| The national administrative body of the Bahá'í
Faith. 'Abdu'l-Bahá in His Will and Testament wrote: 'in all countries a secondary House of Justice must
be instituted, and these secondary houses of Justice must elect the members of the Universal one.'1 The secondary House of Justice is for the present called the national
spiritual assembly. |
| Shoghi Effendi has outlined the election, work and responsibilities of the national
spiritual assemblies: 'In countries where the local Bahá'í communities had sufficiently advanced in number and in influence measures were taken
for the initiation of National Assemblies,
the pivots round which all national undertakings must revolve. Designated by 'Abdu'l-Bahá in His Will as the "Secondary House of Justice", they constitute the electoral
bodies in the formation of the International
House of Justice, and are empowered to direct, unify, coordinate and stimulate
the activities of individuals as well as local Assemblies within their jurisdiction. Resting on the broad base of organized
local communities, themselves pillars sustaining the institution which must be regarded
as the apex of the Bahá'í
Administrative Order, these Assemblies are elected, according to the principle
of proportional representation, by delegates representative of Bahá'í local communities assembled at Convention during the period of the Riḍván
Festival; are possessed of the necessary authority to enable them to insure the
harmonious and efficient development of Bahá'í activity within their respective spheres; are freed from all direct responsibility
for their policies and decisions to their electorates; are charged with the sacred
duty of consulting the views, of inviting the recommendations and of securing the confidence
and cooperation of the delegates and of aquatinting them with their plans, problems
and actions; and are supported by the resources of national funds to which all ranks
of the faithful are urged to contribute.'2 |
| In 1988 there were 148 national spiritual assemblies.† |
| [BD 168] |
| † As of 2008, 184 national spiritual assemblies |
 |
| Having established the structure of their local Assemblies—the base of the edifice which the Architect of the Administrative Order of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh had directed them to erect—His disciples, in both the East and the West, unhesitatingly embarked on the next and more difficult stage, of their high enterprise. In countries where the local Bahá’í communities had sufficiently advanced in number and in influence measures were taken for the initiation of National Assemblies, the pivots round which all national undertakings must revolve. Designated by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in His Will as the “Secondary Houses of Justice,” they constitute the electoral bodies in the formation of the International House of Justice, and are empowered to direct, unify, coordinate and stimulate the activities of individuals as well as local Assemblies within their jurisdiction. Resting on the broad base of organized local communities, themselves pillars sustaining the institution which must be regarded as the apex of the Bahá’í Administrative Order, these Assemblies are elected, according to the principle of proportional representation, by delegates representative of Bahá’í local communities assembled at Convention during the period of the Ridván Festival; are possessed of the necessary authority to enable them to insure the harmonious and efficient development of Bahá’í activity within their respective spheres; are freed from all direct responsibility for their policies and decisions to their electorates; are charged with the sacred duty of consulting the views, of inviting the recommendations and of securing the confidence and cooperation of the delegates and of acquainting them with their plans, problems and actions; and are supported by the resources of national funds to which all ranks of the faithful are urged to contribute. Instituted in the United States of America (1925) (the National Assembly superseding in that country the institution of Bahá’í Temple Unity formed during ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s ministry), in the British Isles (1923), in Germany (1923), in Egypt (1924), in ‘Iráq (1931), in India (1923), in Persia (1934) and in Australia (1934); their election renewed annually by delegates whose number has been fixed, according to national requirements, at 9, 19, 95, or 171 (9 times 19), these national bodies have through their emergence signalized the birth of a new epoch in the Formative Age of the Faith, and marked a further stage in the evolution, the unification and consolidation of a continually expanding community. Aided by national committees responsible to and chosen by them, without discrimination, from among the entire body of the believers within their jurisdiction, and to each of which a particular sphere of Bahá’í service is allocated, these Bahá’í National Assemblies have, as the scope of their activities steadily enlarged, proved themselves, through the spirit of discipline which they have inculcated and through their uncompromising adherence to principles which have enabled them to rise above all prejudices of race, nation, class and color, capable of administering, in a remarkable fashion, the multiplying activities of a newly-consolidated Faith. |
| [ God Passes By 332-333 ] |
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| See also: |
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