thumb|350px|right|A map of the location of continental Bahá'í Houses of Worship worldwide; green represents countries that currently have Bahá'í Houses of Worship (with a black dot for the city); red represents countries where a House of Worship existed, but no longer does; light green represents countries where Houses of Worship were planned according to the Ridván Message for 2012.
A Bahá'í House of Worship or Bahá'í temple is a place of worship of the Baháʼí Faith.
It is also referred to by the name Mashriqu'l-Adhkár (), an Arabic phrase meaning "Dawning-place of the remembrance of God."
The teachings of the religion envisage Houses of Worship being surrounded by a number of dependencies dedicated to social, humanitarian, educational, and scientific pursuits, although none has yet been built to such an extent.
The Houses of Worship are open to the public, and are exclusively reserved for worship, where sermons are prohibited and only scriptural texts may be read or chanted.
According to Shoghi Effendi, a Bahá'í temple is a “silent teacher” of the Bahá'í Faith.
Most Bahá'í meetings occur in local Haziratu'l-Quds (commonly known as Bahá'í centres), individuals' homes, or rented facilities.
Thirteen Bahá'í Houses of Worship have been completed around the world (including one in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan that has since been destroyed).
Of the twelve currently standing, eight are continental temples and four are local temples.
Two of the continental temples, the Lotus Temple and the Santiago Bahá'í Temple, have won numerous architectural awards.
In the Ridván Message for 2012, the Universal House of Justice announced new initiatives for future Houses of Worship, calling for the first national and locally based institutions. , the groundbreaking for the first "national Mashriqu'l-Adhkárs" has occurred.
Bahá'í communities own many properties where Houses of Worship remain to be constructed.
Description
thumb|300px|Interior of the Bahá'í House of Worship in Sydney The Bahá'í House of Worship was first mentioned in Baháʼu'lláh's book of laws, the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, as the Mas͟hriqu'l-Ad͟hkár ( "Dawning-place of the remembrance of God"), and the details of the institution were then elaborated by both Baháʼu'lláh and his successor, ʻAbdu'l-Bahá.
Bahá'í literature directs that a House of Worship should be built in each city and town, and emphasizes that its doors must be open to all regardless of religion, or any other distinction.
The Bahá'í laws emphasize that the spirit of the House of Worship must be a gathering place where people of all religions may worship God without denominational restrictions.
The Bahá'í laws also stipulate that only the holy scriptures of the Bahá'í Faith and other religions can be read or chanted inside in any language; while readings and prayers may be set to music by choirs, no musical instruments may be played inside.
Furthermore, no sermons may be delivered, and no ritualistic ceremonies practiced.
Margit Warburg found in her fieldwork at several Bahá'í temples that almost all attendees of weekly services were Bahá'ís but that many non-Bahá'ís visited at other times during the week.
All Bahá'í temples share certain architectural elements, some of which are specified by Bahá'í scripture.
All Bahá'í Houses of Worship are required to have a nine-sided shape (nonagon) and to have nine pathways lead outward and nine gardens surrounding them.
While as of 2010, all standing Bahá'í Houses of Worship have a dome, the Bahá'í teachings do not require that Houses of Worship have domes.
Bahá'í scripture also states that no pictures, statues or images may be displayed within the House of Worship and no pulpits or altars incorporated as an architectural feature (readers may stand behind simple portable lectern).
To date all the Houses of Worship built or planned have a single, undivided room under their dome.
Furthermore, in each of them the seats in the auditorium face the Shrine of Baháʼu'lláh in 'Akká, Israel.
Each of the Houses of Worship is unique, and the designs, through the selection of materials, landscaping and architecture, reflect the indigenous cultural, social and environmental elements of their location, to a greater or lesser degree.
Bahá'í literature also stipulates that the Houses of Worship be surrounded by a complex of humanitarian, educational, and charitable institutions such as schools, hospitals, homes for the elderly, universities, hostels, and other social and humanitarian institutions to serve the areas in which they stand.
Shoghi Effendi, head of the religion from 1921–1957, stated that the functions of the House of Worship would be complementary to those of the Haziratu'l-Quds ( Bahá'í centres), and that it would be desirable if both these buildings would be on the same site.
Shoghi Effendi also described the future interaction between the House of Worship and its dependencies as capable of providing "the essentials of Bahá'í worship and service, both so vital to the regeneration of the world."
The twelve existing Houses of Worship were built as the Bahá'í community could support their construction through voluntary contributions.
There are no collections during services and only Bahá'ís are permitted to contribute to the Bahá'í funds, including funds for the construction and maintenance of the House of Worship.
The Houses of Worship are administered and maintained by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the country in which they are located.
Continental Houses of Worship
Wilmette, U.S.
The cornerstone for the Bahá'í House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois was brought to the site by Nettie Tobin and accepted in 1912 by ʻAbdu'l-Bahá during his only visit to the United States and Canada.
Construction began in 1921 and was completed in 1953, with a delay of several years during the Great Depression and World War II.
The Wilmette House of Worship is the largest and the oldest surviving Bahá'í House of Worship.
Known by Bahá'ís as the "Mother Temple of the West" and formally as the "Bahá'í House of Worship for the North American Continent", it stands in north suburban Cook County, on the shores of Lake Michigan.
The cladding is made of white portland cement concrete with both clear and white quartz aggregate.
It has received numerous design awards, and is a prominent Chicago-area landmark.
In 1978, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
The height of the auditorium is 138 feet (42 m), and the diameter of the dome is 90 feet (27.5 m).
From ground level, which is 597 feet above sea level just on the west side of Sheridan Road, the building stands approximately 164 feet tall above ground level.
The auditorium seats 1,200 visitors.
Like some other Bahá'í temples, it has a gallery balcony from which choirs or soloists may perform.
No instrumental music is allowed during services in the auditorium, although all kinds of music may be performed in the meeting room below.
In general, no videography, photography, or any other activity inconsistent with quiet meditation is allowed in the auditorium.
thumb|200px|left|One of nine towers Foundation Hall, which is used for large meetings and holy day celebrations is located underneath the main auditorium.
The large underground area also contains offices not regularly open to the general public, including a media center, studios, and the Baha'i Archives, which can be visited by appointment.
As of May, 2015, the displays, restrooms, offices, bookstore, and the viewing room for videos have been moved to a newly constructed Welcome Center located between the gardens and the parking lot to the southwest of the House of Worship.
The previous Visitor's Center is no longer routinely open to the public.thumb|200px|right|Calligraphy of the "Greatest Name" in the center of the domeThe principal architect was Louis Bourgeois, but the interior cladding was designed by Alfred Shaw of Shaw, Metz, and Dolio.
Engineering plans were prepared by Allen McDaniel of The Research Service of Washington, D.C.
The general contractor was George A. Fuller, Co.
Both the pioneering exterior and interior cladding were fabricated and constructed by John Joseph Earley and the Earley Studio.
The Bahá'í House of Worship is a place of worship for all people.
The only decorative art inside and out involves shapes and designs made by intersecting lines.
There are no images of people or places.
The building itself is decorated inside and out with verses from the Baha'i Writings, all of them by Baháʼu'lláh.
As there are nine entrances to the building, there are nine verses above the doors and nine inside the buildings above the alcoves.
The verses outside are engraved into the stone, in large legible letters.
Above the doors are small engraved versions of the "Greatest Name", one of several Bahá'í symbols and an elaborate decorative design that includes the letters ABHA, representing the prayer "Alláh u Abhá" (God is Most Glorious) in Arabic.
It is the numerical value of these four letters in the words abha and baha (for Baháʼu'lláh) that add up to total nine, one of reasons Bahá'í Houses of Worship are nine-sided.
The most decorative element on the outside of the building is the tracery on the nine towers.
These are intertwined with the generally recognized symbols of many world religions, including the Cross, the star and crescent, the Star of David, and the original swastika design, an ancient symbol having arms bent at right angles, used for thousands of years as a representative symbol of world religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism.
The only decorative symbol inside the auditorium is a large, lighted version of the Greatest Name in the exact center of the inside of the dome.
From 1958–2001, the Bahá'í House of Worship was associated with a "home for the aged", operated by the U.S. Bahá'í community.
The Bahá'í Home has since closed, although the building remains in use for a local Bahá'í School and a regional training center.
In 2007, the Bahá'í House of Worship was named one of the Seven Wonders of Illinois by the Illinois Bureau of Tourism.
Kampala, Uganda
The Mother Temple of Africa is situated on Kikaaya Hill, in Kawempe Division, in northern Kampala, Uganda's capital and largest city.
The temple was designed by architect Charles Mason Remey.
The foundation stone was laid on 26 January 1958 by Rúhíyyih Khánum, representing Shoghi Effendi, the head of the religion.
Musa Banani, the first Hand of the Cause in Africa, was also present for the groundbreaking and placed in the foundation a gift of soil from the Shrine of Baháʼu'lláh, sent by Shoghi Effendi.
The dedication ceremony was held 13-16 January 1961, which was also attended by Rúhíyyih Khánum.
The building is more than 130 feet (39 m) high, and over 100 meters in diameter at the base.
The dome, composed of lace-like tiles, rises over 124 feet (37 m) high and is 44 feet (13 m) in diameter.
The foundation goes 10 feet (3 m) underground to protect it from earthquakes common in that part of the world.
The green dome is made of fixed mosaic tiles from Italy, and the lower roof tiles are from Belgium.
The walls of the temple are of precast stone quarried in Uganda.
The colored glass in the wall panels was brought from Germany.
The timber used for making the doors and benches was from Uganda.
The  property includes the House of Worship, extensive gardens, a guest house, and an administrative center.
Sydney, Australia
The fourth Baháʼí temple to be completed (and third still standing) is in Ingleside in the northern suburbs of Sydney, Australia.
This Temple serves as the "Mother Temple of the Antipodes".
According to Jennifer Taylor, a historian at Sydney University, it is among Sydney's four most significant religious buildings constructed in the twentieth century.
The initial design by Charles Mason Remey was given to Sydney architect John Brogan to develop and complete.
It was dedicated in September 1961 and opened to the public after four years of construction.
Construction materials include crushed quartz concrete, local hardwoods in the interior, and concrete and marble in the dome.
There is seating for six hundred people.
The building stands 38 metres in height, has a diameter at its widest point of 20 metres, and is a highly visible landmark from Sydney's northern beaches.
The property is set high in a natural bushland setting overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
The surrounding gardens contain a variety of native Australian flora including waratahs, three species of eucalypts, caleyi and other grevillea, acacia, and woody pear.
Other amenities located on the site include a visitors' centre, a bookshop, a picnic area, and the administrative offices of the Australian Baháʼí community.
Hofheim-Langenhain, Germany
The Mother Temple of Europe is located at the foot of the Taunus Mountains of Germany, in the village of Langenhain, a suburb of Hofheim, Hesse near Frankfurt.
It was designed by Teuto Rocholl.
The temple was dedicated on July 4, 1964, after three and a half years of construction, including a performance by Maria Montana.
It is made of steel, aluminum, and glass.
540 diamond-shaped windows give the dome an optical lightness and permit the sunlight to play in it.
Diameter of the central hall area is 25 meters, while the diameter of the outside ambulatory area is 48 meters.
Height from ground level is 28 meters.
The outstanding characteristic acoustics of this setting are created by the reverberation within the dome and the resonance of its myriad window ledges.
Choirs here sometimes sing while standing around the circumference of the temple floor, with the audience in the center.
Panama City, Panama
The Bahá'í temple in Panama City, Panama, dedicated April 29, 1972, was designed by English architect Peter Tillotson.
It serves as the mother temple of Latin America.
It is perched on a high cliff, "Cerro Sonsonate" ("Singing Hill"), overlooking the city, and is constructed of local stone laid in a pattern reminiscent of Native American fabric designs.
The dome is covered with thousands of small oval tiles, and the entrance gates of the temple are constructed in a unique three-dimensional design each consisting of an equilateral triangle of three vertical posts with multiple rows of bars stretching between them at various angles, each row of which gradually changes from vertical to horizontal.
Tiapapata, Samoa
The Bahá'í House of Worship in Tiapapata, in the hills behind Apia, Samoa, was dedicated on September 1, 1984, having been completed at a cost of $6,500,000.
It serves as the Mother Temple of the Pacific Islands.
The temple was designed by Hossein Amanat, and was dedicated by His Highness Malietoa Tanumafili II of Samoa, the world's first Bahá'í head of state, and Rúhíyyih Khánum.
Its 30-meter domed structure is open to the public for individual prayer, commemoration of Baha'i holy days, and weekly devotional meetings.
The structure is open to the island breezes.
New Delhi, India
The Bahá'í House of Worship in Bahapur, New Delhi, India was dedicated in December 1986, having been completed for a total cost $10 million.
It was designed by Iranian-American architect Fariborz Sahba and is commonly known as the Lotus Temple.
It has won numerous architectural awards and has been featured in magazines and newspapers.
The temple has become a major attraction for people of various religions; on some Hindu holy days, it receives up to 100,000 visitors, and overall it receives about 2.5 million visitors annually.
Inspired by the lotus flower, the temple's design is composed of 27 free-standing, marble-clad "petals" grouped into clusters of three and thus forming nine sides.
The temple's shape has symbolic and inter-religious significance because the lotus is often associated with the Hindu goddess Lakshmi.
Nine doors open on to a central hall, capable of holding up to 2,500 people.
The temple is situated on a 26-acre (105,000 m2; 10.5 ha) property featuring nine surrounding ponds.
Santiago, Chile
The continental Bahá'í House of Worship for South America was the last continental temple to be completed and is located in Santiago, Chile.
In late 2002, the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baháʼís of Chile announced a competition for the design of the temple.
The chosen design was by Siamak Hariri of Hariri Pontarini Architects in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
The construction phase started in November 2010 and construction was completed in October 2016, with doors opening on October 19, 2016.
The Santiago temple has won a range of Canadian and international architectural awards.
The Santiago Bahá'í House of Worship is ringed by nine entrances, nine pathways, and nine fountains, and the structure is composed of nine arching "sails."
These have also been described as nine "petals" and the temple's shape as "floral"; the "petals" are separated by glass which allows light to illuminate the temple's interior.
The exterior of the "petals" is made from cast glass while the interior is made from Portuguese marble.
The sides of the temple are held up on the inside by a steel and aluminum superstructure.
The temple can seat 600 people and it is 30 metres high and 30 metres in diameter.
Local and National Houses of Worship
In 2012, the Universal House of Justice announced plans for the first local and national Bahá'í Houses of Worship to be built.
The first two national Houses of Worship would be in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Papua New Guinea, while the first five local Houses of Worship would be in Battambang, Cambodia; Bihar Sharif, India; Matunda Soy, Kenya; Cauca, Colombia; and Tanna, Vanuatu.
The Universal House of Justice characterized the Bahá'í communities chosen to host these new temples as unique in the world:
The Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, described by ʻAbdu'l-Bahá as “one of the most vital institutions of the world”, weds two essential, inseparable aspects of Bahá'í life: worship and service.
The union of these two is also reflected in the coherence that exists among the community-building features of the Plan, particularly the burgeoning of a devotional spirit that finds expression in gatherings for prayer and an educational process that builds capacity for service to humanity.
The correlation of worship and service is especially pronounced in those clusters around the world where Bahá'í communities have significantly grown in size and vitality, and where engagement in social action is apparent. [...]
It is within these clusters that, in the coming years, the emergence of a local Mashriqu'l-Adhkár can be contemplated.
Battambang, Cambodia
thumb|left|Local Bahá'í House of Worship in Battambang
The Battambang, Cambodia temple was the world's first local Bahá'í House of Worship to be completed.
The temple was designed by Cambodian architect Sochet Vitou Tang, who is a practicing Buddhist, and integrates distinctive Cambodian architectural principles.
A dedication ceremony and official opening conference took place on September 1–2, 2017, attended by Cambodian dignitaries, locals, and representatives of Bahá'í communities throughout southeast Asia.
Agua Azul, Colombia
alt=|thumb|Local Bahá'í House of Worship in Agua Azul, Colombia
The temple in Agua Azul in the municipality of Villa Rica in the Cauca Department, Colombia was the second local House of Worship to be completed.
The temple design, by architect Julian Gutierrez Chacon, was inspired by the shape of the cocoa pod, a plant integral to Colombian culture.
An opening dedication ceremony was conducted on July 22, 2018, followed by devotional services in the House of Worship.
Matunda Soy, Kenya
A local Bahá'í House of Worship was opened on Sunday, May 23, 2021 in Matunda Soy, Kenya.
Lenakel, Vanuatu
On November 13, 2021, a local Bahá'í House of Worship opened in the town of Lenakel on the island of Tanna, Vanuatu.
Others planned or under construction
Currently, construction of a Bahá'í House of Worship is ongoing in Papua New Guinea, while groundbreaking ceremonies have taken place in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and India.
Other selected sites
As of 2010, over 120 properties upon which Houses of Worship were to be built had been acquired by national Bahá'í communities.
Tehran, Iran
A site was selected and purchased in 1932 for a Bahá'í House of Worship in Hadiqa, northeast of Tehran, Iran.
Charles Mason Remey provided a design for this temple which Shoghi Effendi then approved.
A drawing of the design was published in an issue of The Bahá'í World.
To date, however, the construction of this temple has not been possible.
Haifa, Israel
thumb|150px|right|Model of the Mount Carmel House of Worship
A design was created for a Bahá'í House of Worship near Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel.
It was created by Mason Remey and approved by Shoghi Effendi in 1952.
A photo of the model of the Haifa House of Worship can be found in an issue of Bahá'í World.
The model now stands in the upper hall of the Mansion of Bahji.
An obelisk marks the site where the House of Worship is to be built, but as of 2010, plans for the construction of this House of Worship have not been made.
Eliot, Maine, U.S.
Upon his visit to Green Acre in Eliot, Maine in 1912, ʻAbdu'l-Bahá stated that the second Bahá'í House of Worship in the United States would be located there.
Destroyed House of Worship in Turkmenistan
thumb|150px|right|The first Bahá'í House of Worship
The first Bahá'í House of Worship was built in the city of Ashgabat, which was then a part of Russia's Transcaspian Oblast and is now the capital of Turkmenistan.
It was started in 1902 and mostly completed by 1907, but was not fully finished until 1919.
Plans for this House of Worship were first made during the lifetime of Baháʼu'lláh.
The design was prepared by Ustad Ali-Akbar Banna, and after his death the construction was supervised by Vakílu'd-Dawlih.
The House of Worship itself was surrounded by gardens with nine ponds.
At the four corners of the plot of land surrounding the House of Worship were various buildings: a boys' school; a girls' school; a large meeting hall; and a group of buildings including the offices of the Local Spiritual Assembly, a reading room, and a room for meeting with enquirers.
After serving the community for two decades, the House of Worship was expropriated by the Soviet authorities in 1928 and leased back to the Bahá'ís.
This lasted until 1938, when it was fully secularized and turned into an art gallery.
The 1948 Ashgabat earthquake seriously damaged the building and rendered it unsafe; the heavy rains of the following years weakened the structure, and it was demolished in 1963 and the site converted into a public park.
See also
List of Bahá'í Houses of Worship
Baháʼí World Centre buildings
Terraces (Baháʼí)
Notes
References
Books
Encyclopedias
News media
Other
Further reading
Academic publishers
Baháʼí publishers
External links
Bahai.org: The Mashriqu'l-Adhkár
Mashriqul-Adhkar.com - An Online Compilation (archived)
The Bahá'í Houses of Worship around the world as seen from Google Earth
Chronology and related documents on Bahá'í Library Online
Related articles from the Bahá'í World News Service
Official websites of continental Bahá'í Houses of Worship:
Australia
Chile
Germany
India
Samoa
Uganda
United States
Bahá'í House of Worship Category:Religious buildings and structures in Uganda Category:Religious buildings and structures in Sydney Category:Religious buildings and structures in Hesse Category:Religious buildings and structures in Germany Category:Religious buildings and structures in Panama Category:Religious buildings and structures in Samoa Category:Religious buildings and structures in India Category:Religious buildings and structures in Chile
