Covenant-Breaker - Definition

Covenant-Breaking is a term used by Bahá'ís to refer to heresy.

The term was originally used in the Writings of the Bahá'í Faith to refer to someone who was a Bahá'í and who then chose to oppose Bahá'u'lláh. After the passing of Bahá'u'lláh, it became opposition to the appointed Interpreter of the Faith, `Abdu'l-Bahá. In `Abdu'l-Bahá's Will and Testament [1] (http://bahai-library.com/?file=abdulbaha_will_testament.html) He appointed Shoghi Effendi as the Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith and called for the eventual election of the Universal House of Justice, and defined in the same manner opposition to them as Covenant-Breaking. `Abdu'l-Bahá advised all Bahá'ís to shun anyone opposing the Covenant: "...one of the greatest and most fundamental principles of the Cause of God is to shun and avoid entirely the Covenant-breakers, for they will utterly destroy the Cause of God, exterminate His Law and render of no account all efforts exerted in the past." [2] (http://bahai-library.com/?file=abdulbaha_will_testament.html#2par13)

The majority of Bahá'ís, who recognize the authority of the Hands of the Cause and later the Universal House of Justice first elected in Haifa in 1963, believe that the same principle applies to those who have rejected their authority. Members of the Orthodox Bahai Faith and other dissenting groups (see minor Baha'i divisions) are therefore seen as Covenant-Breakers.

Members of the Orthodox Bahá'í Faith believe that authority should have passed from Shoghi Effendi to future Guardians (also referred to in the Will and Testament of `Abdu'l-Bahá) and that it was the Hands, and later the Universal House of Justice, that broke the Covenant and see those who follow them as misled.