Continental Council for Lorecia (Shia Convocation)
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 Logo of the Shia Convocation | |
 Headquarters of the Continental Council for Lorecia on Mount Ilias | |
| Headquarters | Masra'ih Building, Mount Ilias |
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| Location | |
Region served | Lorecia |
Membership (2021) | 12
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Chairwoman |  Tahira Visser |
Parent organization | Shia Convocation |
Formerly called | Delegation of Lorecian Esoteric Shias to the Auxiliary Imamate (until 1933) |
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| Part of a series on the |
| Shia Convocation |
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The Continental Council for Lorecia is the 12-member assembly of the Shia Convocation elected from amongst Esoteric Shias who are nationals of or resident in Lorecian countries. Its many duties include representing Lorecian Esoteric Shias in the administrative institutions of the Shia Convocation, liaising between the Auxiliary Imam and Esoteric Shia communities in Lorecia, as well as managing the institutional affairs and promoting the interests of Esoteric Shias residing on the continent of Lorecia. It functions similarly to a National Esoteric Shia Council, such as those for Hindia Belanda or Maqtajer, except that it operates on a continental scale due to the small number of Esoteric Shias in individual Lorecian countries, making separate national councils impractical and inefficient. Although the Continental Council for Lorecia is headquartered at the Masra'ih Building on Mount Ilias, its members normally reside in Lorecian countries of which they are nationals.
History
The first representative body for Lorecian Esoteric Shias was established in 1889 by a group of Koninstader Esoteric Shias of Hindia Belandan origin during the colonial era. The Delegation of Lorecian Esoteric Shias to the Auxiliary Imamate, as it was called at the time, sailed to Mount Ilias in 1890 and was received by the 31st Auxiliary Imam, Siyyid Irfan IV. The Delegation received the Auxiliary Imam's blessing to become a formal institution and it was in 1891 that a space within the Seat of the Auxiliary Imamate was set aside for the Delegation.
As Esoteric Shia communities in Lorecia grew, the 31st Auxiliary Imam issued a Farman on 7 March 1903 instructing the Delegation to hold new elections to accommodate Esoteric Shias from other Lorecian countries. The first non-Noordenstaater member of the Continental Council, Hermann Neuser from Nidwalden, was elected that year.
Responsibilities
Responsibilities of the Continental Council for Lorecia include disbursing financial resources for the maintenance of Esoteric Shia houses of worship in Lorecian countries, supervising the affairs of the Esoteric Shia communities as well as strengthening and improving the participation of Esoteric Shias in the communities where they reside. At times, individual members of the Continental Council may act as the representative of the Auxiliary Imam in an official capacity on the continent of Lorecia.
Membership
Since 2016, following administrative reforms of a number of Shia Convocation departments and institutions, membership of the Continental Council for Lorecia is open to any Esoteric Shia residing in Lorecia who do not hold a Lorecian nationality, such as a Hindia Belandan expatriate, for instance. Despite and since this reform, however, no members of the Continental Council for Lorecia have been elected who do not hold a Lorecian nationality.
Members of the Continental Council for Lorecia do not normally reside on Mount Ilias, but they gather there at the Masra'ih Building four times a year for a session of the Continental Council. Members continue to reside in whichever Lorecian country they are originally from.
Elections
Every five years, congregants of all Bayt al-Adhkars on the continent of Lorecia elect from amongst them a delegate who would each go to Mount Ilias to gather in a convention. At the convention, all delegates cast a secret ballot to elect twelve Continental Councillors from amongst them, who in turn will serve for the next five years. The latest elections to the Continental Council for Lorecia took place on the eve of Eid al-Ghadir on 28 July, 2021.
Current membership
The current Continental Council for Lorecia is composed of 5 Noordenstaaters, 4 Nidwaldesers, 2 Valkeans and a Scanonian. Of the twelve members, five are female. Tahira Visser, a Noordenstaater Esoteric Shia author and theologian, serves as the Continental Council's chairwoman since 28 July 2021. As part of the installation ceremony, the newly-elected members of the Continental Council went on a one-day pilgrimage to the Hazirat in Tanjudan, where they offered a Prayer of Visitation and laid bouquets of flowers over the grave of Al-Sayyid al-Mu'alim.
Headquarters
The Continental Council for Lorecia is headquartered at the Masra'ih Building on Mount Ilias, a neo-classical building built in 1930 with the financial help of an anonymous donor. The building houses offices for supporting staff of the Continental Council, an assembly chamber for the twelve Continental Councillors, and a prayer hall. It is connected to an annex which functions as a guest house for Continental Councillors during a session of the Continental Council which takes place for times a year.