a Book - A Talk by Michael Day where he talks about his book
Sacred Stairway - The Story of the Shrine of the Bab Volume III: 1963–2001. It was published by George Ronald.
- Mount Carmel was extolled by the prophet Isaiah almost three thousand years ago when he announce that:
...it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow until it. - 2011-04-12 — After more than two years of extensive restoration work the Shrine of the Báb was complete. The project required the restoration and conservation of the interior and exterior of the original 1909 structure, as well as measures to strengthen the Shrine against seismic forces. An entirely new retrofit design – combining concrete, steel and carbon fibre wrap technology was needed for the whole building, from its foundation and original masonry to its octagon, drum and dome. More than 120 rock anchors were fixed into the mountain behind newly fortified retaining walls. [BWNS816; 12 April 2011]
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