Arc (Bahá'í)
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The Arc, in a Bahá'í context, is a number of administrative buildings at the Bahá'í World Centre on Mount Carmel located at Haifa, Israel. The buildings on the Arc include:
- Seat of the Universal House of Justice
- Seat of the International Teaching Centre
- International Archives
- Centre for the Study of the Sacred Texts.
A fifth building, the Library, has yet to be built.
The idea originates in a tablet written by Bahá'u'lláh in approximately 1891: The Tablet of Carmel. In the tablet, Bahá'u'lláh tells the mountain (Mount Carmel) that "Ere long will God sail His Ark upon thee" and saying, on the mountain will be "the seat of His throne". Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith from 1921-1957 decided that this meant the centre of the Bahá'í administrative order will be on the mountain. During the 1980s and 1990s the Bahá'ís of the world were encouraged to donate money towards improving the Gardens and buildings at the site. Known as the Arc Project, the new gardens were opened in 2001.
The reference to an 'Ark' and naming of 'the Arc' do not have a literal connection, the word "arc" here referring to the physical arrangement of the buildings. It does however, have a metaphorical relationship with the Ark of Noah and the Ark of the Covenant from Jewish, Christian, and Muslim scripture.
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