The Faith is divided into three Ages: the Heroic, the
Formative, the Golden Age, as has been outlined in His Writings. The Heroic Age
closed with the Ascension of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. The Formative Age is divided into
epochs. The first epoch lasted 25 years… How long the Formative Age will last
is not known, and there will probably be a number of epochs in it.
The Divine Plan of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá is divided into epochs. The
first Seven-Year Plan constituted the first stage of the first epoch; the
second Seven-Year Plan constitutes the second stage; while the Ten-Year Crusade
will constitute the third stage of the first epoch of the Divine Plan. The
first epoch of the Divine Plan will conclude with the conclusion of the
Ten-Year Crusade.
- Shoghi Effendi (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi,
‘Directives from the Guardian)
