Attempted schisms in the Baháʼí Faith

The Bahá'í Faith has had challenges to leadership at the death of every head of the religion. The vast majority of Bahá'ís have followed a line of authority from Bahá'u'lláh to `Abdu'l-Bahá to Shoghi Effendi to the Custodians to the Universal House of Justice. Sects diverging from this line of leadership have had relatively little success and have failed to attract a sizeable following. In this sense, there is only one major branch of the Bahá'í Faith, represented by at least 5 million adherents, whereas the groups that have broken away have either become extinct with time, or have remained in very small numbers.

Bahá'í scriptures define a Covenant regarding succession which is intended to keep the Bahá'ís unified. Claimants challenging the widely accepted successions of leadership are shunned by the majority group as Covenant-Breakers, though such claimants likewise regard the others in the same way. Other than on the matter of leadership and organization, there are few if any differences between the schismatic and mainstream Bahá'ís in matters of doctrine and practice.

A separate entry discusses the Bahá'í/Bábí split.

`Abdu'l-Bahá's ministry

File:Abdul Baha Abbas.jpg

`Abdu'l-Bahá Abbas

Bahá'u'lláh remained in the Akka-Haifa area house arrest until his death in 1892. According to the terms of his Will, his eldest son `Abdu'l-Bahá was named the centre of authority; Mírzá Muhammad `Alí, the eldest son from Bahá'u'lláh's second marriage was assigned an inferior position.

The Will of the divine Testator is this: It is incumbent upon the Aghsán, the Afnán and My Kindred to turn, one and all, their faces towards the Most Mighty Branch [`Abdu'l-Bahá].

Pursuant to his role as Centre of the Covenant, `Abdu'l-Bahá asserted absolute leadership. Soon Muhammad `Ali complained that `Abdu'l-Bahá was not sharing authority and started working against his elder brother. Most members of the families of Bahá'u'lláh's second and third wives supported Muhammad `Alí but there were very few outside of Haifa who followed him. Muhammad `Alí's supporters called themselves "Unitarian Bahá'ís". In Browne's "Materials" he translates Mirza Jawad's claims that the authoritities began investigating `Abdu'l-Bahá more strictly, because he was acting in an overly superior fashion. Sometime later it was said that Muhammad `Alí was plotting to have `Abdu'l-Bahá hanged for treason against the Ottoman authorities in 1918. According to Shoghi Effendi, `Abdu'l-Bahá was due to be hanged on Mount Carmel near Haifa, but upon hearing of his death warrant, Lord Curzon pressured the British Cabinet to quickly capture the Haifa region from the Ottomans, and thereby rescued `Abdu'l-Bahá.

When `Abdu'l-Bahá died, his will went into great detail about how Muhammad `Alí had been unfaithful to the Covenant, labelling him a Covenant-breaker, and appointing Shoghi Effendi as leader of the Faith instead, with the title of Guardian. Much of `Abdu'l-Bahá's will centred around Muhammad `Alí's apparently jealous nature and inability to remain submissive to `Abdu'l-Bahá, the designated leader of the religion. Here he excommunicated members of Bahá'u'lláh's second and third wives' families. Whole books within Bahá'í literature have been printed to refute the claims of Muhammad `Alí. (Baluzi, Taherzadeh, etc.) This represented what is often described as the most testing time for the Bahá'í Faith.

The schism caused by Muhammad `Alí does not exist anymore. In the `Akká area, the followers of Muhammad `Alí have been reduced to at most six families who have no common organized religious activities.

Shoghi Effendi as Guardian

Appointment

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The last photograph of Shoghi Effendi, taken a few months before he died.

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

Muhammad-`Alí took the opportunity to revive his claim to leadership of the Bahá'í community. He forcibly seized the keys of the Tomb of Bahá'u'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. But the Palestine authorities, after investigations, instructed the British officer in `Akká to deliver the keys into the hands of the keeper loyal to Shoghi Effendi.

Family members expelled

Main article: Covenant-breaker

In 1932 Shoghi Effendi's great aunt, Bahiyyih Khanum, died. She was greatly respected and had instructed all to follow Shoghi Effendi, referring to `Abdu'l-Bahá's Will where it states: "For he is, after `Abdu'l-Bahá, the Guardian of the Cause of God, the Afnán, the Hands (pillars) of the Cause and the beloved of the Lord must obey him and turn unto him...." After her death the other family members began to oppose and disobey Shoghi Effendi openly.

Some family members disapproved of his marriage to a Westerner, Mary Maxwell - daughter of one of the foremost disciples of `Abdu'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 around an alternative leader. At the time of his death in 1957, he was the only remaining male member of the family of Bahá'u'lláh who had not been expelled. Even his own parents had openly fought against him.

American disputes

After the death of `Abdu'l-Bahá, Ruth White questioned the Will's authenticity as early as 1926, 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 `Abdu'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. No permanent schism or alternative leader came of her ideas.

Another division occurred primarily within the American Bahá'í community, which increasingly consisted of non-Persians with an interest in alternative spiritual pursuits. Many had been strongly attracted to the personality of `Abdu'l-Bahá and the spiritual teachings of the Bahá'í Faith. Some regarded it as an ecumenical society to which all persons of goodwill — regardless of religion — might join. When Shoghi Effendi made clear his position that the Bahá'í 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 and Lewis and Julia Chanler, which founded the "New History Society," and it's youth section, the Caravan of East and West. Sohrab and the Chanlers refused to be overseen by the New York Spiritual Assembly, and were expelled by Shoghi Effendi as Covenant-breakers. 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. The New History Society attracted fewer than a dozen Bahá'ís, however its membership swelled to several thousand for a time. It is now defunct. The Caravan House, aka Caravan Institute, later disassociated itself from the Bahá'í Faith, and now remains as an unrelated non-profit organization.

The founding of the Universal House of Justice

Passing of Shoghi Effendi

Main article: Shoghi Effendi

When Shoghi Effendi died in 1957, he died without explicitly appointing a successor Guardian. He had no children, and during his lifetime all remaining male descendants of Bahá'u'lláh had been excommunicated as Covenant-breakers.

Shoghi Effendi's appointed Hands of the Cause unanimously voted it was impossible to legitimately recognize and assent to a successor. The Bahá'í community was in a situation not dealt with in the provisions of the Will and Testament of `Abdu'l-Bahá. Furthermore, the Universal House of Justice had not yet been elected, which represented the only Bahá'í institution authorized to adjudicate on matters not covered by the religion's three central figures.

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 are useful.

Criteria for Guardianship

Main article: Will and Testament of `Abdu'l-Bahá

Other than allusions in the writings of Bahá'u'lláh to the importance of the Aghsán, the role of the Guardian was not mentioned until the reading of the Will and Testament of `Abdu'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.

`Abdu'l-Bahá warned the Bahá'ís to avoid the problems caused by his half-brother Muhammad `Alí. He stipulated the criteria and form for selecting future Guardians, which was to be clear and unambiguous. 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." (p. 12) The appointee was required to be one of the Aghsán (literally: Branches; refers to male descendants of Bahá'u'lláh). Finally, `Abdu'l-Bahá left a responsibility to nine Hands of the Cause, elected from all of the Hands, who "whether unanimously or by a majority vote, must give their assent to the choice of the one whom the Guardian of the Cause of God hath chosen as his successor."(p. 12).

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.(pp. 12 and 21) `Abdu'l-Bahá then adds: "Should any, within or without the company of the Hands of the Cause of God disobey and seek division, the wrath of God and His vengeance will be upon him, for he will have caused a breach in the true Faith of God." (p. 13)

Relationship between the Guardianship and the Universal House of Justice

The Will established the institution of the Guardianship, making it an appointed hereditary executive position, in conjunction with the Universal House of Justice, mentioned by Bahá'u'lláh as an elected legislative body. Their roles are complimentary, 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." The authority of the two institutions was elucidated by `Abdu'l-Bahá:

...The Guardian of the Cause of God, as well as the Universal House of Justice to be universally elected and established, are both under the care and protection of the Abha Beauty... Whatsoever they decide is of God. Whoso obeyeth him not, neither obeyeth them, hath not obeyed God; whoso rebelleth against him and against them hath rebelled against God; whoso opposeth him hath opposed God; whoso contendeth with them hath contended with God; whoso disputeth with him hath disputed with God; whoso denieth him hath denied God; whoso disbelieveth in him hath disbelieved in God; whoso deviateth, separateth himself and turneth aside from him hath in truth deviated, separated himself and turned aside from God.

Shoghi Effendi went into further detail explaining this relationship in The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh:

...Their common, their fundamental object is to insure the continuity of that divinely-appointed authority which flows from the Source of our Faith, to safeguard the unity of its followers and to maintain the integrity and flexibility of its teachings. Acting in conjunction with each other these two inseparable institutions administer its affairs, coordinate its activities, promote its interests, execute its laws and defend its subsidiary institutions. Severally, each operates within a clearly defined sphere of jurisdiction; each is equipped with its own attendant institutions -- instruments designed for the effective discharge of its particular responsibilities and duties. Each exercises, within the limitations imposed upon it, its powers, its authority, its rights and prerogatives...

Divorced from the institution of the Guardianship the World Order of Bahá'u'lláh would be mutilated and permanently deprived of that hereditary principle which, as `Abdu'l-Bahá has written, has been invariably upheld by the Law of God. 'In all the Divine Dispensations,' He states, in a Tablet addressed to a follower of the Faith in Persia, 'the eldest son hath been given extraordinary distinctions. Even the station of prophethood hath been his birthright.' Without such an institution the integrity of the Faith would be imperiled, and the stability of the entire fabric would be gravely endangered. Its prestige would suffer, the means required to enable it to take a long, an uninterrupted view over a series of generations would be completely lacking, and the necessary guidance to define the sphere of the legislative action of its elected representatives would be totally withdrawn.

Severed from the no less essential institution of the Universal House of Justice this same System of the Will of `Abdu'l-Bahá would be paralyzed in its action and would be powerless to fill in those gaps which the Author of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas has deliberately left in the body of His legislative and administrative ordinances.

Role of the Hands of the Cause

Main article: Hands of the Cause

The 27 living Hands of the Cause (Hands), appointed for life by Shoghi Effendi, referred to as the "Chief Stewards" of the religion, and given the responsibility to acknowledge any appointment by a vote, deliberated over whether or not they could legitimately consent to any successor. Following these events Time Magazine reported that there were debates about two possible candidates for Guardian.

On November 25, 1957, the Hands signed a unanimous proclamation, shortly after the passing of Shoghi Effendi, 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 Bahá'í 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 Bahá'í Faith... as are necessary to serve the interests of the Bahá'í 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.

For their authority, they referred to the Will and Testament of `Abdul-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." The Guardian had written that the Hands had executive authority in carrying out his directives.

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

• "That the entire body of the Hands of the Cause, ... shall determine when and how the International Bahá'í 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 the Custodians' 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 Bahá'í community that the Universal House of Justice would consider the matter after it was established per the goals of the Ten Year Crusade.

In deciding when and how the International Bahá'í 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 Bahá'í Court, to a duly elected body, and then to the elected Universal House of Justice. 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." The recognition as a religious court was never achieved, and the International Bahá'í Council was established in 1961 as an elected body, with all adult male and female Bahá'ís eligible for election except for the Hands of the Cause.

Upon the election of the Universal House of Justice in 1963 (the ending point of Shoghi Effendi's ten-year plan) the Custodians closed their office and turned to the House.

Charles Mason Remey

File:Remey1.jpg

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. He was among the nine Custodians elected to serve in the Holy Land as interim head of the Faith.

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

His claim was based on his having been appointed President of the first International Bahá'í Council by Shoghi Effendi in 1951. The appointed council represented the first international Bahá'í body. It was to gain recognition as a religious court, be transformed into an elected body, and further evolve into the Universal House of Justice, with the Guardian as its head. Remey believed that his appointment as the council's president meant he was the Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith:

The Beloved Guardian chose me to be the President of the Bahá'í International Council that is according to his explanation the President of the Embrionic Universal House of Justice. (p. 6)

This is the only position suggestive of authority that Shoghi Effendi ever bestowed upon anyone, the only special and specific appointment of authority to any man ever made by him. (p. 2)

… I expect them to accept me without question as their Commander-in-Chief in all Bahá'í matters and to follow me so long as I live for I am the Guardian of the Faith — the Infallible Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith. (p. 8)

The Hands of the Cause wrote regarding his reasoning, "If the President of the International Bahá'í Council is ipso facto the Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith, then the beloved Guardian, himself, Shoghi Effendi would have had to be the President of this first International Bahá'í Council."

Regarding the authority of the Hands of the Cause, Remey wrote in his letter to the convention that the Hands "have no authority vested in themselves... save under the direction of the living Guardian of the Faith." He further ordered the Bahá'ís to abandon the plans for establishing the Universal House of Justice:

…All these plans of the Hands of the Faith for 1963 that are so absorbing and confusing to the people of the Faith must be dropped and stopped immediately. I am the only one who can command this situation so I have arisen to do so for I alone in all this world have been given the authority and the power to accomplish this. (p. 6) …I now command the Hands of the Faith to stop all of their preparations for 1963 and furthermore I command all believers both as individual Bahá'ís and as assemblies of Bahá'ís to immediately cease cooperating with and giving support to this fallacious program for 1963. (p. 7)

In his proclamation, Remey never addressed the requirement that Guardians should be male-descendants of Bahá'u'lláh, of whom Remey was not. His followers later referred to letters and public statements of `Abdu'l-Bahá calling him "my son" as evidence that he had been implicitly adopted.

In response, and after having made many prior efforts to convince Remey to withdraw his claim, the Custodians took action and sent a cablegram to the National Spiritual Assemblies. Two days later the Custodians sent Mason Remey the following letter:

To the Hand of the Cause Mason Remey

April 30,1960

Dear Mason:

For your information we quote below the text of a cable sent by the Hands in the Holy Land to the Continental Hands and to all National Assemblies on April 28:

Deeply regret necessity inform Bahá'í world Hand Cause Mason Remey now asserting he is Guardian Faith Stop This preposterous claim clearly contrary Sacred Texts can only be regarded as evidence condition profound emotional disturbance Stop Call upon believers everywhere join Hands Holy Land complete repudiation this misguided action Stop Share this message friends.

Before their departure for Canada and the United States, Ruhiyyih KHANUM and Mrs. Collins participated in the decision to take this action, making it unanimous.

With heartfelt regret,

Faithfully yours,

HANDS OF THE CAUSE IN THE HOLY LAND

Citing the Will and Testament of `Abdul-Bahá, the unanimous joint resolutions of November 25, 1957, and their authority in carrying out the work of the Guardian as their justification, the Hands of the Cause expelled Remey and his small group of followers for Covenant-breaking.

Remey maintained his claim to Guardianship, and went on to establish what came to be known as the Orthodox Bahá'ís Under the Hereditary Guardianship, which later broke into several other divisions based on succession within the group that followed Remey.

Decision of the Universal House of Justice

File:FirstUHJ.jpg

Original members of the first Universal House of Justice, 1963.

Main article: Universal House of Justice

With the exception of Remey's followers, the Bahá'í 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, which soon announced that it could not legislate to make possible the appointment of a successor to Shoghi Effendi.

After prayerful and careful study of the Holy Texts... and after prolonged consideration of the views of the Hands of the Cause of God residing in the Holy Land, the Universal House of Justice finds that there is no way to appoint or to legislate to make it possible to appoint a second Guardian to succeed Shoghi Effendi.

A short time later it elaborated on the situation:

... This situation, in which the Guardian died without being able to appoint a successor, presented an obscure question not covered by the explicit Holy Text, and had to be referred to the Universal House of Justice. The friends should clearly understand that before the election of the Universal House of Justice there was no knowledge that there would be no Guardian. There could not have been any such foreknowledge, whatever opinions individual believers may have held. Neither the Hands of the Cause of God, nor the International Bahá'í Council, nor any other existing body could make a decision upon this all-important matter. Only the House of Justice had authority to pronounce upon it.

...

The Guardian had given the Bahá'í world explicit and detailed plans covering the period until Ridvan 1963, the end of the Ten Year Crusade. From that point onward, unless the Faith were to be endangered, further divine guidance was essential. This was the second pressing reason for the calling of the election of the Universal House of Justice. The rightness of the time was further confirmed by references in Shoghi Effendi's letters to the Ten Year Crusade's being followed by other plans under the direction of the Universal House of Justice.

A break in the line of Guardians

Seat of The Universal House of Justice

Mason Remey and his successors asserted that a living Guardian is essential for the Bahá'í community, and that the Bahá'í Writings required it. The Universal House of Justice addressed this issue early after its election.

Future Guardians are clearly envisaged and referred to in the Writings. But 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. Yet, in spite of this, there is a repeated insistence in the Writings on the indestructibility of the Covenant and the immutability of God's Purpose for this Day.

The Universal House of Justice specifically refers to paragraph 42 of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas as evidence that Bahá'u'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. (See also Notes 66 and 67 of the The Kitáb-i-Aqdas, pp. 196-197.)

Further development of Remey's followers

All those that profess belief in Mason Remey as the second Guardian did not accept the Universal House of Justice established in 1963. Spataro, a follower of Remey's, later wrote that he believed the Institution of the Guardianship was set aside by the Hands of the Cause, and abrogated by the Universal House of Justice. Among the Bahá'ís who accepted Mason Remey as the second Guardian, several further divisions have occurred based on opinions of legitimacy and the proper succession of authority. They began to split even before his death in 1974. Some of these divisions are described below.

The Encyclopædia Iranica reports the following:

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.

After declaring himself to be the Guardian, Remey began making published comments that he was in fact the first Guardian rather than Shoghi Effendi, and referring to "violations of the Faith that were made unwittingly by Shoghi Effendi". In 1966 he declared that "the only thing for the second Guardian to do, to set matters aright, is to discard all which Shoghi Effendi did and to institute a New Faith which shall be the Orthodox Faith... [for] the establishment of the TRUE Bahá'í Faith which has not yet been established in the world."

Some of his supporters, particularly Marangella, declared him to be senile in old age. He died at the age of 100 living many of his last years in Florence, Italy.

Under the Hereditary Guardianship

In 1962 Mason Remey asked his supporters in the United States to organize themselves and elect a "National Spiritual Assembly Under the Hereditary Guardianship" (NSAUHG). Among the 9 members elected in 1963 were Frank Schlatter, Rex King, and Leland Jensen. The Assembly was incorporated in New Mexico in 1964.

In 1964 the NSAUHG filed a lawsuit against the National Spiritual Assembly (NSA) of the Bahá'ís of the United States to receive the legal title to the Bahá'í House of Worship in Illinois, and all other property owned by the NSA. The NSA counter-sued, and in August 1966 Remey instructed the NSAUHG to withdraw from any action in the matter "regardless of the consequences." Later that year, Remey asked the NSAUHG to dissolve, as well as the International Bahá'í Council that he had appointed with Joel Marangella as president, residing in France. Marangella, Donald Harvey, and Jacques Soghomonian previously served on the National Spiritual Assembly of France in 1961, and were declared Covenant-breakers when they accepted Mason Remey as the next Guardian.

Over the years following 1966 the followers of Mason Remey were not organized; with some of his followers concluding that Remey was suffering from dementia, until several of the individuals involved began forming their own groups based on different understandings of succession.

Orthodox Bahá'í Faith

Orthodox Bahá'ís accept Joel Marangella as the Third Guardian and successor of Charles Mason Remey.

In 1962 Remey gave Marangella a sealed envelope, with instructions to open it when the time was right. In 1965 Mason Remey called for the International Bahá'í Council, of which Marangella was president, to become active. Marangella then opened the sealed letter, which was a hand-written note by Mason appointing Marangella as his successor. Marangella looks upon that time as the time of his official appointment. Remey then changed his mind, deactivated the International Bahá'í Council in 1966, and in 1969 Marangella announced that he was the third Guardian. All of the members of the 1966 NSAUHG accepted Marangella's claim.

In 1970 Marangella appointed members to a "National Bureau of the Orthodox Bahá'í Faith in New York", which two years later was moved to New Mexico, and subsequently changed its name to "Mother Bahá'í Council of the United States" (1978) and "Provisional National Bahá'í Council" (2000), with all members appointed by Joel Marangella.

The Orthodox Bahá'í Community continues, but membership data is scarce. One source estimated them at no more than 100 members in 1988.. Memorandums from a 2007 court case state their membership in the United States totals approximately 40. Websites claiming to represent the Orthodox community indicate followers in the United States and India.[14][15]. Messages from Joel Marangella indicate that he resides in Perth, Australia.

Bahá'ís Under the Provisions of the Covenant

File:DLJ.jpg

Leland Jensen

Main article: Bahá'ís Under the Provisions of the Covenant

Leland Jensen was one of the nine board members elected to the first NSAUHG in 1963. In 1964, after claiming to be disillusioned with the infighting among Remey's followers, he left the New Mexico group and moved to Missoula, Montana with his wife Opal where they opened a chiropractic clinic. In 1969 he was convicted of "a lewd and lascivious act" for sexually molesting a 15-year-old female patient, and served four years of a twenty year sentence in the Montana State Prison. It was in prison that Jensen claimed to be visited by an angel, and converted several inmates to his ideas of being what he called the "Establisher" of the Bahá'í Faith. After being paroled in 1973, and before the death of Remey, Jensen formed a group called the Bahá'ís Under the Provisions of the Covenant (BUPC). Along with Baha'i and biblical prophecies, he incorporated pyramidology and focused on natural and manmade disasters, making a specific prophecy of a nuclear fallout that was to occur on April 29, 1980, and another predicting that Halley's Comet would begin to collide with the earth on April 29, 1986.

Jensen believed that the Bahá'í administrative order became corrupted following the death of Shoghi Effendi, and that he was chosen by God to re-establish the administration. Accordingly, in 1991 he appointed members to a second International Bahá'í Council (sIBC), intending that it would grow into an elected Universal House of Justice after a nuclear holocaust. Since the 1970s, Jensen believed Remey's adopted son Joseph Pepe was Guardian. He invited him to be the sIBC's president, which Pepe declined, and a long series of debates between them ensued. Pepe died in 1994, after which Jensen began to hint that Neal Chase might be the Guardian. After the death of Jensen in 1996 the members of the sIBC remained believing that there was a Guardian who would make himself known.

A controversy broke Jensen's followers into schism in 2001 when Neal Chase, a council member and close companion of Jensen, announced that he was the fourth Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith, and president of the sIBC. The majority members of the sIBC opposed Chase's claim, while Chase asserted that the sIBC members' failure to recognize him as the Guardian of the Faith amounted to Covenant-breaking, and resulted in an unresolved court case.

Membership data is not made available by the BUPC. A researcher noted that since 1980 membership has fluctuated but never exceeded 200 nationwide. In 1994 the membership list showed 66 members in Montana and less than 20 in other states. A Harvard student researcher noted a community of 30 members in the headquarters of Missoula, Montana in 2003, as well as the existence of BUPC adherents in Denver and Alaska.

Tarbiyat Bahá'í Community

Rex King

The Orthodox Bahá'í Faith Under the Regency was founded by Reginald "Rex" King, who accepted Mason Remey's claim and was appointed in 1963 and 1964 to the NSAUHG.

After conflicts with several of Remey's followers, including Marangella, King decided that "neither Mason Remey nor Joel Marangella had in truth ever been guardians... because of the lack of lineal descendancy". King claimed that what Remey had actually been was "a regent Guardian" for the office of Guardian which was in fact in occultation. King further asserted that he himself "was in actuality the Second Regent...." King's argument was that Remey was senile in old age, and didn't know what he was doing. Following his death in 1977, King left leadership of the community to a Council of Regents, who reorganized as the Tarbiyat Bahá'í Community.

The Regency Bahá'ís do not claim the authority to declare Covenant-breakers, so they try to freely associate with other Bahá'ís. The Council of Regents, which consists mostly of King's family, tries to "maintain the integrity of the Cause of Bahá'u'lláh until such time as the Second Guardian makes himself known, and claims his rightful office." They also still maintain that "the Faith will never be permanently split into factions or denominations as has happened in all previous religions"; with an emphasis on permanently. Membership figures are not published for the Tarbiyat Bahá'í Community. They appear to be restricted to a single group in Las Vegas, New Mexico.

The Remey Society

Francis Spataro of New York City, a supporter of Harvey, independently organized "The Remey Society" after losing favor with Harvey. Spataro published books about Charles Mason Remey, and at one time had a newsletter with about 400 recipients. When Spataro began to preach that Charles Mason Remey was a "Prophet" Harvey cut all ties to Spataro. He then continued to promote the life and works of Charles Mason Remey. In 1995 Francis Spataro became an Old Catholic priest and left the Bahá'í religion altogether. The Remey Society is now extinct.

The Man

The House of Mankind and the Universal Palace of Order followed Jamshid Ma'ani and John Carré, but appear now to be defunct. In the early 1970s a Persian man named Jamshid Ma'ani claimed he was "The Man"; or a new Manifestation of God. He gained a few dozen Iranian Bahá'í followers. John Carré heard of Jamshid, and wrote a book about him; trying to get other Bahá'ís to accept him as a new Manifestation. Carré even invited "The Man" to live in his home in California, but soon concluded, after living with "The Man" for four months, that "The Man" was not at all godly or spiritual and certainly not a Manifestation of God. "The Man" went back to Iran, and Carré ended all association with him. Carré then continued as an "independent Bahá'í" and eventually wrote a book that proclaimed a new Bahá'í Prophet (minor prophet but not a Manifestation) would arise in the year 2001. A Bahá'í from North Carolina named Eric Stetsen wrote an online book in the same style of Bahá'u'lláh; proclaiming (in 2001) that he was that "Prophet". However, Stetson concluded about a year or so later that he was not a "Prophet" and that he had been mistaken about the Bahá'í Faith, and became a born-again Christian. A copy of Carré's book outlining his beliefs is maintained online here [16].

Bahá'í Loyal to the Fourth Guardian

After Harvey's death in 1991, his followers turned to his chosen successor Jacques Soghomonian. Soghomonian has resisted efforts by his followers to organize or to actively proselytize. Soghomonian claims membership of the mainstream Bahá'í Faith will one day "see the light", and reinstate the Guardianship with himself, or (more likely) one of his successors as Guardian; and thus there is no need for two competing organizations. Soghomonian believes that organization is not important, but what is important is to assure that the Guardianship continues, and thus the living Guardian needs only one follower (to act as successor) to continue the line of Guardians who shall one day, perhaps far in the future, return to head the Bahá'í Faith worldwide.

Conclusion

One key Bahá'í doctrine is that the Faith cannot break into sects, Bahá'u'lláh and `Abdu'l-Bahá having gone to some trouble to guard against the possibility. An obvious question then arises concerning the divisions described on this page. Outright opponents of the Bahá'í Faith have latched on to the divisions described on this page as evidence of the falsehood of Bahá'í claims and beliefs.

However, the Bahá'í Writings do in fact envision that challenges to the authority of its successorship will occur but indicate that any divisions would not be permanent nor affect the "vast body of adherents". The fact that there is even a process for expelling Covenant-breakers is seen as further evidence for the eventuality of some challenges to its leadership occurring.

Bahá'ís point out that, while groups or individuals have left the religion, or been told to leave, these have not been as successful attracting followers, nor had as widespread an effect, as the mainstream Bahá'í community. Indeed, they assert, the vast majority of such schismatic groups are already extinct and those remaining have very few followers, especially when contrasted with the Bahá'í Faith's population, now numbering about five million.

Very few statistics of the smaller groups are available, and the Encyclopædia Iranica reports that the smaller groups that have broken away from the main body have not attracted a sizeable following. Adherents.com reports that the Bahá'í Faith is "almost entirely contained within one very organized, hierarchical denomination", led by the Universal House of Justice in Haifa.

On the other hand, it has been pointed out that "it would be surprising if the movement succeeded in resisting tendencies towards fission, heterodoxy and popularization if it moves much beyond its present sectarian dimensions."

References

• `Abdu'l-Bahá (1978). Selections From the Writings of `Abdu'l-Bahá (Hardcover ed.). Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Bahá'í Publishing Trust. ISBN 0853980810.

• `Abdu'l-Bahá (1901-08). The Will And Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Bahá'í Publishing Trust. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)

• Bahá'u'lláh (1873). The Kitáb-i-Aqdas: The Most Holy Book. Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Bahá'í Publishing Trust. ISBN 0853989990.

• Bahá'u'lláh (1873–92). Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh Revealed After the Kitáb-i-Aqdas. Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Bahá'í Publishing Trust. ISBN 0877431744.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date format (link)

• Balyuzi, Hasan (2001). `Abdu'l-Bahá: The Centre of the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh (Paperback ed.). Oxford, UK: George Ronald. ISBN 0853980438.

• Barrett, David (2001). The New Believers. London, UK: Cassell & Co. ISBN 0304355925.

• Browne, E.G. (1918), "Materials for the Study of the Bábí Religion"

• Cohen, Erik (1972). "The Bahá'í Community of Acre". Folklore Research Center Studies 3: pp. 119–141. {{cite journal}}: |pages= has extra text (help)

• Effendi, Shoghi (1974). Bahá'í Administration. Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Bahá'í Publishing Trust. ISBN 0877431663.

• Effendi, Shoghi (1973). Directives from the Guardian. Hawaii Bahá'í Publishing Trust.

• Effendi, Shoghi (1944). God Passes By. Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Bahá'í Publishing Trust. ISBN 0877430209.

• Effendi, Shoghi (1982). The Light of Divine Guidance (Volume 2). Germany: Bahá’í Publishing Trust. ISBN 3870371595.

• Effendi, Shoghi (1971). Messages to the Bahá'í World, 1950-1957. Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Bahá'í Publishing Trust. ISBN 0877430365.

• Effendi, Shoghi (1976). Principles of Bahá'í Administration (4th ed. ed.). London, UK: Bahá'í Publishing Trust. ISBN 0900125136. {{cite book}}: |edition= has extra text (help)

• Effendi, Shoghi (1938). The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh. Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Bahá'í Publishing Trust. ISBN 0877432317.

• Effendi, Shoghi (1983). Hornby, Helen (Ed.) (ed.). Lights of Guidance: A Bahá'í Reference File. Bahá'í Publishing Trust, New Delhi, India. ISBN 8185091463. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

• "Bahá'í Faith: Bahá'í and Babi schisms". 1989. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help); Unknown parameter |ency= ignored (help)

• Hinnells (Ed.), John R. (1984). A Handbook of Living Religions (Paperback ed.). London, UK: Penguin. ISBN 0140135995.

• Rabbani, Ruhiyyih (Ed.) (1992). The Ministry of the Custodians 1957-1963. Bahá'í World Centre. ISBN 085398350X.

• Rabbani, Ruhiyyih (1969). The Priceless Pearl (Hardcover ed.). London, UK: Bahá'í Publishing Trust: 2000. ISBN 1870989910.

• Schaefer, U. (2000). Making the Crooked Straight: A Contribution to Bahá'í Apologetics. Oxford, UK: George Ronald. ISBN 0853984433. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

• Spataro, Francis C. (2003). Charles Mason Remey and the Bahá'í Faith, Tover Publications, Queens, NY 11427-2116. 2003 ISBN 0-9671656-3-6.

• Stone, Jon R. (ed) (2000), Expecting Armageddon, Essential Readings in Failed Prophecy, New York: Routledge, pp. 269–282, ISBN 0-415-92331-x {{citation}}: |first= has generic name (help); Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)

• Taherzadeh, Adib (1972). The Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh. Oxford, UK: George Ronald. ISBN 0853983445.

• Taherzadeh, Adib (2000). The Child of the Covenant. Oxford, UK: George Ronald. ISBN 0853984395.

• Universal House of Justice (1996). Marks, Geoffry W., (Ed.) (ed.). Messages from the Universal House of Justice, 1963-1986: The Third Epoch of the Formative Age. Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Bahá'í Publishing Trust. ISBN 0877432392.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: editors list (link)

• Warburg, Margit (2004). Bahá'í, Studies in Contemporary Religion. Signature Books. ISBN 1560851694.

External links

• Orthodox Bahá'í Faith - Official website
• Bahá'ís Under the Provisions of the Covenant - Official website
• Tarbiyat Bahá'í Community - Official website
• Guardianship of the Bahá'í Faith - Jacques Soghomonian - Official website
• The Covenant and Covenant-breaker - Article by Moojan Momen on the history, purpose, and power of the Covenant.
• Issues Related to the Study of the Bahá'í Faith - Extracts from letters written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice
• Mason Remey and Those Who Followed Him - Published by the Universal House of Justice, along with introductory statements.
• Proclamation of Mason Remey - Remey's public declaration in 1960
• Living Schools of Religion Vergilius Ferm, ed. Ames, Iowa: Littlefield, Adams & Co., 1956. Chapter 19, "The Bahá'í Cause," by Mirza Ahmad Sohrab (pages 309-14)
• Summary of Julie Chanler's From Gaslight to Dawn New History Foundation, NY 1956; Introduced by Robert Stauffer