| Also called the Iron or Transitional Age, corresponding to the period since the passing of ‘Abdu'l-Bahá in 1921. As described by Shoghi Effendi, the phase or age of the Bahá'í era, ‘ushered in by [‘Abdu'l-Bahá's] Will and Testament, which defines its character and establishes its foundation." This age is to ‘witness the crystallization and shaping of the creative energies' released by the Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh.'12 |
| The Formative Age is divided into epochs which mark stages in the development of the Bahá'í community and its institutions. The first epoch (1921—44/46) saw the formation of local and international institutions in all five continents, the first Seven Year Plan and several national plans. The second epoch (1946—63) witnessed the development, through a series of teaching plans, of the Bahá'í Faith in East and West and the development of the World Centre. The third epoch (1963—86) included three world teaching plans under the direction of the Universal House of Justice and saw the emergence of the Faith from obscurity and the beginning of the social and economic development of Bahá'í communities. The fourth epoch, which began in 1986 with the Six Year Plan, marks a new stage in the development of the Bahá'í Administrative Order. The Formative Age will see its ultimate flowering in the Golden Age. |
| [BD 84-85] |
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