R. J. Campbell was an English Congregational Minister, who, at the turn of the 20th century, occupied the pulpit of one of the most prestigious churches in England – the City Temple in London. From
this pulpit, Campbell began to articulate a doctrinal position which he termed “The New Theology”. Campbell invited ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to give His first ever public address at the City Temple in 10th September 1911.

(The Bahá’í movement) “is one of the most remarkable religious movements of this or any age, a movement which includes, I understand, at least three million souls… The Bahá’í movement, as it is called, in Hither Asia rose on that soil just as spontaneously as Christianity rose in the middle territories adjoining, and that faith – which, by the way, is very closely akin to, I think I might say identical with, the spiritual purpose of Christianity – that movement stands for the spiritual unity of mankind; it stands for universal peace among the nations. These are good things, and the man  (‘Abdu’l-Bahá) who teaches them and commends them to three millions of followers must be a  good man as well as a great.”