The Festival of Ridvan
5 April 2018 16 Bahá 175 B.E.
To all believers in the United Kingdom
Dearly loved Friends,
The promised Day of God is come! He Who is the Manifestation of the Adored One hath been established upon the throne of His name, the All-Loving, and the sun of His bounty hath cast its rays upon the seeing and seen alike. Wherefore renounce ye, O denizens of the realms of limitation, that which ye possess, adorn your temples with His glorious vesture, and behold with untainted vision Him Who is the luminous Beauty of God seated upon the throne of glory in His transcendent, His almighty and all-subduing sovereignty. All praise be to the Best-Beloved, Who hath revealed His hidden beauty with such manifest authority! (Bahá’u’lláh, Days of Remembrance, no.10)
The National Spiritual Assembly sends its warmest, abiding love to all of you as preparations commence for the celebration of the festival of Riḍván. The twelve-day period begins this year at sunset on 20 April, and commemorates the world-shaking moment when Bahá’u’lláh publicly declared Himself as the Manifestation of God for this day. Shoghi Effendi specified that the friends should abstain from working, if possible, on the first, ninth and twelfth days of Riḍván, which fall this year on 21 April, 29 April and 2 May, respectively.
For every Bahá’í – blessed beyond measure to be among those who have recognised His station – this is a time of great joy, gratitude and reflection. It is also the time when Bahá’í institutions are renewed for the year ahead. Local and National Spiritual Assemblies are elected and, of particular significance this year, all of the world’s National Assemblies will participate in the election of the Universal House of Justice.
The National Assembly will remember all of the friends in its prayers in the sacred Shrines, beseeching Bahá’u’lláh that divine blessings will confirm their every effort to establish communities and institutions that are the embodiment of His vision of a just, united and peaceful world.
With loving Bahá’í greetings,
Patrick O’Mara,
Secretary