Avalonian Bahaism

Abstract This article considers the thought of Wellesley Tudor Pole, one of Britain’s most important modern religious teachers, and his particular take on the Bahá’i faith. Pole’s ‘Bahaism,’ sought to present the teachings of ʿAbdu’l-Bahá and the other Bahá’i prophets as compatible with a constellation of different esoteric ideologies, which he felt would be at the centre of a world-wide spiritual revival. Pole also found in ʿAbdu’l-Bahá an Eastern teacher who he believed confirmed this new spiritual period, and he worked hard to promote ʿAbdu’l-Bahá and what he understood as being the Bahá’i faith, being for a time a major figure amongst nascentBahá’is in the West. His ideas were influential on the group of Esotericists around Glastonbury, known as the Avalonians, and his Chalice Well Trust is one of Britain’s most important centres of tourism.