Leroy C Ioas was a Hand of the Cause

Hands of the Cause

The Hands of the Cause of God, Hands of the Cause, or Hands were a select group of Bahá'ís, appointed for life, whose main function was to propagate and protect the Bahá'í Faith...

 of the Bahá'í Faith

Bahá'í Faith

The Bahá'í Faith is a monotheistic religion founded by Bahá'u'lláh in 19th-century Persia, emphasizing the spiritual unity of all humankind. There are an estimated five to six million Bahá'ís around the world in more than 200 countries and territories....

. His parents declared themselves Bahá'ís in 1898 and took Ioas to meet `Abdu'l-Bahá

`Abdu'l-Bahá

‘Abdu’l-Bahá , born ‘Abbás Effendí, was the eldest son of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith. In 1892, `Abdu'l-Bahá was appointed in his father's will to be his successor and head of the Bahá'í Faith. `Abdu'l-Bahá was born in Tehran to an aristocratic family of the realm...

 during the latter’s travels in the United States in 1912. Ioas moved to San Francisco after marrying Sylvia Kuhlman and soon became active in the local Bahá’í community.

Service at the Bahá’í World Centre

The Guardian of the Bahá’í faith, Shoghi Effendi

Shoghi Effendi

Shoghí Effendí Rabbání , better known as Shoghi Effendi, was the Guardian and appointed head of the Bahá'í Faith from 1921 until his death in 1957...

, appointed Ioas to the International Bahá'í Council

International Bahá'í Council

The International Bahá'í Council was an administrative institution of the Bahá'í Faith, first created in 1951 as a precursor to the Universal House of Justice, which replaced it in 1963.-Formation:...

, precursor to the Universal House of Justice

Universal House of Justice

The Universal House of Justice is the supreme governing institution of the Bahá'í Faith. It is a legislative institution with the authority to supplement and apply the laws of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, and exercises a judicial function as the highest appellate institution in the...

, in December 1951, where he served until 1961 as Secretary-General. In order to fulfill his duties, he quit his job in the railway industry, where he had worked for nearly forty years, and moved to Haifa

Haifa

Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...

, where he would reside until the end of his life.

After the death of Shoghi Effendi

Shoghi Effendi

Shoghí Effendí Rabbání , better known as Shoghi Effendi, was the Guardian and appointed head of the Bahá'í Faith from 1921 until his death in 1957...

, Ioas was among nine Hands of the Cause

Hands of the Cause

The Hands of the Cause of God, Hands of the Cause, or Hands were a select group of Bahá'ís, appointed for life, whose main function was to propagate and protect the Bahá'í Faith...

 elected as a Custodian of the Bahá'í Faith

Custodians

The Custodians is terminology in the Bahá'í Faith, which refers to nine Hands of the Cause assigned specifically to work at the Bahá'í World Centre in attendance to the Guardian of the Faith...

 on 25 November 1957. He travelled far and frequently to promote and expand the faith, even as his health weakened after heart problems began in 1953. His last trip, to eight areas in the United States during 1964, weakened him so much that he could not return to Haifa for six months and died less than a year later. He is buried in the Mount Carmel Bahá’í cemetery in Haifa.

Works

• Ioas, Leroy C, Julia Lynch Chanler
  Julia Lynch Olin
  Julia Lynch Olin , also writing as Julie Chanler, was an American author and Bahá'í who co-founded the New History Society in New York City, and was later expelled from the religion by Shoghi Effendi around 1939....
  
  , and Mirza Ahmad Sohrab
  Mirza Ahmad Sohrab
  Mírzá Aḥmad Sohráb was a Persian-American author and Bahá'í who co-founded the New History Society and the Caravan of East and West in New York, and was excommunicated from the Bahá'í Faith in 1939 by Shoghi Effendi.-Early life:...
  
  . Three Letters. New York: Caravan of East and West
  Caravan of East and West
  The Caravan of East and West is a tax-exempt, educational foundation for brotherhood, established in 1929 by Mirza Ahmad Sohrab, Lewis Stuyvesant Chanler and his wife Julie and located at 132 East 65th Street in New York City, at Caravan House, the former Chanler town residence.The Caravan was a...
  
  , 1954.