“The conjunction of these three resting-places, under the
shadow of the Báb’s own Tomb, embosomed in the heart
of Carmel, facing the snow-white city across the bay of ‘Akká,
the Qiblih of the Bahá’í world,
set in a garden of exquisite beauty, reinforces, if we would correctly estimate
its significance, the spiritual potencies of a spot, designated by Bahá’u’lláh Himself the seat of God’s throne. It marks,
too, a further milestone in the road leading eventually to the establishment of
that permanent world Administrative Centre of the future Bahá’í
Commonwealth, destined never to be separated from, and to function in the
proximity of, the Spiritual Centre of that Faith, in a land already revered and
held sacred alike by the adherents of three of the world’s outstanding
religious systems.” Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By,
p. 348.
“In that same year Bahá’u’lláh’s
tent, the ‘Tabernacle of Glory’, was raised on Mt. Carmel, ‘the Hill of God and
His Vineyard’, the home of Elijah, extolled by Isaiah as the ‘mountain of the
Lord’, to which ‘all nations shall flow’. Four times He visited Haifa, His last
visit being no less than three months long. In the course of one of these
visits, when His tent was pitched in the vicinity of the Carmelite Monastery,
He, the ‘Lord of the Vineyard’, revealed the Tablet of Carmel, remarkable for
its allusions and prophecies. On another occasion He pointed out Himself to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, as He stood on the slopes of that mountain,
the site which was to serve as the permanent resting-place of the Báb, and on which a befitting mausoleum was later to be
erected.” Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, p.
194.
“A person standing on the summit of Mount Carmel, and the
passengers of the steamers coming to it, will look upon the most sublime and
majestic spectacle of the whole world.” ‘Abdu’l-Bahá,
quoted in Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era,
p. 251
“The design of the international Bahá’í
Archives, the first stately Edifice destined to usher in the establishment of
the World Administrative Centre of the Faith on Mt. Carmel—the Ark referred to
by Bahá’u’lláh in the closing passages of His Tablet
of Carmel—has been completed, . . .” Shoghi Effendi, Messages
to the Bahá’í World, 1950–1957, p. 64.
“On the occasion of the Naw-Rúz
Festival . . . I joyfully announce the commencement of the excavation for the
foundations of the International Archives heralding the rise of the first
edifice destined to inaugurate the establishment of the seat of the World Bahá’í Administrative order in the Holy Land.” Shoghi Effendi, Messages to the Bahá’í
World, 1950–1957, p. 75.
On 2 February 1983,
upon the occasion of the occupation of this magnificent edifice, the Universal
House of Justice in a cabled message to the followers of Bahá’u’lláh
in every land stated:
“THIS
AUSPICIOUS EVENT SIGNALIZES ANOTHER PHASE IN PROCESS FULFILMENT SAILING GOD’S
ARK ON MOUNTAIN OF THE LORD AS ANTICIPATED IN TABLET CARMEL, WONDROUS CHARTER
WORLD SPIRITUAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE CENTRES FAITH BAHÁ’U’LLÁH.” The Bahá’í World, (Haifa: World Centre Publications, 1994), vol. XIX, p.
23.
“The Centre for the Study of the Texts . . . will be the
seat of an institution of Bahá’í scholars, the efflorescence
of the present Research Department of the World Centre, which will assist the
Universal House of Justice in consulting the Sacred Writings, and will prepare
translations of and commentaries on the authoritative texts of the Faith.” The Universal House of Justice, A Wider Horizon: Selected Messages of the Universal House of
Justice 1983–1992 (Riviera Beach: Palabra Publications, 1992), p. 52.
“The building was completed and occupied in 1999. It now
houses the Research Department, and is the temporary home of the International Bahá’í Library and other offices.” Visiting Bahá’í Holy Places, p. 35.
“The International Teaching Centre will be the seat of
that institution which is specifically invested with the twin functions of the
protection and propagation of the Cause of God. The institution itself,
referred to by the beloved Guardian in his writings, was established in June
1973, bringing to fruition the work of the Hands of the Cause of God residing
in the Holy Land and providing for the extension into the future of functions
with which that body had been endowed.” The Universal House of Justice, A
Wider Horizon: Selected Messages of the Universal House of Justice 1983–1992,
pp. 51-52.
“Special events were held in January 2001, during the
conference of the Continental Counsellors, which Auxiliary Board members were,
for the first time, invited to attend, to mark the occupation by the
International Teaching Centre of its permanent seat on Mount Carmel. This
coincided with the announcement by the Universal House of Justice of the
beginning of the fifth epoch of the Formative Age of the Faith.” Visiting Bahá’í Holy Places, p. 36.
“Soon after the entombment of the remains of the Báb, one of the believers from ‘Ishqábád,
Mírzá Ja‘far
Rahmání, begged ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
to allow him to build a Pilgrim House in the precincts of the Shrine for the
convenience of visiting pilgrims. The request was granted, and this believer
personally supervised the construction work, and paid for all expenses.
“During the ministry of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, many meetings
were held in His Presence with the pilgrims and members of the local community.
Later, when Shoghi Effendi became Guardian, he too
met the assembled friends and talked to them in this Pilgrim House before leading
them in prayer when visiting the Shrines of the Báb
and of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.” Visiting Bahá’í
Holy Places, p. 37.
“ ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Who was eager to complete the construction of the
Shrine of the Báb, felt He should personally
supervise the erection of the building to expedite the work. He therefore
considered the possibility of establishing a house in Haifa where He could be
near the building project....
“The large central hall of the building is of special significance in that it
was the venue of the gathering which heard the public reading of the Will and
Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá announcing the exalted
office occupied by Shoghi Effendi as Guardian of the
Faith, and also because it was the place where the first International
Convention in 1963 elected the Universal House of Justice.
“At the south-western end of the garden adjoining this house, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá built a small structure, and He had the inner
walls, the ceiling and the floor of one of its upper rooms covered with wood,
as a protection against humidity. It was in this room that He slept at nights
during the period immediately before His passing.” Visiting Bahá’í Holy Places, p. 38
“For all whose hearts she touched so deeply, the sorrow
that this irreparable loss brings will, in God’s good time, be
assuaged in awareness of the joy that is hers through her reunion with the
Guardian and with the Master, Who had Himself prayed in the Most Holy Shrine
that her parents be blessed with a child. Down the centuries to come, the
followers of Bahá’u’lláh will contemplate with wonder
and gratitude the quality of the services—ardent, indomitable, resourceful—that
she brought to the protection and promotion of the Cause.” From a letter of the
Universal House of Justice to the Bahá’ís of the
world, 19 January 2000.
“This structure was built on one of the sites where Bahá’u’lláh pitched His tent. The plans for this building
were drawn up at the request of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and He
modified them until they suited His requirements. The construction work began
in His lifetime and finished at the time of the Guardian. Originally the
building acted as the Western Pilgrim House and from 1951 housed the
International Bahá’í Council as well. From 1963 to
1983 it served as the Seat of the Universal House of Justice. From 1983 to 2000
it was occupied by the International Teaching Centre. Currently the Bahá’í International Community Secretariat and related
offices utilize the premises.” Visiting Bahá’í
Holy Places, p. 39.
“This building served as a pilgrim house for the Western
believers in the years immediately following ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s
return from travels in Europe and America. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
greeted the Western friends here. Amatu’l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum related to
pilgrims that she and her mother stayed in this house during their pilgrimage
shortly after the passing of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. It was
here that she first met the beloved Guardian.”
Visiting Bahá’í Holy Places, p. 39.
“The site for the first Mashriqu’l-Adhkár
of the Holy Land has been selected . . . situated at the head of the Mountain
of God, in close proximity to the Spot hallowed by the footsteps of Bahá’u’lláh, near the time-honoured
Cave of Elijah, and associated with the revelation of the Tablet of Carmel, the
Charter of the World Spiritual and Administrative Centres
of the Faith on that mountain.” Shoghi Effendi,
Messages to the Bahá’í World,
1950–1957, p. 63.