Marseilles
Marseilles | ||
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| City in France | ||
| Location of Marseilles
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| History: Firsts |
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| - | Local Assembly | 1952 |
| Official Website | https://bahai-marseille.fr/ | |
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Marseilles is a port city in the south of France. Owing to its location, it was a common port of call for ships travelling through the Mediterranean Sea. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá passed through the city during his journeys to the West in 1911 and 1913.
History[edit]
‘Abdu’l-Bahá began His tour of the West in Marseilles arriving in the city by ship from Egypt on August 11, 1911.[1] He was met by Hippolyte Dreyfus-Barney who escorted Him to Thonon-les-Baines by train.[2] ‘Abdu’l-Bahá briefly visited Marseilles again on June 12, 1913, departing Europe for Egypt by ship on June 13.[3]
The first Bahá’í to live in Marseilles was Stephan Baronian, an Armenian who became a Bahá’í in Syria then moved to Marseille with his family in 1923. In 1937 his daughter Marie published a Bahá’í pamphlet into Armenian and four people declared around the same time. Stephan became disheartened and wrote to Shoghi Effendi in 1937 regarding the lack of success in establishing a community in Marseilles and received a letter written on his behalf encouraging him to continue teaching and inviting him to go on pilgrimage, although he was ultimately unable to do so.[4]
Between 1937 and 1940 several international travel teachers visited Marseilles including William and May Maxwell. The Bahá’í community of France was significantly impacted by the Second World War but began to recover after the war and there were seven Bahá’ís in Marseilles by 1952. Two Bahá’ís from Iran moved to the city and the Local Spiritual Assembly of Marseilles was established before the end of 1952 however it lapsed the following year. In September 1953 Hand of the Cause ‘Alí-Akbar Furútan visited Marseilles and the Bahá’ís of Marseilles organized the first public conference on the Faith in the city.[4]
In 1955 Marzieh Gail visited Marseilles with her husband and Mark Tobey and delivered public talks on the Faith which resulted in one declaration. The same year the Rouhani family pioneered to Marseilles from Iran, and in 1956 the Local Spiritual Assembly of Marseilles was re-established. In 1958 delegates from Marseilles cast votes in the election of France's inaugural Local Spiritual Assembly.[4]
References[edit]
- ↑ Earl Redman, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in Their Midst, George Ronald: Oxford, 2011, p 16
- ↑ Earl Redman, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in Their Midst, George Ronald: Oxford, 2011, p 17
- ↑ Earl Redman, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in Their Midst, George Ronald: Oxford, 2011, p 325
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 [Suzanne Soghomonian, Birth of the Baha'i community of Marseille, published on Baha'i of Marseilles website https://bahai-marseille.fr/?page_id=7]
