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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 the persecuted followers of the Faith in that country, this institution, still in the early stages of its development, has already lent its share to the consolidation of the internal functions of the organic Baha'i community, and provided a further visible evidence of its steady growth and rising power. Complementary in its functions to those of the Mashriqu'l- Adhkar-- an edifice exclusively reserved for Baha'i worship-- this institution, whether local or national, will, as its component parts, such as the Secretariat, the Treasury, the Archives, the Library, the Publishing Office, the Assembly Hall, the Council Chamber, the Pilgrims' Hostel, are brought together and made jointly to operate in one spot, be increasingly regarded as the focus of all Baha'i administrative activity, and symbolize, in a befitting manner, the ideal of service animating the Baha'i community in its relation alike to the Faith and to mankind in general.
(339:1)
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