'Abdu'l-Bahá at the City Temple

*A retelling based on **'Abdu'l-Bahá in London**, the record of the Master's 1911 visit to England. Words in quotation marks and the quoted passages are taken from that book.*

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'Abdu'l-Bahá had been a prisoner of the Ottoman government in 'Akká for forty years when He was freed in 1908. In 1911 He set out to carry His Father's message to the West, and early in September He arrived in England.

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On 10 September, the first Sunday after His arrival, He spoke from the pulpit of the City Temple to the evening congregation, at the special desire of the pastor, the Reverend R. J. Campbell. His coming had not been advertised, yet the church was filled to its utmost capacity. The book records that few who were present would forget the sight of that venerable figure in Eastern dress ascending the pulpit stairs "to address a public gathering for the first time in his life."

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Mr. Campbell introduced Him in a few simple words: "We, as the followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is to us and will always be the Light of the World, view with sympathy and respect every movement of the Spirit of God in the experience of mankind, and therefore we give greeting to 'Abdu'l-Bahá in the name of all who share the spirit of our Master, and are trying to live their lives in that Spirit."

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'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke in Persian, and an English translation was then read to the congregation by Mr. W. Tudor-Pole. The address was short. It began:

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> O noble friends; seekers after God! Praise be to God! Today the light of > Truth is shining upon the world in its abundance; the breezes of the heavenly > garden are blowing throughout all regions; the call of the Kingdom is heard in > all lands, and the breath of the Holy Spirit is felt in all hearts that are > faithful.

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He spoke of a new cycle of human power and of "the hour of unity of the sons of men and of the drawing together of all races and all classes." Then He said:

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> The gift of God to this enlightened age is the knowledge of the oneness of > mankind and of the fundamental oneness of religion. War shall cease between > nations, and by the will of God the Most Great Peace shall come; the world > will be seen as a new world, and all men will live as brothers.

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He quoted from the Hidden Words of Bahá'u'lláh, "Justice is to be loved above all," and ended with a blessing on His hearers. Near the close He summed up His message in three clauses: "There is one God; mankind is one; the foundations of religion are one."

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Before He left the church, 'Abdu'l-Bahá wrote in His own Persian, in the old Bible used by generations of the City Temple's preachers, these words:

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> This book is the Holy Book of God, of celestial Inspiration. It is the Bible > of Salvation, the Noble Gospel. It is the mystery of the Kingdom and its > light. It is the Divine Bounty, the sign of the guidance of God.

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The address was printed three days later in *The Christian Commonwealth*, and it stands first in the book that records His weeks in London.

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*This is a retelling. For the full address and its setting, see **'Abdu'l-Bahá in London**.*

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