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Bahá'í communities around the world celebrated the Day of the Covenant on 26th November. This day provides an opportunity for us to reflect on the uniqueness of the Bahá'í Covenant and to give thanks to God for the protection that it gives our precious Faith.
The Lesser Covenant is an agreement between Bahá'u'lláh and His followers regarding the handing down of authority in the Faith. After his death, Bahá'u'lláh appointed ‘Abdu’l-Bahá as his successor and interpreter. Because of clear instructions from the Founder of the Faith, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was able to preserve its unity. Similarly, the Guardian protected the Faith from 1921 until his death in 1957. Since 1963, the Universal House of Justice has been the Centre of the Covenant. The Covenant is the 'glue' that holds the worldwide Bahá'í community together.

The Bahá'í community is still very young and we are in many ways too close to the origins of the faith to appreciate the full significance of the Covenant. The fact that the Faith has not split into sects makes it unique among world religions. This is crucial because it would be impossible for the Bahá'í Faith to unite the world if it were itself disunited. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá tells us that "It is evident that the axis of oneness of the world of humanity is the power of the Covenant and nothing else." (Bahá'í World Faith, p425).
The One Common Faith document also discusses the importance of the Covenant in terms of the current crisis facing humankind:
Today, with the immense opportunities and horrific dangers that physical unification of the planet has brought with it, commitment to the requirements of unity becomes the touchstone of all professions of devotion to the will of God or, for that matter, to the well-being of humankind. (One Common Faith, para. 63)

For us as individual Bahá'ís, being firm in the Covenant means carrying out Bahá’u’lláh’s laws and teachings. It also involves an inner conviction that the guidance of the Universal House of Justice represents the will of God. Since attacks on the Covenant tend to be directed at the current Centre of the Covenant, it is likely that future attacks will question the authority of the Universal House of Justice.

Parvin Morrissey (Auxiliary Board Member for Protection)