Mason Remey
Encyclopedia
Charles Mason Remey was a prominent and controversial American Bahá'í
who was appointed in 1951 a Hand of the Cause, and president of the International Bahá'í Council
. He was the architect for the Bahá'í Houses of Worship
in Uganda and Australia, and Shoghi Effendi
approved his design of the unbuilt House of Worship in Haifa, Israel.
When Shoghi Effendi died in 1957, he died without explicitly appointing a successor Guardian, and Remey was among the nine Hands of the Cause elected as an interim authority until the election of the first Universal House of Justice
in 1963. However, in 1960 Remey declared himself to be the successor of Shoghi Effendi, and expected the allegiance of the world's Bahá'ís. Subsequently, he and his followers were declared Covenant breakers
by the Hands. They reasoned that he lacked a formal appointment from Shoghi Effendi, and that the office was confined to male descendants of Bahá'u'lláh
, the Aghsan
. Almost the whole Bahá'í world rejected his claim, but he gained the support of a small but widespread group of Bahá'ís. His claim resulted in the largest schism in the history of the Bahá'í Faith, with a few groups still holding the belief that Remey was the successor of Shoghi Effendi. Various dated references show membership at less than a hundred each in two of the surviving groups.
, the first Chief Justice of Iowa. Remey’s parents raised him in the Episcopal Church. Remey trained as an architect at Cornell University (1893–1896), and the École des Beaux-Arts
in Paris, France (1896–1903) where he first learned of the Bahá'í Faith.
which still stand today and are the mother temples for Australasia
and Africa
respectively. Upon the request of Shoghi Effendi
, he also provided designs for a Bahá'í House of Worship
in Tehran
, for Haifa, and the Shrine of `Abdu'l-Bahá, however only the Haifa temple was approved before the death of Shoghi Effendi
, and none have so far been built.
Remey traveled extensively to promote the Bahá'í Faith during the ministry of `Abdu'l-Bahá
. Shoghi Effendi
recorded that Remey and his Bahá'í companion, Howard Struven, were the first Bahá'ís to circle the globe teaching the religion.
A prolific writer, Remey wrote numerous published and personal articles promoting the Bahá'í Faith, including `Abdu'l-Bahá – The Center of the Covenant and the five volume A Comprehensive History of the Bahá'í Movement (1927), The Bahá'í Revelation and Reconstruction (1919), Constructive Principles of The Bahá'í Movement (1917), and The Bahá'í Movement: A Series of Nineteen Papers (1912) are a few of the titles of the many works Remey produced while `Abdu'l-Bahá was still alive. Remey's life was recorded in his diaries, and in 1940 he provided copies and selected writings to several public libraries. Included in most of the collections were the letters `Abdu'l-Bahá wrote to him.
According to Juliet Thompson
's diary, `Abdu'l-Bahá suggested that she marry Remey, and in 1909 asked her how she felt about it, reportedly requesting of her: “Give my greatest love to Mr. Remey and say: You are very dear to me. You are so dear to me that I think of you day and night. You are my real son. Therefore I have an idea for you. I hope it may come to pass...He told me He loved Mason Remey so much,” Thompson writes, “and He loved me so much that he wished us to marry. That was the meaning of His message to Mason. He said it would be a perfect union and good for the Cause. Then he asked me how I felt about it.” They did not marry, although Thompson anguished over her decision, which she felt would cause ‘Abdu’l-Baha disappointment. In 1932 he married Gertrude Heim Klemm Mason (1887-1933), who subsequently died a year later.
(IBC), representing the first international Bahá'í body. The council was intended to be a forerunner to the Universal House of Justice
, the supreme ruling body of the Bahá'í Faith. Remey was appointed president of the council in March, with Amelia Collins as vice-president, then in December 1951 Remey was appointed a Hand of the Cause.
, which hadn't been elected yet. Remey signed a unanimous declaration of the Hands that Shoghi Effendi had died "without having appointed his successor".
Three years later, in 1960, Remey made a written announcement that his appointment as president of the international council represented an appointment by Shoghi Effendi as Guardian, because the appointed council was a precursor to the elected Universal House of Justice, which has the Guardian as its president.
He also attempted to usurp the control of the Faith which the Hands had themselves assumed at the passing of Shoghi Effendi stating:
He claimed to believe that the Guardianship was an institution intended to endure forever, and that he was the 2nd Guardian by virtue of his appointment to the IBC. Almost the whole Bahá'í world rejected his claim, although he gained the support of a small but widespread group of Bahá'ís. One of the most notable exceptions to accept his claim were several members of the French National Spiritual Assembly, led by Joel Marangella, who elected to support Remey. The Assembly was consequently disbanded by the Hands. The remaining 26 Hands of the Cause unanimously expelled him from the community. Remey himself declared that being the Guardian gave him the exclusive right to declare who was or wasn't a Covenant-breaker, and that those who opposed him and followed the Hands of the Cause were Covenant-breakers.
. Another of Remey's followers, Leland Jensen
(d. 1996), who made a several religious claims of his own, formed a sect known as the Bahá'ís Under the Provisions of the Covenant
following Remey's death; he believed that Remey was the adopted son of Abdu'l-Baha, and that Remey's adopted son Joseph Pepe was the third Guardian.
All those that accept Mason Remey as the second Guardian do not accept the Universal House of Justice
established in 1963.
On February 4, 1974, Mason Remey died at the age of 99.
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....
who was appointed in 1951 a Hand of the Cause, and president of 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:...
. He was the architect for the Bahá'í Houses of Worship
Bahá'í House of Worship
A Bahá'í House of Worship, sometimes referred to by its Arabic name of Mashriqu'l-Adhkár ,is the designation of a place of worship, or temple, of the Bahá'í Faith...
in Uganda and Australia, and 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...
approved his design of the unbuilt House of Worship in Haifa, Israel.
When Shoghi Effendi died in 1957, he died without explicitly appointing a successor Guardian, and Remey was among the nine Hands of the Cause elected as an interim authority until the election of the first 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 1963. However, in 1960 Remey declared himself to be the successor of Shoghi Effendi, and expected the allegiance of the world's Bahá'ís. Subsequently, he and his followers were declared Covenant breakers
Covenant-breaker
A Covenant-breaker or the act of Covenant-breaking is a term used by Bahá'ís to refer to a particular form of heresy. Being declared a Covenant-breaker by the head of the Faith — which since 1963 refers to the elected nine-member Universal House of Justice, the governing body of the Bahá'ís....
by the Hands. They reasoned that he lacked a formal appointment from Shoghi Effendi, and that the office was confined to male descendants of Bahá'u'lláh
Bahá'u'lláh
Bahá'u'lláh , born ' , was the founder of the Bahá'í Faith. He claimed to be the prophetic fulfilment of Bábism, a 19th-century outgrowth of Shí‘ism, but in a broader sense claimed to be a messenger from God referring to the fulfilment of the eschatological expectations of Islam, Christianity, and...
, the Aghsan
Aghsán
Aghṣán , is a term in literature of the Bahá'í Faith referring to male descendants of Bahá'u'lláh.It has particular implications not only for the disposition of endowments but also for the succession of authority following the passing of Bahá'u'lláh and of his son `Abdu'l-Bahá....
. Almost the whole Bahá'í world rejected his claim, but he gained the support of a small but widespread group of Bahá'ís. His claim resulted in the largest schism in the history of the Bahá'í Faith, with a few groups still holding the belief that Remey was the successor of Shoghi Effendi. Various dated references show membership at less than a hundred each in two of the surviving groups.
Early life
Born in Burlington, Iowa, on May 15, 1874, Mason was the eldest son of Rear Admiral George Collier Remey and Mary Josephine Mason Remey, the daughter of Charles MasonCharles Mason (attorney)
Charles Mason was born in New York and became a patent attorney, taught engineering, and was the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Iowa...
, the first Chief Justice of Iowa. Remey’s parents raised him in the Episcopal Church. Remey trained as an architect at Cornell University (1893–1896), and the École des Beaux-Arts
École des Beaux-Arts
École des Beaux-Arts refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The most famous is the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, now located on the left bank in Paris, across the Seine from the Louvre, in the 6th arrondissement. The school has a history spanning more than 350 years,...
in Paris, France (1896–1903) where he first learned of the Bahá'í Faith.
As a Bahá'í
With a background in architecture, Remey was asked to design the Australian and Ugandan Bahá'í House of WorshipBahá'í House of Worship
A Bahá'í House of Worship, sometimes referred to by its Arabic name of Mashriqu'l-Adhkár ,is the designation of a place of worship, or temple, of the Bahá'í Faith...
which still stand today and are the mother temples for Australasia
Australasia
Australasia is a region of Oceania comprising Australia, New Zealand, the island of New Guinea, and neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term was coined by Charles de Brosses in Histoire des navigations aux terres australes...
and Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
respectively. Upon the request 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...
, he also provided designs for a Bahá'í House of Worship
Bahá'í House of Worship
A Bahá'í House of Worship, sometimes referred to by its Arabic name of Mashriqu'l-Adhkár ,is the designation of a place of worship, or temple, of the Bahá'í Faith...
in Tehran
Tehran
Tehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to...
, for Haifa, and the Shrine of `Abdu'l-Bahá, however only the Haifa temple was approved before 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...
, and none have so far been built.
Remey traveled extensively to promote the Bahá'í Faith during the ministry of `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...
. 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...
recorded that Remey and his Bahá'í companion, Howard Struven, were the first Bahá'ís to circle the globe teaching the religion.
A prolific writer, Remey wrote numerous published and personal articles promoting the Bahá'í Faith, including `Abdu'l-Bahá – The Center of the Covenant and the five volume A Comprehensive History of the Bahá'í Movement (1927), The Bahá'í Revelation and Reconstruction (1919), Constructive Principles of The Bahá'í Movement (1917), and The Bahá'í Movement: A Series of Nineteen Papers (1912) are a few of the titles of the many works Remey produced while `Abdu'l-Bahá was still alive. Remey's life was recorded in his diaries, and in 1940 he provided copies and selected writings to several public libraries. Included in most of the collections were the letters `Abdu'l-Bahá wrote to him.
According to Juliet Thompson
Juliet Thompson
Juliet Thompson was an American Bahá'í, painter, and disciple of `Abdu'l-Bahá. She is perhaps best remembered for her book The Diary of Juliet Thompson though she also painted a life-sized portrait of `Abdu'l-Bahá.-Early life and education:...
's diary, `Abdu'l-Bahá suggested that she marry Remey, and in 1909 asked her how she felt about it, reportedly requesting of her: “Give my greatest love to Mr. Remey and say: You are very dear to me. You are so dear to me that I think of you day and night. You are my real son. Therefore I have an idea for you. I hope it may come to pass...He told me He loved Mason Remey so much,” Thompson writes, “and He loved me so much that he wished us to marry. That was the meaning of His message to Mason. He said it would be a perfect union and good for the Cause. Then he asked me how I felt about it.” They did not marry, although Thompson anguished over her decision, which she felt would cause ‘Abdu’l-Baha disappointment. In 1932 he married Gertrude Heim Klemm Mason (1887-1933), who subsequently died a year later.
Under Shoghi Effendi
Remey lived for some time in Washington, D.C., in the 1930s and 1940s. In 1950 Remey moved his residence from Washington, D.C., to Haifa, Israel, at the request of Shoghi Effendi. In January 1951, Shoghi Effendi issued a proclamation announcing the formation of the International Bahá'í CouncilInternational 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:...
(IBC), representing the first international Bahá'í body. The council was intended to be a forerunner 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...
, the supreme ruling body of the Bahá'í Faith. Remey was appointed president of the council in March, with Amelia Collins as vice-president, then in December 1951 Remey was appointed a Hand of the Cause.
After Shoghi Effendi
When Shoghi Effendi died in 1957, Remey and the other Hands of the Cause met in a private Conclave at Bahjí in Haifa, and determined that he hadn't appointed a successor. During this conclave the Hands of the Cause decided that the situation of the Guardian having died without being able to appoint a successor was a situation not dealt with in the texts that define the Bahá'í administration, and that it would need to be reviewed and adjudicated upon by the Universal House of JusticeUniversal 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...
, which hadn't been elected yet. Remey signed a unanimous declaration of the Hands that Shoghi Effendi had died "without having appointed his successor".
Three years later, in 1960, Remey made a written announcement that his appointment as president of the international council represented an appointment by Shoghi Effendi as Guardian, because the appointed council was a precursor to the elected Universal House of Justice, which has the Guardian as its president.
He also attempted to usurp the control of the Faith which the Hands had themselves assumed at the passing of Shoghi Effendi stating:
It is from and through the Guardianship that infallibility is vested and that the Hands of the Faith receive their orders...I now command the Hands of the Faith to stop all of their preparations for 1963, and furthermore I command all believers both as individual Bahá'ís and as assemblies of Bahá'ís to immediately cease cooperating with and giving support to this fallacious program for 1963.
He claimed to believe that the Guardianship was an institution intended to endure forever, and that he was the 2nd Guardian by virtue of his appointment to the IBC. Almost the whole Bahá'í world rejected his claim, although he gained the support of a small but widespread group of Bahá'ís. One of the most notable exceptions to accept his claim were several members of the French National Spiritual Assembly, led by Joel Marangella, who elected to support Remey. The Assembly was consequently disbanded by the Hands. The remaining 26 Hands of the Cause unanimously expelled him from the community. Remey himself declared that being the Guardian gave him the exclusive right to declare who was or wasn't a Covenant-breaker, and that those who opposed him and followed the Hands of the Cause were Covenant-breakers.
Under the Hereditary Guardianship
Among the Bahá'ís who accepted Mason Remey as the second Guardian, several further divisions have occurred based on opinions of legitimacy and the proper succession of authority. Most of his long-term followers were Americans, who distinguished themselves as "Bahá'ís Under the Hereditary Guardianship". In his later years Remey made confused and contradictory appointments for a successor, which resulted in further divisions among his followers dividing among several claimants to leadership. When Remey died his followers split into rival factions with each believing in a different Guardian. Donald Harvey (d.1991), was appointed by Remey as "Third Guardian" in 1967. Joel Marangella was president of Remey's "Second International Bahá'í Council" claimed in 1969 to have been secretly appointed by Remey as Guardian several years earlier, whose followers are now known as Orthodox Bahá'ísOrthodox Bahá'í Faith
The Orthodox Bahá'í Faith is a small Bahá'í sect that formed in 1960 by Mason Remey, and subsequently was the name used by Joel Marangella after he claimed to be Remey's successor...
. Another of Remey's followers, Leland Jensen
Leland Jensen
Leland Jensen was the founder of a Bahá'í sect called the Bahá'ís Under the Provisions of the Covenant . Jensen initially supported the claim of Mason Remey to be the successor to Shoghi Effendi in 1960, resulting in his excommunication from the mainstream Bahá'í community...
(d. 1996), who made a several religious claims of his own, formed a sect known as the Bahá'ís Under the Provisions of the Covenant
Bahá'ís Under the Provisions of the Covenant
The Bahá'ís Under the Provisions of the Covenant is a small Bahá'í sect founded originally by Leland Jensen in the early 1970s. The claims of the BUPC focus on a dispute in leadership following the death of Shoghi Effendi in 1957, and a subsequent dispute among the followers of Mason Remey...
following Remey's death; he believed that Remey was the adopted son of Abdu'l-Baha, and that Remey's adopted son Joseph Pepe was the third Guardian.
All those that accept Mason Remey as the second Guardian do not accept 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...
established in 1963.
Death
External links
- Biography of Charles Mason Remy - by Brent Matthieu
- Mason Remey and Those Who Followed Him - published by the Universal House of Justice
- Passing the Test of God - BUPC's views of Mason Remey's Life, Contributions, and Beliefs