The first Baha'i House of Worship 1908 - 1938

arthra

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It's interesting to note that the first Baha'i House of Worship was built in what is today Turkmenistan along the northern border of Iran over six years and that it had what we Baha'is call "dependencies":

"....the purpose of its dependencies is to systematize the facilitation of service to the common good by providing centres of education and scientific learning as well as cultural and humanitarian endeavour and by promoting the application of knowledge to serve social and spiritual progress. Crucially, these two aspects of worship and service cannot be isolated from each other."

https://bahaiworld.bahai.org/articles/betterment-world-glory-god/

The House of Worship in Ishqabad had a school, a small hospital and a hostel. The school and hospital were open to non-Baha'is.

The following article is from Wikipedia:

The first Baha'i House of Worship was built in the city of 'Ishqábád, then ruled by Russia and now the capital of Turkmenistan. It was started in 1902 and completed in 1908. The design was prepared by Ostad Ali-Akbar Banna, and the construction was supervised by VakÃlu'd-Dawlih, later named one of the nineteen Apostles of Bahá'u'lláh.[3][12]

'Ishqábád is located in the desert plain of western Turkmenistan near the foothills of the Alborz Mountains. Under the protection and freedom given by the Russian authorities, the number of Baha'i there rose to over 1,000 and for the first time anywhere in the world a true Baha'i community was established, with its own schools, medical facilities, cemetery, etc. Eventually the Baha'i in 'Ishqábád decided to build the institution of the spiritual and social heart of the Baha'i community: the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár.

The House of Worship itself was surrounded by gardens. At the four corners of the garden were four buildings: a school, a hostel where travelling Baha'is were entertained, a small hospital, and a building for groundskeepers. The Baha'is lived as much as possible in proximity to the House of Worship. It was the centre of the community materially, as well as spiritually. The House of Worship in 'Ishqábád has been the only house of worship thus far to have the humanitarian subsidiaries associated with the institution built alongside it.[12]

After serving the community for two decades, the House of Worship was expropriated by the Soviet authorities in 1928 and leased back to the Baha'is. This lasted until 1938, when it was fully secularized and turned into an art gallery. The 1948 Ashgabat earthquake seriously damaged the building and rendered it unsafe; the heavy rains of the following years weakened the structure, and it was demolished in 1963 and the site converted into a public park.[3]


Bahá'í House of Worship - Wikipedia
 
Fascinating, thanks!

What is the reason that the contemporary Baha'i temples are lacking the other facilities?
 
Fascinating, thanks!

What is the reason that the contemporary Baha'i temples are lacking the other facilities?

Ideally there will be facilities around the Houses of Worship... there was a home for the aged near the House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois and there is an online Wilmette Institute that has courses on a university level:

https://wilmetteinstitute.org/

Social and economic projects are also an important contribution of Baha'i communities in various parts of the world:

"Of the several thousand Bahá’í efforts in social and economic development, more than 900 are large-scale, sustained projects, including more than 600 schools and over 70 development agencies."

https://news.bahai.org/media-information/statistics/

Eventually as more Houses of Worship are constructed I believe there will be more social and economic programs in the various communities.
 
hello again Arthra. I enjoyed and appreciated the Baha'i philosophy you posted the last time I was active on this forum and happy to see you're still a part of what is going on here. There is a worship center near me in Tennessee (Antioch) and although I've not yet visited, I've met e couple members who attend. Beautiful souls . . .
 
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