The Resting Place of Shoghi Effendi
GC-32769
To all believers in the United Kingdom
Dearly loved Friends,
On Saturday 9 November 1957, the mortal remains of Shoghi Effendi, Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith, were laid to rest in – what was then called – the Great Northern London Cemetery. His widow Amatu’l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum later wrote, “practically the entire British community…gathered in London to pay homage to the sacred Guardian whose remains, for some mysterious reason, God had chosen to entrust to the soil of their native land.”
The Guardian’s Resting Place is the most holy place within the United Kingdom. Truly, the British Bahá’í community is honoured to be the custodians of such a precious site. The National Spiritual Assembly hopes that the friends will always keep in mind the privilege they have of making a visit, to pray, to meditate, and draw spiritual sustenance and inspiration from its newly enhanced beauty and tranquillity. Nuclei of friends, families, neighbourhoods, communities and clusters may like to consider organising group visits, perhaps annually, or – depending on their proximity to London –
to make it a more regular feature of their calendar.
As the friends are aware, over the past few years, the National Assembly has carried out extensive preservation and development work at the site. The first phase of action focused on renovations to the monument, the garden enclosure that surrounds it and the main gate to the Bahá’í section of the cemetery. The second phase involved landscaping the environs, including the planting of lines of blossoming trees that radiate outwards and towards the monument in 19 different directions. The third phase, now concluded, involved the construction of a purpose-built office for the custodians, replacing and extending the paving and kerbstones along the main radial route from the Resting Place, and adding new gates at either end. One final phase remains: the landscaping and beautification of the area along the perimeter fence, in order to contribute to what the Universal House of Justice has described as the cemetery’s “pleasing woodland character: green and verdant for much of the year, and evidently well managed at all times.”
The National Assembly wishes to express its deep gratitude to all of the believers and communities who have generously contributed their services and their resources to preserving this sacred spot. Naturally, donations are always welcome to meet ongoing maintenance costs and to complete the last phase of the work.
The National Assembly continues to remember all of the friends and their devoted services to the Cause in its prayers, both at the Guardian’s Resting Place and during its meetings at the National Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds.
With loving Bahá’í greetings,
Patrick O’Mara
Secretary