The Baháʼà Faith in Kiribati begins after 1916 with a mention by
ʻAbdu'l-Bahá
ʻAbdu'l-Bahá (; Persian: , ;, 23 May 1844 – 28 November 1921), born ʻAbbás (, ), was the eldest son of Baháʼu'lláh, founder of the Bahá’à Faith, who designated him to be his successor and head of the Baháʼà Faith from 1892 un ...
, then head of the religion, that BaháʼÃs should take the religion to the
Gilbert Islands
The Gilbert Islands (;Reilly Ridgell. ''Pacific Nations and Territories: The Islands of Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia.'' 3rd. Ed. Honolulu: Bess Press, 1995. p. 95. formerly Kingsmill or King's-Mill IslandsVery often, this name applied o ...
which form part of modern Kiribati. The first BaháʼÃs pioneered to the island of
Abaiang
Abaiang, also known as Apaiang, Apia, and in the past, Charlotte Island, in the Northern Gilbert Islands, is a coral atoll of Kiribati, located in the west-central Pacific Ocean. Abaiang was the island of the first missionary to arrive in the G ...
(aka Charlotte Island, of the Gilbert Islands), on March 4, 1954. They encountered serious opposition from some Catholics on the islands and were eventually deported and the first convert banished to his home island. However, in one year there was a community of more than 200 BaháʼÃs and a BaháʼÃ
Local Spiritual Assembly
Spiritual Assembly is a term given by ʻAbdu'l-Bahá to refer to elected councils that govern the Baháʼà Faith. Because the Baháʼà Faith has no clergy, they carry out the affairs of the community. In addition to existing at the local level ...
. Three years later the island where the first convert was sent to was found to now have 10 BaháʼÃs. By 1963 there were 14 assemblies. As the Ellice Islands gained independence as
Tuvalu
Tuvalu ( ) is an island country in the Polynesian subregion of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean, about midway between Hawaii and Australia. It lies east-northeast of the Santa Cruz Islands (which belong to the Solomon Islands), northeast of Van ...
and the Gilbert Islands and others formed
Kiribati
Kiribati, officially the Republic of Kiribati, is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the central Pacific Ocean. Its permanent population is over 119,000 as of the 2020 census, and more than half live on Tarawa. The st ...
, the communities of BaháʼÃs also reformed into separate institutions of National Spiritual Assemblies in 1981. The BaháʼÃs had established a number of schools by 1963 and there are still such today - indeed the Ootan Marawa Baháʼà Vocational Institute being the only teacher training institution for pre-school teachers in Kiribati. All together the BaháʼÃs now claim more than 10,000 local people have joined the religion over the last 50 years and there are 38 local spiritual assemblies.
Early days
ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's Tablets of the Divine Plan
From 1892 to 1977 the islands of Kiribati were known as part of the
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...
and included the
Gilbert Islands
The Gilbert Islands (;Reilly Ridgell. ''Pacific Nations and Territories: The Islands of Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia.'' 3rd. Ed. Honolulu: Bess Press, 1995. p. 95. formerly Kingsmill or King's-Mill IslandsVery often, this name applied o ...
. Ê»Abdu'l-Bahá, head of the religion from 1892 to 1921, mentioned the Gilbert Islands among the places BaháʼÃs should take the religion to. Ê»Abdu'l-Bahá wrote a series of letters, or tablets, to the followers of the religion in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
in 1916-1917; these letters were compiled together in the book titled ''
Tablets of the Divine Plan
The ''Tablets of the Divine Plan'' collectively refers to 14 letters ( tablets) written between March 1916 and March 1917 by Ê»Abdu'l-Bahá to BaháʼÃs in the United States and Canada. Included in multiple books, the first five tablets were pr ...
''. The seventh of the tablets mentioned taking the Baháʼà Faith to the Gilbert Islands and was written on April 11, 1916, but was delayed in being presented in the United States until 1919 — after the end of
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
and the
Spanish flu
The 1918–1920 flu pandemic, also known as the Great Influenza epidemic or by the common misnomer Spanish flu, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 subtype of the influenza A virus. The earliest docum ...
. These tablets were translated and presented by Mirza Ahmad Sohrab on April 4, 1919, and published in Star of the West magazine on December 12, 1919.
(Tablet 7) "A party speaking their languages, severed, holy, sanctified and filled with the love of God, must turn their faces to and travel through the three great island groups of the Pacific Ocean—
Polynesia
Polynesia ( , ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of more than 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are called Polynesians. They have many things in ...
,
Micronesia
Micronesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, consisting of approximately 2,000 small islands in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. It has a close shared cultural history with three other island regions: Maritime Southeast Asia to the west, Poly ...
and
Melanesia
Melanesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It extends from New Guinea in the west to the Fiji Islands in the east, and includes the Arafura Sea.
The region includes the four independent countries of Fiji, Vanu ...
, and the islands attached to these groups, such as
New Guinea
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...
,
Borneo
Borneo () is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world, with an area of , and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda ...
,
Java
Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...
,
Sumatra
Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...
,
Philippine Islands
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
,
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...
,
Fiji Islands
Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...
,
New Hebrides
New Hebrides, officially the New Hebrides Condominium () and named after the Hebrides in Scotland, was the colonial name for the island group in the South Pacific Ocean that is now Vanuatu. Native people had inhabited the islands for three th ...
,
Loyalty Islands
Loyalty Islands Province (, ) is one of the three top-level administrative subdivisions of New Caledonia. It encompasses the Loyalty Islands () archipelago in the Pacific Ocean, located northeast of the New Caledonian mainland of Grande Terre.
...
,
New Caledonia
New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...
,
Bismarck Archipelago
The Bismarck Archipelago (, ) is a group of islands off the northeastern coast of New Guinea in the western Pacific Ocean and is part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea. Its area is about .
History
The first inhabitants of the archipela ...
Samoa Islands
The Samoan Islands () are an archipelago covering in the central South Pacific, forming part of Polynesia and of the wider region of Oceania. Administratively, the archipelago comprises all of the Independent State of Samoa and most of Americ ...
,
Society Islands
The Society Islands ( , officially ; ) are an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean that includes the major islands of Tahiti, Mo'orea, Moorea, Raiatea, Bora Bora and Huahine. Politically, they are part of French Polynesia, an overseas country ...
,
Caroline Islands
The Caroline Islands (or the Carolines) are a widely scattered archipelago of tiny islands in the western Pacific Ocean, to the north of New Guinea. Politically, they are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) in the cen ...
Marquesas
The Marquesas Islands ( ; or ' or ' ; Marquesan: ' ( North Marquesan) and ' ( South Marquesan), both meaning "the land of men") are a group of volcanic islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in the southern Pacific ...
,
Hawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands () are an archipelago of eight major volcanic islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the Pacific Ocean, North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the Hawaii (island), island of Hawaii in the south to nort ...
, Gilbert Islands,
Moluccas
The Maluku Islands ( ; , ) or the Moluccas ( ; ) are an archipelago in the eastern part of Indonesia. Tectonically they are located on the Halmahera Plate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone. Geographically they are located in West Melanesi ...
,
Marshall Islands
The Marshall Islands, officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands, is an island country west of the International Date Line and north of the equator in the Micronesia region of the Northwestern Pacific Ocean.
The territory consists of 29 c ...
,
Timor
Timor (, , ) is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, in the north of the Timor Sea. The island is Indonesia–Timor-Leste border, divided between the sovereign states of Timor-Leste in the eastern part and Indonesia in the ...
and the other islands. With hearts overflowing with the love of God, with tongues commemorating the mention of God, with eyes turned to the Kingdom of God, they must deliver the glad tidings of the manifestation of the Lord of Hosts to all the people. Know ye of a certainty that whatever gathering ye enter, the waves of the Holy Spirit are surging over it, and the heavenly grace of the Blessed Beauty encompasseth that gathering."
Beginnings
The first BaháʼÃs to Kiribati were Elena Marsella and Roy Fernie, who left their home in
Panama
Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...
and positions on the National Spiritual Assembly of Panama to pioneer. They arrived on the island of
Abaiang
Abaiang, also known as Apaiang, Apia, and in the past, Charlotte Island, in the Northern Gilbert Islands, is a coral atoll of Kiribati, located in the west-central Pacific Ocean. Abaiang was the island of the first missionary to arrive in the G ...
(aka Charlotte Island, of the
Gilbert Islands
The Gilbert Islands (;Reilly Ridgell. ''Pacific Nations and Territories: The Islands of Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia.'' 3rd. Ed. Honolulu: Bess Press, 1995. p. 95. formerly Kingsmill or King's-Mill IslandsVery often, this name applied o ...
), on March 4, 1954. For this service they were named Knights of Baha'u'llah by then head of the religion,
Shoghi Effendi
Shoghà Effendi (; ;1896 or 1897 – 4 November 1957) was Guardian of the Baháʼà Faith from 1922 until his death in 1957. As the grandson and successor of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, he was charged with guiding the development of the Baháʼà Faith, in ...
. About the first of June 1954, former
Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
seminarian and mission teacher Peter Kanere Koru quickly became the first convert on the island. He attributed his conversion in part to his attraction to the racial equality practiced by the pioneers, and their desire to implement such equality in his society.
Incidents related to the first native BaháʼÃ
When Koru became the first Baháʼà Shoghi Effendi urged him in a letter of welcome to be "very discreet in spreading this Message", explaining that the BaháʼÃs did not wish to become a "source of discord, or arouse opposition". However several issues came to the fore to animate hostility from the local Catholics. First, Roy was an amateur magician. Roy was a confident figure who held a show along with a piano the first night they arrived. Records show that within weeks he attracted Sunday audiences perhaps dropping attendance at Sunday services. In the judgement of researcher Graham Hassall, Roy was most likely unaware of the fact that sorcery and magic were practiced widely in Gilbertese culture, and were being actively suppressed by the Catholics ministers and now here was a new presence in the community giving shows including magic tricks. Indeed, there are reports the Catholic minister's actions against the BaháʼÃs helped spread knowledge of them. Then there was the attempt of the Fernies to set up an English language school - and the fund-raising activities they organised in Tuarabu conflicted with the Tuarabu Catholics attempt to raise funds for their own purposes and embarrassingly unable to match donations with another nearby Catholic community. Indeed, a quarter ton of text books were sent from the BaháʼÃs of Panama to support the imminent school which was to be open to all natives irrespective of their religion. Lastly the conversion of a seminarian and missionary teacher away from Catholicism - these are all issues mostly likely to lead to antagonism from the Catholics. Indeed, the Catholic mission worked to have the Fernies deported, and on several occasions used its journal to "warn" its members against examining this new religion. Central to their initial complaint to authorities, however, was the fact that missionary activity required 100 or 200 individuals to sanction a group of religionists to allow for missionary work. However over two hundred Abaiang residents registered their wish to become BaháʼÃs after showing up at the home of the Fernies at 3am, and some 90 people came the next day to see Koru whom Catholic opposition had forced into banishment to his home island of
Tabiteuea
Tabiteuea (formerly Drummond's Island) is an atoll in the Gilbert Islands, Kiribati, farther south of Tarawa. This atoll is the second largest and the most populated of the Gilbert Islands after Tarawa. The atoll consists of one main island, Aa ...
later in June. His pregnant wife who went into labour had to be left behind in a hospital and she died a short time later. On 24 September 1955 the government gave legal recognition to the first Baháʼà institution in the islands, the village of Tuarabu's BaháʼÃ
Local Spiritual Assembly
Spiritual Assembly is a term given by ʻAbdu'l-Bahá to refer to elected councils that govern the Baháʼà Faith. Because the Baháʼà Faith has no clergy, they carry out the affairs of the community. In addition to existing at the local level ...
on the island of Abaiang. Regardless, Roy Fernie was deported in November 1955 with the support of local land owners. Through correspondence Koru and Elena Marsella were working on translations of a collection of the Baháʼà prayers,
Hidden Words
''The Hidden Words'' (, , ) is a book written by Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼà Faith, around 1858. He composed it while walking along the banks of the Tigris river during his exile in Baghdad. The book is written partly in Arabi ...
, and excerpts from the writings of Ê»Abdu'l-Bahá until later in 1956 when Marsella left. Before she left the Education Department had approved Elena and two native BaháʼÃs as teachers in the new school. The new Baháʼà community which had formed essentially in one year continued to function and for a time Shoghi Effendi requested no further pioneers go to the Gilbert Islands. Koru did not meet BaháʼÃs again until four years later, but he remained steadfast in his beliefs. By the time BaháʼÃs were eventually able to come to visit him, nine more people were active members of the religion on his island, (apparently nearly fifty had been drawn to the religion there.) One of them was a Protestant minister then under disciplinary sanction by his church.
Continued early growth of the religion
In 1956 four assemblies (including Tuarabu, Tebero, and Kuria) were elected and five smaller groups of BaháʼÃs. In addition to Koru, other early converts included Taukoriri Eritai, who became a Baháʼà at the time the Fernies were on Abainag, and Timeon Tamaroa who helped take the religion to the island of Beru. In earliest 1957 Shoghi Effendi allowed pioneers to consider the Gilbert Islands and Frances Heller from the United States was able to arrive on February 8, 1957. She was able to remain despite failing health until June 1958 - having helped elect the spiritual assembly of Betio. American Mabel Adelle Sneider was the next to arrive and she and Heller agreed the religion needed to be taken to the capital of the islands. So it was that Sneider established herself in the village of
Bikenibeu
Bikenibeu is a settlement in Kiribati. It is located close to the southeastern corner of the Tarawa atoll, part of the island country of Kiribati. It is part of a nearly continuous chain of settlements along the islands of South Tarawa, which a ...
on
Tarawa
Tarawa is an atoll and the capital of the Republic of Kiribati,Kiribati '' Sneider lived there for 15 years helping to transfer the center of Baháʼà activities from the relatively remote island of Abaiang to the civic capital on Tarawa - eventually Snieder was elected to the National Spiritual Assembly often serving as secretary or treasurer at one time or another. She helped purchase the site for the National
Haziratu'l-Quds
A Haziratu'l-Quds (Arabic, ''sacred fold''), or Baháʼà centre, is one of the national, regional or local Baháʼà Faith, Baháʼà administrative centres.
Shoghi Effendi, the head of the Baháʼà Faith in the first half of the 20th century, ...
, or the seat, of the National Assembly. Pioneers Joe Russell (arrived in May 1959, and became a Kiritbati citizen) and John Thurston soon followed. Meanwhile, the school started by the Fernies was noted as still in existence in 1958 despite their absence. By 1959 a new building, on donated land and built by BaháʼÃs alone, had managed to be built for the school while temporary housing for visitors and Baháʼà centers were being raised. By November 1959 two summer schools were held and a conference to discuss the progress of the religion on the islands. Russell was able to travel to Tabiteuea to join Koru in December 1959 and together they helped establish three assemblies by April 1960. By 1961 there were thirteen communities with BaháʼÃs.
Growth across the country
With a few pioneers and many local converts the community in the South Pacific was organized into a regional national spiritual assembly for the South Pacific Islands which was elected from 1957 to 1967 including Cook Island, Fiji,
New Caledonia
New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...
,
Samoa
Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...
and other islands. The delegates from the Gilbert and Ellice Islands were unable to attend the 1959 election. By 1961 the religion had reached the Ocean Island (now called Banaba Island) and one of the delegates from the Gilbert Islands was able to attend the convention to elect the regional national spiritual assembly for the South Pacific Islands.
Status in 1963
By the end of 1963 there were a wide range of communities across the Gilbert Islands with 14 assemblies, 19 groups, and 7 additional isolated BaháʼÃs.
The BaháʼÃs established a number of schools by 1963 - Tuarabu Primary School, Abaiang Island, and several on
Tabiteuea
Tabiteuea (formerly Drummond's Island) is an atoll in the Gilbert Islands, Kiribati, farther south of Tarawa. This atoll is the second largest and the most populated of the Gilbert Islands after Tarawa. The atoll consists of one main island, Aa ...
Island - Eita, Utiroa, Taku and Tababuea Primary Schools.
Forming a national community
Yale University
Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
professor Charles Forman analyzed religious trends across the Pacific Islands and attributes the surprising growth of the Baháʼà Faith across
Micronesia
Micronesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, consisting of approximately 2,000 small islands in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. It has a close shared cultural history with three other island regions: Maritime Southeast Asia to the west, Poly ...
was partly due to a certain amount of response from some youths of wider experience and education as well as from some village folk among whom BaháʼÃs settled In October 1966 Hand of the CauseCollis Featherstone attended the dedication of the main Baháʼà center of the islands inaugurated with a conference discussing the progress of the religion on the island.
With the assistance of the Hands of the Cause Collis Featherstone and Rahmatu'lláh Muhájir the Baháʼà communities in the area reorganized to form a regional National Spiritual Assembly of the BaháʼÃs of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands in 1967. In 1970 the national assembly held three classes on methods BaháʼÃs use for growth of the religion and began holding them in a building, the Baháʼà Institute, owned by the assembly. In May 1971 an international conference on the progress of the religion across the south pacific as held in Suva, Fiji to which Gilbert Island BaháʼÃs went. Following that conference a national conference for the Gilbert Islands was held at the Baháʼà Institute. As of 1972 the statistics of the national assembly counted 2700 members across Gilbert and Ellice Islands with 51 Assemblies. In February 1973 the national assembly produced two five-minute radio programs for an observance of
Human Rights Day
Human Rights Day (HRD) is list of minor secular observances#December, celebrated annually around the world on 10 December every year.
The date was chosen to honor the United Nations General Assembly's adoption and proclamation, on 10 December ...
that was broadcast on radio in two languages, Gilbertese and Ellice. The program was on the equality of men and women, with passages from the Writings of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá and a report on the advancement of women in the islands. In April 1973 twenty-three delegates from nine islands gathered in the National Teaching Institute and the Baháʼà Maneba, a native meeting hall with no sides and a high thatched roof, for the national convention. Together the Institute and the Maneaba are part of the national headquarters Pao Penox. For
United Nations Day
United Nations Day is an annual commemorative day, reflecting the official creation of the United Nations on 24 October 1945. In 1947, the United Nations General Assembly declared 24 October, the anniversary of the Charter of the United Nations, ...
the national assembly distributed background materials on the observance to national Director of Information, thee King George IV boarding school, the island Teachers College, and to the Department of Education. In 1976 Hand of the Cause Collis Featherstone made a return trip the islands of the region. While in Kiribati he addressed a reception held in his honor and attended by the governor, deputy governor, and government ministers and secretaries. A copy of ''The BaháʼÃ' World'', vol. XIV, was presented to the governor for the House of Assembly library and a 20-minute radio interview with Mr. and Mrs. Featherstone was broadcast over Radio Tarawa. In 1978 the BaháʼÃs took various roles about societal issues. First in several events across the islands they participated in and helped organize the occasions commemorating Japanese soldiers who died in the islands in World War II. Second they helped during a cholera outbreak in September - the Baha'is relayed messages using the radio equipment on the BaháʼÃ-owned catamaran ''Erena-Roe'' which also ferried patients to the hospital and a Baháʼà served as secretary of the government's response committee created to manage the epidemic. The ''Erena-Roe'' was making a last run before the owner left the islands and came across a girl in the ocean who was returned to her native island alive though feared dead. By 1979 the national assembly reported there were 80 local assemblies - 16 of which were officially registered with the government and 13 of which had their own centers.
As the Ellice Islands gained independence as
Tuvalu
Tuvalu ( ) is an island country in the Polynesian subregion of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean, about midway between Hawaii and Australia. It lies east-northeast of the Santa Cruz Islands (which belong to the Solomon Islands), northeast of Van ...
and the Gilbert Islands and others formed Kiribati, the communities of BaháʼÃs also reformed into separate institutions of National Spiritual Assemblies in 1981.
Multiplying interests and activities of the community
Following the growth of the institutions the sociological impact of the BaháʼÃs became more well known starting in the 1980s. It became known that the BaháʼÃs of Kiribati used traditional Maneba buildings to meet in. Thanks to Peter King, a New Zealand Baháʼà pioneer on
Tarawa
Tarawa is an atoll and the capital of the Republic of Kiribati,Kiribati ''
Christmas Island
Christmas Island, officially the Territory of Christmas Island, is an States and territories of Australia#External territories, Australian external territory in the Indian Ocean comprising the island of the same name. It is about south o ...
in 1981. By 1982 there were 50 local assemblies across Kiribati. Henry Brechtefeld was born in Kiribati but moved to the
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...
where he came in contact with
the Garcias
''The Garcias'' is an American sitcom developed by Jeff Valdez that premiered on the streaming service HBO Max on April 14, 2022. The series is a sequel to '' The Brothers GarcÃa''. In December 2022, the series was canceled after one season.
...
, converted, and then moved on the islands of Micronesia, including back to Kiribati, and was well known to have reformed his behavior among his family on Kiribati and friends. He died in 1982 back on the Solomon Islands. In 1984, Art New Zealand profiled Robin White as a Kiribati artist who had moved from metropolitan New Zealand of
Dunedin
Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...
to life on the tropical island. In 1985 the BaháʼÃs held their first national youth conference in
Bikenibeu
Bikenibeu is a settlement in Kiribati. It is located close to the southeastern corner of the Tarawa atoll, part of the island country of Kiribati. It is part of a nearly continuous chain of settlements along the islands of South Tarawa, which a ...
. By 1986 there is a Baháʼà on the Pacific
Christmas Island
Christmas Island, officially the Territory of Christmas Island, is an States and territories of Australia#External territories, Australian external territory in the Indian Ocean comprising the island of the same name. It is about south o ...
which is closer to
Honolulu
Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...
than to the capital on Tarawa, 2000 miles to the west.
Modern community
Focus to the society
Since its inception the religion has had involvement in socio-economic development beginning by giving greater freedom to women, promulgating the promotion of female education as a priority concern, and that involvement was given practical expression by creating schools, agricultural coops, and clinics. The religion entered a new phase of activity when a message of the
Universal House of Justice
The Universal House of Justice is the nine-member supreme ruling body of the Baháʼà Faith. It was envisioned by Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼà Faith, as an institution that could legislate on issues not already addressed in the ...
dated 20 October 1983 was released. BaháʼÃs were urged to seek out ways, compatible with the
Baháʼà teachings
The teachings of the Baháʼà Faith are derived from the writings of Baháʼu'lláh, its founder. A corpus of Baháʼà literature include books and writings of the Báb and Baháʼu'lláh, along with the public talks and writings of ‘Abdu� ...
, in which they could become involved in the social and economic development of the communities in which they lived. Worldwide in 1979 there were 129 officially recognized Baháʼà socio-economic development projects. By 1987, the number of officially recognized development projects had increased to 1482. The BaháʼÃs of Kiribati have engaged a wide variety of social and economic development projects. The Ootan Marawa Baháʼà Vocational Institute, a high school, is the only teacher training institution for pre-school teachers in Kiribati. It is open to all, regardless of religion, and is assisted by the National Spiritual Assemblies of the BaháʼÃs of Australia and
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
. There are five pre-schools administered by Baháʼà local spiritual assemblies on
Tarawa
Tarawa is an atoll and the capital of the Republic of Kiribati,Kiribati ''
Ieremia Tabai, and ministers of government in speeches when they then attended a 1986 peace conference at which over 1000 BaháʼÃs attended. The successes of the schools in Kiribati were discussed at the 100th Anniversary of the Baháʼà Faith in Hawaii at breakout workshops in 2001 which included participants from many countries. The Kiribati government supported the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
General Assembly
A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company.
Specific examples of general assembly include:
Churches
* General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...
vote on the "Situation of Human Rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran" (A/56/583/Add.3 Draft Resolution) on 19 December 2001.
Internal developments
Internal the community among the developments are the following. In 1990 the national convention elected two indigenous women, Maureen Nakekea and Marao Teem, to the national assembly. At the 50th anniversary, 2004, celebrations of the Baháʼà Faith in Kiribati dignitaries attending included President
Anote Tong
Anote Tong (; born 11 June 1952) is an I-Kiribati environmental activist and former politician for the Pillars of Truth party with half Chinese heritage, who served as the fourth president of Kiribati, from 2003 to 2016. He won the election in ...
and Madam Tong, Mr. Michael Fudakowski, representing the National Spiritual Assembly of the BaháʼÃs of New Zealand and who lived for some 17 years in Kiribati with his wife, Robin White, now a member of the Continental Board of Counsellors in Australasia, and their family. Mr. Dominic Tabuaka represented the National Spiritual Assembly of the BaháʼÃs of the Marshall Islands, and congratulatory messages arrived from BaháʼÃs in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
, Canada, Hawaii, the Solomon Islands,
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
, the United States, and Western Caroline Islands.
Demographics
There has long been a discrepancy between census figures and assertions by the Baháʼà community on their population in Kiribati. The census figures are consistently between 2 and 3% while the BaháʼÃs claim numbers above 17% as far back as 1987. BaháʼÃs now claim more than 10,000 local people have joined the religion over the last 50 years and there are 38 local spiritual assemblies.
See also
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History of Kiribati
The islands which now form the Republic of Kiribati have been inhabited for at least seven hundred years, and possibly much longer. The initial Austronesian peoples’ population, which remains the overwhelming majority today, was visited by ...
Kiribati
Kiribati, officially the Republic of Kiribati, is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the central Pacific Ocean. Its permanent population is over 119,000 as of the 2020 census, and more than half live on Tarawa. The st ...
Kiribati
Kiribati, officially the Republic of Kiribati, is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the central Pacific Ocean. Its permanent population is over 119,000 as of the 2020 census, and more than half live on Tarawa. The st ...