Jacques Soghomonian

Jacques Soghomonian (d. 2013) was a Bahá’í who served on the National Spiritual Assembly of France. In 1960 he supported Mason Remey in his attempt to fraudulently assert authority over the Bahá’í community and was declared a Covenant-breaker later becoming one of several claimants to leadership of Remey's followers as they split into various groups.

Background

Soghomonian was an active Bahá’í in Marseilles in the 1940's helping to establish the first Bahá’í group in the city. He was elected to the National Spiritual Assembly of France at the inaugural National Convention of the French Bahá’í community in 1958.

In 1960 Mason Remey issued a claim to be the successor of Shoghi Effendi as Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith violating statements he had previously co-signed stating no successor had been appointed and in violation of terms of successorship outlined in the Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. Despite the lack of basis for his claims the majority of the French National Assembly including Soghomonian accepted his claim and were expelled from the Bahá’í community by the Hands of the Cause.

Throughout the 1960's Remey's followers began to divide into smaller groups, with Joel Marangella claiming to be Guardian in 1969 accusing Remey of senility while Remey had appointed Donald Harvey as his successor in 1967. Harvey remained entirely inactive despite his appointment even after Remey's passing in 1974 however upon Harvey's passing in 1991 Soghomonian claimed to be Harvey's successor as Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith producing a document he claimed had been signed by Harvey in 1984.

Soghomonian's movement remains negligible with little success in recruiting followers. A notable exception is Enayatullah Yazdani, a Persian-Australian Bahá’í who Soghomonian appointed as his successor in the late 2000's and succeeded him upon Soghomonian's passing in 2013.