Dec

9

Bahá’ís mourn Lady Carpenter

Filed Under People, inter-faith, women | Leave a Comment

Lady Lilian Carpenter, the widow of the former Dean of Westminster Dr Edward Carpenter and a devoted member of the United Kingdom Bahá’í community has died at the age of 91.

Lady Carpenter met her husband, then a young curate, at the Holy Trinity church in Marylebone where she was active in its Sunday School and Youth club.  They married in 1941. Dr Carpenter served at Westminster Abbey for 35 years, eventually becoming Dean from 1974 to 1986. On his passing in 1998, an obituary in The Independent said, “He and his much-respected wife, Lilian, will go down in the history of Westminster for being so accessible, friendly and prepared to listen.”

After exploring many religions, Lady Carpenter embraced the Bahá’í faith attracted to its belief in the underlying unity of all religions.  In a written tribute, the international governing council of the Bahá’í faith – the Universal House of Justice – recalled her ”open and free-spirited heart”. “Among those who knew her she has left behind fond memories of a noble and deeply spiritual character,” they wrote.

Lady Carpenter is survived by her four children and seven grandchildren.

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