Jean Stannard

Jean Stannard (1865 - November, 1944) was an English Bahá’í who pioneered to Egypt and undertook travel teaching trips across India to serve the Bahá’í Faith during the Ministry of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. She later pioneered to Switzerland where she established the International Bahá’í Bureau at the request of Shoghi Effendi.

Biography

Stannard was from England and became a Bahá’í at some point. She was fluent in Persian and French. In 1908 she traveled to the Holy Land to meet ‘Abdu’l-Bahá intending to pioneer to an Eastern country. Although she had not requested permission in advance ‘Abdu’l-Bahá met with her in Akka and advised her to study the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh and return to the West. She did not feel she needed to study the Writings and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá asked her to try and study for one month.

Stannard established a residence in Haifa and after one month ‘Abdu’l-Bahá granted her permission to come to Akka and she spent three days learning about the Faith from Him before departing the Holy Land. As of July 1909 she was living in Lebanon, and between 1909 and 1911 she spent extended periods living in India and Egypt. While in Egypt she resided in Cairo where she had an apartment.

When ‘Abdu’l-Bahá visited England in 1911 Stannard spoke on a program held to bid Him farewell shortly before He departed for Paris, France, in September. In October 1911 she wrote a letter to a major Egyptian newspaper ahead of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá visiting the country calling for the Egyptian public to approach ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and the Bahá’í Faith with open minds. She moved her residence to Cairo around this time and remained there for several years.

In 1913 Stannard sailed to India from Egypt to embark on a travel teaching trip across the country at the request of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. In December 1913 she notably represented the Bahá’í Faith at a major Theistic Conference in Karachi. She arrived in Bombay during January 1914 and delivered talks on the Faith alongside Edward and Lua Getsinger who were also undertaking a teaching tour of India and met with Rabindranath Tagore alongside Lua while in India.. She traveled to Madras in early February and spent five days there then went to Calcutta. In January 1914 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was recorded as saying the following regarding Stannard and her teaching efforts:

"Mrs. Stannard has dedicated her life to the Cause. She knows neither rest nor comfort. She does not sit tranquilly for one moment. Although she has a steady income, yet out of that she gives to the poor and the needy. She entertains no other idea save the service of the Kingdom and the promotion of the Cause. She is assisted by the Confirmations of God. There are certain persons whose ambitions are lofty. They are not satisfied with petty services and small things. They do not soil their wings with water and clay. Their highest aim is to adorn their inner beings with the infinite perfections of the celestial world. Thus the most cherished desire of Mrs. Stannard is to spend the remaining years of her life in the spread of the Cause and service to humanity."

Stannard returned to her home in Cairo after touring India and remained there until 1915 when she moved within Egypt to Port Said. In November 1919 she made another pilgrimage to the Holy Land after the end of the First World War made it possible, and she went on pilgrimage again in September 1921. In November 1921 the Ascension of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá took place and Shoghi Effendi succeeded Him as the leader of the Bahá’í community. Stannard was present in the Holy Land in February 1922 when Shoghi Effendi called a meeting for consultation between senior Bahá’ís on the future of the community.

In February 1925 Stannard made another pilgrimage. After several years living in Egypt she intended to return to Europe and she consulted with Shoghi Effendi advising that she was considering pioneering to Lausanne in Switzerland. Shoghi Effendi advised her to instead pioneer to Geneva as it was a center for international movements. She moved to Geneva where she established the International Bahá’í Bureau, securing offices for the body and its membership in a Geneva based group of international associations in June, 1925. Later in the year Martha Root came to Geneva and assisted Stannard in the operations of the Bureau and they both delivered talks promoting the Bahá’í Faith at the Bureau offices.

In 1926 Stannard established the periodical Messager Bahá’í which received high praise from Shoghi Effendi who encouraged her to maintain its publication. In the spring of 1927 she began experiencing health problems and began to struggle with the workload associated with the Bureau, she requested support from fellow Bahá’í Julia Culver who pioneered to Geneva that year to assist her. In late 1927 she departed Geneva as her health had continued to decline and she was concerned about her financial situation, having personally funded most of the expenses associated with the Bureau. She briefly returned to Geneva in September 1928 to participate in a major consultative meeting on the future of the International Bahá’í Bureau.

In 1931 Stannard represented the Bahá’í Faith at the World Congress of Nations in London delivering an address on the purpose of the religion. She settled in Paris, France, in the 1930's. During the Second World War the Bahá’ís of Paris were interrogated by the Gestapo after Nazi Germany occupied the city with the community losing contact with the international Bahá’í community. She passed away due to cancer in Paris in November 1944.

Publications

Articles

• 1911 - The Bahai Movement, published in the Egyptian Gazette and Star of the West.
• 1946 - Colonel Lawrence: A Bahá’í Memory, published in World Order.