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Bahá’u’lláh’s letter to Pope Pius IX
In 1869, while in Akka, Bahá’u’lláh wrote to the then Pope of the Roman Catholic Church: Pope Pius IX. History does not record any reply. As with other such messages, no reply was expected. The letter is short. It announces Baha’u’llah’s mission in words again unmistakable, although Bahá’u’lláh was a prisoner of the Caliph and Ottoman Sultan. “Rend the veils asunder. He who is the Lord of Lords hath come overshadowed with clouds“, the message begins, in a clear reference to the signs of the second coming recorded in the Gospels. Bahá’u’lláh continues that he “hath again come down from Heaven even as He came down from it the first time“.…
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To the Rulers of Society: the Summons of the Lord of Hosts
A number of articles have already noted that Bahá’u’lláh wrote to the rulers of society. For example, the Suriy-i-Haykal – the Tablet of the Temple; articles such as the article on justice; Against Persecution of Minorities, and the Sultan’s Puppet Show. Many of these letters are collected in a book entitled The Summons of the Lord of Hosts. There are also a number of passages addressed to governing institutions in Bahá’u’lláh’s Most Holy Book, the Kitab-i-Aqdas. Among Bahá’u’lláh’s letter to the rulers of society is the “Tablet to the Kings” addressed to rulers collectively – while Bahá’u’lláh also wrote individual messages addressed to rulers such as Pope Pius IX, Napoleon…
