The Universal House of Justice: A Unique Institution in the Annals of Religion

Abstract

Never before in the annals of the world's religions has the world encountered an institution remotely resembling the Universal House of Justice. Its uniqueness is apparent in a number of different ways: its origins which lie in the express provisions made for it by Bahá'u'lláh Himself, the nature of its authority, the scope of its jurisdiction, the overall purpose for which it was designed and the very circumstances surrounding its creation. This presentation will examine each of these several aspects in turn and contrast them with the institutions of some past Dispensations