5 February 1986
To all National Spiritual Assemblies
Dear Baha'i friends,
In the letter dated 2 January 1986 written by the Universal House of Justice to the Baha'is of the world, reference was made to the inception of the fourth epoch of the Formative Age. In response to questions subsequently put to the House of Justice about the periods related to the earlier epochs of that Age, the Research Department was requested to prepare a statement on the subject. This has now been presented, and a copy is enclosed.
Kindly share this material of topical interest with the friends, as you deem fit, so that it may be studied in their deepening classes, summer schools, conferences and similar gatherings.
With loving Baha'i greetings,
Department of the Secretariat of the Universal House of Justice
The Epochs of the Formative Age
Prepared by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice
Introduction
In disclosing the panoramic vision of the unfoldment of the Dispensation of Baha'u'llah, Shoghi Effendi refers to three major evolutionary stages through which the Faith must pass -- the Apostolic or Heroic Age (1844-1921) associated with the Central Figures of the Faith; the Formative or Transitional Age (1921-), the "hallmark" of which is the rise and establishment of the Administrative Order, based on the execution of the provisions of 'Abdu'l-Baha's Will and Testament; and, the Golden Age which will represent the "consummation of this glorious Dispensation." Close examination of the details of Baha'i history reveals that the individual Ages are comprised of a number of periods-inseparable parts of one integrated whole.
In relation to the Heroic Age of our Faith, the Guardian, in a letter dated 5 June 1947 to the American Baha'is, specified that this Age consisted of three epochs and described the distinguishing features of each:
