ative Order of the
Faith of Baha'u'llah, have been steadily acquired in other countries such
as India, Burma, the British Isles, Germany, 'Iraq, Egypt, Australia,
Transjordan and Syria. Among these may be specially mentioned the
Haziratu'l-Quds of the Baha'is of 'Iraq, the Haziratu'l-Quds of the
Baha'is of Egypt, the Haziratu'l-Quds of the Baha'is of India, the
Haziratu'l-Quds of the Baha'is of Australia, the Baha'i Home in Esslingen,
the Publishing Trust of the Baha'is of the British Isles, the Baha'i
Pilgrim House in Ba_gh_dad, and the Baha'i Cemeteries established in the
capitals of Persia, Egypt and Turkistan. Whether in the form of land,
schools, administrative headquarters, secretariats, libraries, cemeteries,
hostels or publishing companies, these widely scattered assets, partly
registered in the name of incorporated National Assemblies, and partly
held in trust by individual recognized believers, have contributed their
share to the uninterrupted expansion of national Baha'i endowments in
recent years as well as to the consolidation of their foundations. Of
vital importance, though less notable in significance, have been,
moreover, the local endowments which have supplemented the national assets
of the Faith and which, in consequence of the incorporation of Baha'i
local Assemblies, have been legally established and safeguarded in various
countries in both the East and the West. Particularly in Persia these
holdings, whether in the form of land, administrative buildings, schools
or other institutions, have greatly enriched and widened the scope of the
local endowments of the world-wide Baha'i community.

Simultaneous with the establishment and incorporation of local and
national Baha'i Assemblies, with the formation of their respective
committees, the formulation of national and local Baha'i constitutions and
the founding of Baha'i endowments, undertakings of great institutional
significance were initiated by these newly founded Assemblies, among which
the institution of the Haziratu'l-Quds--the seat of the Baha'i National
Assembly and pivot of all Baha'i administrative activity in future--must
rank as one of the most important. Originating first in Persia, now
universally known by its official and distinctive title signifying "the
Sacred Fold," marking a notable advance in the evolution of a process
whose beginnings may be traced to the clandestine gatherings held at times
underground and in the dead of night, by