Auxiliary Board

From Bahaikipedia

The Auxiliary Board is an institution under the direction of the Continental Board of Counsellors, which appoints members to the Auxiliary Board for protection and propagation. Auxiliary Board Members for Protection are charged with watching over the security of the Bahá'í Faith, and Auxiliary Board Members for Propagation are responsible for working with the grassroots on the global Plans established by the Universal House of Justice.

Contents 1 Early History & Membership 1.1 Africa 1.2 Americas 1.3 Asia 1.4 Australasia 1.5 Europe 2 Membership 3 References

[edit] Early History & Membership

Originally, members of the Auxiliary Board were appointed by and served under the Hands of the Cause of God, who directed their efforts worldwide. The first members of the Auxiliary Board were appointed in 1954, and they were divided into five distinct geographical regions:

[edit] Africa

• John Allen
• Elsie Austin
• `Alí Nakhjavání
• Jalál Nakhjavání
• John Roberts
• William Sears
• Muhammad Mustafá Sulaymán
• Valrie Wilson
• `Azíz Yazdí

[edit] Americas

• Esteban Canales, Central America
• Rowland Estall, Canada
• William de Forge, United States & Inter-American
• Florence Mayberry, United States & Inter-American
• Marjery McCormick, United States & Inter-American
• Katherine McLaughlin, United States & Inter-American
• Dr. Sarah Pereira, United States & Inter-American
• Gayle Woolson, South America
• Margot Worley, South America

[edit] Asia

• Agnes Alexander
• `Abbás-`Alí Butt
• Abu'l-Qásim Fayzí
• Elena Marsella Fernie
• Kázim Kázimzádih
• Carl A. Scherer
• David Toeg

[edit] Australasia

• Collis Featherstone
• Thelma Perks

[edit] Europe

• Tove Deleuran
• Dorothy Ferraby
• Angeline Giachery
• Anna Grossman
• Louis Henuzet
• Marion Hofman
• Joel Marengella
• Eugen Schmidt
• Elsa Steinmetz

[edit] Membership

"The members of the Auxiliary Boards are appointed from among the believers of each continent by the Continental Board of Counsellors for five-year periods beginning on the Day of the Covenant of the year following the appointment of the Counsellors themselves. They should be twenty-one years of age or older. The full membership of the Continental Board makes the appointments in consultation, which, if necessary, can be carried out by mail. "The members of an Auxiliary Board are responsible individually to the Board of Counsellors which appoints them. They do not themselves constitute a decision-making body. However, Auxiliary Board members may confer and collaborate with each other as long as care is taken not to depart from this principle. "Each Auxiliary Board member is assigned a specific territory, and although for practical purposes such a territory may coincide with a particular country or National Assembly area, there is no hard and fast rule that it must do so. Auxiliary Boards are continental institutions, and there need not be any correlation between the boundaries of the territories assigned to their members and national frontiers. Unless specifically deputized by the Counsellors, an Auxiliary Board member does not function as such outside the area to which he or she has been assigned. For obvious reasons, it is preferable for Auxiliary Board members to reside in the area they serve; however, if an area has no suitable candidate for this post, the Counsellors may decide to make an alternative arrangement. "When assigning areas to members of the Auxiliary Boards, the Continental Board of Counsellors ensures that the entire continental area is divided up among the members of each of the two Auxiliary Boards. That is to say, the Bahá'ís of any one locality are to have both a Protection Board member and a Propagation Board member to whom they can refer." ^[1]

[edit] References

1. ↑ The Universal House of Justice, "The Institution of the Counsellors," p. 5

Baha'i World, The 1950-1964: Vol. XII. World Centre Publications.