Baha'i House of Worship:

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Baha'i House of Worship is an institution in itself... but architecturally it has nine entrances. Here is a video of the several HOuses of Worship around the world. The Temple in Ishqabad is featured first but was seized by the Soviets and later destroyed by earthquake and neglect... The Temple in Santiago, Chile is in process of being built...

Baha'i Houses of Worship - YouTube
 
Around the House of Worship there will be the following institutions...


"The Temple is the most great foundation of the world of humanity and it hath many branches. Although the Temple is the place of worship, with it is connected a hospital, pharmacy, pilgrims' house, school for the orphans, and a university for the study of high sciences. Every Temple is connected with these five things. I hope that now in America they will build a Temple and gradually add to it the hospital, school, university, pharmacy and pilgrims' house with the utmost efficiency and thoroughness. Thou shouldst make known to the believers these details, so that they may realize how important the Temple is. The Temple is not only a place for worship; nay, it is perfect in every way."

~ Abdu'l-Baha, Tablets of Abdu'l-Baha v3, p. 626
 
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Baha'i House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois

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Inscriptions carved Temple entrances and alcoves

At the Baha'i House of Worship in Wilmette Illinois:

Nine Inscriptions Carved Above the Entrances of the Temple:

  1. "The earth is but one country; and mankind its citizens."
  2. "The best beloved of all things in My sight is justice; turn not away therefrom if thou desirest Me."
  3. "My love is My stronghold; he that entereth therein is safe and secure."
  4. "Breathe not the sins of others so long as thou art thyself a sinner."
  5. "Thy heart is My home; sanctify it for My descent."
  6. "I have made death a messenger of joy to thee; wherefore dost thou grieve?"
  7. "Make mention of Me on My earth that in My heaven I may remember thee."
  8. "O rich ones on earth! The poor in your midst are My trust; guard ye My Trust."
  9. "The source of all learning is the knowledge of God, exalted be His glory." BAHÁ'U'LLÁH
Nine Inscriptions Appearing In the Temple Alcoves:

  1. "All the prophets of God proclaim the same faith."
  2. "Religion is a radiant light and an impregnable stronghold."
  3. "Ye are the fruits of one tree and the leaves of one branch."
  4. "So powerful is unity's light that it can illumine the whole earth."
  5. "Consort with the followers of all religions with friendliness."
  6. "O Son of Being! Thou art My lamp and My light is in thee."
  7. "O Son of Being! Walk in My statutes for love of Me."
  8. "Thy Paradise is My love; thy heavenly home reunion with Me."
  9. "The light of a good character surpasseth the light of the sun." BAHÁ'U'LLÁH
The Bahá'í House of Worship
 
I recall my first trip to the Baha'i House of Worship in Wilmette Ill. It was back in 1970 and I was attending a conference in Chicago. To get the Temple I had to take the "L" train north and enjoyed the scenery along the way..as we passed the trees I was looking eastward..and peeking out between the trees the dome of the Temple was visible.. It became increasingly so as we proceeded and I noticed flights of gulls circumnavigating the dome. It was a visit I'll not forget.

Seven Wonders of Illinois: Baha'i House of Worship - YouTube
 
Abdul-Baha tells the story of Haji Mirza Muhammad-Taqi, the Afnan and the building of the first Baha'i House of Worsjhip in Ishqabad...



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After the ascension of Bahá'u'lláh, the Afnan, loyal and staunch in the Covenant, rendered even more services than he had before; this in spite of many obstacles, and an overwhelming load of work, and an infinite variety of matters all claiming his attention. He gave up his comfort, his business, his properties, estates, lands, hastened away to Ishqabad and set about building the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar; this was a service of very great magnitude, for he thus became the first individual to erect a Bahá'í House of Worship, the first builder of a House to unify man. With the believers in Ishqabad assisting him, he succeeded in carrying off the palm. For a long period in Ishqabad, he had no rest. Day and night, he urged the believers on. Then they too exerted their efforts, and made sacrifices above and beyond their power; and God's edifice arose, and word of it spread throughout East and West. The Afnan expended everything he possessed to rear this building, except for a trifling sum. This is the way to make a sacrifice. This is what it means to be faithful.

~ Abdu'l-Baha, Memorials of the Faithful, p. 127
 
Chile House of Worship architects receive a prestigious award






A model of the Baha'i House of Worship in Santiago, Chile. © Baha'i International Community Toronto, Ontario, 22 July 2013 (CBNS) —

Hariri Pontarini Architects has received the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada’s (RAIC) 2013 Architectural Firm Award. The award was presented in June at the RAIC Festival of Architecture in Halifax.


Representing more than 4,600 members, the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada is the leading voice of architecture in Canada. Its Architectural Firm Award recognizes the achievements of a firm for “its quality of architecture, its service to its clients, its innovations in practice, contributions to architectural education and to professional institutions and associations and public recognition.”




In announcing the award recipient, the jury noted: “Hariri Pontarini Architects’ work is noteworthy and significant in the rigour, balance, and utter refinement of form, materials and detail control and utmost precision in execution, evidenced in all their projects. The jury particularly appreciated the range of work – from high-rise housing to public buildings – all demonstrating responsiveness to site, program and tectonics.”


Chile House of Worship architects receive a prestigious award | Canadian Bahá'í News Service
 
Purpose of the Baha'i House of Worship:

"Far from the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár offering such a spectacle of incoherent and confused sectarian observances and rites, a condition wholly incompatible with the provisions of the Aqdas and irreconcilable with the spirit it inculcates, the central House of Bahá’í worship, enshrined within the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, will gather within its chastened walls, in a serenely spiritual atmosphere, only those who, discarding forever the trappings of elaborate and ostentatious ceremony, are willing worshipers of the one true God, as manifested in this age in the Person of Bahá’u’lláh.

"To them will the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár symbolize the fundamental verity underlying the Bahá’í Faith, that religious truth is not absolute but relative, that Divine Revelation is not final but progressive. Theirs will be the conviction that an all-loving and ever-watchful Father Who, in the past, and at various stages in the evolution of mankind, has sent forth His Prophets as the Bearers of His Message and the Manifestations of His Light to mankind, cannot at this critical period of their civilization withhold from His children the Guidance which they sorely need amid the darkness which has beset them, and which neither the light of science nor that of human intellect and wisdom can succeed in dissipating.

"And thus having recognized in Bahá’u’lláh the source whence this celestial light proceeds, they will irresistibly feel attracted to seek the shelter of His House, and congregate therein, unhampered by ceremonials and unfettered by creed, to render homage to the one true God, the Essence and Orb of eternal Truth, and to exalt and magnify the name of His Messengers and Prophets Who, from time immemorial even unto our day, have, under divers circumstances and in varying measure, mirrored forth to a dark and wayward world the light of heavenly Guidance."

~ Shoghi Effendi
 
Some important features of worship in the Temple:

The Reason For a Place of Worship

"You had asked about places of worship and the underlying reason therefore. The wisdom in raising up such building is that at a given hour, the people should know it is time to meet, and all should gather, and, harmoniously attuned one to another, should engage in prayer; with the result that out of this coming together, unity and affection shall grow and flourish in the human heart."

(Abdu'l-Bahá: from a newly translated extract cited in a compilation on the Temple from the World Centre) 607

The Character of Meetings in the Auditorium

"As to the character of the meetings in the Auditorium of the Temple, he feels that they should be purely devotional in character, Bahá'í addresses and lectures should be strictly excluded. For the present, he feels that there would be no objection to having Bahá'í meetings including addresses and the business sessions of the Convention held in the Foundation Hall. Shoghi Effendi would urge that choir singing by men, women and children encouraged in the Auditorium and that rigidity in the Bahá'í service be scrupulously avoided. The more universal and informal the character of Bahá'í worship in the Temple the better. Images and pictures, with the exception of the Greatest Name, should strictly excluded. Prayers revealed by Bahá'u'lláh and the Master as well as sacred Writings of the Prophets should be read or chanted as well as hymns based upon Bahá'í or non-Bahá'í sacred Writings."

(From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada, April 2, 1931)

Non-Bahá'í Public Welcome

"Let the friends not hesitate to welcome to their observances, even to those of a devotional character, the non-Bahá'í public, many of whom may well be attracted by the prayers and expressions of gratitude of the believers, no less than by the exalted tone of passage from Bahá'í Writings."

(From a letter of the Universal House of Justice to all National Spiritual Assemblies, June 25, 1967: Wellspring of Guidance, p. 116)

(Compilations, Lights of Guidance, p. 606)
 
Baha'i House of Worship in Samoa:

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The Baha'i House of Worship Samoa

Designated as a “place of spiritual gathering and of the manifestation of divine mysteries”, the Baha'’i' House of Worship and prayer gardens are open daily for prayer, meditation, and personal reflection to peoples all religions, races and nationalities. Its majestic architecture and tranquil atmosphere, set within fifteen acres of stunning gardens, offer an experience like none other. Visitors are warmly welcomed.
 
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