DISPENSATION

★ 'Dispensation' is the act of distributing goods or services, especially those that are regulated, as in the practice of pharmacists.

★ In the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church, a 'dispensation' is the act of an authority making an exception to laws, standards, or customs. For an account of the power of bishops to dispense with standards in the Eastern Orthodox Church, see economy (Eastern Orthodoxy). For dispensation in western Christendom, see dispensation (Catholic Church).

★ In Buddhism, the Buddha's 'dispensation' is his teaching (''see Dharma (Buddhism)'').

★ In Protestant Christian theology, a 'dispensation' is a distinctive arrangement or period in which the purpose of God is worked out. A number of organizations and confessions recognize dispensation as a type of administration.^[1]. Dispensationalism though is a specific Christian theological view that teaches specific periods of time called 'dispensations' form the framework through which God relates to mankind.

★ In Mormonism, a 'dispensation' is a period of time where one or more men designated as holding the priesthood are responsible for "dispensing the gospel" to people on the earth.^[2] See also ''Dispensation of the fulness of times''.

★ In the Bahá'í Faith, a 'dispensation' is a period of progressive revelation relating to the major religions of humanity.^[3]