Religion in Sussex

Religion in Sussex has been dominated over the last 1,400 years by Christianity. Like the rest of England, the established church in Sussex is the Church of England, although other Christian traditions exist. After Christianity, the religion with the most adherents is Islam, followed by Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism and Sikhism.
Sussex is sometimes referred to as 'Silly Sussex', for silly is a corruption of Old Saxon "saelig" meaning 'holy'.
The historic county has been a single diocese after St Wilfrid converted the kingdom of Sussex in the seventh century. Historically, the west of the county has had a tendency towards Catholicism while the east of the county has had a tendency towards non-conformism. The county has been home to several pilgrimage sites, including the shrine (at Chichester Cathedral) to St Richard of Chichester which was destroyed during the Reformation, and the more recent Catholic shrine at West Grinstead. During the Marian persecutions, several Sussex men were martyred for their Protestant faith, including 17 men at Lewes. The Society of Dependants (nicknamed the Cokelers) were a non-conformist sect formed in Loxwood. The Quaker and founding father of Pennsylvania, William Penn worshipped near Thakeham; his UK home from 1677 to 1702 was at nearby Warminghurst.
Sussex is connected with several saints, including St Wilfrid, sometimes known as the 'Apostle of Sussex'; St Cuthman of Steyning; St Cuthflæd of Lyminster; St Lewina; St Richard of Chichester, Sussex's patron saint; St Philip Howard, Earl of Arundel; and James Hannington. In folklore, Mayfield and Devil's Dyke are linked with St Dunstan, while West Tarring has links with St Thomas a Becket.
A wide variety of non-traditional religious and belief groups have bases in and around East Grinstead.<ref>


Hyunoong

Hyunoong Sunim is a Korean Zen master as well as a Taoist Master born in South Korea. He is a disciple of Ku San Sunim and entered Songgwangsa Buddhist Monastery in 1966. From 1966-1969 he studied in the Sutra Hall of Songgwangsa, studying Buddhist sutras and philosophy. In 1970 he began his studies of Zen philosophy and Zen meditation. After ten years of training in Zen Meditation halls, he felt that the traditional zen hall training was not helping his practice. He then lived for three years as a wandering beggar, begging for his food and places to sleep. This gave him the opportunity to let go of everything he was holding on to. It was during this period that he finally realized what correct zen practice really is, and felt that he was ready to study under a great master. He then went to Master Jeon Gang Sunim in YongHwaSa Temple in Incheon, South Korea and began studying under him.
At this point he began living in small remote mountain hermitages doing intensive zen practice. During this time he heard about a Taoist hermit who was teaching a Qigong breathing practice called "Kuk Sun-do". He began training under Taoist Master Chung San in 1972 and in 1982 was sanctioned as a Taoist Master. Master Sunim spent six years in rigorous practice alone in hermitages in remote mountain areas where he followed a raw food diet, eating what the mountains made available.
However, from the time he lived and practice in Zen meditation halls Master Sunim experienced health difficulties which no medical doctor or Chinese herbalist was able to alleviate. His lay supporters would bring him expensive ginseng to help give him more energy and strength, but this just worsened his condition and over time he became continually weaker. Finally he met an acupuncturist/herbalist who told him that he had a "Lesser Yang constitution" and gave him an herbal formula to take. Master Sunim described the results of this formula as suddenly turning his health around 180 degrees. He was astounded at how much better he felt and began to inquire about the system of medicine the herbalist was using. He was told this was traditional Korean Sasang Constitutional Medicine. Master Sunim immediately decided he was going to study this medical system. He felt that it was important that he learn to take care of his own health, since so many doctors had been unable to help him. During his years of practicing in hermitages he also studied Sasang Constitutional Medicine (SCM) under two renowned acupuncturist/herbalists. One of them was so impressed with Sunim's diligence and special skills in quickly understanding the principles of SCM that when he retired from his practice he gave all his journals and notes to Sunim for his own reference.
In 1985 he was invited by Hae Heng, a French monk who had studied in Songgwangsa, to become the spiritual director of the Buddhayana Vihara Zen Center in Geneva Switzerland. Master Sunim held this position from 1985-1986 His experience in Switzerland made him realize that, given his limited English and French skills, he needed a way to better understand his students and the personal problems about which they would seek his advice. Upon returning to South Korea in early 1986 he began to study the system of Five Element natal charts under a famous practitioner in the city of Gwangju, Cholla Namdo. These natal charts gave him some insight into the personality of the individual, and deepened his understanding of Five Element principles which he had studied in SCM.
In the early summer of 1986 Master Sunim, accompanied by Jaguang Sunim, a Canadian Buddhist nun who also trained in Songgwangsa, as his translator, traveled to Vancouver, BC Canada where he established a Zen and Sun-do center. Here he continued his own Zen practice, as well as continuing his studies of SCM herbology and Five Element natal charts. One day, while contemplating a natal chart, it suddenly occurred to him that the Five Elements visible in an individual's natal chart could provide a map indicating their body constitution in the SCM system. The most difficult part, the weakest link, of the Korean SCM system was the actual determination of a person's body constitution. Traditionally they had used various markers such as the physical shape of the body, pulse, blood type, personality, emotions etc. to try to determine the body constitution, but these had always proved to be somewhat inaccurate. Sunim decided to test his theory that the Five Element natal charts could point to the individual's body constitution with much more accuracy. In SCM herbology there is a broad set of many different formulas for each constitution. As long as the practitioner has correctly determined the constitution of the patient, then the herbal formulas for that constitution will all fundamentally agree with them and cause no irreversible harm. The healing energies of the herbs all fall into one of the Five Elements, so if the herbal formula was a combination of Five Elements that was compatible with the Five Element makeup of the patient's internal organs/energies, then in theory they would experience a beneficial response to the herbal formula. Through this system of testing, matching the Five Element natal chart with the Five Element energies of the herbal formulas, Master Sunim discovered that the natal charts did indeed provide an extremely accurate picture of the internal energy condition of the patient, and therefore showing the patient's body constitution. He continued to investigate and use these two systems over the next 20 years.
One early spring day, while sitting in the Zen hall, suddenly all his doubts were resolved and he wrote the following song of enlightenment:

 " Even existing dharmas must be discarded,
 So how can we cling to Dharmas which don't exist!
 Ah ha! Futilely the Ancients busily pursued
 enlightenment, then departed.
 The countenance, existing of its own accord
 I wonder who named it buddha or sentient being?
 Even one true Dharma cannot survive.
 Outside the window, the cherry tree
 is singing this news. "
He is currently head abbot of temples on two continents, the Sixth Patriarch Zen Center in Berkeley, CA and the Sixth Patriarch Temple in Seoul, South Korea. He has taught in various Zen centers throughout the United States and Switzerland.


Mullins River

Mullins River is the name of both a river and of a village on that river in the Stann Creek District of Belize.
The village of Mullins River is located at the mouth of the river of the same name on the coast of the Caribbean Sea, north of Dangriga. At the time of the 1904 census, Mullins River had a population of 243 people, but by 2000, the population had dwindled to 198.
Religious history.
Mullins River was the locus of early missionary activity in 19th century Belize. Some Omoa residents from Spanish Honduras had settled there after the accession of the liberal Morazán to power in Honduras in 1830 In 1832, Fray Antonio began to work among them, building “a small Catholic chapel that was served intermittently by a Catholic priest.” This was the first Catholic chapel in Belize in modern times. In 1836, Fray Rubio from Bacalar replaced Fray Antonio.
During 1830, Baptist minister James Bourne began visiting Mullins River and Stann Creek. He reported the population of each of the communities as about 100. By 1832, the number had grown to 500. In November 1834, Methodists Thomas Jefferies and John Greenwood had arrived in Mullins River, and by 1836, had a chapel and school.
In the mid-1800s, Mullins River was a village of Creole and Spanish people. The Creoles resided in Belize Town and maintained small plantations at Mullins River, which they visited occasionally. The Spanish tended to move between Mullins River itself and Spanish Town, a nearby settlement of immigrants.
In 1840, Apolonia Mejia brought to Mullins River from the Shrine of Nuestro Señor de Esquipulas in southern Guatemala the image of the crucified black Christ. The image was exposed in church for festivities during her life and donated to the church after her death, becoming “an object of public veneration ever since. Pilgrimages have been started from various points of the colony to visit the sacred image.”
The report of Bishop Di Pietro’s visit in 1894 gave the number of Catholics as 243 and the average attendance of children at the school as 48. The school was going on satisfactorily because “the retail liquor license has been stopped, [so] the morality of the place has improved. Formerly Mullins River had a bad reputation but now the people spend their money on improving their plantations instead of wasting it in the liquor shop” The hurricane of 1941 destroyed the 1832 Mullins River Catholic church, which was rebuilt in 1942.
The town.
By the late 1880s, the "Belize Independent" noted the addition to Mullins River of a few White settlers, with a few Caribs (Garifuna) working up the river at different banks. But in the town itself there were “few or no Carib residents.” The article further described Mullins River as a town with roadways and town operations, with the district magistrate holding court once monthly, and two policemen stationed there. The large Wesleyan population was building a “fine new church and schoolroom.”
Mullins River hosted British Honduras Fruit Company and Belize Fruit Company, the former having been Drake’s Sugar Estate. Further economic activity included private farms of bananas, coconuts, and cacao. Mullins River, navigable by dory for some 25 miles, afforded “a natural highway to the virgin lands at the back as well as for sending down the produce.” The town served also as a playground for many Belize City folk during the vacation months of March through May.”


Hassan Hattab

Hassan Hattab (a.k.a. Abu Hamza; born 14 January 1967) is the founder and first leader of the Algerian Islamist rebel group Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC).
Early life and education.
Born in Rouiba on 14 January 1967, Hattab received religious education in his hometown. Later, he was trained as a paratrooper in his national service in the Algerian army, in the course of which he met his future lieutenants Amari Saïfi and Abbi Abdelaziz. After leaving the army in 1989, he became a mechanic. He joined the most radical of the Islamist guerrilla movements, the Armed Islamic Group (GIA), after the cancellation of the 1992 elections. In 1994, he became "amir", or chief, in charge of what it called the "second zone" (Kabylie and the eastern part of the capital). As such, he notably was the signer of the document announcing that the GIA had assassinated the anti-religious Kabyle singer Lounes Matoub.
GSPC.
Hattab left the GIA in 1996, rejecting its takfirist policy of massacring Algerian civilians "en masse" and accusing it of being infiltrated by the Algerian secret services. He formed a separate group, the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), the same year. However, there is another report giving the year of foundation as 1998. The main objective of the GSPC, like the GIA, was to establish an Islamic state in Algeria, rejecting the current secular government.
The GSPC was mainly active in the east of the country, notably in the forests of western Kabylie such as Mizrana, Boumehni, Sidi Ali Bounab, and Takhoukht. The GSPC soon eclipsed the GIA as the latter was torn apart by internal purges and army victories. Hattab lost his leadership position and on 23 October 2003, Nabil Sahraoui took over the group. This was as a result of Hattab's view that reconciliation with the government should be encouraged. A "repentant" ex-member reported that Hattab was killed by members of his own organization in summer 2003. However, his successor, the then GSPC leader Sahraoubi reported that Hattab had resigned "of his own accord".
On 9 February 2005, the GSPC announced that it had excluded Hattab entirely from the group and saw him as a "stranger to jihad" and a "suppliant before tyranny", according to "El Watan", thus further suggesting that previous rumors of his death were incorrect. In March, he was reported to have called for the GSPC to end their fight.
Surrender.
On 22 March 2007, Agence France Presse reported that Hassan Hattab was under a death sentence in Algeria. On 5 October 2007, then-Algerian Minister of Interior Noureddine Yazid Zerhouni confirmed that Hattab had surrendered on 22 September. However, Hattab did not attend the court. In March 2011, then-Justice Minister Tayeb Belaiz stated that Hassan Hattab had been put in a safe place, whereas Abderezzak El Para had been imprisoned.


Yngve Brilioth

Yngve Torgny Brilioth (12 July 1891 – 27 April 1959) was a Swedish theologian, professor for church history and author who served as Bishop of Växjö from 1938 to 1950 and Archbishop of Uppsala from 1950 until 1958.
Biography.
He earned his Ph.D. in 1915 and his Dr. theol. in 1917 both from Uppsala University. He was ordained a priest in 1918. He became professor of church history at Åbo Akademi University in Turku, Finland in 1925. In 1928 he became professor of practical theology and clergy in Lund University. Brilioth was awarded honorary doctor of theology at Uppsala in 1927, at the Academy of Turku in 1934, at Oxford University in 1933 and at Glasgow University in 1935.
He wrote many historical and theological books. For his contribution to the history of the Anglican Church, in 1942 he was awarded the Lambeth Cross, the highest award in the Anglican Church. He used his deep historical knowledge when he was archbishop to take measures concerning the organisation, liturgy and methods of preaching; he furthermore had an international interest and was chairman of the Faith and Order commission. He was the author of a history of the Oxford Movement, written to coincide with its centenary in 1933.
Personal life.
In 1919, he married to Brita Söderblom (1896–1989 the daughter of Nathan Söderblom. He died during 1959 and was buried at Uppsala old cemetery.
Related reading.


Siege of Narbonne (737)

The Siege of Narbonne was fought in 737 between the forces of Yusuf ibn 'Abd al-Rahman al-Fihri, Umayyad governor of Narbonne, and a Frankish army led by Charles Martel.
The city of Narbonne was captured by Al-Samh ibn Malik al-Khawlani, governor of Al-Andalus, in 719 or 720. The city was renamed Arbūnah and turned into a military base for future operations. Following his success at the Siege of Avignon in 737 Charles Martel besieged Narbonne, but his forces were unable to take the city. However, when the Arabs sent reinforcements from Spain the Franks intercepted them at the mouth of the River Berre, in the present-day département of Aude, and scored a significant victory, after which they marched on Nîmes.
Retreat.
Charles may have been able to take Narbonne had he been willing to commit his army and full resources for an indefinite siege, but he was not willing or able to do so. Probably he found that the duke of Aquitaine Hunald was threatening his line of communication with the north. Furthermore, Maurontius, patrician of Provence, from his unconquered city of Marseille, raised a revolt against him from the rear. The Frankish leader may have considered accomplished his primary goals by destroying the Arab armies, and leaving the remaining Arabs confined to Narbonne. On his way back out of the region of Septimania, his army destroyed a string of cities and strongholds (Avignon, etc.) that failed to support him against the Muslims.
A second Frankish expedition was led later in 739 to expel the inconvenient count Maurontius, who couldn't expect this time Andalusian relief, from Marseille and regain control of Provence. According to Paul the Deacon's "Historia gentis Langobardorum" the Arabs retreated when they learned that Martel had formed an alliance with the Lombards, leaving the Umayyad forces stationed in the area and Maurontius himself too weak to meet in open battle.


Hugh of Vaucemain

Hugh of Vaucemain (died 1341) was a French Dominican, who became head of his order in 1333. He was a Burgundian.
His time as Master-General was marked by a conflict with Pope Benedict XII. Benedict, a Cistercian, was attempting a reform of the monastic orders. Hugh's position as the head of a mendicant order was apparently not against the reform as such, but derived from the feeling that the mendicants' position would then be threatened.
The Order numbered around 12,000 at this time, according to a census of 1337. This was a decade before the Black Death, which caused a general fall in population.


Thomas Wentworth Pym

Revd Canon Thomas Wentworth Pym DSO (1885 – 1945) was a prominent Church of England clergyman, theologian, and a Fellow of Balliol College, Oxford.
Biography.
The son of Rt Revd Walter Ruthven Pym, Bishop of Bombay, Thomas Wentworth Pym was born on 10 August 1885. He was educated at Bedford School, between 1895 and 1904, and at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he was appointed as Chaplain. He served during the First World War, between 1914 and 1918, as Assistant Chaplain-General to the Third Army. He was appointed as Chaplain to King George V in 1922, as a Canon of Southwark Cathedral in 1925, as a Canon of Bristol Cathedral in 1929, and elected as Chaplain and Fellow in Theology at Balliol College, Oxford in 1932.
He was married to the classicist and educator Dora Pym. The grandfather of BBC journalist Hugh Pym and father of author Christopher Pym, Revd Canon Thomas Wentworth Pym was invested as a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order in 1917. He died on 20 July 1945, three days after his brother, Leslie Pym MP.


Abd al Aziz al-Amawi

‘Abd al-‘Azīz al-Amawī (; 1838–1896) was a Somali scholar following the Shāfi‘ī school of jurisprudence and the Ash'arite school of theology, and was a Sufi shaykh of the Qādiryya Sufi order, of which he established his own branch. He was also adviser to several sultans of Zanzibar.
Biography.
Al-Amawī was born in the city of Barawa to the Ra Ma'limu clan, where he pursued studies under several well-known scholars, such as Sayyid Abū Bakr al-Miḥḍār al-Ḥaḍramī, Ḥājj ‘Alī b. ‘Abd al-Raḥmān, and the North African scholar Sayyid Aḥmad al-Maghribī. Al-Amawī left Barawa for Zanzibar in his teens to study under Muhyi al-Din al-Qahtani, the chief Shāfi‘ī qādī of Zanzibar. Al-Qahtani introduced him to the sultan of Zanzibar, Sayyid Sa'id bin Sultan. In 1854, al-Amawī, who was then only sixteen years old, was appointed by the Sultan as the Qadi (judge) of Kilwa. Al-Amawī was soon transferred to Zanzibar, where he served until 1891, when his son Burhān took the position. Al-Amawī wrote on theology, law, Sufism, grammar, rhetoric, and history, and composed an unfinished Swahili-Arabic dictionary. He also served as a political advisor, ambassador, and diplomat in Somalia, the Comoro islands, the Rovuma River region, and various other places on the African mainland on behalf of two of Zanzibar's sultans, Sayyid Mājid (r. 1856–70) and Sayyid Barghash (r. 1870–88). Abdallah Salih Farsy wrote that al-Amawī became a virtual prime minister during the reign of Sayyid Khalīfa (r. 1888–90). Although Farsy said all of his writings were missing, since 2000 portions of his writings, all unpublished, were located in Dar Es Salaam (copies of which can be found in the Zanzibar National Archives) and in the library of Sayyid Muhammad Āl Bū Sa‘īdī in Seeb, Oman. They include portions of his diaries from two of his six journeys in the Rovuma region, a history of the Bū Saʻīdī dynasty, Sufi and devotional texts, a work on rhetoric, and a theological poem following the doctrines of the Ash‘arite school of Sunni Islam, "‘Iqd al-la’ālī "(Necklace of Pearls), with a lengthy commentary, "Taqrīb ‘Iqd al-la’ālī ilā fahm al-atfāli . "This poem was written in response to a twelfth-century theological poem, "Bad’ al-āmāl", written by Sirāj al-Dīn ‘Alī b.‘Uthmān al-Ūshī al-Farghānī, following the doctrines of the Māturidite school of Sunni Islam.
Randall Pouwels writes that al-Amawī’s success as a Sufi shaykh led to many conversions from Ibāḍī Islam (to which the ruling class of Zanzibar belonged) to Sunni Islam, making him an embarrassment to Sayyid Barghash, who banned him from attending Friday prayers at the mosque. According to Pouwels, al-Amawī countered by showing up at the mosque armed, with his followers, forcing the sultan to back down—but not without first imprisoning al-Amawī, although al-Amawī’s popularity forced Barghash to keep his incarceration brief. However, whereas Pouwels presents al-Amawī as a thorn in Barghash’s side and a pest to sultans in general, with the exception of Khalīfa, in a fragment of his writing found in Dar Es Salaam, al-Amawī presents himself consistently as a close counselor and confidant of the sultan. Likewise, in the fragments of his accounts of his journeys to the Rovuma River region on behalf of Sayyid Barghash, found in the Bū Sa‘īdī in Oman, he always describes himself as “a servant of our lord the Sayyid,” ever striving on behalf of the interests of the state.
Although Farsy reports that of all Muslim shaykhs on the coast, al-Amawī was the most skilled at and involved in debating Christian missionaries, it is nonetheless also true that he assisted Bishop Edward Steere, who served in Zanzibar from 1864 until his death in 1882, by helping in the translation of some of the Psalms and the Gospel of Luke into Swahili (Steere 1883; Steere1884: vi–vii; Mojola 2001: 514). Steere also wrote that he held weekly meetings with local Muslim shaykhs in his home, and it is likely that al-Amawī was a participant. In one letter he wrote, “Abdul Aziz called and asked for an explanation of the statement that man was made ‘in the image of God,’ which shocked them. I wrote and sent him an explanation in Swahili.” In one of the Dar es Salaam fragments, al-Amawī mentions a debate moderated by Sir Arthur Hardinge that he had with Bishop Chauncy Maples in the Anglican cathedral in Zanzibar. Al-Amawī says that he had known Maples since the days of Bishop Steere, and proceeds to cite the precise hour of Steere’s death—a sign, perhaps, of a close relationship between them.


Chris Manusama

Chris Manuel Manusama (born December 25, 1952) is the lead pastor of GBI ROCK Church, Ambon, a Charismatic church under the denomination of GBI (Gereja Bethel Indonesia), with 4,000 members.
Early life.
Born into an underprivileged military family, Manusama spent most of his childhood in Ambon, Maluku, East Indonesia and Bandung, West Java, Indonesia. At the age of 9, he lost his father Yan Manusama, who drowned in a Halmaheran river during the Permesta War. Eight years later, Manusama also lost his mother, Yohanna Manusama, due to her chronic illness. During his childhood, Manusama was known to be involved in various different music groups where he played guitar, sang, and wrote songs.
Career.
In 1978, Manusama won a song writing competition by Prambors Radio with his most famous song to date, Kidung (, which also made it to Rolling Stone Indonesia's Top 150 Songs of All Time. His popularity escalated ever since, with a few other well-known songs such as Kasih (sang by Imaniar) topping the charts. In the early 80s, Manusama also helped Indonesian singer Herman Felani with the production of Felani's album titled, Syukur.
Manusama decided to leave the "secular" music industry after converting to Christianity. In 1985, he dedicated his life to ministry through preaching and pastoring.
Personal life.
When he was 33 in 1985, Manusama married Yoty Henny Rumahlewang in Jakarta, Indonesia. Together they have two children and two grandchildren.


Christian Sebastia

Christian Sebastia Almenar, better known as Christian Sebastia, was born on may 7 in Ciudad Guayana, Bolívar, Venezuela. He is a singer, musician, producer and composer. From 2006 to 2015, Christian was as Pastor in the Church of Jesus Christ, along with his wife Eukarys Sebastia. Christian has come to stand out as one of the most famous Christian singers and producers in the musical scene of the Christian community in Venezuela and is a contemporary proponent of Praise and Worship also called Gospel music.
Christian Sebastia was the first Venezuelan gospel artist to perform for three consecutive days in the main auditorium of Madison Square Garden in New York, before a crowd of 25,000 people accompanied by North American artists such as Martha Munizzi and Alvin Slaughter. Christian Sebastia is called in the artistic medium as "the Pastor of the Celebrities" and together with his wife Eukarys, they are pastoral counselors of couples and families of Hollywood.
Biography.
Christian Sebastia is the first of 5 children of the marriage between Juan Pablo Sebastia and Aura Mercedes Sebastia. In 1969, after having finished their theological studies in Puerto Rico, they moved to Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela, where they began their missionary work.
In 1996 he married Eukarys Piña, with whom he has three children: Sabrina Sebastia (1999), Samantha Sebastia (2003) and Christian Sebastia Jr. (2005)
Career.
The first production where Christian Sebastia participated as a singer was "La Familia" a production of 10 songs made in 1986 and produced by his father, interpreting 2 songs.
Sebastia was featured in the "Nuevo Circo" of Caracas where he interpreted the songs before an audience of more than 9 thousand people, a year later he gained the recognition of the Christian hearing Protestant in Spanish through the Protestant Christian radio for the time, Radio TransMundial. But it was in 2003 with the album "En Ti" that projected his music career as an artist, composer and producer to the international scene, in 2004 he was the first Venezuelan singer to participate in the "Noche de Gala" of Expolit and the theme "Me Alegraré y Gozaré" of the album "En Ti" was included in the track 12 of the compilation musical performed by Expolit titled "Llamados para este tiempo" where he shared space with the most renowned Christian artists of the time. Christian has been uninterrupted exhibitor at Expolit for 14 years, the largest Latin-American exhibition of Christian music and literature in the Hispano-America.
In March of the year 2004, Christian presented for 6 consecutive nights in the Monumental of Valencia, Venezuela, with a daily attendance of more than 25 thousand people who sang next to Christian his best known songs.
Among some of the songs from the album includes, "En Ti", "'Me Alegraré y Gozaré'" and "'Me Alegraré y Gozaré'", he played at Madison Square Garden in New York on July 27 to 29 of the year 2006."
In 2008, the "Tu Amor / Your Love" album was recorded live in front of more than 3 thousand people in the campus of the Church of Jesus Christ in Ciudad Guayana, Venezuela, this production had guests who participate in duets with Christian Sebastia, among which is "Tu Amor" and "Palabra del Señor" with Pastor and artist Marcos Witt, 5 times winner of Latin Grammy Awards, with a trajectory of more than 30 Years of career and more than 60 musical productions, "Tueres mi abrigo" with Pastor Juan Sebastia, his father, who has 11 musical productions and a well-known Christian artist in the 80's, "'Para darte la Gloria'" that is interpreted together with Jennifer Salinas.
In 2008 the music album "Tu Amor" it received the distinction of Mara de Oro as ""Best Album of Christian Music" of year 2008".
Later in 2011, he won this distinction in the category of ""Best Production Manager Tour 25 Commemorative – Marcos Witt" year 2011", for the production of the series of concerts that Witt gave in Venezuela (Puerto Ordaz, Barinas, Maracaibo and Caracas)
In 2013 Christian is becomes the Production Manager of Monica Rodriguez singer and first Venezuelan woman to win the Latin Grammy Awards. In 2014 Christian is awarded by the organization of Mara de Oro as ""Best Production Manager Tour Monica Rodriguez - Ecuador, Venezuela, Mexico and the United States" of the year 2014"
In May of the year 2018 the album "Tengo Fe" was released. This Christian musical production has the participation of guest stars, who performed together with Christian Sebastia songs like: "Tu Amor" with Ilan Chester, "Nunca Pude Imaginar" with Mariaca Semprún, "Jesús La Razón" with Luis Fernando Borjas vocalist of Guaco (band), "A ti Me Rindo" with Gabriela Cartulano, nominated for the best Christian album in the edition of the Latin Grammys of the year 2017, "Principe de Paz" with Clayton Uehara among others. Produced by the record label Carismah Studios and CA Entertainment Group.
On Friday, April 5, 2019, the album "Tengo Fe" is nominated for the XV edition of the awards of the National Academy of Music and Christian Arts (Arpa Awards) in three categories: "Best Pop / Fusion Album", "Best Song in Performance (Principe de Paz - feat Clayton Uehara)" and "Best producer."


Brown Turei

William Brown Turei (12 December 1924 – 9 January 2017) was the Archbishop, Te Pīhopa o Aotearoa/Bishop of Aotearoa (senior bishop of the Māori Tikanga) and Primate/Te Pīhopa Mataamua of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia. He shared the primacy with Philip Richardson, archbishop for the New Zealand dioceses, and Winston Halapua, Bishop of Polynesia.
Biography.
Childhood and education.
Turei was born in 1924 in Opotiki, to the Waititi whānau. He became a "whāngai" to the Turei "whanau" in Cape Runaway, on the East Cape. He was named after the Reverend Brown Turei, a "Hāhi Mihinare" priest on the east coast.
He spent his primary school years at Rangitukia and Cape Runaway and studied at Te Aute College for four years. He briefly attended College House, Christchurch, before enlisting with C Company of the 28 Maori Battalion to serve in World War II. After the war, he attended St John's College, Auckland and was ordained a priest in 1950.
On 15 October 2009, Turei was selected by Te Aute College to be a part of its 1st XV leaders group. The honour is given to former pupils over the age of 55 who have made a significant contribution to Māori society. Turei attended Te Aute College from 1939 to 1943.
Ordained ministry.
Turei served the Anglican Church in parishes and Maori pastorates in Tauranga, Whangara, Te Puke, Whakatane, Manutuke, Christchurch and Waipatu. He was appointed Archdeacon of Tairāwhiti in 1982 and has had a long association with Hukarere Girls College, becoming chaplain there in 1984. He was also chaplain of the Napier Prison for four years.
In 1992 Turei was elected as "Te Pīhopa o Te Tai Rāwhiti", following the reforms of the Anglican Church in 1990; he was duly consecrated a bishop on 7 March 1992. In February 2005 he was elected to succeed Whakahuihui Vercoe as "Pihopa o Aotearoa" (Senior Bishop of Tikanga Maori), at a hui at Turangawaewae; the requisite confirmation (by General Synod) of that election was announced on 6 March 2005; at the Church's 57th General Synod (May 2006), it was decided that the senior bishop of each of the three tikanga would become co-equal and joint Primate—Archbishop of the whole church, but that (while the necessary legislative changes were made) Turei would be appointed "de jure" sole Archbishop (and Moxon and Bryce Co-Presiding Bishops). On 11 May he was installed alongside David Moxon and Jabez Leslie Bryce; the necessary changes made, Moxon and Bryce became his lawful co-equals in 2008.
In the 2016 New Year Honours, Turei was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the Anglican Church.
In August 2016, Turei announced that he would retire as te Pihopa o Tairāwhiti by the year's end, and as Maori archbishop in March 2017. However, he died before that date, on 9 January 2017, in Gisborne. He was 92 years old.
Family.
Turei was married to Mihi (née King) and they had three children.


Nikolaos P. Xionis

Nikolaos P. Xionis () is Professor of Systematic Theology in the Faculty of Theology of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. Born in Volos, he studied theology at the Aristotle University of Thessalonica. He pursued postgraduate studies at the Jesuit Sankt Georgen Graduate School of Philosophy and Theology at Frankfurt and at the Centre for Eastern Christian Studies in Ratisbon (Ostkirchliches Institut, Regensburg).
Amongst his published works are:


Shewaki

Shewaki () is a village located in the Hindaki area of Afghanistan, in the East Kabul District Bagrami near the mountains Koh e Hindaki and Munar e Chakari (not related to Chakari, Afghanistan).
Shewaki is derived from Shiva, the supreme Hindu deity.
Temples.
Shewaki is the site of Shahbahar (King's Vihara), one of Afghanistan's major Hindu temples. Shahbahar was a Buddhist stupa during the Kushans dynasty and a Hindu temple in the time of the Kabul Shahi.


Sidi Ben Arous

Ahmed ben Arous, "full name: Abu al-Abbas Ahmed Ben Abdallah ben Abu Bakr al-Houari", ; (c. 1376–21 October 1436) was a Tunisian Wali, religious leader and founder of the Arousia Tariqa.
Life.
He was born in Tunis, to a father from the Houara tribe and a mother originally from Misrata, and was a follower of the Zawiya of Sidi Mahrez. He later went to Morocco where he studied in Fes and Marrakesh. Upon his return to Tunis, he lived in seclusion for a while then worked as carpenter. His Tariqa was influenced by the Shadhili order. He was known for his sympathy for the poor, the strangers and the animals. His teachings were revived by his disciple Abdessalam al-Asmar and an extended biography of him was written by Omar al-Jazairi.


Hindu Religious Welfare Trust

Hindu Religious Welfare Trust is a national government trust that looks after the welfare of the Hindu community of Bangladesh and is located in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
History.
The Hindu Religious Welfare Trust was established in 1983. It is under the Ministry of Religious Affairs. In 2016-2017 budget session 2 billion taka was allocated to the trust by the finance ministry.


Islamic Council Norway

The Islamic Council Norway (, IRN) is an umbrella organisation for Muslim congregations and organisations in Norway. Currently, it represents 41 congregations totalling about 60.000 members. The offices are located in Oslo. It is a member of the European Council for Fatwa and Research (ECFR).
Organization.
The Islamic Council Norway was founded on 22 October 1993. Since 2006, it has received state funding from the Norwegian Ministry of Culture . The funding was about 1,3 million NOK a year. The organisation's membership counts Muslim congregations centered around several different immigrant groups, notably Albanian, Bosnian, Iraqi and Pakistani congregations, as well as mosques with congregations that do not center around specific ethnic groups. Its stated mission is to
In 2017the IRN lost its state funding from the Norwegian Ministry of Culture. The ministry stated it was dissatisfied with how IRN had handled its role as a dialogue partner with the Norwegian majority society and its role as an umbrella organisation. Other muslim community leaders supported the decision and supported the view that IRN had not encouraged dialogue with Norwegian society. Community leaders had on previous occasions stated that IRN did not represent them.
Activities.
The organisation has since its foundation been in active dialogue with the Church of Norway Council on Ecumenical and International Relations.
The council's work is organised in issue-specific committees, such as a hilal committee that works to advise Norwegian Muslims on how the Islamic calendar should be interpreted in Norway, a Halal committee that oversees ritual slaughtering, in accordance with animal welfare laws, at designated Norwegian meat processing plants mainly owned by Nortura, and a burial committee, which collaborates with Norwegian Church Authorities to establish and maintain Muslim cemeteries.
Controversies.
Homosexuality.
In 2008 the council met protest for an alleged refusal to take a stance against death penalty for homosexuality, instead deferring the matter to the European Fatwa Council (ECFR). The Council's leader, Senaid Kobilica, stressed his personal opposition to the death penalty, but acknowledged that some may interpret Islamic texts differently. Homosexual and lesbian activist groups protested against the council's refusal to deplore the death penalty.
Yusuf al-Qaradawi.
The Islamic Council Norway was criticised in 2009 when, according to some sources, it refused to distance itself or comment on the leader of the European Council for Fatwa and Research (ECFR), Yusuf al-Qaradawi, after he praised the Holocaust as "a divine punishment for the Jews." However, the council's leader did in fact issue a statement where al-Qaradawis praise of Holocaust was deemed "unacceptable", and promised that the council would pursue the matter through its membership in the ECFR.
Niqab.
In March 2017 the IRN hired Leyla Hasic, a woman who wears the face-covering veil niqab to work with communication and as a "bridge builder to mainstream society" for the organisation. She was a strong proponent of the garment. Minister of Culture Linda Hofstad Helleland criticised the appointment of Hasic as creating a greater distance between Muslim and Norwegian society and lessening the mutual understanding. Prime minister Erna Solberg publicly stated that a person wearing niqab would never be employed by her.


Assembly of Christian Churches in Fiji

The Assembly of Christian Churches in Fiji is an umbrella organization comprising several Christian denominations in Fiji. The ACCF website describes the ministry as working "to encourage support and strengthen member churches through its constituted vision, mission, objects, powers and all related activities," with a goal of facilitating "reconciliation, unity, peace, and prosperity in Fiji."
The ACCF and the coup of 2006.
The ACCF strongly condemned the military coup which deposed the government of Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase on 5 December 2006. On the day of the coup, Chairman Rev. Tuikilakila Waqairatu said the ACCF would oppose the formation of any interim government. Other media quoted him as saying that the ACCF statement was "politically biased and theologically flawed," and that it was hypocritical to oppose this coup after failing to oppose the previous coup led by George Speight in 2000.
The presence of the ACCF at a meeting of the Great Council of Chiefs in December 2006 to discuss the recent military coup was criticized by the Military.
The ACCF was formerly chaired by Rev. Ratu Epeli Kanaimawi, who was appointed Fiji's High Commissioner to Malaysia in August 2006. The Fiji Sun quoted the Military on 30 August as stating its opposition to the appointment, saying that Kanaimawi had been implicated as a supporter of the civilian coup of 2000, which was fronted by George Speight.
On 20 December 2006, the Military announced that it was investigating a F$20,000 gift to the ACCF by deposed Prime Minister Qarase just before the May 2006 parliamentary elections.


Andrew of Rhodes

Andrew of Rhodes (Andrew of Colossus; died 1440) was a Greek Dominican theologian.
He was Greek by birth, and born to Eastern Orthodox parents. In early youth he had no opportunities for education, but afterwards devoted himself to Latin and Greek, and to theology, especially the questions in dispute between the Latin and Greek Churches. The study of the early Fathers, both Greek and Latin, convinced him that in the disputed points, truth was on the side of the Latin Church. He therefore solemnly abjured his error, made a profession of faith, and entered the Dominican Order about the time of the Western Schism. He led thenceforth an apostolic life.
He was especially earnest in his efforts to induce his fellow-Greeks to follow in his footsteps and reunite with Rome. In 1413 he was made Archbishop of Rhodes. The Dominican biographer, Jacques Échard, credits him with having taken an active part in the twentieth session of the Council of Constance (1414–18). Others maintain that there is here a confusion with Andrew of Colaczy, in Hungary.
At the Council of Basle, he delivered an oration in the name of the Pope (Mansi, XXIX, 468–481). He took part in the Council of Ferrara-Florence, and was one of the six theologians appointed by the papal legate, Cardinal Julian, to reply to the objections of the Greeks. He proved that it was fully within the province of the Church to add the Filioque clause to the Creed, and that the Greek Fathers had been of the same opinion.
After the close of the Council, trouble arose between the Latins and Greeks in Cyprus; the latter accused the former of refusing to hold communion with them. Andrew was sent thither by Pope Eugene IV, and succeeded in establishing peace. He also succeeded in overcoming the local forms of the Nestorian, Eutychian, and Monothelite heresies. The heretical bishops abjured and made a profession of faith at a synod held at Nicosia; some of the prelates went afterwards to Rome to renew their profession before the Holy See.
There are preserved in the Vatican manuscript copies of his treatise on the divine essence and operation, compiled from the commentaries of St. Thomas Aquinas, and addressed to Cardinal Bessarion also a little work in the form of a dialogue in reply to a letter of Mark of Ephesus against the rites and ceremonies of the Roman Church ("Patrologia Graeca", CL, 862).


Nizhal Thangal

Nizhal Thangal () () also called Inai Thangals) are secondary worship places of the Ayyavazhi, often smaller in size compared to Pathis, built per the instructions of Akilattirattu Ammanai. Cleanliness is strictly enforced.
Though the common people, mainly in early times call them as "Narayanaswami koil" or "Narayanaswami pathi", the Ayyavazhi scriptures consider these centers distinct from The Pathis. They call these worship centers, which were not associated with the religious activities of Vaikundar as 'Inai Thangals'.
History.
After the trial of Vaikundar with the king of Travancore, the followers built religious centers following his instructions to propagate his teachings which were called as "Nizhal Thangal". Akilattirattu Ammanai call this as religious schools. The LMS reports too speak in abundance about these worship centers
Tamil is the official language of worship, and the object of worship is Lord Narayana with the trinity of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva.
Nizhal Thangals in Chettikudiyiruppu, Agastheeswaram, Paloor, Sundavilai, Vadalivilai, Kadambankulam and Pambankulam were established during the period of Vaikundar per Akilam. And after a large number of Thangals were established throughout India. There are more than 8000 worship centres throughout India
These Nizhal Thangals formed place in the socio-religious life of the people. All the people were brought together here irrespective of caste distinctions. The mode and formalities of worship were revolutionalised in these centers.
Architecture and Structure.
Unlike Pathis this Thangals were of small size. Inside the Nizhal Thangals, no murti or idol is used. The Palliyarai of Thangals generally seems similar to Pathis. But inside, in most of the Thangals instead of raised pedestal, chairs were placed as asanas in which the saffron or silk cloths are wrapped-around. A garland made of rudraksha (string of rudraksha beads) is placed around the neck of the asana. Mirrors were placed behind. In front of these there will be two standing oil lamps"(kuthu vilakku)"made of brass, each placed on the either side of the asana.
In some of the Thangals there will be inner corridors as pathis to circumambulate the Palliyarai. A hall is attached to this palliyarai for the worshippers. In some of the Thangals there are flag masts, Vahanas and temple cars etc.
Administration.
Some of the thangals were built and maintained by single individuals, some by various organisations and some built as town or village-commons. Since Ayyavazhi is not an organised religion, thangals are not officially controlled by Swamithoppe, though it was considered as the religious headquarters. It was considered ritualistic by the Ayyavazhi followers to lay foundation stones for new Thangals by some one from Payyan dynasty. It seems that the scriptures too give a high status to them in such matters. A survey from the year 2004 states that there are more than 8000 Nizhal Thangals throughout South India mostly in Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
Some Nizhal Thangals serve as community centers, with facilities to cook for large crowds of people; others serve as schools for the community and some as both.
Prayer and Rituals.
Though the Ayyavazhi scriptures says about a three-time-worship in common for Nizal Thangals and Pathis, most of the Nizhal Thangals use to conduct "Panividais" (poojas) only twice per day. The three time worship includes Ukappadippu along with Pothippu at the dawn and at the dusk and the Ucchippadippu in the noon.
But most of the Nizhal Thangals conduct this Ucchippadippu on every Sundays seven times collectively, considering one time per day of a week. On that days Anna Dharmam (charity on food) is conducted. Some Thangals use conduct this Ucchippadippu on Fridays too. While at few Thangals, which were run by single individuals, the Panividai is conducted only once per day in the evening.
Pal vaippu.
This " 'Pai vaippu' " is a festival in which the rice boiled in milk and used to serve as grew. At present every worship centers of Ayyavazhi has this practice at least once in a month, while in some other Thangals it was conducted once in a week. During this Pal vaippu cooked rice is also served in addition to this 'Pal' as an action of charity. During this days as ritualistic actions, the 'Periya Ukappadippu' (the extended Ukappadippu), ' "Thana Niraivu Vasakam" ' and 'Vazappadippu' is also sung in the evening as additional form of Prayers during this days.
Festivals.
The main form festival which is conducted in Nizhal Thangals are The Thiru Eadu Vasippu and the "Vaikunda Avatharam". The Thiru-Eadu Vasippu was conducted for several days while the Vaikunda Avatharam celebration is mostly for a day of time in Nizhal Thangals. Some Thangals use to conduct Annual festivals too.
Thiru-Eadu Vasippu.
This Thiru Eadu Vasippu, the ritual reading and expatiation of the Holy book Akilam, is an important religious observance of Ayyavazhi. During this days the morning "Panivadais" are conducted as usual, while in the evening Akilam the scripture of Ayyavazhi is read melodiously by two talented persons and another person use to explain the read verses in a prose form. At the end of every days Anna Dharmam was conducted. This festival was conducted in several Nizhal Thangals for seventeen days (as in Pathis) and the whole content is read-finished. While some other thangals conduct this for three, five, seven, or ten days term reading selected part from the scripture.
Some thangals conduct this Thiru-Eadu Vasippu along with the Annual festivals while on some other centers annual festivals are celebrated separately. During that days ' "Vahanam Eduppu" ' is conducted in which the asanam is carried on Vahanas (vehicles) as processions by the followers.
Vaikunda Avatharam.
This was the only festival in Ayyavazhi, which is celebrated at a time throughout all the worship centers across the country. During this festival on 19th masi (3 March) the day before the Ayya Vaikunda Avataram, the Nizhal Thangals used to conduct one day festival for a grand scale along with Anna Dharmam throughout the day. On the next day 20th of the Tamil month masi, (4 March) all the followers used to visit Panchappathis and so most of the Thangals remain closed while some thangals used to continue the festival as the previous day.


Ioannis Theodorakopoulos

Ioannis Theodorakopoulos (; 28 February 1900, Vassaras, Lakonia – 20 February 1981, Athens) was a Greek philosopher. In 1920 Theodorakopoulos moved to Vienna to study Classical Philology and Philosophy. Subsequently, he continued his studies of philosophy in Heidelberg and received in 1925 his Doctorate of Philosophy from the University of Heidelberg.
In 1929, together with professors Konstantinos Tsatsos and Panagiotis Kanellopoulos, Theodorakopoulos established the "Archive of Philosophy and Theory of Science" and was appointed as professor at the newly established University of Thessaloniki (1933–1939), and at the University of Athens (1939–1968). Since 1950, and throughout these appointments, Theodorakopoulos also taught at the School of Political Science of Panteion University. He served twice as Minister of National Education and Religious Affairs under the brief premiership of Kanellopoulos in 1945 and the interim cabinet of Ioannis Paraskevopoulos in 1966.
In 1960 he became a regular member of the Academy of Athens, serving as its President in 1963 and Secretary General 1966–1981. In 1975 he established the Liberal School of Philosophy "Plethon" in his home town of Magoula-Sparta in Lakonia, organising international conferences and symposia. These highly successful events drew participants from all over Greece and Theodorakopoulos himself taught a series of seminars up to his death. Theodorakopoulos was published widely including 53 books and copious articles.


Catholic Association of Performing Arts

The British Catholic Stage Guild, the main organisation for Roman Catholics in British entertainment, was founded in 1911. The aim of the Guild, as laid out in the 1931 Year Book, was "to establish and encourage spiritual, artistic and social intercourse among [Roman] Catholics connected with the theatrical and allied professions". The Guild is now known as the Catholic Association of Performing Arts (CaAPA). The Guild is closely associated with Corpus Christi Church, Maiden Lane in London’s Covent Garden area.
Its current details include:
Current membership includes such noted performers as Valerie Masterson and Simon Callow, as well as numerous less well-known performers, such as actor Martin O'Brien, who co-founded ACTS (Association of Catholics in Theatre and on Screen) in 2005, and is the current Artistic Director of the CaAPA-affiliated Ten Ten Theatre.
Deceased former members of the Guild include actors Sir Alec Guinness (a former Vice-President of the Guild), Patricia Hayes (who was a former Chair of the Guild, as was her son, actor Richard O'Callaghan), Danny La Rue, Michael Williams (a former Chair), Margaretta Scott, Moira Lister, Eamonn Andrews (a former Chair), Lionel Jeffries (a former Chair) and Frank Finlay. Guinness and Jeffries were both converts. Member Vince Powell was a noted television writer and producer. "Last of the Summer Wine" star Joe Gladwin was Northern representative before his death.
Activities.
Activities of the Guild since then have been numerous and varied, including links with other denominations in services and carols, play readings, Students' Evenings, AIDS awareness Masses, music halls, recitals, and concerts.
Past events have included a Memorial Mass for former Vice-President of the Guild, Michael Williams, which was attended by his widow, Dame Judi Dench, and their daughter, actress Finty Williams; a reception at the Garrick Club for Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, which was hosted by Frank Finlay. Members of the Catholic Stage Guild and the English National Opera provided the entertainment; a fund-raising Quiz Night at Holy Apostles Church, Pimlico and a talk at the CAA, 20 Bedford Street, by Piers Paul Read, the official biographer of the Guild's late Vice-President, Sir Alec Guinness.


Hokora

 is a miniature Shinto shrine either found on the precincts of a larger shrine and dedicated to folk "kami", or on a street side, enshrining "kami" not under the jurisdiction of any large shrine. "Dōsojin", minor "kami" protecting travelers from evil spirits, can for example be enshrined in a "hokora".
The term "hokora", believed to have been one of the first Japanese words for Shinto shrine, evolved from , literally meaning "kami repository", a fact that seems to indicate that the first shrines were huts built to house some "yorishiro".


Ilgar Ibrahimoglu

Ilgar Ibrahimoglu (; born 5 November 1973) is the chairman of DEVAMM (the Centre for the Protection of Freedom of Conscience and Religion), Muslim scholar, imam of the "Juma" mosque in Icheri-Sheher and Chief Editor of "Deyerler (Azerbaijan Islam News)" news portal.
Early life.
Ilqar Ibrahimoglu was born on November 5, 1973 in Baku, Azerbaijan. Since his childhood he was engaged in chess under the supervision of honored Azerbaijani trainer Oleg Isaakovich Privorotsky. In his youth he was a team captain in the intellectual game "What? Where? When?"( "Что? Где? Когда?"). He is a first-degree chess player, and received his education in economic sciences, philosophy and theology.
Public career.
He has written his dissertation on "The integration of Islamic and Western Philosophy". He is alumni of the Warsaw International School of Human Right, simultaneously he holds "International expert certificate on alcoholism and drug addiction".
He is co-founder and coordinator of the social projects "Asma-ul-Husna" and "Yetimsiz Vətən" (Homeland without orphans), which are aim to take care of children with chronological blood diseases and to support the psychosocial rehabilitation and social integration of the children deprived of parental care.
In the meanwhile, he is a supervisor of the "Hikmət Evi" (Wisdom House) dispute center, and "İslam Maarifi" (Islamic enlightenment) program. Also, he leads "Mədəniyyətlərin dialoqu" (Dialogs of the cultures) program, which is intend to improve tolerance, patience and cultural integration in the society. Ilgar Ibrahimoglu conducts interdisciplinary researches in the fields like theology, postmodern philosophy and philosophy of Human Rights.
He also engaged in research about the role and place of the neuro-linguistic in the interpersonal interactions and in paradigmatic contacts. Within the frame of his researches he has visited several countries such as Austria, Poland, Turkey, United States, Russian Federation, Iran, Germany, Jordan, Switzerland, Ukraine, France and Italy.
In 2012, he has campaigned to stop male violence against women.
Personal life.
Married and has three children.


Gottfrid Billing

Axel "Gottfrid" Leonard Billing (29 April 1841 - 14 January 1925) was a Swedish cleric and theologian who served as a member of the Swedish Academy, member of the Första kammaren in the Riksdag and served as Bishop of Lund from 1898 until 1925.
Early life.
Billing was born at Önnestad in Kristianstad Municipality, the son of Magnus Billing and Hedvig Charlotta Collin. In the early 1860s Billing enrolled as a theology student at Lund University. Billing represented a very conservative political view that has sometimes been called "Oscarian" after King Oscar II. In 1881 he became professor of practical theology at Lund University
Bishop.
In 1884, he was appointed Bishop of Västerås and was consecrated on September 7, 1884 by Archbishop Anton Niklas Sundberg. In Västerås, he deepened his contacts with the royal family. He also represented Västerås in the parliament's first chamber on the conservative bench. In 1900, after the death of Anton Niklas Sundberg, Billing was offered the position of Archbishop of Uppsala, however he declined. He accepted to take over Sundberg's place in the Swedish Academy, a post he kept until his death in 1925. In 1898 he was appointed Bishop of Lund.
Billing was elected as a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in 1908 and the Royal Society of the Humanities at Lund in 1919. He was awarded an honorary doctorate in Lund on September 28, 1918 and received the Royal Order of the Seraphim on June 6, 1921.
Personal life.
In 1868 he married Frida Bring, daughter of Bishop Ebbe Gustaf Bring of Linköping, and Ulla Ehrenborg, sister of the writer Betty Ehrenborg. He was the father of Einar Billing. Bishop of Västerås and the father-in-law of Bishop Edvard Magnus Rodhe, Bishop of Lund.
Billing died in 1925 and was buried at Norra kyrkogården in Lund.


Aaron Berechiah of Modena

Aaron Berechiah ben Moses ben Nehemiah of Modena was an Italian cabalist, who died in 1639. He is the author of "Ma'abar Yabboḳ", which contains dissertations on separation, purity, and holiness.
Biography.
Aaron Berachiah was a pupil of Rabbi Hillel of Modena (surnamed Ḥasid we-Ḳaddosh, that is, "The Pious and Holy") and of the Italian Kabbalist Rabbi Menahem Azariah of Fano. He was an associate of Rabbi Yehuda Aryeh de Modena and Rabbi Israel Sarug who was a student of the Safed Kabbalist Isaac Luria. His brother-in-law was Rabbi Yosef Yedidya Krami, the author of "Kanaf Renanim".
His work was "Ashmoret haBoḳer" (1624), complied for a prayer group. At the request of the Ḥebrah Ḳaddisha (Burial Society) at Mantua he instituted rites for them. Added to these are prayers to be offered for the sick and the dead, as well as rules for their treatment. To avert possible criticism for failing to discuss these themes philosophically, he makes use of the statement of Isaac Arama in his book "Aḳedat Yiẓḥaḳ" (chap. xxv.): "Reason must surrender some of its rights to the divine revelations which are superior to it."
Persecution by the Church.
He was arrested and imprisoned in 1636 for possessing forbidden books, namely, those singled out for censorship, expurgation or confiscation because of passages putatively critical of Christians. In his defense, he stated:
I have nothing else to say, but because the Holy Inquisition tolerates us in its States, consequently we are also allowed to own these books, which deal with our ceremonies, because it is impossible for us to live in these countries if we do not have books that teach us the principles of our faith, and although Your Lordship told us that Clemente VIII promulgated the bull that banned a number of books from the Jews, to my knowledge this bull has never been enforced, neither were the books confiscated from the Jews. Furthermore, even [Christian] preachers sometimes cite the Shulchan Aruch, Rav Alfassi, or similar books to convince the Jews [to convert] and they could not do this if we were prohibited to read or to own these books.'
Books.
Berechiah authored a number of works:


Religion in Solomon Islands

The majority of the population in Solomon Islands are Christians, with a majority of Christians belonging to Protestant churches. The constitution of Solomon Islands establishes the freedom of religion, and this freedom is respected in practice by both the government and general society.
Demographics.
Religious makeup of the population of Solomon Islands as of 2007:
An estimated 5 percent of the population, consisting primarily of the Kwaio community on the island of Malaita, practice indigenous animistic religions. Groups that together constitute less than 5 percent of the population include the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and other Muslims, the Baháʼí Faith, Jehovah's Witnesses, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), Unification Church, and indigenous churches that have broken away from the major Christian denominations. There are believed to be members of other religious groups within the foreign community who were free to practice, but they are not known to proselytize or hold public religious ceremonies. According to the most recent reports, there are approximately 350 Muslims.
Christianity was brought to the country in the 19th and early 20th centuries by missionaries representing several Western denominations. Some foreign missionaries continue to work in the country. Except for the Roman Catholic Church, whose clergy is approximately 45 percent foreign, the clergy of the established churches is nearly entirely indigenous.
Religious freedom.
The constitution of the Solomon Islands establishes the freedom of religion, although it also allows for this freedom to be curtailed when "reasonably required" by other laws.
All religious organizations are required to register with the government.
The public school curriculum includes an hour of optional weekly religious education, with the content determined by the Solomon Islands Christian Association. Non-christian religious instruction is available by request. The government subsidizes schools and health centers operated by religious organizations, in addition to providing small grants to religious organizations.
Leaders of minority groups in the Solomon Islands have reported no incidents of religious discrimination as of 2017.


Hindu Temple of Bloomington-Normal

Hindu Temple of Bloomington-Normal is a Hindu Temple located in Bloomington, Illinois and serves the Hindu population of the Bloomington-Normal Metropolitan Area. It is located at 1815 Tullamore Ave, in Bloomington, Illinois. The Temple serves the 5,000 Hindus in the area.
History.
Since 1978, the Hindu population of Bloomington-Normal had planned to build a permanent Hindu temple for the Bloomington-Normal area. In 2006, an organization for the Hindu Temple of Bloomington-Normal was created to facilitate the creation of the Hindu Temple and fundraising. In 2007, a website was created for the Hindu Temple. In 2009, the temple acquired 2.75 acres and began the process of purification of the land. The temple was given a building permit for $700,000 in June 2013. In April 2014, the Hindu Temple was finally built and opening ceremonies were held.
Design.
The Hindu Temple was designed to be non-sectarian and multi-use. The Hindu Temple has a conference room, kitchen, dining area, stage, library and several rooms dedicated to teach Sunday School, Yoga and Indian cultural classes. Since it is non-sectarian, several of the Hindu gods are from different sects and regions of India. There is also a space dedicated for Jains to worship at.


Rebo Kasan

Rebo Kasan is a traditional ceremony held as a ritual to reject reinforcements which is held every Syafar month based on the Hijriah calendar every last Wednesday by people in Bangka Regency, to be precise in the area of Air Anyir Village, Merawang District. In particular, this tradition is carried out in the Dusun Temberan and Dusun Mudal which are hamlets located on the beach.
Etymology.
The origin of the word 'Rebo Kasan' comes from the word Rabu Kasat which means the last. The ceremony was held aimed at asking for help from God Almighty in order to avoid various disasters. On the day of the ceremony, people gather to read prayers together.


Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Auckland

The Swaminarayan Mandir in Auckland (Devnagari: श्री स्वमिनरयन मन्दिर, औक्क्लन्द) is the second Mandir (Temple) of the Swaminarayan Sampraday in New Zealand. The Mandir comes under the ISSO of the NarNarayan Dev Gadi.
History.
Auckland has the highest population density of people of Chinese and Indian cultures and a number of new Hindu temples were opened in recent years.
An Asia New Zealand Foundation report, "Diverse Auckland: The Face of New Zealand in the 21st Century", written by University of Auckland's Dr Wardlow Friesen, says the city will continue to absorb more migrants than the rest of the country.
In his report Dr. Friesen confirms: "On a physical level, the evidence of the emergence of diverse religious practices of the Asian population of Auckland is dramatic."
Recently completed Shri Swaminarayan Temple in Auckland, New Zealand has become a beacon within all Sanatan Dharmic temples purely because of the amount of faith that has been put in God before and during the project. Thousands of hours of service have gone into individually hand carving the walls and ceiling of this temple. Over 5 years, careful planning and implementing took place by the local community of Papatoetoe, Auckland to ensure a new home is made for Swaminarayan. Designing, engineering and construction had gone beyond New Zealand to Hong Kong, India and Europe to ensure results. Intricate wood carvings as per traditional Indian architecture, to grand purpose built moldings, pillars and Shikhars have all been carefully crafted by expert tradesmen from all over the world. Dr. Kantilal Patel and his wife, Mrs Ranjna Patel, two people who were involved in the building of this temple, have been awarded the Queen’s Service Medal (QSM) for their community service.
Opening of the temple.
The Murti Pran Pratistha Mahotsav (Deity installation ceremony) was conducted by Acharya Shree Koshalendraprasadji Maharaj, on 24 March 2008. The central Murtis consecrated in the temple are Ghanshyam Maharaj, NarNarayan Dev, RadhaKrishna Dev and Ram Parivar as well as Kul Dev's of the local community.


Jean Nicolas Beauregard

Jean Nicolas Beauregard (1731–1804) was a French Jesuit.


Jun Hong Lu

Jun Hong Lu (, born 4 August 1959) is the leader and the founder of the organisation Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door along with several other religions organisations owned by himself. Controversially, the Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door created by Lu was denounced by Malaysian Buddhist Community and Singapore Buddhist Federation.
Founding of Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door.
Since the creation of Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door in 2010, Lu also set up Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door offices in several countries. He and his propagating team organized public talks in Australia; New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Boston in the United States; and Toronto and Vancouver in Canada; Brussels in Belgium; Madrid in Spain; and Rome in Italy. Lu also delivered speeches in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, UK, France, Germany, Denmark, Thailand, New Zealand, and Taiwan. The Dharma Convention held by Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door allows visitors to enter for free. The discipleship initiation ceremony is conducted for free. In December 2013 Lu was invited to give a speech at Institute for Cultural Diplomacy (ICD).
Publications.
Lu has authored the following books:
Awards.
On 31 March 2014, Lu was awarded Honorary visiting professor by the University of Siena, Italy. The visiting professorship is under the Master Program in Global Governance and Cultural Diplomacy of the University of Siena.
Views.
Mahayana Buddhism.
Lu claims that Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door belongs to the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and he encourages believers to recite the Buddhist scriptures (Sutras and mantras) on a daily basis, practice life liberation (that is, saving the lives of beings destined for slaughter), make great vows to help more people. Lu claims that these three "golden practices" lay a solid foundation for improved physical and mental well-being.
Organization.
On Jun Hong Lu's official Chinese-language blog, he emphasizes the importance of Guan Yin Citta followers' abiding by the rules and regulations in their respective countries and regions when practicing Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door. The main principle of Guan Yin Citta is to love respective country and people, abide by the laws of the country, in achieving a harmonious society. The secretariat further state that, "The Guan Yin Citta practitioner must cultivate compassion for other people, must love respective country and the people, must protect respective country and cultivate harmony in the society; these are the basics of the Guan Yin Citta Buddhist practice, be a pillar of strength for society and respective country."
Religions.
In an interview with Radio France Internationale, Lu stated that: "The reason of having 84,000 Dharma is to accommodate all beings and creatures to understand One's self in order to create a soulful world. It will be good enough as long as you have the heart and soul to create a better place for all beings. That is why I respect the Dharma. It doesn't matter which Dharma you choose; it will still be the path that you have to proceed. This is a very important point. Therefore, Chinese in Sydney will practice vegetarian during the first and the fifteenth of the Chinese calendar. There are also a lot of Chinese worshiping the Buddha during festive seasons. Some even know how to practice loving kindness. A few organizations in Sydney such as the Tzu Chi Foundation, Pure Land Buddhism by Master Chin Kung and also Master Hsing Yun's Nan Tien temple are all well established with the same priority, and that is to carry forward the Buddhism Teaching in order to unite everyone physically, mentally and soulfully. Hence, I believe that every Buddhist Chinese from all over the world should continue to practice Buddhism as it will benefit in the cultivation of One's mindset, and also to create a peaceful and harmonious world."
Criticism.
Malaysia Buddhism organization's reaction.
On 28 December 2018, 9 Buddhism organizations from Malaysia publicly declared that Lu Jun Hong's Guan Yin Citta belief does not match Buddhism's teaching, and urged the public to avoid attending Lu's Guan Yin Citta religious event. The 9 organizations are Malaysian Buddhist Association, Young Buddhist Association Of Malaysia / YBAM ATC, Buddhist Missionary Society Malaysia, Buddhist Maha Vihara Malaysia, Theravada Buddhist Council of Malaysia, Vajrayana Buddhist Council of Malaysia, BLIA, and Malaysian Buddhist Kulapati Association. Lu Jun Hong self-claimed he has the ability to conduct Totem reading, to see a person's previous life and the doings, and as well as communicate with the Buddhist god, the GuanYin. The Buddhism organizations pointed out that Lu's Totem reading, uses and burning of the "Little house" does not exist in Buddhism. They also declared that their actions of promoting a cult of personality for Lu Jun Hong are also not part of the Buddhist practice.


Shoghi Effendi

Shoghí Effendí (; 1 March 1897 – 4 November 1957) was the grandson and successor of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, appointed to the role of Guardian of the Baháʼí Faith from 1921 until his death in 1957. Shoghi Effendi created a series of teaching plans that oversaw the expansion of the faith to many new countries. He also translated and provided authoritative interpretation of many of the writings of the Baháʼí central figures. He was succeeded by an interim arrangement of the Hands of the Cause until the election of the Universal House of Justice in 1963.
Shoghi Effendi spent his early life in ʻAkká, but went on to study in Haifa and Beirut, gaining an arts degree from the Syrian Protestant College in 1918, then serving as secretary and translator to ʻAbdu'l-Bahá. In 1920 he attended Balliol College, Oxford, where he studied political science and economics, but his second year was interrupted by the death of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá and his appointment as Guardian at the age of 24.
As the first Guardian, Shoghi Effendi was the leader and head of the Baháʼí Faith for 36 years. He sent more than 17,500 letters, mostly in Persian and English, directing and keeping up with the progress of existing Baháʼí communities, responding to persecution in the Middle East, coordinating teaching efforts, and building up the Baháʼí World Centre in the ʻAkká/Haifa area. He appointed 32 living individuals (and 10 posthumously) to the rank of Hand of the Cause, a prominent position that oversaw teaching the faith and protecting it from attacks, and successfully oversaw the expansion of the religion from 1,034 localities in 1935 to 2,700 localities in 1953, and 14,437 localities in 1963. From the beginning to end of his leadership, the number of adherents to the Baháʼí Faith grew from 100,000 to 400,000.
He was born Shoghí Rabbání but published and is commonly known as Shoghi Effendi. Because he was the only example of the role of 'Guardian', he is commonly referred to as The Guardian by Baháʼís.
Background.
Born in ʻAkká in the Acre Sanjak of the Ottoman Empire in March 1897, Shoghi Effendi was related to the Báb through his father, Mírzá Hádí Shírází, and to Baháʼu'lláh through his mother, Ḍíyáʼíyyih Khánum, the eldest daughter of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá. ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, who provided much of his initial training, greatly influenced Shoghi Effendi from the early years of his life. Shoghi Effendi learned prayers from his grandfather, who encouraged him to chant. ʻAbdu'l-Bahá also insisted that people address the child as "Shoghi Effendi", ("Effendi" signifies "Sir"), rather than simply as "Shoghi", as a mark of respect towards him.
From his early years, Shoghi Effendi was introduced to the suffering which accompanied the Baháʼís in ʻAkká, including the attacks by Mírzá Muhammad ʻAlí against ʻAbdu'l-Bahá. As a young boy, he was aware of the desire of Sultan Abdul Hamid II (reigned 1876-1909) to banish ʻAbdu'l-Bahá to the deserts of North Africa where he was expected to perish. At one point, Shoghi Effendi was warned not to drink coffee in the homes of any of the Baháʼís in the fear that he would be poisoned.
Tablet from ʻAbdu'l-Bahá.
Being ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's eldest grandson, the first son of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's eldest daughter Ḍíyáʼíyyih Khánum, Shoghi Effendi had a special relationship with his grandfather. Zia Baghdadi, a contemporary Baháʼí, relates that when Shoghi Effendi was only five years of age, he pestered his grandfather to write a tablet for him, which ʻAbdu'l-Bahá obliged:
Shoghi Effendi then set out to memorize a number of prayers, and chanted them as loud as he could. This caused family members to ask ʻAbdu'l-Bahá to quieten him down, a request which he apparently refused.
Education.
Shoghi Effendi received his early education at home with the other children in the household, then attended a French Christian Brothers school in Haifa, and later boarded at another Catholic school in Beirut.
Shoghi Effendi was to accompany his grandfather on his journeys to the West but was unable to proceed after port authorities in Naples prevented Shoghi Effendi from continuing due to illness.
Shoghi Effendi later attended the Syrian Protestant College (later known as the American University of Beirut) for his final years of high school and first years of university, where he earned an arts degree in 1918. He reports being very unhappy in school and often returned on vacations to Haifa to spend time with ʻAbdu'l-Bahá. During his studies, he dedicated himself to mastering English—adding this language to the Persian, Turkish, Arabic and French languages in which he was already fluent—so that he could translate the letters of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá and serve as his secretary. Shoghi Effendi was protected from World War I due to the neutrality of the Syrian Protestant College. Though political tensions in 1917 meant the college was closed briefly, student life continued. In the summer of 1918 ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's life was in critical danger until the entry of General Allenby's troops to Haifa.
With the Armistice looming and having completed his studies Shoghi Effendi was ready to return to his grandfather, and in Autumn of 1918 he went back to Haifa to assist ʻAbdu'l-Bahá in his mounting correspondence, spending nearly two years of constant companionship with him. In a private letter to a friend from late 1918 Shoghi Effendi reflects on the untold sufferings of the War but anticipates that "this is indeed the era of service".
After his time in Haifa he went to Balliol College, Oxford, in England, where he matriculated in "Economics and Social Sciences", while still perfecting his translation skills. Shoghi Effendi was happy during his time in Balliol. Accounts from his contemporaries remember him as a cheerful and popular student. He was acquainted with future British prime minister Anthony Eden but they were not close friends. His studies were interspersed with occasional trips around the United Kingdom to meet Baháʼí communities. Shoghi Effendi was particularly touched meeting the small group of Baháʼís from Manchester. During this period Shoghi Effendi began what would be a life-long affinity to aspects of British culture such as reading "The Times" everyday and his love for English literature.
Death of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá.
While studying in England, on 29 November 1921, the news of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's death reached Shoghi Effendi, which, according to Wellesley Tudor Pole, the deliverer of the cable, left him "in a state of collapse". After spending a couple of days with John Esslemont, and after some passport difficulties, he sailed from England accompanied with Sara Blomfield and his sister Ruhangiz on 16 December and arrived in Haifa on 29 December. A few days later he opened ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's Will and Testament, which was addressed to Shoghi Effendi. In it, he was appointed as ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's successor and head of the Baháʼí Faith.
Guardianship.
The institution of the 'Guardian' provided a hereditary line of heads of the religion, in many respects similar to the Shia Imamate. Each Guardian was to be appointed by the previous from among the male descendants of Baháʼu'lláh, preferably according to primogeniture. The appointment was to be made during the Guardian's lifetime and clearly assented to by a group of Hands of the Cause. The Guardian would be the head of the Universal House of Justice, and had the authority to expel its members. He would also be responsible for the receipt of Huqúqu'lláh, appoint new Hands of the Cause, provide "authoritative and binding" interpretations of the Baháʼí writings, and excommunicate Covenant-breakers.
The issue of successorship to ʻAbdu'l-Bahá was in the minds of early Baháʼís, and although the Universal House of Justice was an institution mentioned by Baháʼu'lláh, the institution of the Guardianship was not clearly introduced until the Will and Testament of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá was publicly read after his death.
In the will, Shoghi Effendi found that he had been designated as "the Sign of God, the chosen branch, the Guardian of the Cause of God". He also learned that he had been designated as this when he was still a small child. As Guardian he was appointed as head of the religion, someone whom the Baháʼís had to look to for guidance. ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's Will and Testament laid down the authority of the Guardian and the Universal House of Justice, the latter of which had not yet been established:
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. The most he expected was perhaps, because he was the eldest grandson, ʻAbdu'l-Bahá might have left instructions as to how the Universal House of Justice was to be elected and he might have been designated as Convener of the gathering that would elect it.
Shoghi Effendi on the Guardianship.
Building on the foundation that had been established in ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's will, Shoghi Effendi elaborated on the role of the Guardian in several works, including "Baháʼí Administration" and the "World Order of Baháʼu'lláh". In those works, he went to great lengths to emphasize that he himself and any future Guardian should never be viewed as equal to ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, or regarded as a holy person. He asked Baháʼís not to celebrate his birthday or have his picture on display. In his correspondences, Shoghi Effendi signed his letters to Baháʼís as "brother" and "co-worker," to the extent that even when addressing youth, he referred to himself as "Your True Brother."
Shoghi Effendi wrote that the infallibility of his interpretations only extended to matters relating to the Baháʼí Faith and not subjects such as economics and science.
Relationship to the Universal House of Justice.
In his writings, Shoghi Effendi delineates a distinct separation of powers between the "twin pillars" of the Guardianship and the Universal House of Justice. The roles of the Guardianship and the Universal House of Justice are complementary, 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." Shoghi Effendi went into detail explaining that the institutions are interdependent and had their own specific spheres of jurisdiction. For example, the Guardian could define the sphere of legislative action and request that a particular decision be reconsidered, but could not dictate the constitution, override the decisions, or influence the election of the Universal House of Justice.
Accomplishments.
From the time of his appointment as Guardian until his death the Baháʼí Faith grew from 100,000 to 400,000 members, capitalizing on prior growth and setting the stage for more, and the countries and territories in which Baháʼís had representation went from 35 to 250. As Guardian and head of the religion, Shoghi Effendi communicated his vision to the Baháʼís of the world through his numerous letters and his meetings with pilgrims to Palestine. During the 1920s he first started to systematize and extend the Baháʼí administration throughout the world; the Baháʼí community was relatively small and undeveloped when he assumed leadership of the religion, and he strengthened and developed it over many years to support the administrative structure envisioned by ʻAbdu'l-Bahá.
Under Shoghi Effendi's direction, National Spiritual Assemblies were formed, and many thousands of Local Spiritual Assemblies were created. During the 1930s he worked on projects translating the works of Baháʼu'lláh into English. Starting in 1937, he set into motion a series of systematic plans to establish Baháʼí communities in all countries. A Ten Year Crusade was carried out from 1953 to 1963 with the aim of electing the Universal House of Justice as its paramount aim. Starting in the late 1940s, after the establishment of the State of Israel, he started to develop the Baháʼí World Centre in Haifa, including the construction of the superstructure of the Shrine of the Báb and the building of the International Archives as well as beautifying the gardens at Bahji, where the Shrine of Baháʼu'lláh is located, as well as developing plans and resources to raise several of the continental Baháʼí Houses of Worship around the world; these plans continued through the 1950s.
In the 1950s he also continued building the Baháʼí administration, establishing in 1951 the International Baháʼí Council to act as a precursor to the Universal House of Justice, as well as appointing 32 living Hands of the Cause — Baháʼís appointed to the highest rank of service available, whose main function was to propagate and protect the religion. He also acted as the official representative of the religion to legal authorities in Israel as well as designated other representatives to work with the UN. In a more secular cause, prior to World War II he supported the work of restoration-forester Richard St. Barbe Baker to reforest Palestine, introducing him to religious leaders from the major faiths of the region, from whom backing was secured for reforestation.
Translations and writings.
In his lifetime, Shoghi Effendi translated into English many of the writings of the Báb, Baháʼu'lláh and ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, including the "Hidden Words" in 1929, the "Kitáb-i-Íqán" in 1931, "Gleanings" in 1935 and "Epistle to the Son of the Wolf" in 1941. He also translated such historical texts as "The Dawn-breakers". His significance is not just that of a translator, but he was also the designated and authoritative interpreter of the Baháʼí writings. His translations, therefore, are a guideline for all future translations of the Baháʼí writings. The vast majority of his writings were in the style of letters with Baháʼís from all parts of the globe.
These letters, of which 17,500 have been collected thus far and are believed to number a total of 30,000, ranged from routine correspondence regarding the affairs of Baháʼís around the world to lengthy letters to the Baháʼís of the world addressing specific themes. Some of his longer letters include "World Order of Baháʼu'lláh", regarding the nature of Baháʼí administration, "Advent of Divine Justice", regarding teaching the religion, and "Promised Day is Come" regarding Baháʼu'lláh's letters to world leaders.
Other letters included statements on Baháʼí beliefs, history, morality, principles, administration and law. He also wrote obituaries of some distinguished Baháʼís. Many of his letters to individuals and assemblies have been compiled into several books which stand out as significant sources of literature for Baháʼís around the world. The only actual book he ever wrote was "God Passes By" in 1944 to commemorate the centennial anniversary of the religion. The book, which is in English, is an interpretive history of the first century of the Bábí and Baháʼí Faiths. A shorter Persian language version was also written.
Leadership.
As a young student of twenty-four, Shoghi Effendi was initially shocked at the appointment as Guardian. He was also mourning the death of his grandfather to whom he had great attachment. The trauma of this culminated in him making retreats to the Swiss Alps. However, despite his youth, Shoghi Effendi had a clear idea of the goal he had for the religion. Oxford educated and Western in his style of dress, Shoghi Effendi was a stark contrast to his grandfather ʻAbdu'l-Bahá. He distanced himself from the local clergy and notability, and travelled little to visit Baháʼís unlike his grandfather. Correspondence and pilgrims were the way that Shoghi Effendi conveyed his messages. His talks are the subject to a great number of "pilgrim notes".
He also was concerned with matters dealing with Baháʼí belief and practice — as Guardian he was empowered to interpret the writings of Baháʼu'lláh and ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, and these were authoritative and binding, as specified in ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's will. His leadership style was however, quite different from that of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, in that he signed his letters to the Baháʼís as "your true brother", and he did not refer to his own personal role, but instead to the institution of the guardianship. He requested that he be referred in letters and verbal addresses always as Shoghi Effendi, as opposed to any other appellation. He also distanced himself as a local notable. He was critical of the Baháʼís referring to him as a holy personage, asking them not to celebrate his birthday or have his picture on display.
Private life.
Shoghi Effendi's personal life was largely subordinate to his work as Guardian of the religion. His lack of secretarial support with the mass of correspondence had left a pattern of hard work in Haifa interspersed with occasional summer breaks to Europe—in the early years often to the Swiss Alps. In 1929 and 1940 he also travelled through Africa from south to north. In public Shoghi Effendi was variously described as aristocratic, composed and highly informed in international affairs. In private his contemporaries remembered him as warm, informal and humorous. Shoghi Effendi would sleep very little and usually ate only once a day. He was short in stature, with dark hair, an olive complexion and hazel eyes. He was noted as not resembling his grandfather ʻAbdu'l-Bahá (who was taller and had blue eyes) but his great-grandfather Baháʼu'lláh.
Shoghi Effendi had a great love for the English language. He was an avid fan of English literature, and enjoyed reading the King James Bible. He was noted for speaking English in clipped received pronunciation, and Persian in an Isfahani dialect, inherited from his grandmother. Shoghi Effendi held Iranian (Persian) nationality throughout his life and travelled on an Iranian passport, although he never visited Iran.
Marriage.
In March 1937, Shoghi Effendi married Mary Maxwell, entitled Rúhíyyih Khánum, a Canadian. She was the only child of May Maxwell, a disciple of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, and William Sutherland Maxwell, a Canadian architect. Shoghi Effendi had first met Mary as a girl when she came on pilgrimage with her mother in 1923. The two had begun a regular correspondence from the mid-1920s. Mary was an active Baháʼí teacher, and a letter written to Shoghi Effendi described her as "a beautiful and most refreshing girl to know". Whilst on her third pilgrimage in 1937 the two began a discreet courtship. Then 26 years old, Mary was a tall, athletic woman. Mary had been living in Nazi Germany for 18 months with her cousin prior to coming to Haifa. The couple married in the room of Bahíyyih Khánum in the House of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá in Haifa. The ceremony was a short, simple and quiet one in which Rúhíyyih Khánum wore black. Very few knew the wedding was taking place apart from the witnesses and a small group of residents of Haifa. Therefore the marriage came as a great surprise to the world-wide Baháʼí community when the mother of Shoghi Effendi cabled the Baháʼís:
While Shoghi Effendi and Rúhíyyih Khánum never had children, Rúhíyyih Khánum became his constant companion and helpmate; in 1941, she became Shoghi Effendi's principal secretary in English. In a rare public statement revealing his private sentiments in 1951 he described his wife as "my helpmate, my shield in warding off the darts of Covenant breakers and my tireless collaborator in the arduous tasks I shoulder".
Opposition.
Mírzá Muhammad ʻAlí was ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's half brother and was mentioned by Baháʼu'lláh as having a station "beneath" that of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá. Muhammad ʻAli later fought ʻAbdu'l-Bahá for leadership and was ultimately excommunicated, along with several others in the Haifa/ʻAkká area who supported him. When Shoghi Effendi was appointed Guardian Muhammad ʻAli tried to revive his claim to leadership, suggesting that Baháʼu'lláh's mention of him in the Kitáb-i-'Ahd amounted to a succession of leadership.
After Shoghi Effendi's death, Rúhíyyih Khánum published parts of her personal diaries to show glimpses of Shoghi Effendi's life. She recalls a great deal of pain and suffering caused by his immediate family, and Baháʼís in Haifa.
Throughout Shoghi Effendi's life, nearly all remaining family members and descendants of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá were expelled by him as covenant-breakers when they didn't abide by Shoghi Effendi's request to cut contact with covenant-breakers, as specified by ʻAbdu'l-Bahá. Other branches of Baháʼu'lláh's family had already been declared Covenant-breakers in ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's Will and Testament. At the time of his death, there were no living descendants of Baháʼu'lláh that remained loyal to him.
Unexpected death.
Shoghi Effendi's death came unexpectedly in London, on 4 November 1957, as he was travelling to Britain and caught the Asian Flu, during the pandemic which killed two million worldwide, and he is buried there in New Southgate Cemetery. His wife sent the following cable:
Future hereditary Guardians were envisioned in the Baháʼí scripture by appointment from one to the next. Each Guardian was to be appointed by the previous from among the male descendants of Baháʼu'lláh, preferably according to primogeniture. The appointment was to be made during the Guardian's lifetime and clearly assented to by a group of Hands of the Cause. At the time of Shoghi Effendi's death, all living male descendants of Baháʼu'lláh had been declared Covenant-breakers by either ʻAbdu'l-Bahá or Shoghi Effendi, leaving no suitable living candidates. This created a severe crisis of leadership. The 27 living Hands gathered in a series of 6 secret conclaves (or signed agreements if they were absent) to decide how to navigate the uncharted situation. The Hands of the Cause unanimously voted it was impossible to legitimately recognize and assent to a successor.They made an announcement on 25 November 1957 to assume control of the Faith, certified that Shoghi Effendi had left no will or appointment of successor, said that no appointment could have been made, and elected 9 of their members to stay at the Baháʼí World Centre in Haifa to exercise the executive functions of the Guardian (these were known as the Custodians).
Ministry of the Custodians.
In Shoghi Effendi's final message to the Baha'i World, dated October 1957, he named the Hands of the Cause of God, "the Chief Stewards of Baháʼu'lláh's embryonic World Commonwealth." Following the death of Shoghi Effendi, the Baháʼí Faith was temporarily stewarded by the Hands of the Cause, who elected among themselves 9 "Custodians" to serve in Haifa as the head of the Faith. They reserved to the "entire body of the Hands of the Cause" the responsibility to determine the transition of the International Baháʼí Council into the Universal House of Justice, and that the Custodians reserved to themselves the authority to determine and expel Covenant-breakers. This stewardship oversaw the execution of the final years of Shoghi Effendi's ordinances of the ten year crusade (which lasted until 1963) culminating and transitioning to the election and establishment of the Universal House of Justice, at the first Baha'i World Congress in 1963.
As early as January 1959, Mason Remey, one of the custodial Hands, believed that he was the second Guardian and successor to Shoghi Effendi. That summer after a conclave of the Hands in Haifa, Remey abandoned his position and moved to Washington D.C., then soon after announced his claim to absolute leadership, causing a schism that attracted about 100 followers, mostly in the United States. Remey was excommunicated by a unanimous decision of the remaining 26 Hands. Although initially disturbing, the mainstream Baháʼís paid little attention to his movement within a few years.
Election of the Universal House of Justice.
At the end of the Ten Year Crusade in 1963, the Universal House of Justice was first elected. It was authorized to adjudicate on situations not covered in scripture. As its first order of business, the Universal House of Justice evaluated the situation caused by the fact that the Guardian had not appointed a successor. It determined that under the circumstances, given the criteria for succession described in the Will and Testament of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, there was no legitimate way for another Guardian to be appointed. Therefore, although the Will and Testament of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá leaves provisions for a succession of Guardians, Shoghi Effendi remains the first and last occupant of this office.


Joseph Mitsuaki Takami

Joseph Mitsuaki Takami (born March 21, 1946) is a Japanese Roman Catholic prelate. He was ordained a priest on 20 March 1972, and has served as Archbishop of Nagasaki since 2003.