The Second World Congress, called for by the Universal House
of Justice, took place in November 1992, during the Holy Year, commemorating
the centenary of the Ascension of Baha'u'llah. It was held in the Jacob Javits
Convention Center, New York City -- the "City of the Covenant' -- and commemorated
the centenary of the Covenant of 'Abdu'l-Baha. Nearly 30,000 Baha'is made it
the largest ever Baha'i gathering, and the total number of Baha'is
participating was increased enormously by satellite conferences, held
simultaneously in Apia, Western Samoa; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Sydney,
Australia; New Delhi, India; Nairobi, Kenya; Panama City, Panama; Bucharest,
Romania; Moscow, Russia; and Singapore.
The First World Congress was called to commemorate the
centenary of the Declaration of Baha'u'llah (Ridvan 1963), the conclusion of
the Ten Year Crusade, and the election of the Universal House of Justice.
Shoghi Effendi had hoped that it would be possible to have it in Baghdad, but
the situation in 'Iraq was such that the Hands of the Cause of God changed the
venue to London and were able to hire the Albert Hall, which was filled to
capacity by more than 7,000 Baha'is.
World Congress is a large gathering of Baha’is from all
parts of the world called to commemorate special events.
(Adapted from ‘Historical
Dictionary of the Baha’i Faith’ by Hugh Adamson, and from ‘A Basic Baha’i
Dictionary’, by Wendi Momen)
