Bahá’u’lláh established a new faith. What would its institutions be like? In accordance with the wide ranging reforms across Bahá’u’lláh’s teachings – the religious institutions he designed are entirely new. In this article, these institutions are described. Future posts will explore complementary transitions in the nature of community life and the role of the individual. These also change in the age of maturity – as does the relationship between each of these three actors in society. Bahá’u’lláh does not adopt familiar religious models for the religious institutions he establishes. Indeed it is itself unique that he explicitly establishes, in his own writings, the institutions that are to administer the Baha’i community…