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Georgia (country)

From Bahaipedia
 Georgia
Location of Georgia
National AssemblyGeorgia
Statistics:
Total Population
 -  UN 2021[1] 3,757,980
Bahá'í pop.
 -  Bahá'í source  
 -  Non-Bahá'í source 1,575
History:
Firsts
 -  Local Assembly c. 1930s, Tbilisi 
 -  National Assembly 1995 
How to contact:
 -  Email nsa.georgiarepublic@gmail.com
 -  Address P.O. Box 99
0102 Tbilisi-2
Georgia 
Official Website https://www.bahai.org/national-communities/georgia
Related media
Categories: Georgia • People

Georgia is a country in Eastern Europe and West Asia. Christianity is the predominant religion and Georgian is the official language with Abkhaz being recognised as a regional language.

Georgia was united as a Kingdom in the 4th Century and remained independent until the region was annexed by the Russian Empire in the 19th Century. It became independent in 1917 after the Russian Revolution but was annexed by the Soviet Union in 1922. It became independent again in 1991.

A Bahá’í community was established in Georgia in the 1880s however Soviet restrictions prevented community development. A community was re-established in the 1990s which remains active to the present day.

History[edit]

Some Bahá’ís settled in Georgia during the lifetime of Bahá’u’lláh,[2] with a community being established in Tbilisi in the 1880's,[3] and electing a Local Spiritual Assembly in the 1930's.[4] From 1928 the Soviet Union began instituting increasingly oppressive measures on the Bahá’í Faith in its territory ultimately imprisoning or deporting the majority of Bahá’ís and in 1938 practice of the religion was banned.[5] A small Bahá’í presence persisted in Georgia despite the restrictions with Shoghi Effendi tasking the National Spiritual Assembly of Iran with consolidating the Faith in Georgia when he launched the Ten Year Crusade in 1953.[6] Restrictions prevented any teaching work however there were still Bahá’ís living in Tbilisi in 1963.[7]

The dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 was accompanied by relaxations of religious restrictions in its territories and Bahá’ís were able to teach in Georgia with Bahá’í travel teachers beginning to visit in 1992,[8] and the Local Spiritual Assembly of Tbilisi was established in 1993.[9] By October, 1993, there was also a small Bahá’í community in Gouri and a Bahá’í Center was rented in the city.[10] As of 1994 there were forty-five Georgian Bahá’ís and seven Local Spiritual Assemblies and that year two National Conferences were held in Tbilisi.[11]

By January, 1995, there were twelve Local Spiritual Assemblies in the country and the Universal House of Justice announced that the National Spiritual Assembly of Georgia would be established that year. Rúḥíyyih Khánum represented the Universal House of Justice at the inaugural National Convention of Georgia at which the National Spiritual Assembly was first elected.[11]

In 1996 Georgia held its first Bahá’í Youth Camp and its first Youth Convention and organized the Trans-Caucasian Teacher Training Institute which ran three deepening courses on various Bahá’í subjects including prayer, meditation, history, consultation, and administration for Bahá’ís from across the Caucausus. Possible curriculums for children's classes and moral education were also discussed at the Institute.[12] As of Ridvan that year there were thirty-five Local Spiritual Assemblies in the country,[13] with an additional twelve being established in December as a result of a special teaching campaign.[14]

By 1997 a Bahá’í training institute facility had been established in Tbilisi with people from villages across the country attending it to undertake formal study,[15] and in April that year a National Youth Conference was held in Tskheneti at which the role of youth in society was discussed.[16] In 1999 the Bahá’í Faith was officially recognized as a religion in Georgia.[17] As of 2000 the institute process had been formally established in Georgia with a National Training Institute board having been appointed, and that year two tutor training courses were held.[18]

In 2013 a major international Bahá’í youth conference was held in Tbilisi,[19] and in 2022 conferences were held in Batumi and Tbilisi as part of the Global Conferences initiative of the international Bahá’í community.[20]

References[edit]

  1. ↑ "World Population Prospects 2022". population.un.org. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  2. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1998). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 20 (1986-1992), Pg(s) 196. View as PDF.
  3. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (2000). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 27 (1998-1999), Pg(s) 165. View as PDF.
  4. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1994). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 22 (1993-1994), Pg(s) 82. View as PDF.
  5. ↑ Moojan Momen, Russia, 1995, published at Bahai-Library Online, accessed 31 October 2022
  6. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1998). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 20 (1986-1992), Pg(s) 197. View as PDF.
  7. ↑ https://bahai-library.com/handscause_statistics_1953-63&chapter=1#84
  8. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1997). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 24 (1995-1996), Pg(s) 45. View as PDF.
  9. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20120210000231/https://www.bci.org/bahaistudies/courses/light/time-line-bahai.htm
  10. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1997). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 24 (1995-1996), Pg(s) 45. View as PDF.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1997). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 24 (1995-1996), Pg(s) 46. View as PDF.
  12. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1998). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 25 (1996-1997), Pg(s) 108. View as PDF.
  13. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1997). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 24 (1995-1996), Pg(s) 47. View as PDF.
  14. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1998). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 25 (1996-1997), Pg(s) 104. View as PDF.
  15. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1998). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 25 (1996-1997), Pg(s) 107. View as PDF.
  16. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1999). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 26 (1997-1998), Pg(s) 143. View as PDF.
  17. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (2000). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 27 (1998-1999), Pg(s) 112. View as PDF.
  18. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (2001). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 28 (1999-2000), Pg(s) 73. View as PDF.
  19. ↑ https://news.bahai.org/community-news/youth-conferences
  20. ↑ https://news.bahai.org/story/1601/slideshow/5/
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