‘An irreplaceable element’: Universal House of Justice releases message about family life on Naw Ruz
The international governing body of the Baha’i Faith, the Universal House of Justice, has released a gift to the Baha’is of the world, coinciding with the Baha’i new year.
The new message, dated 19 March 2025, looks at the family unit as “the basic building block of community, and beyond, of the entire social order”. Exploring family forms, arrangements, and definitions through time, the message highlights the key role families play in the building of healthy, vibrant communities, and asks us to consider “the characteristics of Baha’i family life and how are they distinguished from the way family life is understood in society today”.
Looking at the concept of marriage, children, the relationships which exist between family members and how the “characteristics of such familial relationships also extend to fellow Baha’is and other friends”, the message emphasises that “Baha’i family life opens an arena for dynamic interaction with the wider society.” With a flourishing of community-building endeavours unfolding across the world, the Universal House of Justice states:
The family members’ intimate association and their earnest desire to serve others opens a unique social space: a Bahá’í home. A vibrant Bahá’í home is an irreplaceable element in the process of community building at the grassroots. In the loving environs of the home, family members support one another in becoming capable and confident protagonists of the Divine Plan, and they welcome and assist others to play a part in transforming society. In a Bahá’í home, warm hospitality combines with spiritual quickening and intellectual progress. Through activities that every Bahá’í family can offer in its home, it can demonstrate a way of life that can be emulated by all those who seek to counteract the divisive forces that feed discontent, conflict, and self-interest, and to weave the bonds of trust, cooperation, and constructive action upon which a healthy community depends.
The Universal House of Justice
To read the message in its entirety, visit the Baha’i reference library here.
Thanks for reading.
Subscribe
The Universal House of Justice
The Universal House of Justice is the international governing council of the Baha’i Faith. Ordained by Baha’u’llah in His book of laws, the Kitab-i-Aqdas, it is a nine-member body elected every five years by the entire membership of all national Baha’i assemblies.
Published in March, 2025, in Baha'i Institutions > Guidance
Available online at: horizons.bahai.org.au/bahai-institutions/an-irreplaceable-element-universal-house-of-justice-releases-message-about-family-life-on-naw-ruz/
Related Stories
‘The purpose of service’: the evolution of the capacity-building program empowering Sydney’s youth
Young people in Sydney are strengthening their spiritual qualities while developing the practical capacities needed to contribute meaningfully to community-building efforts through an intensive ...
Biography of distinguished Baha’i Collis Featherstone officially launched
The family and friends of Hand of the Cause of God, Collis Featherstone, have gathered at the Sydney Baha’i House of Worship for the launch of the book Collis Featherstone – Hand of the ...
United in purpose: national governing body sends message of encouragement to Australian Baha’i community
With “hearts filled with abiding joy and gratitude”, the national governing body of the Baha’i Faith, the National Spiritual Assembly, has sent a message to the Baha’is of ...
A community vibrant, spirited, deliberate: Universal House of Justice responds to message from National Convention
The international governing body of the Baha’i Faith, the Universal House of Justice, has responded to a message received by the delegates who were assembled at the 2026 National Baha’i ...
‘A special connection’: holy relics uncovered under House of Worship as Temple restorations commence
MONA VALE, NSW – Secured beneath the Baha’i House of Worship in Sydney for more than 60 years were two sacred relics connected to the holiest places of the Baha’i Faith. “One ...
Architect John Brogan reflects on a lifetime of faith, history and design
For architect John Murray Brogan, the story of the Sydney Baha’i House of Worship is deeply personal. The son of architect John Richard Brogan, architect of the Ingleside Temple which ...