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Attempted schisms in the Baháʼí Faith

March 25, 2023

The Baháʼí Faith was formed in the late 19th-century Middle East by Baháʼu'lláh, and teaches that an official line of succession of leadership is part of a divine covenant that assures unity and prevents schism.[1][2] There are no major schisms in the Baháʼí Faith,[3] and attempts to form alternative leadership have either become extinct with time or have remained in extremely small numbers that are shunned by the majority.[4][5][2] The largest extant sect is related to Mason Remey's claim to leadership in 1960, which has continued with two or three groups numbering at most 200 collectively,[6] mostly in the United States.[7]

About a dozen efforts have been made to form sects in the history of the Baháʼí Faith.[2] The first major challenge to leadership came after Baháʼu'lláh died in 1892, with ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's half-brother Mírzá Muhammad ʻAlí opposing him. Later, Shoghi Effendi faced opposition from his family, as well as some individual Baháʼís. When Shoghi Effendi passed in 1957, there was no clear successor, and the Hands of the Cause led a transition to the Universal House of Justice, elected in 1963. This transition was opposed by Mason Remey, who claimed to be the successor of Shoghi Effendi in 1960, but was excommunicated by Hands of the Cause because his claim had no basis in authoritative Baháʼí writings.[8] Other, more modern attempts at schism have come from opposition to the Universal House of Justice and attempts to reform or change doctrine.[9]

Those that have been excommunicated have consistently protested against the majority group and, in some cases, claimed that the excommunicated represent the true Baháʼí Faith and the majority are Covenant-breakers.[10][11] Some Baháʼís have claimed that there have been no divisions in the Baháʼí Faith, or that none will survive or become a threat to the main body of Baháʼís.[4][12] From 2000-2020, twenty individuals were expelled by the Baháʼí Administration for Covenant-breaking.[13]

ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's ministry

 
Mírzá Muhammad ʻAlí, half-brother of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá

Baháʼu'lláh remained in the Akka-Haifa area under house arrest until his death in 1892. According to the terms of his will, his eldest son ʻAbdu'l-Bahá was named the centre of authority; Mírzá Muhammad ʻAlí, the eldest son from Baháʼu'lláh's second wife, was assigned a secondary position.[14]

With ʻAbdu'l-Bahá as the head of the Baháʼí community, soon Muhammad ʻAli started working against his elder brother, at first subtly and then in open opposition. Most members of the families of Baháʼu'lláh's second and third wives supported Muhammad ʻAlí; however, there were very few outside of Haifa who followed him.[15]

Muhammad ʻAlí's machinations with the Ottoman authorities resulted in ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's re-arrest and confinement in Acre.[16] They also caused the appointment of two official commissions of inquiry, which almost led to further exile and incarceration of ʻAbdu'l-Baha to North Africa. In the aftermath of the Young Turk revolution, Ottoman prisoners were freed thus ending the danger to ʻAbdu'l-Baha.[17] Meanwhile, Ibrahim George Kheiralla, a Syrian Christian, converted to the Baháʼí Faith, emigrated to the United States and founded the first American Baháʼí community.[18] Initially, he was loyal to ʻAbdu'l-Bahá. With time Kheiralla began teaching that ʻAbdu'l-Baha was the return of Christ, and this was becoming the widespread understanding among the Baháʼís in the United States, despite ʻAbdu'l-Baha's efforts to correct the mistake.[18][19] Later on, Kheiralla switched sides in the conflict between Baháʼu'lláh's sons and supported Mirza Muhammad ʻAlí. He formed the Society of Behaists, a religious denomination promoting Unitarian Bahaism in the U.S., which was later led by Shua Ullah Behai, son of Mirza Muhammad ʻAlí, after he emigrated to the United States in June 1904 at the behest of his father.[20] Muhammad ʻAlí's supporters either called themselves Behaists [21] or "Unitarian Baháʼís".[a] From 1934 to 1937, Behai published Behai Quarterly a Unitarian Bahai magazine written in English and featuring the writings of Muhammad ʻAlí and various other Unitarian Bahais.[22]

ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's response to determined opposition during his tenure was patterned on Baháʼu'lláh's[23] example and evolved across three stages. Initially, like Baháʼu'lláh,[23] he made no public statements but communicated with his brother Muhammad ʻAlí and his associates directly, or through intermediaries, in seeking reconciliation. When it became clear that reconciliation was not possible, and fearing damage to the community, ʻAbdu'l-Bahá wrote to the Baháʼís explaining the situation, identifying the individuals concerned and instructing the believers to sever all ties with those involved. Finally, he sent representatives to those areas most affected by the problem.[24]

The function of these representatives was to explain matters to the Baháʼís and to encourage them to persevere in cutting all contact. Often these chosen individuals would have ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's authority to open up communications with those involved to try to persuade them to return. In Iran, such envoys were principally the four Hands of the Cause appointed by Baháʼu'lláh.[24]

Aftermath

When ʻAbdu'l-Bahá died, his Will and Testament explained in some detail how Muhammad ʻAlí had been unfaithful to the Covenant, identifying him as a Covenant-breaker and appointing Shoghi Effendi as leader of the Faith with the title of Guardian. Baháʼí authors such as Hasan Balyuzi and Adib Taherzadeh set about refuting the claims of Muhammad ʻAlí. This represented what is often described as the most testing time for the Baháʼí Faith.[24] The Behaists rejected the authority of the Will and Testament of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, claiming loyalty to the leadership succession as they inferred it from Baha'u'llah's Kitab-i-Ahd.[21]

This schism had very little effect. The claims were rejected by the vast majority of Baháʼís. Muhammad ʻAlí's supporters had mostly abandoned him by the time of his death in 1937.[4] In the ʻAkká area, the followers of Muhammad ʻAlí represented six families at most, they had no common religious activities,[22] and were almost wholly assimilated into Muslim society.[5]

Shoghi Effendi as Guardian

Appointment

 
Shoghi Effendi at the time of becoming Guardian in 1921. Taken in Haifa.

At 24, Shoghi Effendi was particularly young when he assumed leadership of the religion in 1921, as provided for by ʻAbdu'l-Bahá in his Will and Testament. He had received a Western education at the Syrian Protestant College and later at Balliol College, Oxford.

At this time Muhammad-ʻAlí revived his claim to leadership of the Baháʼí community.[25] He seized the keys of the Tomb of Baháʼu'lláh at the mansion of Bahjí, expelled its keeper, and demanded that he be recognized by the authorities as the legal custodian of that property. However, the Palestinian authorities, after having conducted some investigations, instructed the British officer in ʻAkká to deliver the keys into the hands of the keeper loyal to Shoghi Effendi.[26]

American disputes

After the death of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, Ruth White questioned the Will's authenticity as early as 1926,[27] and openly opposed Shoghi Effendi's Guardianship, publishing several books on the subject. She wrote a letter to the United States Postmaster General and asked him, among other things, to prohibit the National Spiritual Assembly from "using the United States Mails to spread the falsehood that Shoghi Effendi is the successor of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá and the Guardian of the Cause." She also wrote a letter to the High Commissioner for Palestine; both of these letters were ignored.

Another division occurred primarily within the American Baháʼí community, which increasingly consisted of non-Persians with an interest in alternative spiritual pursuits. Many had been strongly attracted to the personality of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá and the spiritual teachings of the Baháʼí Faith. Some regarded it as an ecumenical society which all persons of goodwill—regardless of religion—might join. When Shoghi Effendi made clear his position that the Baháʼí Faith was an independent religion with its own distinct administration through local and national spiritual assemblies, a few felt that he had overstepped the bounds of his authority. Most prominent among them was a New York group including Mirza Ahmad Sohrab, Lewis and Julia Chanler, who founded the "New History Society", and its youth section, the Caravan of East and West.[28][29] Sohrab and the Chanlers refused to be overseen by the New York Spiritual Assembly, and were expelled by Shoghi Effendi as Covenant-breakers.[30] They argued that the expulsion was meaningless because they believed the faith could not be institutionalized. The New History Society published several works by Sohrab and Chanler and others. Sohrab accepted the legitimacy of Shoghi Effendi as Guardian, but was critical of the manner of his leadership and the methods of organizing the Baháʼí administration.[30] The New History Society attracted fewer than a dozen Baháʼís, however its membership swelled to several thousand for a time. The New History Society was active until 1959 and is now defunct.[31] The Caravan House, aka Caravan Institute, later disassociated itself from the Baháʼí Faith, and remained as an unrelated non-profit educational organization.[32][33]

All of the divisions of this period were short-lived and restricted in their influence.[5]

Family members expelled

Main article: Covenant-breaker

In 1932 Shoghi Effendi's great aunt, Bahíyyih Khánum, died. She was highly respected and had instructed all to follow Shoghi Effendi through several telegrams she had sent around the world announcing the basics of the provisions of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's will and was witness to the actions relatives took in violation of provisions of the will.[34] Bahíyyih Khánum had devoted much of her life towards protecting the accepted leadership of the Baháʼí Faith and after Shoghi Effendi's appointment there was little internal opposition until after her death when nephews began to openly oppose Shoghi Effendi over Baháʼu'lláh's house in Baghdad.[35] Some family members disapproved of his marriage to a Westerner, Mary Maxwell—daughter of one of the foremost disciples of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá—in 1937. They claimed that Shoghi Effendi introduced innovations beyond the Iranian roots of the Faith. This gradually resulted in his siblings and cousins disobeying his instructions and marrying into the families of Covenant-breakers, many of whom were expelled as Covenant-breakers themselves. However, these disagreements within Shoghi Effendi's family resulted in no attempts to create a schism favouring an alternative leader. At the time of his death in 1957, he was the only remaining male member of the family of Baháʼu'lláh who had not been expelled. Even his own parents had openly fought against him.[35]

The founding of the Universal House of Justice

Shoghi Effendi died in 1957 without explicitly appointing a successor Guardian.[36] He had no children, and during his lifetime all remaining male descendants of Baháʼu'lláh had been excommunicated as Covenant-breakers.[36] He left no will.[36] Shoghi Effendi's appointed Hands of the Cause unanimously voted it was impossible to legitimately recognize and assent to a successor.[37] The Baháʼí community was in a situation not dealt with explicitly in the provisions of the Will and Testament of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá.[36] Furthermore, the Universal House of Justice had not yet been elected, which represented the only Baháʼí institution authorized to adjudicate on matters not covered by the religion's three central figures.[38] To understand the transition following the death of Shoghi Effendi in 1957, an explanation of the roles of the Guardian, the Hands of the Cause, and the Universal House of Justice is useful.

Guardianship

 
See also: Will and Testament of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá

Other than allusions in the writings of Baháʼu'lláh to the importance of the Aghsán, the role of the Guardian was not mentioned until the reading of the Will and Testament of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá. Shoghi Effendi later expressed to his wife and others that he had no foreknowledge of the existence of the Institution of Guardianship, least of all that he was appointed as Guardian.[39]

ʻAbdu'l-Bahá warned the Baháʼís to avoid the problems caused by his half-brother Muhammad ʻAlí.[39] He stipulated the criteria and form for selecting future Guardians, which was to be clear and unambiguous.[36] His will required that the Guardian appoint his successor "in his own life-time ... that differences may not arise after his [the Guardian's] passing".[36] The appointee was required to be either the first-born son of the Guardian, or one of the Aghsán (literally: Branches; male descendants of Baháʼu'lláh).[36] Finally, ʻAbdu'l-Bahá left a responsibility of ratifying the appointment to nine Hands of the Cause, elected from all of the Hands.[38]

The will also vested authority in the Guardian's appointed assistants, known as the Hands of the Cause, giving them the right to "cast out from the congregation of the people of Bahá" anyone they deem in opposition to the Guardian.[40]

Relationship between the Guardianship and the Universal House of Justice

The roles of the Guardianship and the Universal House of Justice are complementary, the former providing authoritative interpretation, and the latter providing flexibility and the authority to adjudicate on "questions that are obscure and matters that are not expressly recorded in the Book."[36][41] The authority of the two institutions was elucidated by ʻAbdu'l-Bahá in his will, saying that rebellion and disobedience towards either the Guardian or the Universal House of Justice, is rebellion and disobedience towards God.[36][41] Shoghi Effendi went into further detail explaining this relationship in The World Order of Baháʼu'lláh, indicating that the institutions are interdependent.[41]

Role of the Hands of the Cause

Main article: Hands of the Cause

Shortly after Shoghi Effendi's death, the 27 then-living Hands of the Cause (Hands) deliberated over whether or not they could legitimately consent to any successor.[42] Only two members present could translate between English and Persian.[8] Following these events Time magazine reported that there were debates about two possible candidates for Guardian.[43]

On 25 November 1957, the Hands signed a unanimous proclamation stating that he had died "without having appointed his successor"; that "it is now fallen upon us ... to preserve the unity, the security and the development of the Baháʼí World Community and all its institutions"; and that they would elect from among themselves nine Hands who would "exercise ... all such functions, rights and powers in succession to the Guardian of the Baháʼí Faith ... as are necessary to serve the interests of the Baháʼí World Faith, and this until such time as the Universal House of Justice ... may otherwise determine." This body of nine Hands became known as the Hands of the Cause in the Holy Land, sometimes referred to as the Custodians.[44]

That same day the Hands passed a unanimous resolution that clarified who would have authority over various executive areas.[40][b] Among these were:

  • "That the entire body of the Hands of the Cause, ... shall determine when and how the International Baháʼí Council shall pass through the successive stages outlined by Shoghi Effendi culminating in the election of the Universal House of Justice"
  • "That the authority to expel violators from the Faith shall be vested in the body of nine Hands [the Custodians], acting on reports and recommendations submitted by Hands from their respective continents."

In their deliberations following Shoghi Effendi's passing they determined that they were not in a position to appoint a successor, only to ratify one, so they advised the Baháʼí community that the Universal House of Justice would consider the matter after it was established.[38]

In deciding when and how the International Baháʼí Council would develop into the Universal House of Justice, the Hands agreed to carry out Shoghi Effendi's plans for moving it from the appointed council, to an officially recognized Baháʼí Court, to a duly elected body, and then to the elected Universal House of Justice.[45] In November 1959, referring to the goal of becoming recognized as a non-Jewish religious court in Israel, they said: "this goal, due to the strong trend towards the secularization of Religious Courts in this part of the world, might not be achieved."[46][47] The recognition as a religious court was never achieved, and the International Baháʼí Council was reformed in 1961 as an elected body in preparation for forming the Universal House of Justice.[48] The Hands of the Cause made themselves ineligible for election to both the council and the Universal House of Justice.[48]

Upon the election of the Universal House of Justice at the culmination of the Ten Year Crusade in 1963, the nine Hands acting as interim head of the religion closed their office.[38]

Charles Mason Remey

Main article: Mason Remey

Charles Mason Remey was among the Hands who signed the unanimous proclamations in 1957, acknowledging that Shoghi Effendi had died without having appointed his successor.[37][49] He was also among the nine Custodians initially elected to serve in the Holy Land as interim head of the religion.[44]

On 8 April 1960, Remey made a written announcement that he was the second Guardian of the Baháʼí Faith and explained his "status for life as commander in chief of Baháʼí affairs of the world" in this proclamation which he requested to be read in front of the annual US convention in Wilmette.[50]

He based his claim on his having been appointed President of the first International Baháʼí Council by Shoghi Effendi in 1951.[49] The appointed council represented the first international Baháʼí body. Remey believed that his appointment as the council's president meant that he was the Guardian of the Baháʼí Faith.[49] The Hands of the Cause wrote regarding his reasoning on this point, "If the President of the International Baháʼí Council is ipso facto the Guardian of the Baháʼí Faith, then the beloved Guardian, himself, Shoghi Effendi would have had to be the President of this first International Baháʼí Council."[51] Remey was appointed president of the council in March 1951,[52][53] then in December 1951 Remey was appointed a Hand of the Cause.[49][54] A further announcement in March 1952 appointed several more officers to the Council and Rúhíyyih Khánum as the liaison between the Council and the Guardian.[55]

Regarding the authority of the Hands of the Cause, Remey wrote in his letter that the Hands "have no authority vested in themselves ... save under the direction of the living Guardian of the Faith".[56] He further commanded the Baháʼís to abandon plans for establishing the Universal House of Justice.[57]

Remey never addressed the requirement that Guardians should be male-descendants of Baháʼu'lláh, of whom Remey was not. His followers later referred to letters and public statements of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá calling him "my son" as evidence that he had been implicitly adopted[58] but these claims were almost universally rejected by the body of the Baháʼís.[38]

In response, and after having made many prior efforts to convince Remey to withdraw his claim,[59][60] the Custodians took action and sent a cablegram to the National Spiritual Assemblies on 26 July 1960.[61] Two days later, the Custodians sent Mason Remey a letter informing him of their unanimous decision to declare him a Covenant-breaker.[49] They cited the Will and Testament of ʻAbdul-Bahá, the unanimous joint resolutions of 25 November 1957, and their authority in carrying out the work of the Guardian[62] as their justification. Anyone who accepted Remey's claim to the Guardianship was also expelled.[49] In a 9 August 1960 letter to the other Hands, the Custodians seem to acknowledge that Remey was not senile or unbalanced, but he was carrying out a "well thought out campaign" to spread his claim.[63]

Decision of the Universal House of Justice

 
The Universal House of Justice was first elected in 1963. Its seat (pictured) was constructed in 1982.
Main article: Universal House of Justice

The Baháʼí institutions and believers around the world pledged their loyalty to the Hands of the Cause, who dedicated the next few years to completing Shoghi Effendi's Ten Year Crusade, culminating with the election of the Universal House of Justice in 1963. It was at this time the Custodians officially passed their authority as the head of the Faith to the Universal House of Justice,[44][64] which soon announced that it could not appoint or legislate to make possible the appointment of a second Guardian to succeed Shoghi Effendi.[41]

A short time later it elaborated on the situation in which the Guardian would die without being able to appoint a successor, saying that it was an obscure question not covered by Baháʼí scriptures, that no institution or individual at the time could have known the answer, and that it therefore had to be referred to the Universal House of Justice, whose election was confirmed by references in Shoghi Effendi's letters that after 1963 the Baháʼí world would be led by international plans under the direction of the Universal House of Justice.[65]

A break in the line of Guardians

Mason Remey and his successors asserted that a living Guardian is essential for the Baháʼí community, and that the Baháʼí writings required it. The basis of these claims were almost universally rejected by the body of the Baháʼís,[38] for whom the restoration of scripturally sanctioned leadership of the Universal House of Justice proved more attractive than the claims of Mason Remey.[66]

The House commented that its own authority was not dependent on the presence of a Guardian,[41] and that its legislative functioning was unaffected by the absence of a Guardian.[36] It stated that in its legislation it would be able to turn to the mass of interpretation left by Shoghi Effendi.[36] The Universal House of Justice addressed this issue further early after its election clarifying that "there is nowhere any promise or guarantee that the line of Guardians would endure forever; on the contrary there are clear indications that the line could be broken."[67][68][c]

Mason Remey as second Guardian

 
Early Western Baháʼí pilgrims. Charles Mason Remey is standing on the left.

All Baháʼís who professed belief in Mason Remey as the second Guardian implicitly did not accept the Universal House of Justice established in 1963, and are shunned by members of the mainstream Baháʼí Faith. Likewise, Remey at one point declared that the Hands of the Cause were Covenant-breakers, that they lacked any authority without a Guardian, that those following them "should not be considered Baháʼís", and that the Universal House of Justice that they helped elect in 1963 was not legitimate.[69][70]

Remey attracted about 100 followers in the United States and a few others in Pakistan and Europe.[8] Remey maintained his claim to Guardianship, and went on to establish what came to be known as the Orthodox Baháʼís Under the Hereditary Guardianship, which later broke into several other divisions based on succession disputes within the groups that followed Remey.[37][49] Although initially disturbing, the mainstream Baháʼís paid little attention to his movement within a few years. As of 2006 his followers represent two or three groups that maintain little contact with each other, comprising at most a few hundred members collectively.[8][2]

Initially, Remey had followers in Pakistan, India, the United States, and parts of Europe. He settled in Florence, Italy, until the end of his life. From there he appointed three local spiritual assemblies in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Rawalpindi, Pakistan, and Lucknow, India, then organized the election of two National Assemblies - in the United States and Pakistan.[71]

In 1964 the Santa Fe assembly filed a lawsuit against the National Spiritual Assembly (NSA) of the Baháʼís of the United States to receive the legal title to the Baháʼí House of Worship in Illinois, and all other property owned by the NSA. The NSA counter-sued and won.[72] The Santa Fe assembly lost the right to use the term "Baháʼí" in printed material. Remey then changed the name of his sect from "Baháʼís Under the Hereditary Guardianship" to "Abha World Faith" and also referred to it as the "Orthodox Faith of Baháʼu'lláh". In 1966, Remey asked the Santa Fe assembly to dissolve, as well as the second International Baháʼí Council that he had appointed with Joel Marangella, residing in France, as president.[37]

Beginning in 1966-67, Remey was abandoned by almost all of his followers.[73] The followers of Mason Remey were not organized until several of them began forming their own groups based on different understandings of succession, even before his death in 1974.[74][75] The majority of them claimed that Remey was showing signs of senility.[73] The small Baháʼí sects that adhere to Remey as Guardian are now largely confined to the United States,[37] and have no communal religious life.[76]

Orthodox Baháʼí Faith

Main article: Orthodox Baháʼí Faith

In 1961 Joel Marangella received a letter from Remey, and a note that, "in or after 1963. You will know when to break the seal."[77] In 1964 Remey appointed members to a second International Baháʼí Council with Marangella as president, significant due to Remey's claim to Guardianship being based on the same appointment. In 1965 Remey activated the council, and in 1966 wrote letters passing the "affairs of the Faith" to the council, then later dissolving it. In 1969 Marangella made an announcement that the letter of 1961 was Remey's appointment of him as the third Guardian, and that he had been the Guardian since 1964, invalidating Remey's pronouncements from that point forward.[78]

Marangella gained the support of most of Remey's followers,[79] who came to be known as Orthodox Baháʼís.[49] Membership data is scarce. One source estimated them at no more than 100 members in 1988,[80] and the group claimed a United States membership of about 40 in a 2007 court case.[81] Joel Marangella died in San Diego, California on 1 September 2013. An unverified website claiming to represent Orthodox Baháʼís indicates followers in the United States and India, and a fourth Guardian named Nosrat’u’llah Bahremand.[82]

Harvey, Soghomonian, and Yazdani

Donald Harvey was appointed by Remey as "Third Guardian" in 1967.[49] This group does not use a formal name but "Universal Faith and Revelation of Baháʼu'lláh" and "Baháʼís loyal to the fourth Guardian" have been used by its adherents.[83] Donald Harvey never gained much of a following.[84]

Francis Spataro of New York City, who supported Donald Harvey's claim as Remey's successor, independently organized "The Remey Society" after losing favor with Harvey. Spataro had a newsletter with about 400 recipients and in 1987 published a biography of Charles Mason Remey.[85] In 1995 Francis Spataro became an Old Catholic priest and left the Baháʼí religion altogether.

After Harvey's death in 1991, leadership of this group went to Jacques Soghomonian, a resident of Marseilles, France.[37] Soghomonian died in 2013 and passed the successorship to E.S. Yazdani.[86]

Leland Jensen

Main article: Leland Jensen

Leland Jensen accepted Remey's claim to the Guardianship and later left the group. In 1969 he was convicted of "a lewd and lascivious act" for sexually molesting a 15-year-old female patient,[87] and he served four years of a twenty-year sentence in the Montana State Prison. It was in prison that Jensen converted several inmates to his ideas of being what he called the "Establisher" of the Baháʼí Faith. After being paroled in 1973 and before Remey's death, Jensen formed an apocalyptic cult called the Baháʼís Under the Provisions of the Covenant.[88] Membership in his group peaked at 150-200 leading up to Jensen's prophecy of a nuclear holocaust for 29 April 1980, but the disconfirmation caused most of his followers to abandon him.[88]

Jensen's chosen successor to the Guardianship was Remey's adopted son Pepe, a role that Pepe rejected, and Jensen died in 1996 with ambiguous leadership for his few remaining followers, who fractured in 2001 when one of them claimed to be the Guardian.[89] Adherents were mostly concentrated in Montana.[88]

Reginald ("Rex") King

Rex King was elected to Remey's NSA of the United States with the most votes, and soon came into conflict with Remey. In 1969 he traveled to Italy with the hope of having Remey pass affairs over to him, but instead was labeled with the "station of satan".[90] King then encouraged Marangella to open the sealed letter from Remey and supported his claim, but soon took issue with the way Marangella was interpreting scripture.[91] King rejected all claimants to the Guardianship after Shoghi Effendi including Remey. He claimed that he, Rex King, was a "regent" pending the emergence of the second Guardian who was in "occultation". Hardly anyone followed King.[92] He called his group the Orthodox Baháʼí Faith under the Regency. King died in 1977 and appointed four of his family as a council of regents, who later changed their name to "Tarbiyat Baha'i Community".[37][93] There are no size estimates from independent sources, but they maintain a website and appear to be a small group of mostly Rex King's family that maintained some activity into the early 2000s.

Size and demographics

The following quotes from various sources describe the relative size and demographics of those who followed Mason Remey.

the Orthodox Baha'i Faith, a group that claims to have active centers in Great Britain, Germany, Pakistan and the United States.

— Anita Fussell, writing for the Lincoln Journal Star (18 March 1973), "Orthodox Baha'i: A Minority Viewpoint"[10]

It is impossible to say how many [BUPC] believers there were on the eve of April 29, 1980, but roughly 150 people in Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and Arkansas made plans to enter fallout shelters ... On the night of April 28, about eighty believers met at a potluck feast in Missoula for the last time before Armageddon ... On May 16 the Missoula group finally gathered for its first feast since April 29. Thirty-six believers attended ... almost all the believers outside of Montana eventually rejected [Leland Jensen]'s teachings. Everyone in the Arkansas group defected, as did most of the believers in Colorado and Wyoming. To our knowledge, only three members of the Colorado group remained steadfast by the end of the summer, and possibly two in Wyoming ... the size of [Leland Jensen]'s active following remains small [in 1982]

— Balch et al., "When the bombs drop" (April 1983)[94]

Remey died in 1974, having appointed a third Guardian, but the number of adherents to the Orthodox faction remains extremely small. Although successful in Pakistan, the Remeyites seem to have attracted no followers in Iran. Other small groups have broken away from the main body from time to time, but none of these has attracted a sizeable following.

— Denis MacEoin, "Bahai and Babi Schisms" (1988)[5]

They call themselves Orthodox Bahais, and their following is small – a mere 100 members, with the largest congregation, a total of 11, living in Roswell, N.M.

— Nancy Ryan, writing for the Chicago Tribune (10 June 1988)[95]

Rejected by his fellow Hands and the overwhelming majority of Bahá'ís, Remey was expelled from the Bahá'í Faith. Nevertheless, his claim did gain significant minority support in some countries, notably France, the United States and Pakistan. However, Remey's followers soon became divided into a number of antagonistic factions, and by the time of his death (in 1974), the number of Bahá'ís who recognized his claims had greatly diminished. A few Remeyite splinter-groups continue to operate in the United States

— Momen & Smith, "The Bahá'í Faith 1957-1988" (1989)[96]

Remey succeeded in gathering a few supporters, mainly in the United States, France, and Pakistan ... The followers of Remey have decreased in importance over the years, especially as they fragmented into contending factions ... [the group led by Joel Marangella] number no more than one hundred ... Small Remeyite groups are now confined to a few states in the United States.

— Moojan Momen, "The Covenant, and Covenant-breaker" (1995)[37]

By the end of the 1970s Jensen also had attracted followers in Wyoming, Colorado, and Arkansas. Since 1980 membership in the BUPC has fluctuated considerably, but it probably never exceeded 200 nationwide, despite Jensen's claims of having thousands of followers around the world. In 1994, the last year for which we have a membership list, there were only sixty-six members in Montana and fewer than twenty in other states. The Wyoming and Arkansas contingents disbanded after the 1980 disconfirmation, but new groups were formed in Minnesota and Wisconsin ... By 1990 the group probably had fewer than 100 members nationwide ... the defection rate accelerated in the 1990s

— Balch et al., "Fifteen Years of Failed Prophecy" (Routledge, 1997)[97]

There are a few hundred Americans who claim to follow Mason Remey

— Peter Terry, "Truth Triumphs" (1999)[98]

Mason Remey gained the support of a small but widespread group of Baháʼís for his claim to be the second Guardian of the Faith (1960). Most of his long-term followers were Americans.

— Peter Smith, Concise Encyclopedia of the Baháʼí Faith (2000)[49]

Some American believers ... followed Remey ... When Remey died, several of his lieutenants vied for the position of "third" Guardian, dividing his followers into numerous sects, none of which have grown ... [no Baháʼí schism] has succeeded in garnering substantial support, with most groups eventually dying out altogether.

— Michael McMullen, The Baháʼí: The Religious Construction of a Global Identity (2000) [4]

Total membership in the various Remeyite groups numbers only in the thousands.

— William Garlington, Baha'i Faith in America (2005)[99]

"the Baha'i Under the Provisions of the Covenant ... is headquartered in Missoula, Montana, and claims a membership approaching 150,000, although this is almost certainly an exaggeration."

— Carol Matthews, New Religions (2005)[100]

[Remey] acquired 100 followers in the United States, some dozens in Pakistan, and a score in Europe ... The Remey movement continues to this day as two or three groups that maintain little contact with each other, are active on the World Wide Web, and probably comprise a few hundred members collectively.

— Gallagher & Ashcraft, Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America (2006)[8]

the [Orthodox Baháʼí Faith] in the United States is a very small religious community, composed of only about forty persons

— Jeffrey A. Goldberg, Attorney for Orthodox Baháʼí Faith Respondents, "Orthodox Baháʼí Respondents' Surreply Memorandum" to court filing (28 June 2007)[101]

About 15 Baháʼís initially followed Remey and were accordingly themselves declared Covenant breakers.

— Hugh C. Adamson, The A to Z of the Baháʼí Faith (2009)[102]

The National Assembly of France and about 100 others followed Remey.

— Manya Brachear, writing for the Chicago Tribune (18 May 2009), "When religion splits, courts get a rare say"[103]

the Orthodox Baháʼí Faith has perhaps 100 members, and the various other groups together probably total another 100 at most.

— Robert Stockman, A guide to the Perplexed (2013)[6]

the exiled Baha'is constitute only 5000 to 8000 Baha'is worldwide according to some estimates. Some consider even those numbers to be excessively exaggerated.

— Vernon Johnson, citing Susan Maneck and Karen Bacquet posting in discussion forum talk.religion.bahai, Baha'is in Exile (2020)[104]

Today the Baháʼí community has some 5 million members; the Orthodox Baháʼí Faith perhaps 100; and the Baháʼís Under the Provisions of the Covenant several dozen, who are in turn divided into two sects, one of which appears to be inactive.

— Robert Stockman, The Baháʼí Faith, Violence, and Non-violence (2020)[2]

Other Baháʼí divisions

Free Baháʼís

The term Free Baháʼís has been used by or about a small number of Baháʼís that have rejected the authority of Shoghi Effendi.[105]

The term was first used by Hermann Zimmer, who revived the earlier claims of Ruth White that the Will and Testament of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá was forged. White's claim was widely rejected by other Baháʼís of the time, including Baháʼís who, like her, were enemies of Shoghi Effendi.[106][107][108] White was able to gather the support of a single Baháʼí in Germany, Wilhelm Herrigel, who took up her cause;[105] only a few Western Baháʼís followed him,[109] and most repudiated him following his death in 1932.[110]

Zimmer wrote a polemic attacking the Baháʼí administration in 1971, entitled A Fraudulent Testament devalues the Baháʼí Religion into Political Shogism,[111] which was widely distributed by Evangelical Protestant organizations in Germany, and later translated into English and distributed worldwide.[106][110] Zimmer attempted to establish a group called "Free Baháʼís" or the "World Union of Universal Religion and Universal Peace" along with Charles Seeburger of Philadelphia, but it is not clear that it actually came into being. An attempt to form a group in the 1970s was never documented to form.[106]

Frederick Glaysher

Frederick Glaysher of Michigan left the mainstream Bahá’í community in 1996 and wrote critically of the Bahá’í administration. In 2004, he initiated several websites dedicated to an exposition of the Bahá’í teachings which excoriated the administration from Shoghi Effendi onward. He claimed to have been inspired by Ruth White, Mirza Ahmad Sohrab, and others. Aiming to initiate the same kind of reformation that Martin Luther did when his "95 Theses" sparked the Protestant Reformation, Glaysher launched his appeal by advancing "95 Theses of the Reform Bahá’í Faith".[112] He briefly had a follower in India in the 2000s[113] and some followers in New Zealand in the late 2000s and early 2010s. Glaysher delivered a talk to an interfaith group in Troy, Michigan in 2012,[114] and the movement appears to have gone defunct soon after.

The Man

"The House of Mankind and the Universal Palace of Order" followed Jamshid Ma'ani and John Carré, but appears now to be defunct. In the early 1970s a Persian man named Jamshid Ma'ani claimed he was "The Man", a new Manifestation of God. He gained a few dozen Iranian Baháʼí followers. John Carré heard of Ma'ani, and wrote a book trying to get other Baháʼís to accept a new, third Manifestation. Carré invited Ma'ani to live in his home in California, but soon concluded, after living with him for four months, that he was not at all godly or spiritual, and certainly was not a Manifestation of God. Ma'ani went back to Iran, and Carré ended all association with him.[37]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Browne, p. 82. The reference appears to be to the unitarian theology of one god, rather than any identification with the American Unitarian Association.
  2. ^ For their authority, the Custodians referred to the Will and Testament of ʻAbdul-Bahá which states that "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."(Hatcher & Martin 1998, p. 190)(ʻAbdu'l-Bahá 1992, p. 12) See: Rabbani, Ministry of the Custodians, 1992, Letter of 28 May 1960, to all National Spiritual Assemblies (pp. 204-206), Letter of 5 July 1960, to all National Spiritual Assemblies (pp. 208-209), Letter of 7 July 1960, to all Hands of the Cause, Cable of 26 July 1960, to all National Spiritual Assemblies (p.223), and Letter of 15 October 1960, to all National Spiritual Assemblies (pp. 231-236)[1] In addition, the Guardian had written that the Hands had executive authority in carrying out his directives. (Effendi 1982, pp. 82–83)[2]
  3. ^ The Universal House of Justice specifically refers to paragraph 42 of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas as evidence that Baháʼu'lláh anticipated that the line of Guardians was not guaranteed forever by providing for the disposition of the religion's endowments in the absence of the Aghsán.(Taherzadeh 1992, p. 390) See also Notes 66 and 67 of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, pp. 196-197.

Citations

  1. ^ Smith 2000, p. 114.
  2. ^ a b c d e Stockman 2020, pp. 36–37.
  3. ^ Demmrich 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d McMullen 2000, p. 195.
  5. ^ a b c d MacEoin 1988.
  6. ^ a b Stockman 2013, p. 25.
  7. ^ Warburg 2004, p. 206.
  8. ^ a b c d e Gallagher & Ashcraft 2006, p. 201.
  9. ^ Johnson 2020, Ch. 11.
  10. ^ a b Fussell 1973.
  11. ^ Johnson 2020, p. xxxvi.
  12. ^ Barrett 2001, pp. 246–247.
  13. ^ The World of the Bahá'í Faith… The Covenant 2022.
  14. ^ Baháʼu'lláh, Tablets of Baháʼu'lláh, p. 221
  15. ^ Smith 2000, p. 252.
  16. ^ Smith 2008, p. 44.
  17. ^ Smith 2008, pp. 43–44.
  18. ^ a b Smith 2000, p. 218.
  19. ^ Smith 2004, pp. 4, 7.
  20. ^ Cole, Juan R.I.; Quinn, Sholeh; Smith, Peter; Walbridge, John, eds. (July 2004). "Documents on the Shaykhi, Babi and Baha'i Movements". Behai Quarterly. h-net.msu.edu. 8 (2). Retrieved 17 April 2010.
  21. ^ a b Shu'a'ullah, Behai Quarterly Volume 4 Page 23
  22. ^ a b Warburg 2004, p. 64.
  23. ^ a b Momen 1995, §G.2.b.
  24. ^ a b c Momen 1995, §G.2.c.
  25. ^ Momen 1995, §G.2.d.iv.
  26. ^ Effendi 1944, p. 355.
  27. ^ Momen 1995, §G.2.d.i.
  28. ^ Momen 1995, §G.2.d.ii.
  29. ^ Mirza Ahmad Sohrab, The Baháʼí Cause pp. 309-14
  30. ^ a b Smith 2000, p. 325.
  31. ^ Smith 2004, p. 15.
  32. ^ Momen 1995, § G.2.d.ii.
  33. ^ See also New York Tax Exempt and NonProfit Organizations
  34. ^ Khan, Janet A. (2005). Prophet's Daughter: The Life and Legacy of Bahíyyih Khánum, Outstanding Heroine Of The Baháʼí Faith. Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Baháʼí Publishing Trust. pp. 123–4. ISBN 1-931847-14-2.
  35. ^ a b Momen 1995, G.2.d.iv.
  36. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Smith 2000, pp. 169–170.
  37. ^ a b c d e f g h i Momen 1995, §G.2.e.
  38. ^ a b c d e f Smith 2000, pp. 175–177.
  39. ^ a b Smith 2000, pp. 356–357.
  40. ^ a b Smith 2000, pp. 115–116.
  41. ^ a b c d e Smith 2000, pp. 346–350.
  42. ^ Momen & Smith 1989, p. 89
  43. ^ . Time. 9 December 1957.
  44. ^ a b c Smith 2000, p. 117.
  45. ^ See Rabbani 1992, p. 37 [3] and Effendi 1971, pp. 7–8 [4]
  46. ^ See Rabbani 1992, p. 169 [5]
  47. ^ Taherzadeh 1992, p. 324
  48. ^ a b Smith 2000, p. 200.
  49. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Smith 2000, p. 292.
  50. ^ Remey 1960, p. 1.
  51. ^ Rabbani 1992, p. 234.
  52. ^ Smith 2000, p. 199.
  53. ^ Effendi 1938, p. 8.
  54. ^ Effendi 1938, p. 20.
  55. ^ Effendi 1938, p. 22.
  56. ^ Remey 1960, p. 5.
  57. ^ Remey 1960, pp. 6–7.
  58. ^ . Archived from the original on 18 March 2006. Retrieved 28 September 2006.
  59. ^ Taherzadeh 1992, p. 387
  60. ^ Taherzadeh 2000, p. 370
  61. ^ See (Rabbani 1992, p. 223)
  62. ^ See Effendi 1982, pp. 82–83 [6]
  63. ^ Johnson 2020, p. 34.
  64. ^ Smith 2008, p. 68
  65. ^ The Universal House of Justice, Letter of 9 March 1965, Messages from the Universal House of Justice, 1963-1986, p. 50
  66. ^ Momen & Smith 1989, p. 76.
  67. ^ Taherzadeh 1992, p. 390
  68. ^ The Universal House of Justice, Letter of 7 December 1969, Messages from the Universal House of Justice, 1963-1986, p. 158
  69. ^ Johnson 2020, p. 35.
  70. ^ Martinez, Hutan Hejazi (2010). Baha'ism: History, Transfiguration, Doxa (PDF). USA: RICE UNIVERSITY, HOUSTON, TEXAS. p. 106.
  71. ^ Johnson 2020, p. 40.
  72. ^ Baháʼís vs New Mexico Group District Court, N.D. Illinois, E. Div. No. 64 C 1878. Decided 28 June 1966
  73. ^ a b Johnson 2020, p. 44.
  74. ^ Barrett 2001.
  75. ^ Warburg 2004.
  76. ^ Warburg 2004, p. 06.
  77. ^ Johnson 2020, p. 61.
  78. ^ Johnson 2020, pp. 60–65.
  79. ^ Johnson 2020, p. 60.
  80. ^ Momen 1995, G.2.e.
  81. ^ , US District Court for Northern District Court of Illinois Eastern Division, Civil Action No. 64 C 1878: Orthodox Baháʼí Respondents' Surreply Memorandum to NSA's Reply Memorandum, p2 para 2 line 15
  82. ^ The National Baháʼí Council of the Orthodox Baháʼí Faith
  83. ^ Johnson 2020, p. 89.
  84. ^ Johnson 2020, p. 95.
  85. ^ Spataro 1987.
  86. ^ Johnson 2020, pp. 100–101.
  87. ^ State v. Jensen, 455 P.2d 631 (Montana, 1969)
  88. ^ a b c Balch 1997, p. 271.
  89. ^ Hyslop 2004.
  90. ^ Johnson 2020, pp. 75–76.
  91. ^ Johnson 2020, p. 77.
  92. ^ Johnson 2020, p. 83.
  93. ^ Johnson 2020, p. 78.
  94. ^ Balch 1983, pp. 132, 133, 136, 138, 139.
  95. ^ Ryan 1988.
  96. ^ Momen & Smith 1989.
  97. ^ Balch 1997, pp. 271, 280.
  98. ^ Terry 1999.
  99. ^ Garlington 2005, p. 73.
  100. ^ Matthews 2005, p. 48.
  101. ^ Surreply 2007.
  102. ^ Adamson 2009, p. 404.
  103. ^ Brachear 2009.
  104. ^ Johnson 2020, p. xxxi.
  105. ^ a b Johnson 2020, pp. 202–205.
  106. ^ a b c Momen 1995.
  107. ^ Taherzadeh 2000, pp. 299–300.
  108. ^ Johnson 2020, p. 209.
  109. ^ Smith 2000, p. 357.
  110. ^ a b Bramson-Lerche 1988.
  111. ^ Zimmer 1973.
  112. ^ Johnson 2020, p. 207.
  113. ^ Momen 2008, p. 392.
  114. ^ Glaysher, Frederick (founder) (5 March 2012). Reform Baha'i Faith (Talk). Troy Interfaith Group: Glaysher, Frederick. Archived from the original on 13 December 2021.

References

Baháʼí source material

Books and articles

  • Adamson, Hugh C. (2009). The A to Z of the Baháʼí Faith. The A to Z Guide Series, No. 70. Plymouth, UK: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-6853-3.
  • Balch, Robert W. (April 1983) [Republished 2000]. "When the Bombs Drop: Reactions to Disconfirmed Prophecy in a Millennial Sect". In Stone, Jon R. (ed.). Expecting Armageddon: Essential Readings in Failed Prophecy. New York: Routledge. pp. 129–143. ISBN 0-415-92331-X.
  • Balch, Robert W. (1997) [Republished 2000]. "Fifteen Years of Failed Prophecy: Coping with Cognitive Dissonance in a Baha'i Sect". In Stone, Jon R. (ed.). Expecting Armageddon: Essential Readings in Failed Prophecy. New York: Routledge. pp. 269–282. ISBN 0-415-92331-X.
  • Barrett, David (2001). The New Believers. London, UK: Cassell & Co. pp. 247–248. ISBN 0-304-35592-5.
  • Bramson-Lerche, Loni (1988). "Some Aspects of the Establishment of the Guardianship". In Momen, Moojan (ed.). Studies in Honor of the Late Hasan M. Balyuzi. Kalimat Press. pp. 253–293. ISBN 978-0-933770-72-0.
  • Demmrich, Sarah (6 January 2020). "How to measure Baha'i Religiosity". Religions. 11 (1:29). doi:10.3390/rel11010029.
  • Gallagher, Eugene V.; Ashcraft, W. Michael, eds. (2006). "The Baháʼís of the United States". Asian Traditions. Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America. Vol. 4. Westport, Connecticut • London: Greenwood Press. ISBN 978-0275987121.
  • Garlington, William (2005). The Baha'i Faith in America. Praeger Pub Text. ISBN 978-0-275-98991-0. OCLC 429027446.
  • Heller, Wendy M. (2022). "Ch. 34: The Covenant and Covenant-Breaking". In Stockman, Robert H. (ed.). The World of the Bahá’í Faith. Oxfordshire, UK: Routledge. pp. 409–425. ISBN 978-1-138-36772-2.
  • Hatcher, William; Martin, J.D. (1998). The Baháʼí Faith: The Emerging Global Religion. New York: Harper and Row. ISBN 0-87743-264-3.
  • Hinnells, John R., ed. (1984). A Handbook of Living Religions (Paperback ed.). London, UK: Penguin. ISBN 0-14-013599-5.
  • Johnson, Vernon (2020). Baha'is in Exile: An Account of followers of Baha'u'llah outside the mainstream Baha'i religion. Pittsburgh, PA: RoseDog Books. ISBN 978-1-6453-0574-3.
  • MacEoin, Denis (1988) [Last updated 2011]. "Bahai and Babi Schisms". Encyclopædia Iranica.
  • Matthews, Carol S. (2005). New Religions. Religions of the World. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers. p. 48.
  • McMullen, Michael (2000). The Baháʼí: The Religious Construction of a Global Identity. New Brunswick, New Jersey, London: Rutgetrs University Press. ISBN 0-8135-2836-4.
  • Momen, Moojan (1995). "The Covenant and Covenant-Breaker". bahai-library.com. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
  • Momen, Moojan; Smith, Peter (1989). "The Baha'i Faith 1957-1988: A Survey of Contemporary Developments". Religion. 19: 63. doi:10.1016/0048-721X(89)90077-8.
  • Momen, Moojan (2008). "Challenging Apostasy: Responses". Religion. 38 (4): 392.
  • Rabbani, Ruhiyyih, ed. (1992). The Ministry of the Custodians 1957-1963. Baháʼí World Centre. ISBN 0-85398-350-X.
  • Remey, Charles Mason (1960). . Archived from the original on 20 November 2008. Retrieved 10 August 2008.
  • Smith, Peter (2000). A concise encyclopedia of the Baháʼí Faith. Oxford, UK: Oneworld Publications. ISBN 1-85168-184-1.
  • Smith, Peter, ed. (2004). "The Baha'i Faith in the West: A survey". Studies in the Babi and Bahaʼi Religions. Los Angeles: Kalimat Press. 14: 3–60. ISBN 978-1-890688-11-0.
  • Smith, Peter (2008). An Introduction to the Baha'i Faith. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-86251-6.
  • Spataro, Francis (1987) [Republished 2003, Tover Publications, ISBN 0-9671656-3-6]. Charles Mason Remey and the Baháʼí Faith. New York, NY: Self-published through Carlton Press. ISBN 978-0806229782.
  • Stockman, Robert (2013). Baháʼí Faith: A Guide For The Perplexed. New York, NY: Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 978-1-4411-8781-9.
  • Stockman, Robert H. (July 2020). James R. Lewis; Margo Kitts (eds.). The Bahá'í Faith, Violence, and Non-Violence. Cambridge Elements; Religion and Violence. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/9781108613446. ISBN 9781108613446. OCLC 1173507653. S2CID 225389995.
  • Taherzadeh, Adib (1992). The Covenant of Baháʼu'lláh. Oxford, UK: George Ronald. ISBN 0-85398-344-5.
  • Taherzadeh, Adib (2000). The Child of the Covenant. Oxford, UK: George Ronald. ISBN 0-85398-439-5.
  • Terry, Peter (December 1999). "Truth Triumphs". Baha'i Library Online.
  • Warburg, Margit (2004). . Signature Books. ISBN 1-56085-169-4. Archived from the original on 9 September 2015. Retrieved 3 November 2010.
  • Zimmer, Hermann (1973). A fraudulent testament devalues the Bahai religion into political Shoghism. Translated by Blackwell, Jeannine. Waiblingen: World Union for Universal Religion and Universal Peace.

Press

  • Fussell, Anita (18 March 1973). "Orthodox Baha'i: A Minority Viewpoint". Lincoln Journal Star. Lincoln, NE. p. 2F. Retrieved 19 December 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  • Hyslop, Scott (2004). "Pluralism Project". Harvard University Study of Religion.
  • Ryan, Nancy (10 June 1988). "Bitter dispute divides Bahais". Chicago Tribune. Chicago, IL. p. 7. Retrieved 19 December 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  • Brachear, Manya A. (18 May 2009). "When religion splits, courts get a rare say". Chicago Tribune. Chicago, IL. pp. 1–6. Retrieved 19 December 2020 – via Newspapers.com.

Court documents

  • The NSA of the Baha'is of the USA under the Hereditary Guardianship v. The NSA of the Baha'is of the USA, Civil Action No. 64 C 1878 (US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division 28 June 1966).
  • The NSA of the Baha'is of the USA under the Hereditary Guardianship v. The NSA of the Baha'is of the USA, Civil Action No. 64 C 1878 (US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division 30 November 2007).
  • The NSA of the Baha'is of the USA under the Hereditary Guardianship v. The NSA of the Baha'is of the USA, Civil Action No. 64 C 1878 (US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division 28 June 2007).

Further reading

  • Johnson, Vernon (2020). Baha'is in Exile: An Account of followers of Baha'u'llah outside the mainstream Baha'i religion. Pittsburgh, PA: RoseDog Books. ISBN 978-1-6453-0574-3.
  • Momen, Moojan (8 June 2007). "Marginality and Apostasy in the Baha'i Community". Religion. Elsevier. 37 (3): 187–209. doi:10.1016/j.religion.2007.06.008. ISSN 0048-721X. S2CID 55630282. from the original on 6 October 2010. Retrieved 3 November 2010.
  • MacEoin, Denis (1988) [Last updated 2011]. "Bahai and Babi Schisms". Encyclopædia Iranica.

External links

  • Orthodox Baháʼí Guardian – Website representing Joel Marangella's group
  • Tarbiyat Baháʼí Community – Website representing Rex King's group
  • Baháʼís Under the Provisions of the Covenant – Website representing Neal Chase's group
  • Mason Remey and Those Who Followed Him – Published by the Universal House of Justice
  • Unitarian Baha'is 28 October 2017 at the Wayback Machine – Website representing Unitarian Bahá'ís
  • 'Abdu'l Baha's Family – Website representing 'Abdu'l Baha's Family
  • Free Baha'i Faith - Website representing Free Bahá'ís
  •  – Remey's public declaration in 1960

March 25, 2023
attempted, schisms, baháʼí, faith, baháʼí, faith, formed, late, 19th, century, middle, east, baháʼu, lláh, teaches, that, official, line, succession, leadership, part, divine, covenant, that, assures, unity, prevents, schism, there, major, schisms, baháʼí, fai. The Bahaʼi Faith was formed in the late 19th century Middle East by Bahaʼu llah and teaches that an official line of succession of leadership is part of a divine covenant that assures unity and prevents schism 1 2 There are no major schisms in the Bahaʼi Faith 3 and attempts to form alternative leadership have either become extinct with time or have remained in extremely small numbers that are shunned by the majority 4 5 2 The largest extant sect is related to Mason Remey s claim to leadership in 1960 which has continued with two or three groups numbering at most 200 collectively 6 mostly in the United States 7 About a dozen efforts have been made to form sects in the history of the Bahaʼi Faith 2 The first major challenge to leadership came after Bahaʼu llah died in 1892 with ʻAbdu l Baha s half brother Mirza Muhammad ʻAli opposing him Later Shoghi Effendi faced opposition from his family as well as some individual Bahaʼis When Shoghi Effendi passed in 1957 there was no clear successor and the Hands of the Cause led a transition to the Universal House of Justice elected in 1963 This transition was opposed by Mason Remey who claimed to be the successor of Shoghi Effendi in 1960 but was excommunicated by Hands of the Cause because his claim had no basis in authoritative Bahaʼi writings 8 Other more modern attempts at schism have come from opposition to the Universal House of Justice and attempts to reform or change doctrine 9 Those that have been excommunicated have consistently protested against the majority group and in some cases claimed that the excommunicated represent the true Bahaʼi Faith and the majority are Covenant breakers 10 11 Some Bahaʼis have claimed that there have been no divisions in the Bahaʼi Faith or that none will survive or become a threat to the main body of Bahaʼis 4 12 From 2000 2020 twenty individuals were expelled by the Bahaʼi Administration for Covenant breaking 13 Contents 1 ʻAbdu l Baha s ministry 1 1 Aftermath 2 Shoghi Effendi as Guardian 2 1 Appointment 2 2 American disputes 2 3 Family members expelled 3 The founding of the Universal House of Justice 3 1 Guardianship 3 2 Relationship between the Guardianship and the Universal House of Justice 3 3 Role of the Hands of the Cause 3 4 Charles Mason Remey 3 5 Decision of the Universal House of Justice 3 6 A break in the line of Guardians 4 Mason Remey as second Guardian 4 1 Orthodox Bahaʼi Faith 4 2 Harvey Soghomonian and Yazdani 4 3 Leland Jensen 4 4 Reginald Rex King 4 5 Size and demographics 5 Other Bahaʼi divisions 5 1 Free Bahaʼis 5 2 Frederick Glaysher 5 3 The Man 6 See also 7 Notes 8 Citations 9 References 9 1 Bahaʼi source material 9 2 Books and articles 9 3 Press 9 4 Court documents 10 Further reading 11 External linksʻAbdu l Baha s ministry Edit Mirza Muhammad ʻAli half brother of ʻAbdu l Baha Bahaʼu llah remained in the Akka Haifa area under house arrest until his death in 1892 According to the terms of his will his eldest son ʻAbdu l Baha was named the centre of authority Mirza Muhammad ʻAli the eldest son from Bahaʼu llah s second wife was assigned a secondary position 14 With ʻAbdu l Baha as the head of the Bahaʼi community soon Muhammad ʻAli started working against his elder brother at first subtly and then in open opposition Most members of the families of Bahaʼu llah s second and third wives supported Muhammad ʻAli however there were very few outside of Haifa who followed him 15 Muhammad ʻAli s machinations with the Ottoman authorities resulted in ʻAbdu l Baha s re arrest and confinement in Acre 16 They also caused the appointment of two official commissions of inquiry which almost led to further exile and incarceration of ʻAbdu l Baha to North Africa In the aftermath of the Young Turk revolution Ottoman prisoners were freed thus ending the danger to ʻAbdu l Baha 17 Meanwhile Ibrahim George Kheiralla a Syrian Christian converted to the Bahaʼi Faith emigrated to the United States and founded the first American Bahaʼi community 18 Initially he was loyal to ʻAbdu l Baha With time Kheiralla began teaching that ʻAbdu l Baha was the return of Christ and this was becoming the widespread understanding among the Bahaʼis in the United States despite ʻAbdu l Baha s efforts to correct the mistake 18 19 Later on Kheiralla switched sides in the conflict between Bahaʼu llah s sons and supported Mirza Muhammad ʻAli He formed the Society of Behaists a religious denomination promoting Unitarian Bahaism in the U S which was later led by Shua Ullah Behai son of Mirza Muhammad ʻAli after he emigrated to the United States in June 1904 at the behest of his father 20 Muhammad ʻAli s supporters either called themselves Behaists 21 or Unitarian Bahaʼis a From 1934 to 1937 Behai published Behai Quarterly a Unitarian Bahai magazine written in English and featuring the writings of Muhammad ʻAli and various other Unitarian Bahais 22 ʻAbdu l Baha s response to determined opposition during his tenure was patterned on Bahaʼu llah s 23 example and evolved across three stages Initially like Bahaʼu llah 23 he made no public statements but communicated with his brother Muhammad ʻAli and his associates directly or through intermediaries in seeking reconciliation When it became clear that reconciliation was not possible and fearing damage to the community ʻAbdu l Baha wrote to the Bahaʼis explaining the situation identifying the individuals concerned and instructing the believers to sever all ties with those involved Finally he sent representatives to those areas most affected by the problem 24 The function of these representatives was to explain matters to the Bahaʼis and to encourage them to persevere in cutting all contact Often these chosen individuals would have ʻAbdu l Baha s authority to open up communications with those involved to try to persuade them to return In Iran such envoys were principally the four Hands of the Cause appointed by Bahaʼu llah 24 Aftermath Edit When ʻAbdu l Baha died his Will and Testament explained in some detail how Muhammad ʻAli had been unfaithful to the Covenant identifying him as a Covenant breaker and appointing Shoghi Effendi as leader of the Faith with the title of Guardian Bahaʼi authors such as Hasan Balyuzi and Adib Taherzadeh set about refuting the claims of Muhammad ʻAli This represented what is often described as the most testing time for the Bahaʼi Faith 24 The Behaists rejected the authority of the Will and Testament of ʻAbdu l Baha claiming loyalty to the leadership succession as they inferred it from Baha u llah s Kitab i Ahd 21 This schism had very little effect The claims were rejected by the vast majority of Bahaʼis Muhammad ʻAli s supporters had mostly abandoned him by the time of his death in 1937 4 In the ʻAkka area the followers of Muhammad ʻAli represented six families at most they had no common religious activities 22 and were almost wholly assimilated into Muslim society 5 Shoghi Effendi as Guardian EditAppointment Edit Shoghi Effendi at the time of becoming Guardian in 1921 Taken in Haifa At 24 Shoghi Effendi was particularly young when he assumed leadership of the religion in 1921 as provided for by ʻAbdu l Baha in his Will and Testament He had received a Western education at the Syrian Protestant College and later at Balliol College Oxford At this time Muhammad ʻAli revived his claim to leadership of the Bahaʼi community 25 He seized the keys of the Tomb of Bahaʼu llah at the mansion of Bahji expelled its keeper and demanded that he be recognized by the authorities as the legal custodian of that property However the Palestinian authorities after having conducted some investigations instructed the British officer in ʻAkka to deliver the keys into the hands of the keeper loyal to Shoghi Effendi 26 American disputes Edit After the death of ʻAbdu l Baha Ruth White questioned the Will s authenticity as early as 1926 27 and openly opposed Shoghi Effendi s Guardianship publishing several books on the subject She wrote a letter to the United States Postmaster General and asked him among other things to prohibit the National Spiritual Assembly from using the United States Mails to spread the falsehood that Shoghi Effendi is the successor of ʻAbdu l Baha and the Guardian of the Cause She also wrote a letter to the High Commissioner for Palestine both of these letters were ignored Another division occurred primarily within the American Bahaʼi community which increasingly consisted of non Persians with an interest in alternative spiritual pursuits Many had been strongly attracted to the personality of ʻAbdu l Baha and the spiritual teachings of the Bahaʼi Faith Some regarded it as an ecumenical society which all persons of goodwill regardless of religion might join When Shoghi Effendi made clear his position that the Bahaʼi Faith was an independent religion with its own distinct administration through local and national spiritual assemblies a few felt that he had overstepped the bounds of his authority Most prominent among them was a New York group including Mirza Ahmad Sohrab Lewis and Julia Chanler who founded the New History Society and its youth section the Caravan of East and West 28 29 Sohrab and the Chanlers refused to be overseen by the New York Spiritual Assembly and were expelled by Shoghi Effendi as Covenant breakers 30 They argued that the expulsion was meaningless because they believed the faith could not be institutionalized The New History Society published several works by Sohrab and Chanler and others Sohrab accepted the legitimacy of Shoghi Effendi as Guardian but was critical of the manner of his leadership and the methods of organizing the Bahaʼi administration 30 The New History Society attracted fewer than a dozen Bahaʼis however its membership swelled to several thousand for a time The New History Society was active until 1959 and is now defunct 31 The Caravan House aka Caravan Institute later disassociated itself from the Bahaʼi Faith and remained as an unrelated non profit educational organization 32 33 All of the divisions of this period were short lived and restricted in their influence 5 Family members expelled Edit Main article Covenant breaker In 1932 Shoghi Effendi s great aunt Bahiyyih Khanum died She was highly respected and had instructed all to follow Shoghi Effendi through several telegrams she had sent around the world announcing the basics of the provisions of ʻAbdu l Baha s will and was witness to the actions relatives took in violation of provisions of the will 34 Bahiyyih Khanum had devoted much of her life towards protecting the accepted leadership of the Bahaʼi Faith and after Shoghi Effendi s appointment there was little internal opposition until after her death when nephews began to openly oppose Shoghi Effendi over Bahaʼu llah s house in Baghdad 35 Some family members disapproved of his marriage to a Westerner Mary Maxwell daughter of one of the foremost disciples of ʻAbdu l Baha in 1937 They claimed that Shoghi Effendi introduced innovations beyond the Iranian roots of the Faith This gradually resulted in his siblings and cousins disobeying his instructions and marrying into the families of Covenant breakers many of whom were expelled as Covenant breakers themselves However these disagreements within Shoghi Effendi s family resulted in no attempts to create a schism favouring an alternative leader At the time of his death in 1957 he was the only remaining male member of the family of Bahaʼu llah who had not been expelled Even his own parents had openly fought against him 35 The founding of the Universal House of Justice EditShoghi Effendi died in 1957 without explicitly appointing a successor Guardian 36 He had no children and during his lifetime all remaining male descendants of Bahaʼu llah had been excommunicated as Covenant breakers 36 He left no will 36 Shoghi Effendi s appointed Hands of the Cause unanimously voted it was impossible to legitimately recognize and assent to a successor 37 The Bahaʼi community was in a situation not dealt with explicitly in the provisions of the Will and Testament of ʻAbdu l Baha 36 Furthermore the Universal House of Justice had not yet been elected which represented the only Bahaʼi institution authorized to adjudicate on matters not covered by the religion s three central figures 38 To understand the transition following the death of Shoghi Effendi in 1957 an explanation of the roles of the Guardian the Hands of the Cause and the Universal House of Justice is useful Guardianship Edit See also Will and Testament of ʻAbdu l Baha Other than allusions in the writings of Bahaʼu llah to the importance of the Aghsan the role of the Guardian was not mentioned until the reading of the Will and Testament of ʻAbdu l Baha Shoghi Effendi later expressed to his wife and others that he had no foreknowledge of the existence of the Institution of Guardianship least of all that he was appointed as Guardian 39 ʻAbdu l Baha warned the Bahaʼis to avoid the problems caused by his half brother Muhammad ʻAli 39 He stipulated the criteria and form for selecting future Guardians which was to be clear and unambiguous 36 His will required that the Guardian appoint his successor in his own life time that differences may not arise after his the Guardian s passing 36 The appointee was required to be either the first born son of the Guardian or one of the Aghsan literally Branches male descendants of Bahaʼu llah 36 Finally ʻAbdu l Baha left a responsibility of ratifying the appointment to nine Hands of the Cause elected from all of the Hands 38 The will also vested authority in the Guardian s appointed assistants known as the Hands of the Cause giving them the right to cast out from the congregation of the people of Baha anyone they deem in opposition to the Guardian 40 Relationship between the Guardianship and the Universal House of Justice Edit The roles of the Guardianship and the Universal House of Justice are complementary the former providing authoritative interpretation and the latter providing flexibility and the authority to adjudicate on questions that are obscure and matters that are not expressly recorded in the Book 36 41 The authority of the two institutions was elucidated by ʻAbdu l Baha in his will saying that rebellion and disobedience towards either the Guardian or the Universal House of Justice is rebellion and disobedience towards God 36 41 Shoghi Effendi went into further detail explaining this relationship in The World Order of Bahaʼu llah indicating that the institutions are interdependent 41 Role of the Hands of the Cause Edit Main article Hands of the Cause Shortly after Shoghi Effendi s death the 27 then living Hands of the Cause Hands deliberated over whether or not they could legitimately consent to any successor 42 Only two members present could translate between English and Persian 8 Following these events Time magazine reported that there were debates about two possible candidates for Guardian 43 On 25 November 1957 the Hands signed a unanimous proclamation stating that he had died without having appointed his successor that it is now fallen upon us to preserve the unity the security and the development of the Bahaʼi World Community and all its institutions and that they would elect from among themselves nine Hands who would exercise all such functions rights and powers in succession to the Guardian of the Bahaʼi Faith as are necessary to serve the interests of the Bahaʼi World Faith and this until such time as the Universal House of Justice may otherwise determine This body of nine Hands became known as the Hands of the Cause in the Holy Land sometimes referred to as the Custodians 44 That same day the Hands passed a unanimous resolution that clarified who would have authority over various executive areas 40 b Among these were That the entire body of the Hands of the Cause shall determine when and how the International Bahaʼi Council shall pass through the successive stages outlined by Shoghi Effendi culminating in the election of the Universal House of Justice That the authority to expel violators from the Faith shall be vested in the body of nine Hands the Custodians acting on reports and recommendations submitted by Hands from their respective continents In their deliberations following Shoghi Effendi s passing they determined that they were not in a position to appoint a successor only to ratify one so they advised the Bahaʼi community that the Universal House of Justice would consider the matter after it was established 38 In deciding when and how the International Bahaʼi Council would develop into the Universal House of Justice the Hands agreed to carry out Shoghi Effendi s plans for moving it from the appointed council to an officially recognized Bahaʼi Court to a duly elected body and then to the elected Universal House of Justice 45 In November 1959 referring to the goal of becoming recognized as a non Jewish religious court in Israel they said this goal due to the strong trend towards the secularization of Religious Courts in this part of the world might not be achieved 46 47 The recognition as a religious court was never achieved and the International Bahaʼi Council was reformed in 1961 as an elected body in preparation for forming the Universal House of Justice 48 The Hands of the Cause made themselves ineligible for election to both the council and the Universal House of Justice 48 Upon the election of the Universal House of Justice at the culmination of the Ten Year Crusade in 1963 the nine Hands acting as interim head of the religion closed their office 38 Charles Mason Remey Edit Main article Mason Remey Charles Mason Remey was among the Hands who signed the unanimous proclamations in 1957 acknowledging that Shoghi Effendi had died without having appointed his successor 37 49 He was also among the nine Custodians initially elected to serve in the Holy Land as interim head of the religion 44 On 8 April 1960 Remey made a written announcement that he was the second Guardian of the Bahaʼi Faith and explained his status for life as commander in chief of Bahaʼi affairs of the world in this proclamation which he requested to be read in front of the annual US convention in Wilmette 50 He based his claim on his having been appointed President of the first International Bahaʼi Council by Shoghi Effendi in 1951 49 The appointed council represented the first international Bahaʼi body Remey believed that his appointment as the council s president meant that he was the Guardian of the Bahaʼi Faith 49 The Hands of the Cause wrote regarding his reasoning on this point If the President of the International Bahaʼi Council is ipso facto the Guardian of the Bahaʼi Faith then the beloved Guardian himself Shoghi Effendi would have had to be the President of this first International Bahaʼi Council 51 Remey was appointed president of the council in March 1951 52 53 then in December 1951 Remey was appointed a Hand of the Cause 49 54 A further announcement in March 1952 appointed several more officers to the Council and Ruhiyyih Khanum as the liaison between the Council and the Guardian 55 Regarding the authority of the Hands of the Cause Remey wrote in his letter that the Hands have no authority vested in themselves save under the direction of the living Guardian of the Faith 56 He further commanded the Bahaʼis to abandon plans for establishing the Universal House of Justice 57 Remey never addressed the requirement that Guardians should be male descendants of Bahaʼu llah of whom Remey was not His followers later referred to letters and public statements of ʻAbdu l Baha calling him my son as evidence that he had been implicitly adopted 58 but these claims were almost universally rejected by the body of the Bahaʼis 38 In response and after having made many prior efforts to convince Remey to withdraw his claim 59 60 the Custodians took action and sent a cablegram to the National Spiritual Assemblies on 26 July 1960 61 Two days later the Custodians sent Mason Remey a letter informing him of their unanimous decision to declare him a Covenant breaker 49 They cited the Will and Testament of ʻAbdul Baha the unanimous joint resolutions of 25 November 1957 and their authority in carrying out the work of the Guardian 62 as their justification Anyone who accepted Remey s claim to the Guardianship was also expelled 49 In a 9 August 1960 letter to the other Hands the Custodians seem to acknowledge that Remey was not senile or unbalanced but he was carrying out a well thought out campaign to spread his claim 63 Decision of the Universal House of Justice Edit The Universal House of Justice was first elected in 1963 Its seat pictured was constructed in 1982 Main article Universal House of Justice The Bahaʼi institutions and believers around the world pledged their loyalty to the Hands of the Cause who dedicated the next few years to completing Shoghi Effendi s Ten Year Crusade culminating with the election of the Universal House of Justice in 1963 It was at this time the Custodians officially passed their authority as the head of the Faith to the Universal House of Justice 44 64 which soon announced that it could not appoint or legislate to make possible the appointment of a second Guardian to succeed Shoghi Effendi 41 A short time later it elaborated on the situation in which the Guardian would die without being able to appoint a successor saying that it was an obscure question not covered by Bahaʼi scriptures that no institution or individual at the time could have known the answer and that it therefore had to be referred to the Universal House of Justice whose election was confirmed by references in Shoghi Effendi s letters that after 1963 the Bahaʼi world would be led by international plans under the direction of the Universal House of Justice 65 A break in the line of Guardians Edit Mason Remey and his successors asserted that a living Guardian is essential for the Bahaʼi community and that the Bahaʼi writings required it The basis of these claims were almost universally rejected by the body of the Bahaʼis 38 for whom the restoration of scripturally sanctioned leadership of the Universal House of Justice proved more attractive than the claims of Mason Remey 66 The House commented that its own authority was not dependent on the presence of a Guardian 41 and that its legislative functioning was unaffected by the absence of a Guardian 36 It stated that in its legislation it would be able to turn to the mass of interpretation left by Shoghi Effendi 36 The Universal House of Justice addressed this issue further early after its election clarifying that there is nowhere any promise or guarantee that the line of Guardians would endure forever on the contrary there are clear indications that the line could be broken 67 68 c Mason Remey as second Guardian Edit Early Western Bahaʼi pilgrims Charles Mason Remey is standing on the left All Bahaʼis who professed belief in Mason Remey as the second Guardian implicitly did not accept the Universal House of Justice established in 1963 and are shunned by members of the mainstream Bahaʼi Faith Likewise Remey at one point declared that the Hands of the Cause were Covenant breakers that they lacked any authority without a Guardian that those following them should not be considered Bahaʼis and that the Universal House of Justice that they helped elect in 1963 was not legitimate 69 70 Remey attracted about 100 followers in the United States and a few others in Pakistan and Europe 8 Remey maintained his claim to Guardianship and went on to establish what came to be known as the Orthodox Bahaʼis Under the Hereditary Guardianship which later broke into several other divisions based on succession disputes within the groups that followed Remey 37 49 Although initially disturbing the mainstream Bahaʼis paid little attention to his movement within a few years As of 2006 his followers represent two or three groups that maintain little contact with each other comprising at most a few hundred members collectively 8 2 Initially Remey had followers in Pakistan India the United States and parts of Europe He settled in Florence Italy until the end of his life From there he appointed three local spiritual assemblies in Santa Fe New Mexico Rawalpindi Pakistan and Lucknow India then organized the election of two National Assemblies in the United States and Pakistan 71 In 1964 the Santa Fe assembly filed a lawsuit against the National Spiritual Assembly NSA of the Bahaʼis of the United States to receive the legal title to the Bahaʼi House of Worship in Illinois and all other property owned by the NSA The NSA counter sued and won 72 The Santa Fe assembly lost the right to use the term Bahaʼi in printed material Remey then changed the name of his sect from Bahaʼis Under the Hereditary Guardianship to Abha World Faith and also referred to it as the Orthodox Faith of Bahaʼu llah In 1966 Remey asked the Santa Fe assembly to dissolve as well as the second International Bahaʼi Council that he had appointed with Joel Marangella residing in France as president 37 Beginning in 1966 67 Remey was abandoned by almost all of his followers 73 The followers of Mason Remey were not organized until several of them began forming their own groups based on different understandings of succession even before his death in 1974 74 75 The majority of them claimed that Remey was showing signs of senility 73 The small Bahaʼi sects that adhere to Remey as Guardian are now largely confined to the United States 37 and have no communal religious life 76 Orthodox Bahaʼi Faith Edit Main article Orthodox Bahaʼi Faith In 1961 Joel Marangella received a letter from Remey and a note that in or after 1963 You will know when to break the seal 77 In 1964 Remey appointed members to a second International Bahaʼi Council with Marangella as president significant due to Remey s claim to Guardianship being based on the same appointment In 1965 Remey activated the council and in 1966 wrote letters passing the affairs of the Faith to the council then later dissolving it In 1969 Marangella made an announcement that the letter of 1961 was Remey s appointment of him as the third Guardian and that he had been the Guardian since 1964 invalidating Remey s pronouncements from that point forward 78 Marangella gained the support of most of Remey s followers 79 who came to be known as Orthodox Bahaʼis 49 Membership data is scarce One source estimated them at no more than 100 members in 1988 80 and the group claimed a United States membership of about 40 in a 2007 court case 81 Joel Marangella died in San Diego California on 1 September 2013 An unverified website claiming to represent Orthodox Bahaʼis indicates followers in the United States and India and a fourth Guardian named Nosrat u llah Bahremand 82 Harvey Soghomonian and Yazdani Edit Donald Harvey was appointed by Remey as Third Guardian in 1967 49 This group does not use a formal name but Universal Faith and Revelation of Bahaʼu llah and Bahaʼis loyal to the fourth Guardian have been used by its adherents 83 Donald Harvey never gained much of a following 84 Francis Spataro of New York City who supported Donald Harvey s claim as Remey s successor independently organized The Remey Society after losing favor with Harvey Spataro had a newsletter with about 400 recipients and in 1987 published a biography of Charles Mason Remey 85 In 1995 Francis Spataro became an Old Catholic priest and left the Bahaʼi religion altogether After Harvey s death in 1991 leadership of this group went to Jacques Soghomonian a resident of Marseilles France 37 Soghomonian died in 2013 and passed the successorship to E S Yazdani 86 Leland Jensen Edit Main article Leland Jensen Leland Jensen accepted Remey s claim to the Guardianship and later left the group In 1969 he was convicted of a lewd and lascivious act for sexually molesting a 15 year old female patient 87 and he served four years of a twenty year sentence in the Montana State Prison It was in prison that Jensen converted several inmates to his ideas of being what he called the Establisher of the Bahaʼi Faith After being paroled in 1973 and before Remey s death Jensen formed an apocalyptic cult called the Bahaʼis Under the Provisions of the Covenant 88 Membership in his group peaked at 150 200 leading up to Jensen s prophecy of a nuclear holocaust for 29 April 1980 but the disconfirmation caused most of his followers to abandon him 88 Jensen s chosen successor to the Guardianship was Remey s adopted son Pepe a role that Pepe rejected and Jensen died in 1996 with ambiguous leadership for his few remaining followers who fractured in 2001 when one of them claimed to be the Guardian 89 Adherents were mostly concentrated in Montana 88 Reginald Rex King Edit Rex King was elected to Remey s NSA of the United States with the most votes and soon came into conflict with Remey In 1969 he traveled to Italy with the hope of having Remey pass affairs over to him but instead was labeled with the station of satan 90 King then encouraged Marangella to open the sealed letter from Remey and supported his claim but soon took issue with the way Marangella was interpreting scripture 91 King rejected all claimants to the Guardianship after Shoghi Effendi including Remey He claimed that he Rex King was a regent pending the emergence of the second Guardian who was in occultation Hardly anyone followed King 92 He called his group the Orthodox Bahaʼi Faith under the Regency King died in 1977 and appointed four of his family as a council of regents who later changed their name to Tarbiyat Baha i Community 37 93 There are no size estimates from independent sources but they maintain a website and appear to be a small group of mostly Rex King s family that maintained some activity into the early 2000s Size and demographics Edit The following quotes from various sources describe the relative size and demographics of those who followed Mason Remey the Orthodox Baha i Faith a group that claims to have active centers in Great Britain Germany Pakistan and the United States Anita Fussell writing for the Lincoln Journal Star 18 March 1973 Orthodox Baha i A Minority Viewpoint 10 It is impossible to say how many BUPC believers there were on the eve of April 29 1980 but roughly 150 people in Montana Wyoming Colorado and Arkansas made plans to enter fallout shelters On the night of April 28 about eighty believers met at a potluck feast in Missoula for the last time before Armageddon On May 16 the Missoula group finally gathered for its first feast since April 29 Thirty six believers attended almost all the believers outside of Montana eventually rejected Leland Jensen s teachings Everyone in the Arkansas group defected as did most of the believers in Colorado and Wyoming To our knowledge only three members of the Colorado group remained steadfast by the end of the summer and possibly two in Wyoming the size of Leland Jensen s active following remains small in 1982 Balch et al When the bombs drop April 1983 94 Remey died in 1974 having appointed a third Guardian but the number of adherents to the Orthodox faction remains extremely small Although successful in Pakistan the Remeyites seem to have attracted no followers in Iran Other small groups have broken away from the main body from time to time but none of these has attracted a sizeable following Denis MacEoin Bahai and Babi Schisms 1988 5 They call themselves Orthodox Bahais and their following is small a mere 100 members with the largest congregation a total of 11 living in Roswell N M Nancy Ryan writing for the Chicago Tribune 10 June 1988 95 Rejected by his fellow Hands and the overwhelming majority of Baha is Remey was expelled from the Baha i Faith Nevertheless his claim did gain significant minority support in some countries notably France the United States and Pakistan However Remey s followers soon became divided into a number of antagonistic factions and by the time of his death in 1974 the number of Baha is who recognized his claims had greatly diminished A few Remeyite splinter groups continue to operate in the United States Momen amp Smith The Baha i Faith 1957 1988 1989 96 Remey succeeded in gathering a few supporters mainly in the United States France and Pakistan The followers of Remey have decreased in importance over the years especially as they fragmented into contending factions the group led by Joel Marangella number no more than one hundred Small Remeyite groups are now confined to a few states in the United States Moojan Momen The Covenant and Covenant breaker 1995 37 By the end of the 1970s Jensen also had attracted followers in Wyoming Colorado and Arkansas Since 1980 membership in the BUPC has fluctuated considerably but it probably never exceeded 200 nationwide despite Jensen s claims of having thousands of followers around the world In 1994 the last year for which we have a membership list there were only sixty six members in Montana and fewer than twenty in other states The Wyoming and Arkansas contingents disbanded after the 1980 disconfirmation but new groups were formed in Minnesota and Wisconsin By 1990 the group probably had fewer than 100 members nationwide the defection rate accelerated in the 1990s Balch et al Fifteen Years of Failed Prophecy Routledge 1997 97 There are a few hundred Americans who claim to follow Mason Remey Peter Terry Truth Triumphs 1999 98 Mason Remey gained the support of a small but widespread group of Bahaʼis for his claim to be the second Guardian of the Faith 1960 Most of his long term followers were Americans Peter Smith Concise Encyclopedia of the Bahaʼi Faith 2000 49 Some American believers followed Remey When Remey died several of his lieutenants vied for the position of third Guardian dividing his followers into numerous sects none of which have grown no Bahaʼi schism has succeeded in garnering substantial support with most groups eventually dying out altogether Michael McMullen The Bahaʼi The Religious Construction of a Global Identity 2000 4 Total membership in the various Remeyite groups numbers only in the thousands William Garlington Baha i Faith in America 2005 99 the Baha i Under the Provisions of the Covenant is headquartered in Missoula Montana and claims a membership approaching 150 000 although this is almost certainly an exaggeration Carol Matthews New Religions 2005 100 Remey acquired 100 followers in the United States some dozens in Pakistan and a score in Europe The Remey movement continues to this day as two or three groups that maintain little contact with each other are active on the World Wide Web and probably comprise a few hundred members collectively Gallagher amp Ashcraft Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America 2006 8 the Orthodox Bahaʼi Faith in the United States is a very small religious community composed of only about forty persons Jeffrey A Goldberg Attorney for Orthodox Bahaʼi Faith Respondents Orthodox Bahaʼi Respondents Surreply Memorandum to court filing 28 June 2007 101 About 15 Bahaʼis initially followed Remey and were accordingly themselves declared Covenant breakers Hugh C Adamson The A to Z of the Bahaʼi Faith 2009 102 The National Assembly of France and about 100 others followed Remey Manya Brachear writing for the Chicago Tribune 18 May 2009 When religion splits courts get a rare say 103 the Orthodox Bahaʼi Faith has perhaps 100 members and the various other groups together probably total another 100 at most Robert Stockman A guide to the Perplexed 2013 6 the exiled Baha is constitute only 5000 to 8000 Baha is worldwide according to some estimates Some consider even those numbers to be excessively exaggerated Vernon Johnson citing Susan Maneck and Karen Bacquet posting in discussion forum talk religion bahai Baha is in Exile 2020 104 Today the Bahaʼi community has some 5 million members the Orthodox Bahaʼi Faith perhaps 100 and the Bahaʼis Under the Provisions of the Covenant several dozen who are in turn divided into two sects one of which appears to be inactive Robert Stockman The Bahaʼi Faith Violence and Non violence 2020 2 Other Bahaʼi divisions EditFree Bahaʼis Edit The term Free Bahaʼis has been used by or about a small number of Bahaʼis that have rejected the authority of Shoghi Effendi 105 The term was first used by Hermann Zimmer who revived the earlier claims of Ruth White that the Will and Testament of ʻAbdu l Baha was forged White s claim was widely rejected by other Bahaʼis of the time including Bahaʼis who like her were enemies of Shoghi Effendi 106 107 108 White was able to gather the support of a single Bahaʼi in Germany Wilhelm Herrigel who took up her cause 105 only a few Western Bahaʼis followed him 109 and most repudiated him following his death in 1932 110 Zimmer wrote a polemic attacking the Bahaʼi administration in 1971 entitled A Fraudulent Testament devalues the Bahaʼi Religion into Political Shogism 111 which was widely distributed by Evangelical Protestant organizations in Germany and later translated into English and distributed worldwide 106 110 Zimmer attempted to establish a group called Free Bahaʼis or the World Union of Universal Religion and Universal Peace along with Charles Seeburger of Philadelphia but it is not clear that it actually came into being An attempt to form a group in the 1970s was never documented to form 106 Frederick Glaysher Edit Frederick Glaysher of Michigan left the mainstream Baha i community in 1996 and wrote critically of the Baha i administration In 2004 he initiated several websites dedicated to an exposition of the Baha i teachings which excoriated the administration from Shoghi Effendi onward He claimed to have been inspired by Ruth White Mirza Ahmad Sohrab and others Aiming to initiate the same kind of reformation that Martin Luther did when his 95 Theses sparked the Protestant Reformation Glaysher launched his appeal by advancing 95 Theses of the Reform Baha i Faith 112 He briefly had a follower in India in the 2000s 113 and some followers in New Zealand in the late 2000s and early 2010s Glaysher delivered a talk to an interfaith group in Troy Michigan in 2012 114 and the movement appears to have gone defunct soon after The Man Edit The House of Mankind and the Universal Palace of Order followed Jamshid Ma ani and John Carre but appears now to be defunct In the early 1970s a Persian man named Jamshid Ma ani claimed he was The Man a new Manifestation of God He gained a few dozen Iranian Bahaʼi followers John Carre heard of Ma ani and wrote a book trying to get other Bahaʼis to accept a new third Manifestation Carre invited Ma ani to live in his home in California but soon concluded after living with him for four months that he was not at all godly or spiritual and certainly was not a Manifestation of God Ma ani went back to Iran and Carre ended all association with him 37 See also EditBahaʼi Azali splitNotes Edit Browne p 82 The reference appears to be to the unitarian theology of one god rather than any identification with the American Unitarian Association For their authority the Custodians referred to the Will and Testament of ʻAbdul Baha which states that 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 Hatcher amp Martin 1998 p 190 ʻAbdu l Baha 1992 p 12 See Rabbani Ministry of the Custodians 1992 Letter of 28 May 1960 to all National Spiritual Assemblies pp 204 206 Letter of 5 July 1960 to all National Spiritual Assemblies pp 208 209 Letter of 7 July 1960 to all Hands of the Cause Cable of 26 July 1960 to all National Spiritual Assemblies p 223 and Letter of 15 October 1960 to all National Spiritual Assemblies pp 231 236 1 In addition the Guardian had written that the Hands had executive authority in carrying out his directives Effendi 1982 pp 82 83 2 The Universal House of Justice specifically refers to paragraph 42 of the Kitab i Aqdas as evidence that Bahaʼu llah anticipated that the line of Guardians was not guaranteed forever by providing for the disposition of the religion s endowments in the absence of the Aghsan Taherzadeh 1992 p 390 See also Notes 66 and 67 of the Kitab i Aqdas pp 196 197 Citations Edit Smith 2000 p 114 a b c d e Stockman 2020 pp 36 37 Demmrich 2020 a b c d McMullen 2000 p 195 a b c d MacEoin 1988 a b Stockman 2013 p 25 Warburg 2004 p 206 a b c d e Gallagher amp Ashcraft 2006 p 201 Johnson 2020 Ch 11 a b Fussell 1973 Johnson 2020 p xxxvi Barrett 2001 pp 246 247 The World of the Baha i Faith The Covenant 2022 Bahaʼu llah Tablets of Bahaʼu llah p 221 Smith 2000 p 252 Smith 2008 p 44 Smith 2008 pp 43 44 a b Smith 2000 p 218 Smith 2004 pp 4 7 Cole Juan R I Quinn Sholeh Smith Peter Walbridge John eds July 2004 Documents on the Shaykhi Babi and Baha i Movements Behai Quarterly h net msu edu 8 2 Retrieved 17 April 2010 a b Shu a ullah Behai Quarterly Volume 4 Page 23 a b Warburg 2004 p 64 a b Momen 1995 G 2 b a b c Momen 1995 G 2 c Momen 1995 G 2 d iv Effendi 1944 p 355 Momen 1995 G 2 d i Momen 1995 G 2 d ii Mirza Ahmad Sohrab The Bahaʼi Cause pp 309 14 a b Smith 2000 p 325 Smith 2004 p 15 Momen 1995 G 2 d ii See also New York Tax Exempt and NonProfit Organizations Khan Janet A 2005 Prophet s Daughter The Life and Legacy of Bahiyyih Khanum Outstanding Heroine Of The Bahaʼi Faith Wilmette Illinois USA Bahaʼi Publishing Trust pp 123 4 ISBN 1 931847 14 2 a b Momen 1995 G 2 d iv a b c d e f g h i j k Smith 2000 pp 169 170 a b c d e f g h i Momen 1995 G 2 e a b c d e f Smith 2000 pp 175 177 a b Smith 2000 pp 356 357 a b Smith 2000 pp 115 116 a b c d e Smith 2000 pp 346 350 Momen amp Smith 1989 p 89 In the Hands of the Hands Time 9 December 1957 a b c Smith 2000 p 117 See Rabbani 1992 p 37 3 and Effendi 1971 pp 7 8 4 See Rabbani 1992 p 169 5 Taherzadeh 1992 p 324 a b Smith 2000 p 200 a b c d e f g h i j Smith 2000 p 292 Remey 1960 p 1 Rabbani 1992 p 234 Smith 2000 p 199 Effendi 1938 p 8 Effendi 1938 p 20 Effendi 1938 p 22 Remey 1960 p 5 Remey 1960 pp 6 7 Brent Mathieu Biography of Charles Mason Remey Archived from the original on 18 March 2006 Retrieved 28 September 2006 Taherzadeh 1992 p 387 Taherzadeh 2000 p 370 See Rabbani 1992 p 223 See Effendi 1982 pp 82 83 6 Johnson 2020 p 34 Smith 2008 p 68 The Universal House of Justice Letter of 9 March 1965 Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1963 1986 p 50 Momen amp Smith 1989 p 76 Taherzadeh 1992 p 390 The Universal House of Justice Letter of 7 December 1969 Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1963 1986 p 158 Johnson 2020 p 35 Martinez Hutan Hejazi 2010 Baha ism History Transfiguration Doxa PDF USA RICE UNIVERSITY HOUSTON TEXAS p 106 Johnson 2020 p 40 Bahaʼis vs New Mexico Group District Court N D Illinois E Div No 64 C 1878 Decided 28 June 1966 a b Johnson 2020 p 44 Barrett 2001 Warburg 2004 Warburg 2004 p 06 Johnson 2020 p 61 Johnson 2020 pp 60 65 Johnson 2020 p 60 Momen 1995 G 2 e 7 US District Court for Northern District Court of Illinois Eastern Division Civil Action No 64 C 1878 Orthodox Bahaʼi Respondents Surreply Memorandum to NSA s Reply Memorandum p2 para 2 line 15 The National Bahaʼi Council of the Orthodox Bahaʼi Faith Johnson 2020 p 89 Johnson 2020 p 95 Spataro 1987 Johnson 2020 pp 100 101 State v Jensen 455 P 2d 631 Montana 1969 a b c Balch 1997 p 271 Hyslop 2004 Johnson 2020 pp 75 76 Johnson 2020 p 77 Johnson 2020 p 83 Johnson 2020 p 78 Balch 1983 pp 132 133 136 138 139 Ryan 1988 Momen amp Smith 1989 Balch 1997 pp 271 280 Terry 1999 Garlington 2005 p 73 Matthews 2005 p 48 Surreply 2007 Adamson 2009 p 404 Brachear 2009 Johnson 2020 p xxxi a b Johnson 2020 pp 202 205 a b c Momen 1995 Taherzadeh 2000 pp 299 300 Johnson 2020 p 209 Smith 2000 p 357 a b Bramson Lerche 1988 Zimmer 1973 Johnson 2020 p 207 Momen 2008 p 392 Glaysher Frederick founder 5 March 2012 Reform Baha i Faith Talk Troy Interfaith Group Glaysher Frederick Archived from the original on 13 December 2021 References EditBahaʼi source material Edit ʻAbdu l Baha 1992 Composed 1901 08 The Will And Testament of ʻAbdu l Baha Wilmette Illinois USA Bahaʼi Publishing Trust Effendi Shoghi 1944 God Passes By Wilmette Illinois USA Bahaʼi Publishing Trust ISBN 0 87743 020 9 Effendi Shoghi 1982 The Light of Divine Guidance Volume 2 Germany Bahaʼi Publishing Trust ISBN 3 87037 159 5 Effendi Shoghi 1971 Messages to the Bahaʼi World 1950 1957 Wilmette Illinois USA Bahaʼi Publishing Trust ISBN 0 87743 036 5 Effendi Shoghi 1938 The World Order of Bahaʼu llah Wilmette Illinois USA Bahaʼi Publishing Trust ISBN 0 87743 231 7 Books and articles Edit Adamson Hugh C 2009 The A to Z of the Bahaʼi Faith The A to Z Guide Series No 70 Plymouth UK Scarecrow Press ISBN 978 0 8108 6853 3 Balch Robert W April 1983 Republished 2000 When the Bombs Drop Reactions to Disconfirmed Prophecy in a Millennial Sect In Stone Jon R ed Expecting Armageddon Essential Readings in Failed Prophecy New York Routledge pp 129 143 ISBN 0 415 92331 X Balch Robert W 1997 Republished 2000 Fifteen Years of Failed Prophecy Coping with Cognitive Dissonance in a Baha i Sect In Stone Jon R ed Expecting Armageddon Essential Readings in Failed Prophecy New York Routledge pp 269 282 ISBN 0 415 92331 X Barrett David 2001 The New Believers London UK Cassell amp Co pp 247 248 ISBN 0 304 35592 5 Bramson Lerche Loni 1988 Some Aspects of the Establishment of the Guardianship In Momen Moojan ed Studies in Honor of the Late Hasan M Balyuzi Kalimat Press pp 253 293 ISBN 978 0 933770 72 0 Demmrich Sarah 6 January 2020 How to measure Baha i Religiosity Religions 11 1 29 doi 10 3390 rel11010029 Gallagher Eugene V Ashcraft W Michael eds 2006 The Bahaʼis of the United States Asian Traditions Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America Vol 4 Westport Connecticut London Greenwood Press ISBN 978 0275987121 Garlington William 2005 The Baha i Faith in America Praeger Pub Text ISBN 978 0 275 98991 0 OCLC 429027446 Heller Wendy M 2022 Ch 34 The Covenant and Covenant Breaking In Stockman Robert H ed The World of the Baha i Faith Oxfordshire UK Routledge pp 409 425 ISBN 978 1 138 36772 2 Hatcher William Martin J D 1998 The Bahaʼi Faith The Emerging Global Religion New York Harper and Row ISBN 0 87743 264 3 Hinnells John R ed 1984 A Handbook of Living Religions Paperback ed London UK Penguin ISBN 0 14 013599 5 Johnson Vernon 2020 Baha is in Exile An Account of followers of Baha u llah outside the mainstream Baha i religion Pittsburgh PA RoseDog Books ISBN 978 1 6453 0574 3 MacEoin Denis 1988 Last updated 2011 Bahai and Babi Schisms Encyclopaedia Iranica Matthews Carol S 2005 New Religions Religions of the World Philadelphia Chelsea House Publishers p 48 McMullen Michael 2000 The Bahaʼi The Religious Construction of a Global Identity New Brunswick New Jersey London Rutgetrs University Press ISBN 0 8135 2836 4 Momen Moojan 1995 The Covenant and Covenant Breaker bahai library com Retrieved 6 March 2022 Momen Moojan Smith Peter 1989 The Baha i Faith 1957 1988 A Survey of Contemporary Developments Religion 19 63 doi 10 1016 0048 721X 89 90077 8 Momen Moojan 2008 Challenging Apostasy Responses Religion 38 4 392 Rabbani Ruhiyyih ed 1992 The Ministry of the Custodians 1957 1963 Bahaʼi World Centre ISBN 0 85398 350 X Remey Charles Mason 1960 Proclamation to the Bahaʼis of the World Archived from the original on 20 November 2008 Retrieved 10 August 2008 Smith Peter 2000 A concise encyclopedia of the Bahaʼi Faith Oxford UK Oneworld Publications ISBN 1 85168 184 1 Smith Peter ed 2004 The Baha i Faith in the West A survey Studies in the Babi and Bahaʼi Religions Los Angeles Kalimat Press 14 3 60 ISBN 978 1 890688 11 0 Smith Peter 2008 An Introduction to the Baha i Faith Cambridge Cambridge University Press ISBN 978 0 521 86251 6 Spataro Francis 1987 Republished 2003 Tover Publications ISBN 0 9671656 3 6 Charles Mason Remey and the Bahaʼi Faith New York NY Self published through Carlton Press ISBN 978 0806229782 Stockman Robert 2013 Bahaʼi Faith A Guide For The Perplexed New York NY Bloomsbury Academic ISBN 978 1 4411 8781 9 Stockman Robert H July 2020 James R Lewis Margo Kitts eds The Baha i Faith Violence and Non Violence Cambridge Elements Religion and Violence Cambridge UK Cambridge University Press doi 10 1017 9781108613446 ISBN 9781108613446 OCLC 1173507653 S2CID 225389995 Taherzadeh Adib 1992 The Covenant of Bahaʼu llah Oxford UK George Ronald ISBN 0 85398 344 5 Taherzadeh Adib 2000 The Child of the Covenant Oxford UK George Ronald ISBN 0 85398 439 5 Terry Peter December 1999 Truth Triumphs Baha i Library Online Warburg Margit 2004 Bahaʼi Studies in Contemporary Religion Signature Books ISBN 1 56085 169 4 Archived from the original on 9 September 2015 Retrieved 3 November 2010 Zimmer Hermann 1973 A fraudulent testament devalues the Bahai religion into political Shoghism Translated by Blackwell Jeannine Waiblingen World Union for Universal Religion and Universal Peace Press Edit Fussell Anita 18 March 1973 Orthodox Baha i A Minority Viewpoint Lincoln Journal Star Lincoln NE p 2F Retrieved 19 December 2020 via Newspapers com Hyslop Scott 2004 Pluralism Project Harvard University Study of Religion Ryan Nancy 10 June 1988 Bitter dispute divides Bahais Chicago Tribune Chicago IL p 7 Retrieved 19 December 2020 via Newspapers com Brachear Manya A 18 May 2009 When religion splits courts get a rare say Chicago Tribune Chicago IL pp 1 6 Retrieved 19 December 2020 via Newspapers com Court documents Edit The NSA of the Baha is of the USA under the Hereditary Guardianship v The NSA of the Baha is of the USA Civil Action No 64 C 1878 US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division 28 June 1966 The NSA of the Baha is of the USA under the Hereditary Guardianship v The NSA of the Baha is of the USA Civil Action No 64 C 1878 US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division 30 November 2007 The NSA of the Baha is of the USA under the Hereditary Guardianship v The NSA of the Baha is of the USA Civil Action No 64 C 1878 US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division 28 June 2007 Further reading EditJohnson Vernon 2020 Baha is in Exile An Account of followers of Baha u llah outside the mainstream Baha i religion Pittsburgh PA RoseDog Books ISBN 978 1 6453 0574 3 Momen Moojan 8 June 2007 Marginality and Apostasy in the Baha i Community Religion Elsevier 37 3 187 209 doi 10 1016 j religion 2007 06 008 ISSN 0048 721X S2CID 55630282 Archived from the original on 6 October 2010 Retrieved 3 November 2010 MacEoin Denis 1988 Last updated 2011 Bahai and Babi Schisms Encyclopaedia Iranica External links EditOrthodox Bahaʼi Guardian Website representing Joel Marangella s group Tarbiyat Bahaʼi Community Website representing Rex King s group Bahaʼis Under the Provisions of the Covenant Website representing Neal Chase s group Mason Remey and Those Who Followed Him Published by the Universal House of Justice Unitarian Baha is Archived 28 October 2017 at the Wayback Machine Website representing Unitarian Baha is Abdu l Baha s Family Website representing Abdu l Baha s Family Free Baha i Faith Website representing Free Baha is Proclamation of Mason Remey Remey s public declaration in 1960 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Attempted schisms in the Bahaʼi Faith amp oldid 1136414635, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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