Set quietly along tree-shaded Nguyễn Phi Khanh Street in the historic Tân Định neighborhood (former District 1), only a few hundred paces from Tân Định Market and the Nhiêu Lộc Canal, the residence at No. 45 preserves the graceful lines of a mid-twentieth-century Saigon villa with its open iron gate, small planted courtyard, and tall wooden louvered windows welcoming the southern light. Stepping into the main assembly hall inside, first-time visitors are often struck by the complete absence of statues, incense altars, pulpits, or robed clergy, finding instead a bright, unadorned room where an Arabic calligraphy tablet framed within a nine-pointed star hangs upon the main wall.
This is the Office of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Vietnam, known familiarly as the Saigon Bahá'í Center or, in the original terminology of the Faith, the National Hazíratu'l-Quds (the Sacred Fold). Linked to the earliest pioneering footsteps in Saigon in 1954, the election of the first Local Spiritual Assembly of Saigon in 1955, the formation of the National Spiritual Assembly in 1964, and full legal recognition in 2008, No. 45 Nguyễn Phi Khanh stands as the principal historical address for understanding the devotional life, non-clerical governance, and vision of human unity practiced by the Bahá'í Faith in Vietnam.
IThe Hazíratu'l-Quds, Spiritual Assembly governance, and the Greatest Name emblem
To understand the role of the building at No. 45 Nguyễn Phi Khanh Street in the life of the Bahá'í Community of Vietnam, one must first grasp a foundational law established by Bahá'u'lláh (1817 - 1892, Founder of the Bahá'í Faith) in His Most Holy Book, the Kitáb-i-Aqdas: the Bahá'í Faith has no professional clergy or priesthood whatsoever (no priests, pastors, monks, or salaried clerics). Instead of vesting authority in individual ecclesiastics, Bahá'u'lláh and His appointed successors, 'Abdu'l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi, instituted the Bahá'í Administrative Order, governed through elected councils of nine adult believers chosen by secret ballot without nominations or campaigning at three levels: Local Spiritual Assemblies, National Spiritual Assemblies, and the supreme governing body of the global community, the Universal House of Justice on Mount Carmel in Haifa.
The seat of administration, consultation, archival keeping, and devotional gathering of a Spiritual Assembly is designated by the Arabic term Hazíratu'l-Quds (حظيرة القدس, literally the Sacred Fold). The villa at No. 45 Nguyễn Phi Khanh in Tân Định ward serves as the National Hazíratu'l-Quds of Vietnam, housing both the Secretariat of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Vietnam and the central meeting hall of the Bahá'í community of Ho Chi Minh City.
According to Bahá'í teaching, religious history is a single unfolding process of Progressive Revelation from one Creator through successive Manifestations of God, including Abraham, Krishna, Moses, Zoroaster, the Buddha, Jesus Christ, Muhammad, and in the modern age the Twin Manifestations who arose in nineteenth-century Persia: the Báb (Siyyid 'Alí-Muhammad, 1819 - 1850, who declared His mission in 1844) and Bahá'u'lláh (Mírzá Husayn-'Alí Núrí, 1817 - 1892, who declared His mission in the Garden of Ridván in Baghdad in 1863). The core teachings of Bahá'u'lláh revolve around three onenesses: the oneness of God, the oneness of religion, and the oneness of the entire human family, summed up in His declaration: The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens.
Because the Bahá'í Faith forbids anthropomorphic images and material altars, the spiritual focal point inside the prayer hall of the Saigon Bahá'í Center is the calligraphic tablet of the Greatest Name (الإسم الأعظم). Rendered in the nineteenth century by the renowned Persian calligrapher Mishkín-Qalam (one of the nineteen Apostles of Bahá'u'lláh), the inscription forms the Arabic invocation Yá Bahá'u'l-Abhá (يا بهاء الأبهى), meaning O Thou the Glory of the Most Glorious! Accompanying the Greatest Name are the Nine-Pointed Star (since in the Arabic Abjad numeral system the word Bahá' has the numerical value of 9, the highest single digit symbolizing completeness and the fulfillment of prior dispensations) and the Ringstone Symbol designed by 'Abdu'l-Bahá, whose three horizontal bars represent the World of God, the World of the Manifestations, and the World of Humanity linked by a vertical line of the Holy Spirit.
Visitors hearing of the Saigon Bahá'í Center at 45 Nguyễn Phi Khanh sometimes assume it is a Bahá'í House of Worship (like the Lotus Temple in New Delhi or the Bahá'í House of Worship in Battambang, Cambodia). As the library notes clearly on its Bahá'í Faith page, Vietnam does not yet have a Mashriqu'l-Adhkár (Dawning-Place of the Praise of God, a nine-sided domed temple with nine entrances opening toward all directions). The 2023 publication of the Government Committee for Religious Affairs likewise notes that the Bahá'í Community of Vietnam conducts its religious life in local offices and private homes. Within the institutional architecture of the Faith, the Hazíratu'l-Quds (such as 45 Nguyễn Phi Khanh) is the administrative, consultative, and educational headquarters, distinct from yet complementary to a future Mashriqu'l-Adhkár temple.
IIOver seven decades from the 1954 pioneers to legal recognition in 2008
The history of the villa at No. 45 Nguyễn Phi Khanh Street, Tân Định ward mirrors the entire journey of the Bahá'í Faith in Vietnam, from its mid-twentieth-century introduction and the formation of Spiritual Assemblies to its modern legal recognition.
Regarding the date when the Bahá'í Faith first reached Vietnam, academic studies and state publications record two distinct milestones, and the library presents both for clarity. First is the 1920s milestone: a study by Vũ Văn Chung published in the Ho Chi Minh City Open University Journal of Science (Vol. 16, No. 2, 2021) notes that the earliest sporadic contacts of the Bahá'í Faith with Vietnam occurred during the 1920s (associated with traveling Bahá'í teachers passing through Indochinese ports). Second is the 1954 milestone: the reference work Religion and Religious Policy in Vietnam published by the Government Committee for Religious Affairs (posted 25 August 2023), Nhân Dân newspaper (25 July 2008), and historical chronicles of the Bahá'í community all place the formal beginning in 1954, when the first permanent Bahá'í community took root in Saigon.
According to Bahá'í historical records from the Ten Year Crusade (1953 - 1963) inaugurated by Shoghi Effendi, in February 1954 Mrs. Shirin Fozdar (1905 - 1992, a prominent Indian Bahá'í of Persian descent and women's rights advocate then residing in Singapore) traveled to Saigon. On 15 March 1954, she delivered a public lecture introducing the Bahá'í teachings at the Norodom Theatre in Saigon before an audience of intellectuals and journalists, leading to the enrollment of the first Vietnamese believer, Professor Phạm Hữu Chu. In the summer of 1954, her son Jamshed Fozdar and his wife Parvati Fozdar settled in Saigon (initially at 88 Bonard Boulevard, now Lê Lợi Street) to nurture the nascent community.
- February - March 1954Shirin Fozdar introduces the Bahá'í Faith in SaigonPioneer Shirin Fozdar travels from Singapore to Saigon and gives a public lecture on 15 March 1954. In summer 1954, Jamshed Fozdar and Parvati Fozdar take up residence in Saigon to help build the first local community.
- 21/04/1955Election of the first Local Spiritual Assembly of SaigonOn the first day of the Festival of Ridván in 1955, believers in Saigon vote by secret ballot to elect Vietnam's first nine-member Local Spiritual Assembly.
- Late 1950sEstablishment of the Hazíratu'l-Quds at 45 Nguyễn Phi KhanhThe community acquires the villa at No. 45 Nguyễn Phi Khanh Street in the Tân Định area of Saigon as its Hazíratu'l-Quds (administrative and spiritual center), operating initially within the Regional Spiritual Assembly of Southeast Asia founded in 1957.
- April 1964Formation of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of VietnamDuring the Ridván convention of April 1964, in the presence of Hand of the Cause of God Hushmand Fatheazam, delegates in Saigon elect the independent nine-member National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Vietnam, headquartered at 45 Nguyễn Phi Khanh.
- February - March 2007Certificate of registration for religious activitiesThe Government Committee for Religious Affairs grants the certificate of registration for religious activities to the Bahá'í Community of Vietnam (dated February 2007 by Nhân Dân newspaper in 2008, 28 March 2007 by the Committee's 2023 document, and March 2007 by Vũ Văn Chung's 2021 study).
- 21/03/2008First National Convention on the feast of Naw-RúzOn the Bahá'í New Year of Naw-Rúz, the Bahá'í Community of Vietnam convenes its First National Congress in Ho Chi Minh City, adopting its charter and electing the nine-member National Spiritual Assembly.
- 14/07/2008Official recognition of the Bahá'í Community of VietnamThe Government Committee for Religious Affairs signs the decision recognizing the Bahá'í Community of Vietnam as a legal religious organization (reported by Nhân Dân newspaper on 25 July 2008), with its national office at 45 Nguyễn Phi Khanh, Tân Định ward.
Regarding the number of followers and local communities coordinated across Vietnam from the National Office at 45 Nguyễn Phi Khanh, official publications over nearly two decades show a steady membership between seven thousand and over eight thousand believers: Nhân Dân newspaper on 25 July 2008 reported about 7,000 believers across 93 communities in 43 provinces and cities, Vũ Văn Chung's 2021 study citing 2020 figures recorded more than 8,000 believers in 45 provinces and cities, the 2023 document of the Government Committee for Religious Affairs (as of December 2021) gave about 7,000 believers in 45 provinces and cities, and VietNamNet newspaper on 20 July 2025 reported about 7,000 believers in 36 communities. At No. 45 Nguyễn Phi Khanh, generations of devoted believers since the 1950s and 1960s (including veteran members such as Lê Lộc and successive Assembly members) have preserved the sacred library, translated writings of Bahá'u'lláh, the Báb, and 'Abdu'l-Bahá into Vietnamese, and sustained community life to the present day.
Under the commune-level administrative reorganization of Ho Chi Minh City effective 1 July 2025, the entire area and population of former Tân Định ward together with the remaining portion of Đa Kao ward (of former District 1) were merged into a new administrative unit that retained the historic name Tân Định ward, Ho Chi Minh City. Thus the address No. 45 Nguyễn Phi Khanh Street, Tân Định ward preserves complete continuity of both street name and ward name across historical eras.
IIITân Định villa architecture and a non-clerical devotional space
Unlike monumental sanctuaries with bell towers, domes, or ornate triple gates, the Office of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Vietnam at No. 45 Nguyễn Phi Khanh Street embodies the quiet elegance of a mid-twentieth-century Saigon urban villa. Set behind an open iron fence facing Nguyễn Phi Khanh Street (between Trần Quang Khải and Đặng Dung streets), the compound opens onto a paved front courtyard shaded by ornamental trees and potted plants, creating a tranquil buffer from the bustle of nearby Tân Định Market.
The two-story structure features light-colored masonry walls, a pitched tile roof, wide verandas, and traditional wooden louvered shutters suited to the tropical climate of southern Vietnam. Its interior spatial arrangement directly reflects Bahá'í spiritual principles: simplicity, natural light, complete equality among believers, and the total absence of clerical ritual.
The largest room on the ground floor, arranged with neat rows of chairs facing the front wall yet completely devoid of altars, statues, icons, clerical pulpits, or incense burners. During prayers and readings from the Sacred Writings, any believer or guest may step forward to read on a footing of complete equality.
The visual and spiritual centerpiece on the main wall of the hall: a framed tablet bearing the Arabic calligraphy Yá Bahá'u'l-Abhá (O Thou the Glory of the Most Glorious) in the classical hand of Master Mishkín-Qalam, set within a symmetrical nine-pointed star directing contemplation toward the One God.
The meeting room of the nine members of the National Spiritual Assembly and Local Spiritual Assembly. Seating is arranged so that the nine members sit as equals practicing Bahá'í consultation (Mashvarat): listening with detachment, setting aside personal insistence, and seeking truth in unity and fellowship.
Preserving Vietnamese translations as well as Persian, Arabic, and English editions of core scriptures including the Kitáb-i-Aqdas (Most Holy Book), Kitáb-i-Íqán (Book of Certitude), The Hidden Words, and Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, alongside historical archives of the Vietnamese Bahá'í community since 1954.
Dedicated rooms hosting the four core activities of contemporary Bahá'í community life: devotional gatherings open to all, spiritual and moral education classes for children, junior youth empowerment groups, and Ruhi Institute study circles building capacity for service to society.
The deliberate absence of outward ritual ornament inside the Saigon Bahá'í Center fosters a distinctive atmosphere of inner stillness. Daylight filtering through tall windows and fresh flowers placed simply beside the reading lectern reflect the aesthetic guidance of 'Abdu'l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi: that Bahá'í gathering places should be spotless, bright, and dignified, taking the chanted Word of God and the harmony of hearts as their highest ornament.
IVThe lie of the land and the facing
The library states plainly at the outset so that two distinct frameworks are never conflated: the Bahá'í Faith does not teach feng shui, does not trace dragon veins, and does not assign good or bad fortune to directions, numbers, or astrological spirits, since Bahá'í teaching places harmony between religion, science, and reason as a fundamental principle. Across its entire sacred law, the Bahá'í Faith prescribes only one sacred direction, called the Qiblih (قبله, the Point of Adoration), which is the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh at Bahjí, near the ancient city of Akka on the Mediterranean coast, toward which Bahá'ís everywhere turn when reciting their daily obligatory prayers regardless of personal birth year or building orientation. The topographical analysis of the Tân Định quarter below is solely the library's comparative reading through the lens of traditional Vietnamese landform feng shui.
Viewed on the urban topographical map of Saigon at latitude 10.79155 degrees North and longitude 106.69418 degrees East, the villa at No. 45 Nguyễn Phi Khanh Street stands upon the elevated alluvial terrace of historic Tân Định (Tân Định ward, Ho Chi Minh City). In the historical geography of Gia Định during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the Tân Định mound lay immediately south of a gentle bend in the Nhiêu Lộc and Thị Nghè waterway (the natural stream formerly called the Bình Đồng River or Thị Nghè Creek flowing from the northwest into the Saigon River to the southeast). Walking roughly three hundred meters north or northeast from 45 Nguyễn Phi Khanh (across Trần Nhật Duật and Hoàng Sa streets) brings one directly to the curving water channel of the Nhiêu Lộc Canal. In traditional landform reading, a neighborhood situated on the inner bank of a curving waterway that embraces the land (the formation of water wrapping before the node like a jade belt) is a site that gathers qi, resting on high ground free of flooding while keeping its interior checkerboard streets noticeably quieter than the commercial arteries outside.
With respect to street alignment and compass comparison, Nguyễn Phi Khanh Street runs along a Northeast to Southwest axis (parallel to Đặng Dung and Trần Quý Khoách streets and perpendicular to Trần Quang Khải and Võ Thị Sáu streets), allowing villas along this block to catch cooling Southeast breezes rising off the Saigon River and Thị Nghè Canal. More notably, if one places the Bahá'í Qiblih direction onto the twenty-four-mountain compass of traditional feng shui from the coordinates of 45 Nguyễn Phi Khanh in Ho Chi Minh City, the great-circle bearing to the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh at Bahjí (latitude 32.943 degrees North, longitude 35.092 degrees East) measures approximately 301 degrees, or West-Northwest, falling squarely within the Tuất mountain of the Càn (Northwest, Metal, Heaven) trigram on the Later Heaven Bagua compass. As the library emphasizes, when Bahá'ís in Saigon stand in prayer facing 301 degrees West-Northwest, they are not seeking the qi of the Càn palace or the Tuất mountain but turning their hearts toward the resting place of Bahá'u'lláh at Bahjí, yet this compass comparison allows readers familiar with traditional orientation to visualize the exact prayer bearing inside the Saigon Bahá'í Center.
VThe nineteen-month Badí' calendar, Nineteen Day Feasts, and Bahá'í Holy Days
All spiritual gatherings, administrative consultations, and holy days at the Office of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Vietnam (45 Nguyễn Phi Khanh) follow the distinctive calendar of the Faith known as the Badí' calendar (بديع, meaning the Wondrous Calendar), initiated by the Báb and confirmed by Bahá'u'lláh. It is an astronomical solar calendar taking the year 1844 CE (the year of the Báb's declaration in Shiraz) as Year 1 (abbreviated B.E., Bahá'í Era), consisting of 19 months of 19 days each (361 days in total), supplemented by 4 Intercalary Days (Ayyám-i-Há, or 5 days in a leap year) placed between the eighteenth and nineteenth months to align precisely with the solar year. Each day in the Badí' calendar begins at sunset on the preceding civil evening.
Once every nineteen days, on the first day of each Bahá'í month (each named after an attribute of God such as Bahá - Splendor, Jalál - Glory, Jamál - Beauty), the local community gathers at the center for the Nineteen Day Feast, structured in three successive parts: a devotional program of prayers and sacred readings, open community consultation between the Spiritual Assembly and the believers, and fraternal fellowship.
| Date (Badí' / Gregorian calendar) | Bahá'í Holy Day or cycle | Meaning and observance at the Saigon Bahá'í Center |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Bahá (falls on 20 or 21 March, the astronomical vernal equinox) | Bahá'í New Year (Festival of Naw-Rúz / نوروز) | Celebrates the first day of the new year immediately following the 19-day month of Fasting (sunrise to sunset during the month of 'Alá). Marked by devotional prayers, readings of annual messages, and joyful fellowship. |
| 20/21 April to 1/2 May (12 days, with the 1st, 9th, and 12th days as holy days) | Festival of Ridván (Most Great Festival - King of Festivals) | Commemorates the twelve days in 1863 when Bahá'u'lláh declared His mission in the Garden of Ridván by the Tigris River in Baghdad. Also the season for electing the Local Spiritual Assembly (first day of Ridván) and the National Spiritual Assembly. |
| 23/24 May and 9/10 July | Declaration of the Báb (1844) and Martyrdom of the Báb (1850) | The evening of 23 May commemorates the Báb's historic declaration to Mullá Husayn in Shiraz in 1844, while noon on 9/10 July solemnly marks the hour of the Báb's execution by firing squad in Tabriz in 1850. |
| 28/29 May | Ascension of Bahá'u'lláh (1892) | Solemn commemorative prayers held at 3:00 a.m. marking the passing of Bahá'u'lláh at the Mansion of Bahjí near Akka in 1892. |
| Two consecutive days after the eighth new moon following the vernal equinox (October or November) | Twin Holy Birthdays: Birth of the Báb (1819) and Birth of Bahá'u'lláh (1817) | Two consecutive days of joyous celebration honoring the births of the Twin Manifestations (falling on the first and second days of the lunar month of Muharram and observed together as a twin festival). |
| Late February (4 or 5 days prior to the month of Fasting) | Intercalary Days of Ayyám-i-Há (أيام الهاء) and periodic Nineteen Day Feasts | Days of spiritual preparation prior to the Fast dedicated to charity, gift-giving, hospitality, and community service across Ho Chi Minh City. |
Alongside the annual cycle of holy days, in 2017 and 2019 the Saigon Bahá'í Center at 45 Nguyễn Phi Khanh served as the hub for celebrating the Bicentenary of the Birth of Bahá'u'lláh (1817 - 2017) and the Bicentenary of the Birth of the Báb (1819 - 2019), welcoming representatives of civic authorities, Fatherland Front committees, and neighboring religious traditions in Ho Chi Minh City in a spirit of interfaith amity and service cultivated on Saigon soil since 1954.
VILocation And How To Get There
- Address
- Số 45 đường Nguyễn Phi Khanh, phường Tân Định (Quận 1 cũ), Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh
- Getting there
- From central Ho Chi Minh City (near Notre-Dame Cathedral and the Central Post Office), follow Hai Bà Trưng Street north past Lê Văn Tám Park and Tân Định Market, turn right onto Trần Quang Khải Street, and then turn left onto Nguyễn Phi Khanh Street for about 150 meters to reach No. 45 Nguyễn Phi Khanh in Tân Định ward.
- Coordinates
- 10.79155, 106.69418
The Office of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Vietnam at No. 45 Nguyễn Phi Khanh serves both as the administrative secretariat of the National Assembly and as a community center for prayer and study. Visitors wishing to learn about the Faith, consult scriptures in the library, or attend public devotional gatherings (which are open to people of all backgrounds) are asked to dress modestly and contact the office in advance (note that the administrative consultation portion of the Nineteen Day Feast is reserved for enrolled members of the Bahá'í community). Inside the prayer hall, please maintain silence, silence mobile phones, and note that by sacred law the Bahá'í Faith strictly declines financial contributions to Bahá'í funds from anyone who is not a registered Bahá'í.
Nearby places in the library
VIIContribute To This Page
Contribute photos, information or video for Office of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Vietnam (Saigon Bahá'í Center)
Góp ảnh, thông tin hoặc video cho Văn phòng Hội đồng Tinh thần Tôn giáo Bahá'í Việt Nam (Trung tâm Bahá'í Sài Gòn)Everyone is welcome to enrich this page: a photo you took, a detail the page misses, a short video. Every contribution is read and answered.
Thầy Ưng Khiêm mời cộng đồng cùng làm giàu trang này. Ảnh chụp tận nơi, một chi tiết lịch sử chưa được nhắc, một đoạn video ngắn: mọi đóng góp đều được đọc và trả lời.
No community contribution yet. You could be the first. Chưa có đóng góp nào từ cộng đồng. Bạn có thể là người đầu tiên.
?Quick Questions
Is the building at 45 Nguyễn Phi Khanh a Bahá'í House of Worship (Mashriqu'l-Adhkár)?
No. In the Bahá'í Faith, a House of Worship (Mashriqu'l-Adhkár) is a nine-sided domed temple with nine entrances opening toward all directions, and Vietnam does not yet have such a temple. The villa at No. 45 Nguyễn Phi Khanh Street, Tân Định ward is the National Hazíratu'l-Quds (Sacred Fold), serving as the central office of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Vietnam as well as a center for devotional gatherings, consultation, and moral education in Ho Chi Minh City.
When and by whom was the Bahá'í Faith introduced to Saigon and Vietnam?
Sources record two milestones: a 2021 academic study by Vũ Văn Chung notes initial contacts in the 1920s, while publications of the Government Committee for Religious Affairs (2023), Nhân Dân newspaper (2008), and Bahá'í historical records mark 1954 as the founding of the local community. In February and March 1954, the Indian-Persian pioneer Shirin Fozdar traveled from Singapore to Saigon to lecture, followed in summer 1954 by Jamshed and Parvati Fozdar, leading to the election of Saigon's first Local Spiritual Assembly on 21 April 1955.
When was the Bahá'í Community of Vietnam officially recognized as a legal religious organization?
Recognition proceeded in two stages: in 2007, the Government Committee for Religious Affairs granted a certificate of registration for religious activities. On 21 March 2008 (the feast of Naw-Rúz), the community held its First National Congress to elect the nine-member National Spiritual Assembly, and in July 2008 (by decision dated 14 July 2008), the Government Committee for Religious Affairs officially recognized the Bahá'í Community of Vietnam as a religious organization.
Why are there no statues, altars, or presiding clergy inside the prayer hall of the Saigon Bahá'í Center?
The laws revealed by Bahá'u'lláh in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas prohibit anthropomorphic images in worship and abolish professional priesthood entirely so that all believers may investigate truth independently and stand equal before God. Consequently, the prayer hall has neither altar nor pulpit, displaying instead the framed Arabic calligraphy Yá Bahá'u'l-Abhá (O Thou the Glory of the Most Glorious) and the nine-pointed star.
Which direction do Bahá'ís in Ho Chi Minh City face when reciting their daily obligatory prayers?
The Bahá'í Faith does not calculate directions by feng shui or birth year, prescribing instead a single sacred direction worldwide called the Qiblih, oriented toward the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh at Bahjí (near Akka). Measured along a great circle from Ho Chi Minh City, the Qiblih lies at an azimuth of approximately 301 degrees, or West-Northwest.