Temples, Baha'i
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Source: Bahá'í Library Online (bahai-library.com), curated by Jonah Winters. Used by permission of the curator. Original citation: Christopher Buck, Temples, Baha'i, bahai-library.com.
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Temples—Baha’i Faith | 2817

Wong, Eva, trans. Nourishing the Essence of Life:
The Outer, Inner, and Secret Teachings of Taoism.
Boston: Shambhala, 2004.
Wong, Eva, trans. Taoism. Boston: Shambhala, 1997.

Temples—Baha’i Faith

The Baha’i temple—known as a Mashriqu’l-Adhkar,
literally the “Dawning Place of the Praise [of God]”—
is one of the institutions conceived by Bahá’u’lláh, the
founder of the Baha’i Faith. Mashriqu’l-Adhkar is a
term with several meanings, depending on context, and
can variously refer to: (1) a gathering of Baha’is engaged in devotion to God, especially at dawn; (2) any
building dedicated to such worship (as in Iran and the
Transcaspian Territory in Russia, where many Baha’i
communities designated ordinary houses in their local
communities as Mashriqu’l-Adhkars); (3) the complex
of institutions surrounding a central house of worship
that Bahá’u’lláh ordained to be at the very heart of
every Baha’i community; or (4) the central house of
worship itself. The only Baha’i temples that exist at        Baha’i temple and gardens in Haifa. (Hitmans/Dreamstime
present are continental temples. National and local          .com)
Baha’i houses of worship will, in successive stages,
be built in the future, as circumstances and resources
allow.                                                            Baha’i temples are not the only places of Baha’i
In the Baha’i book of laws, The Most Holy Book          worship. Several occasions for collective worship are
(Kitáb-i Aqdas), Bahá’u’lláh ordained that a temple be       ordained in the Baha’i writings, such as morning
raised up in every city, town, and village throughout        prayers, Nineteen-Day Feasts, Baha’i Holy Day obthe world: “O people of the world! Build ye houses of        servances, and devotional meetings, not to mention
worship throughout the lands in the name of Him Who          private worship.
is the Lord of all religions. Make them as perfect as is          Linking worship to service to humanity, the Baha’i
possible in the world of being, and adorn them with          house of worship takes on greater social significance in
that which befitteth them, not with images and effi-         that it is not just spiritual in character, but is dedicated
gies. Then, with radiance and joy, celebrate therein the     to medical, charitable, educational, and scientific purpraise of your Lord, the Most Compassionate.” While          suits as well. ‘Abdu’l-Baha wrote that the Baha’i temit was Bahá’u’lláh who instituted the Baha’i temple, it      ple “is one of the most vital institutions in the world,”
was ‘Abdu’l-Baha (1844–1921)—Bahá’u’lláh’s eldest            for, in its full development, “it is also connected with
son, interpreter, and successor—who further elaborated       a hospital, a drug dispensary, a traveller’s hospice, a
on its essential architectural character and social pur-     school for orphans, and a university for advanced
poses. ‘Abdu’l-Baha encouraged Baha’is to establish          studies” and “other philanthropic buildings”—such as
Mashriqu’l-Adhkars in every “hamlet and city.” If not        a home for the aged—open to people of all races, relipossible due to persecution, then a Mashriqu’l-Adhkar        gions, and ethnicities. Thus the Baha’i temple is part
could even be “underground.”                                 of a grand vision of community building and urban

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2818 | Temples—Baha’i Faith

planning, universally conceived and locally planned.           mons may be preached nor rituals performed. Sermons
In the words of Shoghi Effendi, Bahá’u’lláh’s grand-           and rituals, as commonly understood, are not part of
son and “Guardian” of the Baha’i Faith from 1921 to            Baha’i practice anywhere, and the Baha’i Faith has no
1957, each house of worship and its dependencies               clergy. Use of pulpits is expressly forbidden in the
“shall afford relief to the suffering, sustenance to the       Kitáb-i-Aqdas, not just in the temples. No fixed speakpoor, shelter to the wayfarer, solace to the bereaved,         er’s platforms or altars are allowed, although readers
and education to the ignorant.”                                may read sacred scriptures from behind an unadorned,
Also associated with each Baha’i house of worship         portable lectern. During devotional programs, invited
—although not part of the temple complex, strictly             readers—of any faith—recite or chant, in any language,
speaking—is a center for Baha’i administration, known          the sacred scriptures of the Baha’i Faith and of other
as a Haziratu’l-Quds (an Arabic term meaning “Sa-              religions. Bahá’u’lláh exhorts parents to teach their
cred Fold”), although it is not to be connected to the         children to memorize passages from the Baha’i writ-
Baha’i temple as such. An institution complementary            ings, so that they may chant or recite them in the
to the Mashriqu’l-Adhkar, the Haziratu’l-Quds may              Mashriqu’l-Adhkar. In the Baha’i house of worship
consist of a council chamber, secretariat, treasury, pub-      in Wilmette, devotional services are currently held at
lishing trust, archives, library, and assembly hall, and       12:30 p.m. daily.
may be situated near the Mashriqu’l-Adhkar, although                Music is regarded as a vital part of worship. Prayers
this is not a requirement, as is already the case in Wil-      and readings set to music may be sung by choirs or
mette, Illinois, where the Mashriqu’l-Adhkar—as the            soloists a cappella, as only the human voice, with no
headquarters of the National Spiritual Assembly of the         accompaniment by musical instruments, may be in-
Baha’is of the United States—is located in Wilmette            toned during worship. This restriction applies only to
and in nearby Evanston.                                        worship in the Temple Auditorium, not to Baha’i wor-
The basic design for a Baha’i house of worship is         ship generally, which includes music of all kinds. Indistinctive in that each temple requires three essential       struments may be played in the vicinity of the Baha’i
elements: (1) a nine-sided, (2) circular shape, (3) sur-       temple, however. On November 22, 2000, in New Delhi,
rounded by nine gardens with walkways. In Baha’i               India, for instance, the opening ceremony of the interthought, the number nine symbolizes completion, per-           national “Colloquium on Science, Religion and Develfection, and the unity of religions in their pure form.        opment” featured a concert of classical Indian music
Nine likewise represents the numerical value of the Ara-       performed, with traditional instruments, on the grounds
bic word, “Bahá’,” from which the words “Bahá’u’lláh”          of the Baha’i Lotus Temple in New Delhi, India. In
and “Baha’i” (follower of Bahá’u’lláh) are derived.            the Wilmette temple, instrumental music has been per-
While a dome is not an essential requirement, it has so        formed in the meeting room below.
far been a structural feature of all Baha’i temples, as             At present, there is a Baha’i house of worship on
Shoghi Effendi advised in 1955 that “at this time all          each continent of the world, with the construction of
Baha’i temples should have a dome.” Beyond these               national and local houses of worship reserved for the
essentials, a Baha’i temple is typically designed to be        future, as resources permit. The resources, or funds,
culturally distinctive, often incorporating indigenous         necessary to erect and maintain these institutions comes
architectural influences in the design. Each design is se-     from the regular or earmarked contributions of Baha’is
lected for its intrinsic merit, irrespective of whether the    only. Accepting donations from outside sources is
architect is Baha’i or not. Two houses of worship—in           strictly forbidden, as only Baha’is have the privilege
Frankfurt and Panama—were designed by architects               of contributing to the Baha’i funds. While each Baha’i
not affiliated with the Baha’i Faith, while other non-         temple is administered and maintained by the naaffiliated architects have collaborated in perfecting the      tional Baha’i council (known as a National Spiritual
designs in Ishqabad and Sydney.                                Assembly) of the country in which the temple is lo-
The doors of all Baha’i houses of worship are open        cated, the ultimate oversight of the continental Baha’i
to people of all religions, races, and nations. No ser-        houses of worship is by the international governing

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Temples—Baha’i Faith | 2819

Baha’i council, called the Universal House of Justice,         Shoghi Effendi, is “the noblest structure reared in the
established in 1963. There are now seven Baha’i tem-           first Baha’i century, and the symbol and precursor of
ples, with a eighth under construction, although the           a future world civilization.”
first Baha’i temple, which no longer exists, would bring            The third Baha’i temple is located in Africa, on
the number to nine.                                            Kikaya Hill on the outskirts of Kampala, Uganda. It
The first Baha’i temple was built in Ashgabat            was designed by Charles Mason Remey, who worked
(Ashkhabad) in Russia’s Transcaspian Territory (now            closely with Shoghi Effendi in refining the design.
Turkmenistan). It was first planned during the ministry        Building commenced in May 1957, and the temple
of Bahá’u’lláh. This temple was designed by Ustad              was dedicated on January 15, 1961. Standing at nearly
‘Alí-Akbar Banna of Yazd, under the direct super-              124.7 feet in height, the temple was the highest strucvision of ‘Abdu’l-Baha, during the former’s visit to           ture in East Africa at the time of its construction.
‘Akká in 1893. Construction began in October 1902.                  A landmark on the scenic northern coast of Syd-
Because Banna was killed during an anti-Baha’i po-             ney, Australia, the fourth Baha’i temple is located in
grom during his visit to Yazd in 1903, a Russian engi-         Ingleside on the Mona Vale Hilltop, in the hills and
neer named Volkov was then hired to oversee the                bushland overlooking the beaches below. Also designed
construction, which was completed in 1919. In 1928,            by Remey, excavations began in December 1957, and
the temple was expropriated by the Soviet regime, and          the completed temple was dedicated on September 16,
was then rented back to the Baha’is for two five-year          1961. Like the Wilmette temple, the Sydney house
periods. It was finally converted into an art gallery in       of worship is distinguished by its innovative use of
1938. In 1948, the temple was damaged by violent               crushed quartz concrete. The temple is topped by a
earthquakes and further weakened by the heavy rains            lantern set in place by a helicopter—an innovation in
in the following years. In 1963, Soviet authorities de-        Australian construction. The temple is often used by
molished the remaining edifice and converted the site          aircraft and ships for navigational purposes, since the
into a public park.                                            site of approximately nine hectares is the highest point
The second Baha’i house of worship was built             in the area.
near the shore of Lake Michigan in Wilmette, north of               The fifth Baha’i temple was designed and built
Chicago. On May 1, 1912, ‘Abdu’l-Baha laid the cor-            by Frankfurt architect Teuto Rocholl at Langenhain, in
nerstone, which remains in a special room beneath              the Taunus Hills near Frankfurt-am-Main, West Gerthe main floor of the temple itself. On that historic oc-      many. Its foundation stone was laid in November 1960
casion, ‘Abdu’l-Baha explained that “the original pur-         and the temple was dedicated on July 4, 1964, by
pose of temples and houses of worship is simply that           Rúhíyyih Rabbani—distinguished Hand of the Cause
of unity—places of meeting where various peoples,              of God (an appointed dignitary whose mission is to
different races and souls of every capacity may come           promulgate and protect the Baha’i Faith) and wife of
together in order that love and agreement should be            the late Shoghi Effendi (d. 1957)—representing the
manifest between them . . . that all religions, races and      Universal House of Justice. All existing Baha’i temsects may come together within its universal shelter.”         ples were dedicated by Rúhíyyih Rabbani, in fact.
The principal architect, Louis J. Bourgeois (French-          The sixth Baha’i temple was built on Cerro Son-
Canadian), who originated the exterior design in 1919,         sonate, a mountain seven miles north of Panama City,
likened the Wilmette house of worship to a “Great              Panama. The cornerstone was laid on October 8, 1967.
Bell, calling to America.” Alfred Shaw of Shaw, Metz,          Designed by English architect Peter Tillotson, conand Dolio, designed the exterior and interior cladding,        struction commenced on December 1, 1969, and the
made of white Portland cement concrete with both clear         temple was dedicated on April 29, 1972. The temple’s
and white quartz aggregate. The temple was dedicated           parabolic dome is built on the principle of a shell.
on May 1, 1953. In 1978, it was added to the National          Adorning the dome’s supporting walls are abstract
Register of Historic Places and has received presti-           designs, in red marble chips, that evoke the decor of
gious design awards. “This unique edifice,” wrote              temples of the ancient Americas. Mahogany seats, set

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2820 | Temples—Baha’i Faith

on a terrazzo floor, complete the interior space, which       the “Paul Waterbury Special Citation for Outdoor Lightseats 550 people.                                             ing” by the Illuminating Engineering Society of North
The seventh Baha’i temple was built in Western           America for what was described as “the Taj Mahal of
Samoa, in the Pacific Ocean, at Tiapapata, in the hills       the Twentieth Century.” In 1990, the American Conbehind Apia. Designed by Hossein Amanat, the foun-            crete Institute recognized Sahba with its “Finest Condation stone was laid on January 27, 1979, by His             crete Structure in the World” award.
Highness Susuga Malietoa Tanumafili II, Head of State              The ninth Baha’i temple, near Santiago in Chile,
of Samoa—the first ruling head of state in the world to       is the last of the continental Baha’i temples. Designed
become a Baha’i—and by Hand of the Cause, Rúhíyyih            by Siamak Hariri of Toronto, Canada, this temple is
Rabbani, representing the Universal House of Justice.         conceived of as a translucent “temple of light.” It will,
Both dignitaries also were prominent in the dedication        in the words of the architect, be “both monumental and
of the house of worship on September 1, 1984.                 intimate, subtly structured and ordered yet capable of
The eighth Baha’i temple, known as the Lotus             dissolving in light.” This temple is constructed of a
Temple because of its shape, was built near Nehru             dome of glowing, translucent stone, and is notable for
Place, at Bahapur, in New Delhi, India. Designed by           its absence of straight lines. The structure is created
Fariburz Sahba, a Canadian of Iranian birth, the Lotus        by nine alabaster (translucent stone) and cast-glass
Temple was conceived as a lotus that appears to float         “wings,” allowing sunlight to filter through during the
in a series of nine reflecting pools. There are three         day, and emitting a warm glow from the interior lightrows of nine petals each on the outside of the temple—        ing at night. Gracefully torqued, these wings wrap
that is, 27 exterior petals on the outside of the temple      around the interior of the dome, creating a nest-like
—and 2 interior rows of 9 petals, which comprise the          structure. Each wing is made of two delicate skins of
interior dome of the Lotus. So there are five rows of         semitransparent, subtly gridded alabaster, with a steel
nine petals each, representing the sacred names, the          structure enclosed in curving glass in between, with its
“Báb” and “Bahá’”—commemorating the two prophet-              primary structural members intertwining with secondfounders of the Baha’i Faith. Described by one com-           ary support members, like the structural veining within
mentator as having the “the grandeur of a palace and          a leaf. The primary purpose of the nine surrounding
the peace of a monastery,” the design of Lotus Temple         ponds is to reflect the temple.
was originally inspired after Sahba had visited several            In its April 2001 message, the Universal House of
holy places in India, when he realized that the symbol        Justice announced that the completion of the continenof the lotus blossom was revered by all the religions of      tal houses of worship would pave the way for the next
the Indian subcontinent. Construction began on April          stage of Mashriqu’l-Adhkár development: the construc-
21, 1980, and the Lotus Temple was dedicated on De-           tion of national houses of worship, as circumstances
cember 24, 1986.                                              permit. Wherever possible, each National Spiritual As-
The Lotus Temple has enjoyed international re-           sembly has purchased a temple site for its national
nown and critical acclaim, having received prestigious        house of worship. In northeast Tehran, Iran, for instance,
awards from architectural and engineering societies. In       a two-square mile parcel of land, named Hadíqa, on the
1987, the Lotus Temple received a “Structural Award”          slopes of Mount Alburz, had previously been procured
from the Institution of Structural Engineers of the           for the eventual construction of the first Baha’i house of
United Kingdom (the world’s leading professional body         worship in the birthplace of the Baha’i Faith. As of 2007,
for structural engineering) for excellence in structural      a total of 148 temple sites around the world had been
engineering (excellence, creativity and innovation, sus-      acquired for future national Baha’i houses of worship.
tainability, value, and buildability). In that same year,          It was Shoghi Effendi who heralded the Baha’i
Sahba was honored with the “First Honor Award—                house of worship in Wilmette as “the symbol and pre-
Excellence in Architecture” from the Interfaith Forum         cursor of a future world civilization.” If their respecon Religion, Art and Architecture Affiliate of the Amer-      tive charitable, humanitarian, educational, medical, and
ican Institute of Architects. In 1988, Sahba was given        scientific missions are progressively implemented, then

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Temples—Buddhist | 2821

the sacred purpose of the Baha’i houses of worship—            See also: Baha’i Faith; Bahá’u’lláh.
continental, national, and local—will have been real-
References
ized, and the concept of worship transformed into one
Badiee, Julie. An Earthly Paradise: Baha’i Houses
of service to humanity.
of Worship around the World. Oxford: George
On July 8, 2008, the United Nations Educational,
Ronald, 1992.
Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World
Badiee, Julie, and the editors. “Mashriqu’l-Adhkár.”
Heritage Committee designated two Baha’i shrines
Baha’i Encyclopedia Project. http://www
in Israel—the Shrine of the Báb on Mount Carmel in
.bahai-encyclopedia-project.org. Accessed
Haifa, Israel, and the Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh, located
September 5, 2009.
near Old Acre on Israel’s northern coast—as World
Baha’u’llah. The Kitab-i-Aqdas: The Most Holy
Heritage sites. They were the first modern religious
Book. Wilmette, IL: Bahai Pub Trust, 1993.
edifices to be added to the UNESCO list. Not only are
Flint, A. R., D. I. Cooper, and S. Naharoy. “The
these Baha’i shrines places of commemoration for
Structural Design and Construction of Two
the Báb (1819–1850) and Bahá’u’lláh (1817–1892), the
Baha’i Houses of Worship.” The Structural
prophet-founders of the Baha’i Faith, but each of the
Engineer 65, no. 3 (1987).
eight existing Baha’i houses of worship also attracts
Rafati, V[ahid] and F[ariburz] Sahba. “Bahai Faith
international attention as well.
IX. Bahai Temples.” In “Bahai Faith Part 2.”
In 2007 the state of Illinois announced that the
Encyclopedia Iranica, edited by Ehsan Yarshater.
Baha’i house of worship in Wilmette (north of Chihttp://www.iranica.com/newsite/index.isc
cago) had been popularly voted, in an online poll, as
?Article=http://www.iranica.com/newsite/
one of the “Seven Wonders” of Illinois. On the other
articles/unicode/v3f4/v3f4a100.html. Accessed
side of the world, in New Delhi, India, the Baha’i Lotus
September 4, 2009.
Temple, with more than 4.6 million visitors in 2007, is
Sahba, Fariburz. “Art and Architecture: A Baha’i
one of the world’s most popular tourist attractions
Perspective.” Journal of Baha’i Studies 7, no. 3
today. All of the houses of worship are open to people
(1997): 53–82. http://www.bahai-studies.ca/
of all faiths for prayer and meditation, reflecting the
journal/files/jbs/7.3.Sahba(scanned).pdf. Ac-
Baha’i belief that the world’s great religions have come
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from the same God in critical moments throughout
Vegh, Petr, and Greg Hildebrand. “The New Baha’i
history, as part of a process called “Progressive Reve-
Mother Temple for South America: Some Aslation.” Beyond their popularity and critical acclaim,
pects of the Façade Design.” 11th Canadian
Baha’i temples have an added significance, in that each
Conference on Building Science and Technology,
is a nucleus for future institutions not typically associ-
Banff, Alberta, 2007. http://bricks-and-brome
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.net/03c11.pdf. Accessed September 6, 2009.
According to Shonghi Effendi, the Baha’i house
Whitmore, Bruce W. The Dawning Place: The
of worship in Wilmette, Illinois, is “the symbol and
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precursor of a future world civilization.” Plans call for
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associating with each Baha’i temple a university, hos-
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pital and pharmacy, school for orphans, and traveler’s
hospice, among administrative and other ancillary institutions. As part of a grand vision, Baha’i temples—as
embryonic multipurpose institutions—not only pro-              Temples—Buddhist
vide spiritual renewal, but are endowed with scientific,
medical, educational, and charitable purposes as well.         Buddhism emerged initially as a monk-centered faith,
For now, it is their architectural magnificence that has       whose members itinerated though most of the year.
attracted popular and international attention.                 Once they began to settle in one place for the rainy
Christopher Buck        season, temples and monasteries began to emerge.

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-- Temples, Baha'i (Used by permission of the curator)