A family from Aylesbury were among 5,000 people from 110 countries who attended the opening ceremony of the new Baha’i House of Worship for South America in Santiago, Chile.

The temple, located on the foot-hills of the Andes Mountains in Santiago, was officially opened on 15 October 2016 by the Santiago Metropolitan Region Governor, Senior Claudio Orrego. In his opening speech, he said that the temple was a huge gift for the Chileans.

Mr Kaykkhosrov Manuchehri, a consultant ophthalmologist from Weedon, Aylesbury, said: “We could feel the unity of the 5,000 people gathered in Santiago to witness the dedication of the House of Worship”.

This will be the third continental baha’i house of worship Mr manucheri has visited, having already seen the houses in Panama, Chicago and Frankfurt.

Mrs Luisa Ramirez-Manuchehri said “There were no words to describe my joy and the spiritual experience I gained at the temple. I feel as though I have undergone a great deal of transformation and felt revived since returning from Santiago.”

Their son Daniel Manuchehri was taken by the structure of the new House of Worship, which offered a breath-taking and contrasting view during the day, evening and night. He said: “Besides the spiritual journey experienced, it was fascinating to witness the changing colours of the temple. It appears blue in the morning, white at midday, orange towards sunset and red when awash with spotlights at night.”

Luisa said that the family felt blessed to have the one-in-a-lifetime opportunity to witness the opening of the new temple, and felt the moment to be historic, as this was the last of the eight continental Baha’i Houses of Worship to be built.

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