How do ApplicationContextInitializer, BeanFactoryPostProcessor, and BeanPostProcessor execute during the Spring lifecycle?

ApplicationContextInitializer runs earliest, before the context is refreshed at all (can add property sources, register listeners). BeanFactoryPostProcessor runs after bean DEFINITIONS are loaded but before any bean is INSTANTIATED (can modify definitions). BeanPostProcessor runs around each individual bean's instantiation (can wrap the actual bean instances, e.g. for AOP proxies).