The Custodians were a body of nine Hands of the Cause who were elected to serve at the World Centre following the passing of the Guardian of the Baháʼí Faith. They were elected by secret ballot, with all living Hands of the Cause voting. The Custodians served as Head of the Faith until 1963 when the Universal House of Justice was formed, and they passed all duties and authority on to the newly elected body.
History[edit]
While the Custodians did not come into being until after the passing of the Guardian the institution was referred to in the Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá:
- "The Hands of the Cause of God must elect from their own number nine persons that shall at all times be occupied in the important services in the work of the Guardian of the Cause of God. The election of these nine must be carried either unanimously or by majority from the company of the Hands of the Cause of God and these, whether unanimously or by a majority vote, must give their assent to the choice of the one whom the Guardian of the Cause of God hath chosen as his successor."
- (‘Abdu’l-Bahá, The Will And Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 12)
The Hands of the Cause were also referred to by Shoghi Effendi as the "Chief Stewards of Bahá’u’lláh's embryonic World Commonwealth".[1]
In 1957, after the unexpected passing of Shoghi Effendi while he was in Britain, the Hands of the Cause gathered in Haifa, and made the decision to elect Custodians to assume the responsibilities for directing the Faith from the Holy Land. This decision was announced in a statement signed by the whole body of the Hands of the Cause.
Adelbert Muhlschlegel was initially elected as one of the nine Custodians in 1957 but was unable to move to Israel to serve so Abu'l-Qásim Faizi was elected in his place.[2] In 1959 Mason Remey and Hasan Balyuzi found that they could no longer serve in a permanent capacity as Custodian, and John Ferraby and Horace Holley were elected to replace them as Custodians. William Sears was elected as a Custodian in 1960 after the death of Horace Holley.
The Custodians called for the election of the Universal House of Justice at the close of the Ten Year Crusade in 1963.
"The Chief Stewards of the Faith are therefore calling a Convention in the Holy Land for the election of the Universal House of Justice on the first, second and third days of Ridvan, 1963. The members of all National and Regional Spiritual Assemblies elected by the Bahá’ís in Ridvan, 1962 will, in conformity with the teachings, constitute the electoral body empowered to vote for this crowning unit of the embryonic World Order of Bahá’u’lláh, upon whose deliberations the unique bounty of receiving divine inspiration has been bestowed, and whose decisions are infallibly guided by both the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh."[3]
Upon the election of the Universal House of Justice the Custodians disbanded their office and turned over all of their functions, rights, and powers to the newly established body.[4]
The Universal House of Justice described the Ministry of the Custodians in a 1965 message:
- "From the very outset of their custodianship of the Cause of God the Hands realized that since they had no certainty of divine guidance such as is incontrovertibly assured to the Guardian and to the Universal House of Justice, their one safe course was to follow with undeviating firmness the instructions and policies of Shoghi Effendi. 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."[5]
Custodians[edit]
| Name | Served |
|---|---|
| Rúhíyyih Khánum | 1957 - 1963 |
| Charles Mason Remey | 1957 - 1959 |
| Amelia Collins | 1957 - 1962 |
| Leroy Ioas | 1957 - 1963 |
| Hasan Balyuzi | 1957 - 1959 1962 - 1963 |
| 'Alí-Akbar Furútan | 1957 - 1963 |
| Jalal Khazeh | 1957 - 1963 |
| Paul Haney | 1957 - 1963 |
| Abu'l-Qásim Faizi | 1957 - 1963 |
| John Ferraby | 1959 - 1963 |
| Horace Holley | 1959 - 1960 |
| William Sears | 1960 - 1963 |
Further Reading[edit]
References[edit]
- ‘Abdu’l-Bahá (1992) [1901-08]. The Will And Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. Mona Vale, N.S.W, Australia: Bahá’í Publications Australia. ISBN 0-909991-47-2.
- Effendi, Shoghi (1971). Messages to the Bahá’í World, 1950-1957. Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Bahá’í Publishing Trust. ISBN 0-87743-036-5.
- Marks, Geoffry W., (Ed.) (1996). Messages from the Universal House of Justice, 1963-1986: The Third Epoch of the Formative Age. Bahá’í Publishing Trust, Wilmette, Illinois, US. ISBN 0-87743-239-2.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
- Rabbani, Ruhiyyih (Ed.) (1992). The Ministry of the Custodians 1957-1963. Bahá’í World Centre. ISBN 0-85398-350-X.
- ↑ Shoghi Effendi, Messages to the Baha'i World - 1950-1957, p. 127
- ↑ (Custodians, Ministry of the Custodians, p. 34)
- ↑ (Custodians, Ministry of the Custodians, p. 321)
- ↑ (Custodians, Ministry of the Custodians, p. 433)
- ↑ (The Universal House of Justice, Letter 9 March, 1965, Messages from the Universal House of Justice, 1963-1986, p. 50)
