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Source: Bahá'í Library Online (bahai-library.com), curated by Jonah Winters. Used by permission of the curator. Original citation: Universal House of Justice, Mason Remey and Those Who Followed Him, bahai-library.com.
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Mason Remey and Those Who Followed Him
Universal House of Justice
1997
1. Letter from the US NSA on the Covenant
National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States
October 14, 1997
To All Local Spiritual Assemblies, Bahá'í Groups and College Clubs
Dear Bahá'í Friends,
The spirits of the American Bahá'í community were revived and our
commitment strengthened through study of the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh
earlier this year when we gathered during the period of the Bahá'í Fast for
personal reflection on that theme.
Dear Friends, we ask your help, once again, in focusing the attention of the
American Bahá'í community on the Covenant, "the potent instrument by
which individual belief in Him is translated into constructive deeds," by
organizing gatherings - large and small - for that purpose during the
period from November 12 (Birth of Bahá'u'lláh) through November 26, 1997
(Day of the Covenant). Our daily exertions to advance the process of entry
by troops depend, first and foremost, on the degree of our firmness in the
Covenant. Our capacity to win the whole-hearted allegiance of new
believers, to consolidate our ever-expanding Bahá'í communities, and to
withstand the inevitable attacks and crises that are a natural part of this
process, depends on our ability to draw on our "love for Bahá'u'lláh, the
power of the Covenant, [and] the dynamics of prayer...." These are the
"transformative forces" that "operate" on our souls as we "strive to
behave in accordance with the divine laws and principles."
We have been assured by the Counselors that the Auxiliary Board members
stand ready to support your efforts to conduct these gatherings. Please
call upon them. Also, we have included a brief list of references which, in
addition to the Sacred Writings and the letters of Shoghi Effendi, will
facilitate your study. "The Flow of Divine Authority: Scriptural authority
for the Universal House of Justice to function infallibly without the
presence of a Guardian," an article written by Mr. G. Brent Poirier, can be
found as a special pull-out section in the August 1, 1996 issue of the
American Bahá'í. [Note: article is also available
here.] The article, "Mason Remey and Those Who Followed Him" is
enclosed for easy reference.
Our hearts and prayers are with you always.
National Spiritual Assembly of The Bahá'ís. of The United States
cc: Continental Counselors Serving North America (w/enclosure)
Auxiliary Board Members (w/enclosure)
Reference Materials
1 Letters on the subject of the
Guardianship and the Universal House of Justice dated October 6, 1963,
March 9, 1965, May 27, 1966, and December 7, 1969 -- all have been
published in Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1963-1986.
They are also found in Wellspring of Guidance, and Messages from
the Universal House of Justice 1968-1973.
2 The Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh by Adib
Taherzadeh, especially chapter 8, "The Arch-breaker of Bahá'u'lláh's
Covenant"; chapter 34, "The Chief Stewards"; and chapter 35, "The
Universal House of Justice".
3 "The Power of the Covenant, Part II" published by the
National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Canada.
4 "The Flow of Divine Authority: Scriptural authority
for the Universal House of Justice to function infallibly without the
presence of a Guardian," an article by G. Brent Poirier. (August 1, 1996
issue of the American Bahá'í).
5 "Mason Remey and Those Who Followed Him" (January
31, 1997 from the Universal House of Justice)
Letter from the House on Covenant-Breaking
The Universal House of Justice
Bahá'í World Centre
Department of the Secretariat
31 January 1997
To National Spiritual Assemblies
Dear Bahá'í Friends,
In recent years advertisements have occasionally appeared in newspapers
in various countries, placed by the Covenant-breaker Joel Bray Marangella,
seeking to revive his claim to be the "third Guardian of the Faith." This
activity could provoke questions among the friends, especially those
unfamiliar with the developments associated with the actions of Mason
Remey, who broke the Covenant by proclaiming himself the successor to
Shoghi Effendi as Guardian. The Universal House of Justice has therefore
directed us to send you a copy of a document containing background
information on these developments, entitled "Mason Remey and Those Who
Followed Him", which was prepared for its files some years ago. You are
free to use it now or in the future, in any manner circumstances may
require, to provide the friends with the facts it contains.
With loving Bahá'í greetings,
For Department of the Secretariat
Enclosure
cc: The Hands of the Cause of God
International Teaching Centre
Continental Counsellors
Mason Remey and Those Who Followed Him
by the Universal House of Justice
Introduction
In addition to explaining the nature and dangers of violation of the
Covenant, Shoghi Effendi several times reviewed briefly the fates of
individuals and groups who had surrendered to this worst of human
failings. Reflection on the consequences to those who seek to undermine
the unity of the Cause helps believers, he said, to appreciate more deeply
the protecting power of Bahá'u'lláh's Covenant. In the perspective of the
three decades that have passed since Charles Mason Remey's violation of
the Covenant, it is instructive to review the consequences to those who
followed him down this barren path.
I. Covenant-Breaking
The Nature of Covenant-breaking
What is Covenant-breaking? In a letter to
an individual dated 23 March 1975, the Universal House of Justice wrote:
When a person declares his acceptance of Bahá'u'lláh as a Manifestation of
God he becomes a party to the Covenant and accepts the totality of His
Revelation. If he then turns round and attacks Bahá'u'lláh or the Central
Institution of the Faith he violates the Covenant. If this happens every
effort is made to help that person to see the illogicality and error of his
actions, but if he persists he must, in accordance with the instructions of
Bahá'u'lláh Himself, be shunned as a Covenant- breaker.
The personal failings that lead people to violate the Covenant to which
they know they have committed themselves have been described by the
Guardian as "the blind hatred, the unbounded presumption, the incredible
folly, the abject perfidy, the vaulting ambition" which, in varying
degrees, afflict the persons concerned. While some of these may have been
duped by others, 'Abdu'l-Bahá has said of them: These do not doubt the
validity of the Covenant, but selfish motives have dragged them to this
condition. It is not that they do not know what they do--they are perfectly
aware and still they exhibit opposition.
The Danger It Poses
The Master has warned that, if unchecked, Covenant-breaking would
"utterly destroy the Cause of God, exterminate His Law and render of no
account all efforts exerted in the past". He sets this warning in the
context of the fact that the central purpose of Bahá'u'lláh's Revelation is
to create unity: Were it not for the protecting power of the Covenant to
guard the impregnable fort of the Cause of God, there would arise among
the Bahá'ís, in one day, a thousand different sects as was the case in
former ages.
Apart from the danger that Covenant-breaking poses to the development of
the Cause, it represents a spiritual contagion threatening the well-being
of the individual believer because of its subtle appeal to the human ego.
'Abdu'l-Bahá called for the complete exclusion from the Bahá'í community
of anyone found to be infected with the virus of Covenant-breaking, and
urged all believers to shun any contact whatever with the persons
involved.
The Effect on Those Involved
In reviewing the development of the Faith, the Guardian several times
cited examples of how these "movements, sponsored by deluded, self-
seeking adventurers, find themselves, sooner or later, enmeshed in the
machinations of their authors, are buried in shame, and sink eventually
into complete oblivion". He adds: The extinction of the influence
precariously exerted by some of these enemies, the decline that has set in
in the fortunes of others, the sincere repentance expressed by still others
and their subsequent reinstatement and effectual participation in the
teaching and administrative activities of the Faith, constitute in
themselves sufficient evidence of the unconquerable power and invincible
spirit which animate those who stand identified with, and loyally carry
out the provisions and injunctions of, the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-
Baha.
A Cleansing Process
Regarding a group of Covenant-breakers in the United States which was
later to break up and disappear following the deaths of the two individuals
who had created it, Shoghi Effendi wrote: The schism which their foolish
leaders had contrived so sedulously to produce within the Faith, will soon,
to their utter amazement, come to be regarded as a process of
purification, a cleansing agency, which, far from decimating the ranks of
its followers, reinforces its indestructible unity, and proclaims anew to a
world, skeptical or indifferent, the cohesive strength of the institutions
of that Faith, the incorruptibility of its purposes and principles, and the
recuperative powers inherent in its community life.
II. Mason Remey's Defection
The Hands' Proclamation on the
Guardianship
When news of the Guardian's passing was received at the Bahá'í World
Centre on the evening of 4 November 1957, Shoghi Effendi's apartment was
immediately locked and guarded so that no one could have access until the
Hands of the Cause of God would have time to gather in the Holy Land,
which they did shortly after the Guardian's funeral. 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Will and
Testament is explicit in stating how the Guardian was to appoint his
successor: He [Shoghi Effendi] is the expounder of the words of God and
after him will succeed the first-born of his lineal descendants.... O ye
beloved of the Lord! It is incumbent upon the guardian of the Cause of God
to appoint in his own life-time him that shall become his successor, that
differences may not arise after his passing. He that is appointed must
manifest in himself detachment from all worldly things, must be the
essence of purity, must show in himself the fear of God, knowledge,
wisdom and learning. Thus, should the first- born of the guardian of the
Cause of God not manifest in himself the truth of the words: "The child
is a secret essence of its sire," that is, should he not inherit of the
spiritual within him (the guardian of the Cause of God) and his glorious
lineage not be matched with a goodly character, then must he, (the
guardian of the Cause of God) choose another branch to succeed him. The
Hands of the Cause of God must elect from their own number nine
persons... The election of these nine must be carried either unanimously or
by majority from the company of the Hands of the Cause of God and these,
whether unanimously or by a majority vote, must give their assent to the
choice of the one whom the guardian of the Cause of God hath chosen as
his successor.
As soon as 26 of the 27 Hands of the Cause had gathered in the Holy Land
(Mrs. Corinne True, whose advanced age and health had prevented her
coming, subsequently signed affidavits declaring her support for the
various actions her fellow Hands took), they designated nine of their
number to enter the Guardian's apartment and search for any document he
might have left behind. Following their report, all the Hands, including
Charles Mason Remey, signed a document stating that Shoghi Effendi had
passed away "without having appointed his successor...."
From the first conclave of the Hands, gathered in Bahji at that time, a
proclamation was issued "To the Bahá'ís of East and West" announcing
that, as "The Aghsan (branches) one and all are either dead or have been
declared violators of the Covenant by the Guardian", it was apparent "that
no successor to Shoghi Effendi could have been appointed by him...." Calling
on the believers to unite in completing the Guardian's Ten Year Crusade,
the Hands pointed out that, in due course, the Bahá'í world would elect
"the Universal House of Justice, that Supreme Body upon which
infallibility, as the Master's Testament assures us, is divinely conferred":
When that divinely ordained Body comes into existence, all the conditions
of the Faith can be examined anew and the measures necessary for its
future operation determined in consultation with the Hands of the Cause.
Mason Remey again joined his fellow Hands in signing this second formal
statement that there was no successor to Shoghi Effendi as Guardian of
the Cause of God.
Mason Remey Is Expelled
Despite his written affirmations in 1957 that Shoghi Effendi had
appointed no successor and could not have appointed one, Remey himself
laid claim to this station in a "Proclamation" of April 1960 declaring that
he was the "Second Guardian". He based this spurious claim on the fact
that he had been named president of the appointed International Bahá'í
Council. When he refused to renounce his attempt to thus seize control of
the Cause, the Hands of the Cause expelled him from the Faith as a
violator of the Covenant. Shortly thereafter a number of believers in
Europe, the United States, and elsewhere who had accepted his claim were
likewise expelled from the Faith, among them John Carré, Donald
Harvey, Joel Marangella, Reginald King, and Leland Jensen. All of these
would later play major roles in provoking the series of conflicts that
were to hopelessly divide the remnant of Remey's followers.
Mason Remey Dies
In April 1974 the Universal House of Justice advised the Bahá'í world:
Charles Mason Remey whose arrogant attempt usurp Guardianship after
passing Shoghi Effendi led to his expulsion from ranks faithful has died in
Florence Italy in hundredth year of his life buried without religious rites
abandoned by erstwhile followers. History this pitiable defection by one
who had received great honours from both Master and Guardian constitutes
yet another example futility all attempts undermine impregnable Covenant
Cause Bahá'u'lláh.
III. Divisions Among Remey's Followers
"National Spiritual Assembly under the
Guardianship"
Basing themselves on Remey's defection, a group in the United States
calling themselves "Bahá'ís under the Guardianship" came together in New
Mexico in 1961-62 and, in April 1963, formed what they called the
"National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States under the
Hereditary Guardianship". A similar body was created that same month by
a group in Pakistan, but soon broke up.
The New Mexico group incorporated itself in March 1964, and brought legal
suit against the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United
States, claiming to be the rightful owners of the Wilmette Temple
property as well as to represent the authorized voice of the Bahá'í Faith in
the United States. The legitimate National Spiritual Assembly filed a
counter-claim against this group for trademark infringement, and later
secured an injunction prohibiting them from the use of established Bahá'í
terminology or otherwise infringing the National Assembly's rights under
civil law. As the New Mexico group was preparing for a second trial,
Remey suddenly directed them to withdraw from the proceedings
"regardless of the consequences". Shortly thereafter, Remey ordered the
Santa Fe group's "National Assembly" to be dissolved. The legal challenge
to the rights of the Cause in the United States came to an end at this
point.
Remey's "Second International Bahá'í Council"
Remey now created (21 September 1964) what he called a "Second
International Bahá'í Council". He appointed to the presidency of this body
one Joel Marangella, an American believer living in France, who had been
an early supporter of Remey and had been expelled from the Faith by the
Hands of the Cause on 3 August 1960. Since Remey had sought to base his
own claim to the Guardianship on his position as president of the
International Bahá'í Council created by Shoghi Effendi, this action on his
part appeared to give Marangella the leading position among Remey's
followers. That serious conflicts were developing among the band of
Covenant-breakers is apparent, however, from the fact that, on 18 October
1966, Remey abruptly dissolved this "Council" and ordered Marangella, as
its former President, to "turn over to me such records as you have of the
second Council that no longer exists". The apparent effect of this action,
which deprived Marangella of his leading role, was to increase rather than
subdue the differences of opinion that had appeared in the group. On 29
January 1967 Remey complained that "Some friends have started the
report that the Guardian is loosing [sic] his mind and that someone is
controlling him...."
The Appointment of Donald Harvey
On 15 May 1967, Remey formally appointed one of his followers, Donald
Harvey, to succeed him at his death as "third Guardian of the Faith".
Harvey, an American Bahá'í also resident in France at the time of Remey's
defection, had been among the first group of Covenant-breakers. During the
following year Remey appointed five of an intended "twenty-four elders"
who would "administer the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh" in cooperation with
Harvey. Subsequently, however, Remey dissolved the body of elders, as he
had the earlier organizations, without having completed the promised
appointments. Harvey, who remained Remey's appointed successor, took no
action either before or after Remey's death to exercise the powers thus
conferred on him. He died in 1991 without appointing a successor of his
own. His various letters disclaimed any interest in organization, saying
that religious faith was a matter purely for the individual.
The Claim of Joel Marangella
Suddenly, on 12 November 1969, Marangella announced that he rather than
Harvey should be regarded as Remey's legitimate successor. According to
Marangella, Remey had several years earlier (December 1961) sent him a
sealed letter with a covering note indicating that Marangella would "know
when to break the seal". Marangella said that shortly after his
appointment as President of the "Second International Bahá'í Council" he
had opened this envelope, to discover a brief note, signed by Remey,
instructing him to "tell the Bahá'í World that I appoint you to be the third
Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith". Marangella, however, had hitherto taken no
action on this instruction.
Marangella's excuse for ignoring Remey's formal appointment of Harvey as
his successor was that Remey was exhibiting irrational behaviour. Remey
had by this time begun attacking Shoghi Effendi, declaring that the
Administrative Order represented only the organizing of "the Bahá'í Faith"
and must be "dismantled", and that Remey now considered himself to be
the "first" Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith. Having made his announcement,
Marangella went on to create what he called a "National Bureau of the
Orthodox Bahá'í Faith". Thereafter, Harvey and Marangella, each claiming to
be Remey's legitimate successor, largely ignored one another's existence.
The Role of John Carré
By this time other contenders for leadership were pressing supposed
rights of their own. John Carré, a prolific writer, had been one of
Remey's earliest supporters and had been expelled as a Covenant-breaker
in 1961. [i.e. had originally promoted Remey's claims to the Guardianship
by sending a stream of letters to Bahá'ís whose addresses he had.] As the
dispute over the leadership of Remey's following broke into the open,
however, Carré suddenly emerged as a spokesman for the bizarre
and entirely unrelated claims of one Jamshid Ma'ani. The latter, an Iranian
pioneer in Indonesia, had announced himself to be "the One Who creates the
Messengers at every instant".
When Ma'ani began to show signs of mental illness, requiring his
hospitalization in Tihran, Carré abandoned this interest, too,
appearing later under the pseudonym "John Christofil" and writing as the
alleged spokesman of various organizations, including "House of Light" and
"House of Mankind". In this new capacity, Carré focused his
attention increasingly on the subject of "catastrophic events" that would
appear before the end of the century and would prepare the way for a
"Third" Manifestation of God.
The Intervention of Reginald King
Meanwhile, in the United States, two more Covenant-breaking factions had
emerged and were bitterly denouncing one another. The first of these was
led by Reginald ("Rex") King, who had been elected secretary of the short-
lived New Mexico "National Assembly", dissolved by Remey in 1964.
Unhappy about Remey's resistance to his leadership role in the United
States, King eventually went to Italy where Remey was living, and had an
apparently acrimonious meeting with him. Following this encounter,
Remey issued a letter denouncing King: "his station to be ever and
eternally that of Satan for evermore" (13 September 1969). King switched
his allegiance to Marangella when the latter advanced his own claims two
months later. This relationship, however, also soon broke down. King
decided that Marangella had made "a number of faulty 'interpretations' of
the Writings", and declared that Marangella "had ceased to fulfill the
requirements of the office of guardian". He argued, indeed, that "neither
Mason Remey nor Joel Marangella had in truth ever been guardians...
because of the lack of lineal descendancy" (i.e. from Bahá'u'lláh). Harvey's
position in the enterprise was ignored. What Remey had actually been, King
said, was "a regent", and King came to the "realization" that he himself
"was in actuality the Second Regent...." Harvey and Marangella paid no more
attention to this claim than they had to those of one another or of
Carré, and King died on 1 April 1977, leaving whatever rights he
believed he had to a "Council" consisting of members of his own family.
The Case of Leland Jensen
King's long struggle for leadership of Remey's followers in the United
States had, however, paralleled that of yet another claimant, Leland
Jensen. A dispute between the two men had broken out in 1963 when both
of them had been members of the New Mexico "National Assembly... under
the Hereditary Guardianship". Jensen had accused King of having "gained
control" of the United States group, and King had thereupon proposed to set
up a "Bahá'í court" to have Jensen "thrown out of the Bahá'í Faith". It had
been Remey's resistance to this latter manoeuvre that had begun King's
disaffection from him.
The emergence of Jensen marks a further deterioration in the moral
character of the group following Remey. After taking up residence in
Missoula, Montana in 1964 to avoid a disastrous flood predicted by Remey,
Jensen was convicted in 1969 of "lewd and lascivious" behavior and was
sentenced to Montana State Prison. There, Jensen had converted several
fellow inmates to his claim that an angelic visitor had told him he was
"Joshua". After serving his sentence, he began travelling throughout the
United States in an effort to bring Remey's remaining American followers
to his own peculiar interpretations of religious truth. (Jensen claimed, for
example, to be not only "Joshua" and "the return of Jesus", but also the
"embryonic" Universal House of Justice.) These activities suffered a
severe setback in May 1980 when Jensen's widely predicted "end of the
world" failed to materialize despite his changing the date of this event
three different times (29 April, 7 May, 22-23 May 1980). Although some of
his closer associates and family members continued their support of him,
the majority of Jensen's followers abandoned him.
Attempts to Involve Giuseppe Pepe
Perhaps the strangest development in this long and confused history was
one centering on a person who was neither a member of the Faith nor had
taken any role in the activities of the various Covenant-breakers. On an
earlier visit to Florence, Italy, Remey had become acquainted with a young
man named Giuseppe Pepe, who later served as his secretary/companion
when Remey settled in Florence following his expulsion. Eventually, Pepe
was legally adopted by Remey. It was he who, through the kind assistance
of the American consulate in Florence, arranged for Remey's burial in
1974. To his surprise and distress, Jensen seized upon this adoptive
relationship to announce, in an open letter, that he (Pepe) was "the Crown
Prince", the legitimate successor of Remey as "Fourth Guardian". What
Pepe must do to secure this station was to permit himself to "be
coronated King of the Kingdom by the High Priest...." The strong suggestion
was that the said "High Priest" was Jensen.
When his protests were ignored, and the Covenant-breakers continued to
use his name in their broadsheets and correspondence, Pepe wrote to a
Bahá'í institution whose address he had to set the record straight. The
actions of the Covenant-breakers had been undertaken, he said, without
his permission, and repeated requests on his part that they desist had
been ignored.
The Current Situation
With none of the leaders of the defection able to substantiate the
conflicting claims they made, divisions continued to proliferate over the
years. Most represented idiosyncratic agendas conceived by various
individuals and largely unrelated to one another. Embroiled in charges and
countercharges, abandoned by most of those who had originally taken them
seriously, and entirely ignored by the Bahá'í community, the various Remey
factions today provide a graphic illustration of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's description
of Covenant-breaking over eighty years ago: These agitations of the
violators are no more than the foam of the ocean, which is one of its
inseparable features; but the ocean of the Covenant shall surge and shall
cast ashore the bodies of the dead, for it cannot retain them.
By 1991 the Remey following had largely disintegrated. Death had removed
three of the principal figures: Mason Remey in 1974, Reginald King in
1977, and Remey's appointed successor, Donald Harvey, in 1991. John
Carré had drifted off into esoteric religious pursuits of his own.
Public disgrace and ridicule had reduced Leland Jensen's influence to that
of a cult figure for two or three isolated groups in the American Midwest.
Giuseppe Pepe had eventually extricated himself from further attempts to
involve him in the Covenant-breakers' ambitions.
Joel Marangella alone continues to press his faded claim to the position
that Remey had briefly bestowed on him and then withdrawn over thirty
years ago. Occasionally, he places advertisements in newspapers
purporting to represent the views of a group he calls "the Orthodox Bahá'í
Faith". Lacking the energy and capacity to arouse interest among the
public, this forlorn survivor of the Remey defection appears still to hope
that he may somehow draw loyal members of the Bahá'í community under
his influence. That reasonably intelligent men and women should be
unable--after the passage of three decades--to free themselves from the
relentless undertow of folly and ambition that has drowned every hope and
scheme they ever cherished is a cautionary tale indeed. The fate of those
who followed Charles Mason Remey is a case study in the nature and
paralyzing effect of the virus of Covenant-breaking.
Notes
The Power of the Covenant, Part Two (Thornhill,
Ontario: National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Canada, 1987), pp.
7-8
Messages to America: Selected Letters and
Cablegrams Addressed to the Bahá'ís of North America, 1932-1946
(Wilmette: Bahá'í Publishing Committee, 1947), p. 51
Star of the West, Vol. X, p. 246; as quoted in The
Power of the Covenant, Part Two, p. 11
Bahá'í World Faith (Wilmette: Bahá'í Publishing
Trust, 1976), pp. 357-58
Messages to America, p. 49
Messages to America, p. 50
Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá (Wilmette:
Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1971), pp. 11-12
The Ministry of the Custodians (Haifa: Bahá'í
World Centre, 1992), p. 29
The Ministry of the Custodians, pp. 35-36, 37,
38
Bahá'í News [United States ], April 1974, p. 3; as
quoted in The Power of the Covenant, Part Two, p. 27
Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá
(Haifa: Bahá'í World Centre, 1982), p. 210
-->
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──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Mason Remey and Those Who Followed Him
Universal House of Justice
1997
1. Letter from the US NSA on the Covenant
National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States
October 14, 1997
To All Local Spiritual Assemblies, Bahá'í Groups and College Clubs
Dear Bahá'í Friends,
The spirits of the American Bahá'í community were revived and our
commitment strengthened through study of the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh
earlier this year when we gathered during the period of the Bahá'í Fast for
personal reflection on that theme.
Dear Friends, we ask your help, once again, in focusing the attention of the
American Bahá'í community on the Covenant, "the potent instrument by
which individual belief in Him is translated into constructive deeds," by
organizing gatherings - large and small - for that purpose during the
period from November 12 (Birth of Bahá'u'lláh) through November 26, 1997
(Day of the Covenant). Our daily exertions to advance the process of entry
by troops depend, first and foremost, on the degree of our firmness in the
Covenant. Our capacity to win the whole-hearted allegiance of new
believers, to consolidate our ever-expanding Bahá'í communities, and to
withstand the inevitable attacks and crises that are a natural part of this
process, depends on our ability to draw on our "love for Bahá'u'lláh, the
power of the Covenant, [and] the dynamics of prayer...." These are the
"transformative forces" that "operate" on our souls as we "strive to
behave in accordance with the divine laws and principles."
We have been assured by the Counselors that the Auxiliary Board members
stand ready to support your efforts to conduct these gatherings. Please
call upon them. Also, we have included a brief list of references which, in
addition to the Sacred Writings and the letters of Shoghi Effendi, will
facilitate your study. "The Flow of Divine Authority: Scriptural authority
for the Universal House of Justice to function infallibly without the
presence of a Guardian," an article written by Mr. G. Brent Poirier, can be
found as a special pull-out section in the August 1, 1996 issue of the
American Bahá'í. [Note: article is also available
here.] The article, "Mason Remey and Those Who Followed Him" is
enclosed for easy reference.
Our hearts and prayers are with you always.
National Spiritual Assembly of The Bahá'ís. of The United States
cc: Continental Counselors Serving North America (w/enclosure)
Auxiliary Board Members (w/enclosure)
Reference Materials
1 Letters on the subject of the
Guardianship and the Universal House of Justice dated October 6, 1963,
March 9, 1965, May 27, 1966, and December 7, 1969 -- all have been
published in Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1963-1986.
They are also found in Wellspring of Guidance, and Messages from
the Universal House of Justice 1968-1973.
2 The Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh by Adib
Taherzadeh, especially chapter 8, "The Arch-breaker of Bahá'u'lláh's
Covenant"; chapter 34, "The Chief Stewards"; and chapter 35, "The
Universal House of Justice".
3 "The Power of the Covenant, Part II" published by the
National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Canada.
4 "The Flow of Divine Authority: Scriptural authority
for the Universal House of Justice to function infallibly without the
presence of a Guardian," an article by G. Brent Poirier. (August 1, 1996
issue of the American Bahá'í).
5 "Mason Remey and Those Who Followed Him" (January
31, 1997 from the Universal House of Justice)
Letter from the House on Covenant-Breaking
The Universal House of Justice
Bahá'í World Centre
Department of the Secretariat
31 January 1997
To National Spiritual Assemblies
Dear Bahá'í Friends,
In recent years advertisements have occasionally appeared in newspapers
in various countries, placed by the Covenant-breaker Joel Bray Marangella,
seeking to revive his claim to be the "third Guardian of the Faith." This
activity could provoke questions among the friends, especially those
unfamiliar with the developments associated with the actions of Mason
Remey, who broke the Covenant by proclaiming himself the successor to
Shoghi Effendi as Guardian. The Universal House of Justice has therefore
directed us to send you a copy of a document containing background
information on these developments, entitled "Mason Remey and Those Who
Followed Him", which was prepared for its files some years ago. You are
free to use it now or in the future, in any manner circumstances may
require, to provide the friends with the facts it contains.
With loving Bahá'í greetings,
For Department of the Secretariat
Enclosure
cc: The Hands of the Cause of God
International Teaching Centre
Continental Counsellors
Mason Remey and Those Who Followed Him
by the Universal House of Justice
Introduction
In addition to explaining the nature and dangers of violation of the
Covenant, Shoghi Effendi several times reviewed briefly the fates of
individuals and groups who had surrendered to this worst of human
failings. Reflection on the consequences to those who seek to undermine
the unity of the Cause helps believers, he said, to appreciate more deeply
the protecting power of Bahá'u'lláh's Covenant. In the perspective of the
three decades that have passed since Charles Mason Remey's violation of
the Covenant, it is instructive to review the consequences to those who
followed him down this barren path.
I. Covenant-Breaking
The Nature of Covenant-breaking
What is Covenant-breaking? In a letter to
an individual dated 23 March 1975, the Universal House of Justice wrote:
When a person declares his acceptance of Bahá'u'lláh as a Manifestation of
God he becomes a party to the Covenant and accepts the totality of His
Revelation. If he then turns round and attacks Bahá'u'lláh or the Central
Institution of the Faith he violates the Covenant. If this happens every
effort is made to help that person to see the illogicality and error of his
actions, but if he persists he must, in accordance with the instructions of
Bahá'u'lláh Himself, be shunned as a Covenant- breaker.
The personal failings that lead people to violate the Covenant to which
they know they have committed themselves have been described by the
Guardian as "the blind hatred, the unbounded presumption, the incredible
folly, the abject perfidy, the vaulting ambition" which, in varying
degrees, afflict the persons concerned. While some of these may have been
duped by others, 'Abdu'l-Bahá has said of them: These do not doubt the
validity of the Covenant, but selfish motives have dragged them to this
condition. It is not that they do not know what they do--they are perfectly
aware and still they exhibit opposition.
The Danger It Poses
The Master has warned that, if unchecked, Covenant-breaking would
"utterly destroy the Cause of God, exterminate His Law and render of no
account all efforts exerted in the past". He sets this warning in the
context of the fact that the central purpose of Bahá'u'lláh's Revelation is
to create unity: Were it not for the protecting power of the Covenant to
guard the impregnable fort of the Cause of God, there would arise among
the Bahá'ís, in one day, a thousand different sects as was the case in
former ages.
Apart from the danger that Covenant-breaking poses to the development of
the Cause, it represents a spiritual contagion threatening the well-being
of the individual believer because of its subtle appeal to the human ego.
'Abdu'l-Bahá called for the complete exclusion from the Bahá'í community
of anyone found to be infected with the virus of Covenant-breaking, and
urged all believers to shun any contact whatever with the persons
involved.
The Effect on Those Involved
In reviewing the development of the Faith, the Guardian several times
cited examples of how these "movements, sponsored by deluded, self-
seeking adventurers, find themselves, sooner or later, enmeshed in the
machinations of their authors, are buried in shame, and sink eventually
into complete oblivion". He adds: The extinction of the influence
precariously exerted by some of these enemies, the decline that has set in
in the fortunes of others, the sincere repentance expressed by still others
and their subsequent reinstatement and effectual participation in the
teaching and administrative activities of the Faith, constitute in
themselves sufficient evidence of the unconquerable power and invincible
spirit which animate those who stand identified with, and loyally carry
out the provisions and injunctions of, the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-
Baha.
A Cleansing Process
Regarding a group of Covenant-breakers in the United States which was
later to break up and disappear following the deaths of the two individuals
who had created it, Shoghi Effendi wrote: The schism which their foolish
leaders had contrived so sedulously to produce within the Faith, will soon,
to their utter amazement, come to be regarded as a process of
purification, a cleansing agency, which, far from decimating the ranks of
its followers, reinforces its indestructible unity, and proclaims anew to a
world, skeptical or indifferent, the cohesive strength of the institutions
of that Faith, the incorruptibility of its purposes and principles, and the
recuperative powers inherent in its community life.
II. Mason Remey's Defection
The Hands' Proclamation on the
Guardianship
When news of the Guardian's passing was received at the Bahá'í World
Centre on the evening of 4 November 1957, Shoghi Effendi's apartment was
immediately locked and guarded so that no one could have access until the
Hands of the Cause of God would have time to gather in the Holy Land,
which they did shortly after the Guardian's funeral. 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Will and
Testament is explicit in stating how the Guardian was to appoint his
successor: He [Shoghi Effendi] is the expounder of the words of God and
after him will succeed the first-born of his lineal descendants.... O ye
beloved of the Lord! It is incumbent upon the guardian of the Cause of God
to appoint in his own life-time him that shall become his successor, that
differences may not arise after his passing. He that is appointed must
manifest in himself detachment from all worldly things, must be the
essence of purity, must show in himself the fear of God, knowledge,
wisdom and learning. Thus, should the first- born of the guardian of the
Cause of God not manifest in himself the truth of the words: "The child
is a secret essence of its sire," that is, should he not inherit of the
spiritual within him (the guardian of the Cause of God) and his glorious
lineage not be matched with a goodly character, then must he, (the
guardian of the Cause of God) choose another branch to succeed him. The
Hands of the Cause of God must elect from their own number nine
persons... The election of these nine must be carried either unanimously or
by majority from the company of the Hands of the Cause of God and these,
whether unanimously or by a majority vote, must give their assent to the
choice of the one whom the guardian of the Cause of God hath chosen as
his successor.
As soon as 26 of the 27 Hands of the Cause had gathered in the Holy Land
(Mrs. Corinne True, whose advanced age and health had prevented her
coming, subsequently signed affidavits declaring her support for the
various actions her fellow Hands took), they designated nine of their
number to enter the Guardian's apartment and search for any document he
might have left behind. Following their report, all the Hands, including
Charles Mason Remey, signed a document stating that Shoghi Effendi had
passed away "without having appointed his successor...."
From the first conclave of the Hands, gathered in Bahji at that time, a
proclamation was issued "To the Bahá'ís of East and West" announcing
that, as "The Aghsan (branches) one and all are either dead or have been
declared violators of the Covenant by the Guardian", it was apparent "that
no successor to Shoghi Effendi could have been appointed by him...." Calling
on the believers to unite in completing the Guardian's Ten Year Crusade,
the Hands pointed out that, in due course, the Bahá'í world would elect
"the Universal House of Justice, that Supreme Body upon which
infallibility, as the Master's Testament assures us, is divinely conferred":
When that divinely ordained Body comes into existence, all the conditions
of the Faith can be examined anew and the measures necessary for its
future operation determined in consultation with the Hands of the Cause.
Mason Remey again joined his fellow Hands in signing this second formal
statement that there was no successor to Shoghi Effendi as Guardian of
the Cause of God.
Mason Remey Is Expelled
Despite his written affirmations in 1957 that Shoghi Effendi had
appointed no successor and could not have appointed one, Remey himself
laid claim to this station in a "Proclamation" of April 1960 declaring that
he was the "Second Guardian". He based this spurious claim on the fact
that he had been named president of the appointed International Bahá'í
Council. When he refused to renounce his attempt to thus seize control of
the Cause, the Hands of the Cause expelled him from the Faith as a
violator of the Covenant. Shortly thereafter a number of believers in
Europe, the United States, and elsewhere who had accepted his claim were
likewise expelled from the Faith, among them John Carré, Donald
Harvey, Joel Marangella, Reginald King, and Leland Jensen. All of these
would later play major roles in provoking the series of conflicts that
were to hopelessly divide the remnant of Remey's followers.
Mason Remey Dies
In April 1974 the Universal House of Justice advised the Bahá'í world:
Charles Mason Remey whose arrogant attempt usurp Guardianship after
passing Shoghi Effendi led to his expulsion from ranks faithful has died in
Florence Italy in hundredth year of his life buried without religious rites
abandoned by erstwhile followers. History this pitiable defection by one
who had received great honours from both Master and Guardian constitutes
yet another example futility all attempts undermine impregnable Covenant
Cause Bahá'u'lláh.
III. Divisions Among Remey's Followers
"National Spiritual Assembly under the
Guardianship"
Basing themselves on Remey's defection, a group in the United States
calling themselves "Bahá'ís under the Guardianship" came together in New
Mexico in 1961-62 and, in April 1963, formed what they called the
"National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States under the
Hereditary Guardianship". A similar body was created that same month by
a group in Pakistan, but soon broke up.
The New Mexico group incorporated itself in March 1964, and brought legal
suit against the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United
States, claiming to be the rightful owners of the Wilmette Temple
property as well as to represent the authorized voice of the Bahá'í Faith in
the United States. The legitimate National Spiritual Assembly filed a
counter-claim against this group for trademark infringement, and later
secured an injunction prohibiting them from the use of established Bahá'í
terminology or otherwise infringing the National Assembly's rights under
civil law. As the New Mexico group was preparing for a second trial,
Remey suddenly directed them to withdraw from the proceedings
"regardless of the consequences". Shortly thereafter, Remey ordered the
Santa Fe group's "National Assembly" to be dissolved. The legal challenge
to the rights of the Cause in the United States came to an end at this
point.
Remey's "Second International Bahá'í Council"
Remey now created (21 September 1964) what he called a "Second
International Bahá'í Council". He appointed to the presidency of this body
one Joel Marangella, an American believer living in France, who had been
an early supporter of Remey and had been expelled from the Faith by the
Hands of the Cause on 3 August 1960. Since Remey had sought to base his
own claim to the Guardianship on his position as president of the
International Bahá'í Council created by Shoghi Effendi, this action on his
part appeared to give Marangella the leading position among Remey's
followers. That serious conflicts were developing among the band of
Covenant-breakers is apparent, however, from the fact that, on 18 October
1966, Remey abruptly dissolved this "Council" and ordered Marangella, as
its former President, to "turn over to me such records as you have of the
second Council that no longer exists". The apparent effect of this action,
which deprived Marangella of his leading role, was to increase rather than
subdue the differences of opinion that had appeared in the group. On 29
January 1967 Remey complained that "Some friends have started the
report that the Guardian is loosing [sic] his mind and that someone is
controlling him...."
The Appointment of Donald Harvey
On 15 May 1967, Remey formally appointed one of his followers, Donald
Harvey, to succeed him at his death as "third Guardian of the Faith".
Harvey, an American Bahá'í also resident in France at the time of Remey's
defection, had been among the first group of Covenant-breakers. During the
following year Remey appointed five of an intended "twenty-four elders"
who would "administer the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh" in cooperation with
Harvey. Subsequently, however, Remey dissolved the body of elders, as he
had the earlier organizations, without having completed the promised
appointments. Harvey, who remained Remey's appointed successor, took no
action either before or after Remey's death to exercise the powers thus
conferred on him. He died in 1991 without appointing a successor of his
own. His various letters disclaimed any interest in organization, saying
that religious faith was a matter purely for the individual.
The Claim of Joel Marangella
Suddenly, on 12 November 1969, Marangella announced that he rather than
Harvey should be regarded as Remey's legitimate successor. According to
Marangella, Remey had several years earlier (December 1961) sent him a
sealed letter with a covering note indicating that Marangella would "know
when to break the seal". Marangella said that shortly after his
appointment as President of the "Second International Bahá'í Council" he
had opened this envelope, to discover a brief note, signed by Remey,
instructing him to "tell the Bahá'í World that I appoint you to be the third
Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith". Marangella, however, had hitherto taken no
action on this instruction.
Marangella's excuse for ignoring Remey's formal appointment of Harvey as
his successor was that Remey was exhibiting irrational behaviour. Remey
had by this time begun attacking Shoghi Effendi, declaring that the
Administrative Order represented only the organizing of "the Bahá'í Faith"
and must be "dismantled", and that Remey now considered himself to be
the "first" Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith. Having made his announcement,
Marangella went on to create what he called a "National Bureau of the
Orthodox Bahá'í Faith". Thereafter, Harvey and Marangella, each claiming to
be Remey's legitimate successor, largely ignored one another's existence.
The Role of John Carré
By this time other contenders for leadership were pressing supposed
rights of their own. John Carré, a prolific writer, had been one of
Remey's earliest supporters and had been expelled as a Covenant-breaker
in 1961. [i.e. had originally promoted Remey's claims to the Guardianship
by sending a stream of letters to Bahá'ís whose addresses he had.] As the
dispute over the leadership of Remey's following broke into the open,
however, Carré suddenly emerged as a spokesman for the bizarre
and entirely unrelated claims of one Jamshid Ma'ani. The latter, an Iranian
pioneer in Indonesia, had announced himself to be "the One Who creates the
Messengers at every instant".
When Ma'ani began to show signs of mental illness, requiring his
hospitalization in Tihran, Carré abandoned this interest, too,
appearing later under the pseudonym "John Christofil" and writing as the
alleged spokesman of various organizations, including "House of Light" and
"House of Mankind". In this new capacity, Carré focused his
attention increasingly on the subject of "catastrophic events" that would
appear before the end of the century and would prepare the way for a
"Third" Manifestation of God.
The Intervention of Reginald King
Meanwhile, in the United States, two more Covenant-breaking factions had
emerged and were bitterly denouncing one another. The first of these was
led by Reginald ("Rex") King, who had been elected secretary of the short-
lived New Mexico "National Assembly", dissolved by Remey in 1964.
Unhappy about Remey's resistance to his leadership role in the United
States, King eventually went to Italy where Remey was living, and had an
apparently acrimonious meeting with him. Following this encounter,
Remey issued a letter denouncing King: "his station to be ever and
eternally that of Satan for evermore" (13 September 1969). King switched
his allegiance to Marangella when the latter advanced his own claims two
months later. This relationship, however, also soon broke down. King
decided that Marangella had made "a number of faulty 'interpretations' of
the Writings", and declared that Marangella "had ceased to fulfill the
requirements of the office of guardian". He argued, indeed, that "neither
Mason Remey nor Joel Marangella had in truth ever been guardians...
because of the lack of lineal descendancy" (i.e. from Bahá'u'lláh). Harvey's
position in the enterprise was ignored. What Remey had actually been, King
said, was "a regent", and King came to the "realization" that he himself
"was in actuality the Second Regent...." Harvey and Marangella paid no more
attention to this claim than they had to those of one another or of
Carré, and King died on 1 April 1977, leaving whatever rights he
believed he had to a "Council" consisting of members of his own family.
The Case of Leland Jensen
King's long struggle for leadership of Remey's followers in the United
States had, however, paralleled that of yet another claimant, Leland
Jensen. A dispute between the two men had broken out in 1963 when both
of them had been members of the New Mexico "National Assembly... under
the Hereditary Guardianship". Jensen had accused King of having "gained
control" of the United States group, and King had thereupon proposed to set
up a "Bahá'í court" to have Jensen "thrown out of the Bahá'í Faith". It had
been Remey's resistance to this latter manoeuvre that had begun King's
disaffection from him.
The emergence of Jensen marks a further deterioration in the moral
character of the group following Remey. After taking up residence in
Missoula, Montana in 1964 to avoid a disastrous flood predicted by Remey,
Jensen was convicted in 1969 of "lewd and lascivious" behavior and was
sentenced to Montana State Prison. There, Jensen had converted several
fellow inmates to his claim that an angelic visitor had told him he was
"Joshua". After serving his sentence, he began travelling throughout the
United States in an effort to bring Remey's remaining American followers
to his own peculiar interpretations of religious truth. (Jensen claimed, for
example, to be not only "Joshua" and "the return of Jesus", but also the
"embryonic" Universal House of Justice.) These activities suffered a
severe setback in May 1980 when Jensen's widely predicted "end of the
world" failed to materialize despite his changing the date of this event
three different times (29 April, 7 May, 22-23 May 1980). Although some of
his closer associates and family members continued their support of him,
the majority of Jensen's followers abandoned him.
Attempts to Involve Giuseppe Pepe
Perhaps the strangest development in this long and confused history was
one centering on a person who was neither a member of the Faith nor had
taken any role in the activities of the various Covenant-breakers. On an
earlier visit to Florence, Italy, Remey had become acquainted with a young
man named Giuseppe Pepe, who later served as his secretary/companion
when Remey settled in Florence following his expulsion. Eventually, Pepe
was legally adopted by Remey. It was he who, through the kind assistance
of the American consulate in Florence, arranged for Remey's burial in
1974. To his surprise and distress, Jensen seized upon this adoptive
relationship to announce, in an open letter, that he (Pepe) was "the Crown
Prince", the legitimate successor of Remey as "Fourth Guardian". What
Pepe must do to secure this station was to permit himself to "be
coronated King of the Kingdom by the High Priest...." The strong suggestion
was that the said "High Priest" was Jensen.
When his protests were ignored, and the Covenant-breakers continued to
use his name in their broadsheets and correspondence, Pepe wrote to a
Bahá'í institution whose address he had to set the record straight. The
actions of the Covenant-breakers had been undertaken, he said, without
his permission, and repeated requests on his part that they desist had
been ignored.
The Current Situation
With none of the leaders of the defection able to substantiate the
conflicting claims they made, divisions continued to proliferate over the
years. Most represented idiosyncratic agendas conceived by various
individuals and largely unrelated to one another. Embroiled in charges and
countercharges, abandoned by most of those who had originally taken them
seriously, and entirely ignored by the Bahá'í community, the various Remey
factions today provide a graphic illustration of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's description
of Covenant-breaking over eighty years ago: These agitations of the
violators are no more than the foam of the ocean, which is one of its
inseparable features; but the ocean of the Covenant shall surge and shall
cast ashore the bodies of the dead, for it cannot retain them.
By 1991 the Remey following had largely disintegrated. Death had removed
three of the principal figures: Mason Remey in 1974, Reginald King in
1977, and Remey's appointed successor, Donald Harvey, in 1991. John
Carré had drifted off into esoteric religious pursuits of his own.
Public disgrace and ridicule had reduced Leland Jensen's influence to that
of a cult figure for two or three isolated groups in the American Midwest.
Giuseppe Pepe had eventually extricated himself from further attempts to
involve him in the Covenant-breakers' ambitions.
Joel Marangella alone continues to press his faded claim to the position
that Remey had briefly bestowed on him and then withdrawn over thirty
years ago. Occasionally, he places advertisements in newspapers
purporting to represent the views of a group he calls "the Orthodox Bahá'í
Faith". Lacking the energy and capacity to arouse interest among the
public, this forlorn survivor of the Remey defection appears still to hope
that he may somehow draw loyal members of the Bahá'í community under
his influence. That reasonably intelligent men and women should be
unable--after the passage of three decades--to free themselves from the
relentless undertow of folly and ambition that has drowned every hope and
scheme they ever cherished is a cautionary tale indeed. The fate of those
who followed Charles Mason Remey is a case study in the nature and
paralyzing effect of the virus of Covenant-breaking.
Notes
The Power of the Covenant, Part Two (Thornhill,
Ontario: National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Canada, 1987), pp.
7-8
Messages to America: Selected Letters and
Cablegrams Addressed to the Bahá'ís of North America, 1932-1946
(Wilmette: Bahá'í Publishing Committee, 1947), p. 51
Star of the West, Vol. X, p. 246; as quoted in The
Power of the Covenant, Part Two, p. 11
Bahá'í World Faith (Wilmette: Bahá'í Publishing
Trust, 1976), pp. 357-58
Messages to America, p. 49
Messages to America, p. 50
Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá (Wilmette:
Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1971), pp. 11-12
The Ministry of the Custodians (Haifa: Bahá'í
World Centre, 1992), p. 29
The Ministry of the Custodians, pp. 35-36, 37,
38
Bahá'í News [United States ], April 1974, p. 3; as
quoted in The Power of the Covenant, Part Two, p. 27
Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá
(Haifa: Bahá'í World Centre, 1982), p. 210
-->
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