The 60th Anniversary of The Bahá’í Faith in Vietnam

A wonderful celebration was held at the Pho Saigon Restaurant on April 27, 2014 in honor of the 60^th anniversary of the Bahá’í Faith in Vietnam and the 50^th anniversary of the first National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’í of Vietnam.

 

Participating in this event included:

 

* Representatives from the Bahá’í Advisory Board for Asia, the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’í of Vietnam, as well as the local and foreign members of Bahá’í Faith.

 

* Representatives from the other religious leaders such as Roman Catholicism, Buddhism, Islam and Caodism.

 

* Representatives of the Government’s Committee for Religious Affairs and the central agencies.

 

The Bahá’í Faith which was founded in Persia (now Iran) in 1844, is a monotheistic religion. The first Bahá'i group in Vietnam was established in Saigon in 1954, and the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Vietnam was established in 1964. However, until July 14, 2008, the National Spiritual Assembly received its certificate (No. 150/QĐ-TGCP) of national recognition, setting the stage for Local Spiritual Assemblies to be registered as well.

 

There are probably more than 7 million Bahá'ís around the world in more than 236 countries and territories. Nowadays, there are an estimated 7,000 Bahá'ís in Vietnam.

 

There is no clergy in the Bahá’í Faith. The Bahá’í community’s collective life is administered by nine-member consultative councils that are democratically elected, without nomination or electioneering, at the local, national and international levels. These are Local Spiritual Assemblies, National Spiritual Assemblies, and the Universal House of Justice. A local Spiritual Assembly of nine persons is elected annually on April 21^st to oversee the affairs of the Bahá’í community in a city or town for one year terms. The National Spiritual Assemblies are elected annually through a delegate system representing the Bahá’ís in their country. The Universal House of Justice is elected every five years by the members of the National Spiritual Assemblies. Any male Bahá'í, 21 years or older, is eligible to be elected to the Universal House of Justice located in Haifa (Israel).

 

The Bahá’í Faith brings new social principles appropriate to the needs of a global society. In addition, Baha'u'llah’s message presents a vision of life that insists upon a fundamental redefinition of all human relationships, reconnect the individual soul to the world of the sacred and shed new light on humankind's collective destiny, and the birth of a progressive and peaceful global civilization are not only possible but inevitable.

 

We thank God and would like to congratulate for the growth of the Vietnamese Bahá’í Community. May the will of God is realized through the zeal and loving service of the new National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’í of Vietnam.

Sr. Fenecia