John Ferraby

John Ferraby Graham ( born January 9, 1914 in Southsea, United Kingdom, † September 5, 1973 in Cambridge, UK ) was a British author, Bahai and one of the eight Hands of the Cause of God, who were appointed by Shoghi Effendi in 1957.

Life

John Ferraby grew up in Southsea in Hampshire, where he lived until 1936, when his father died. The family then moved to London. John Ferraby was educated at Malvern College and studied at King's College in Cambridge mathematics and experimental psychology. He worked at the company " Mass Observation ", which deals with public opinion research, and later in the British Export Trade Organization.

In 1941 he was made aware of the Bahai faith by a non- Baha'i. In a library he found more information about this, among other things, John Esslemonts book " Baha'u'llah and the New Era". He also was able to make the acquaintance of Hasan Balyuzi and other Baha'i. John Ferraby spoke every night with them and decided to become a Baha'i even after two weeks. Since that time, the Baha'i faith had precedence over everything else in his life.

Already in 1942 he was elected to the Local Spiritual Assembly of London and the National Spiritual Assembly of the British Isles. In 1943 he married Dorothy Cansdale. The couple's daughter, Bridget, was born in 1945. From 1946 to 1959 John Ferraby was secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly. He accomplished this task, first during his spare time from home, but from 1950 as full-time secretary.

In December 1954 he moved with his family to the top floor of the newly acquired by the National Spiritual Assembly of national administrative center. He also managed a long time the British Baha'i Publishing. In the early fifties he wrote a book about the Baha'i teachings to the economy and one of the progressive revelation of God. Furthermore, there was John Ferraby 1951-1956 Member of the Africa Committee, which had the task to spread the Bahai faith in Africa. Among his many duties in this committee belonged also that he wrote a simple introduction booklet for distribution in Africa in the Bahai faith and organized the translation and printing in twelve African languages ​​.

In 1955 he made ​​his pilgrimage to the Baha'i World Centre in Haifa and met Shoghi Effendi, who suggested him to write more about the Bahai faith. After his return he wrote the work "All Things Made New ", the rich use of quotations from the Bahai writings makes and therefore long been considered a standard reference work and an introduction work. This work was published in the British Isles, in the United States and in India. On 2 October 1957, appointed a Hand of the Cause of God John Ferraby of Shoghi Effendi. Shoghi Effendi died on 4 November 1957 in London and was buried there. Since John Ferraby lived in London, he had to shoulder many responsibilities associated with this burial. After the funeral, he contributed to the publication of a brochure on the passing of Shoghi Effendi with Ruhiyyih Khanum. This brochure has also been translated into German and published. In 1959 he was voted one of the Hands of the Cause of God, who took over the trusteeship of the Bahai faith from Haifa from. When choosing the first National Spiritual Assembly of Norway in 1962 he represented the Hands of the Cause. John Ferraby lived in Haifa until the election of the first Universal House of Justice to Ridvan 1963. Afterwards he returned to Britain and moved to Cambridge with his family. There he worked as a secretary for the Hands of the Cause in Europe. He traveled extensively in Europe to take part in numerous conferences, meetings and summer schools and to consult with National Spiritual Assemblies. End of the sixties, his health deteriorated and limited his activities. On September 5, 1973, he died while sleeping at Cambridge, where he was buried.

Works

  • Ferraby, John: All things made ​​new: a comprehensive outline of the Bahá'í Faith. Bahá'í Publishing Trust, London 1957.
  • Ferraby, John: All things made ​​new: a comprehensive outline of the Bahá'í Faith, ( 2nd revised ed.) Bahá'í Publishing Trust, London 1987.
  • Amatu'l -Bahá Ruhiyyih Khanum in collaboration with John Ferraby: The Passing of Shoghi Effendi. Bahá'í Publishing Trust, London 1958.
  • Amatu'l -Bahá Ruhiyyih Khanum, assisted by John Ferraby: The passing of Shoghi Effendi. Bahá'í -Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1958.
  • Ferraby, John: Baha'i Teachings on Economics. Bahá'í Publishing Trust, London 1954.
  • Ferraby, John: Progressive Revelation. Bahá'í Publishing Trust, London 1954.
Bahá'í pilgrimage Ridván
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