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Sacrament of confirmation

Confirmation

Confirmation is a sacrament, ritual or rite of passage practised by several Christian denominations. The word means strengthening or deepening one's relationship with God.

Confirmation is a popular practice in the Roman Catholic, Anglican and Orthodox Churches where infant baptism is also performed. It enables a baptised person to confirm the promises made on their behalf at baptism. It is also a sign of full membership to the Christian community.

In Christian confirmation, a baptised person believes that he or she is receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit. A bishop usually conducts the service but there are variations in how it is carried out.

In the Anglican Church, the sacrament of confirmation is conferred through the laying of hands. In the Roman Catholic Church, each participant is also anointed with oil.

In Protestant denominations outside the Church of England, confirmation is seen as a rite of passage or initiation to full Christian discipleship. It is a symbolic act allowing the baptised person to make a mature statement of faith. Confirmation is not regarded as a sacrament or a means of conferring divine grace.

Confirmation can be held at any age. In the Eastern Churches, it is conferred on infants straight after baptism. In the West, most denominations insist that participants are old enough to understand the significance of their promises.

Christians believe Jesus instituted the sacrament or rite of confirmation when he promised to send another counsellor to empower his disciples to bear witness. (John 14:16; John 15:26; John 16:13).

The roots of the practice of confirmation are found in the Acts of the Apostles:

Preparing for confirmation

Confirmation candidates attend a series of special classes to learn about the sacrament, their faith and Christian responsibilities.

Confirmation preparation helps candidates to have a proper understanding of how to live as a follower of Christ.

At one time, candidates were required to learn a series of questions and answers by heart known as the catechism.

Today's classes are more comprehensive and the particular needs of candidates will be borne in mind.

Where confirmation takes place

Most Christians are confirmed in the church they normally attend. People can also be confirmed in another church where a large group of candidates from different churches come together.

Catholic and Orthodox confirmation

Roman Catholic Church

The majority of Catholics are baptised as babies before they are old enough to understand what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. Their parents and godparents promise to bring them up in the Christian faith following Jesus's example.

When they reach an age where they are able to understand the difficulties and challenges of living out the Christian faith, they are invited to confirm the promises made on their behalf at baptism through confirmation.

In most Catholic churches today, Catholics are confirmed when they are about 14 years old. The sacrament of confirmation is often held on Pentecost Sunday when Christians celebrate the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles.

Catholics believe confirmation is one of seven sacraments instituted by Christ. The effect of the sacrament of confirmation is a special outpouring of the Spirit as granted to the apostles on the day of Pentecost.

A bishop usually confers confirmation although a priest is sometimes allowed to administer the sacrament if a person has already been baptised into another Christian Church and is entering into full communion with the Catholic Church through confirmation. A priest is also allowed to confer the sacrament if a person (adult or child) is in danger of death. (Code of Canon Law, canon 884)

As the sacrament is usually reserved to a bishop, it is common in the Catholic Church to confirm large groups of older children and young adults together during Mass.

The bishop lays his hands on the head of each candidate. This is a sign that he is appointing them to be true witnesses to Christ.

The bishop prays that each person will receive the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit: reverence, understanding, courage, knowledge, wisdom, awe and wonder and right judgment.

He makes the sign of the cross on their foreheads with holy chrism oil. This is a sign of strength and a reminder of their commitment to follow Christ even to the cross.

In many English-speaking countries, candidates will take the name of a saint. The saint will act as a patron and guide to the person seeking confirmation. Candidates will usually devote time during their confirmation classes to choosing a saint who particularly inspires them.

Catholics are usually confirmed after they have received their first Holy Communion. However, this is not the traditional order for conferring the three sacraments of Christian initiation. When an adult is initiated into the Catholic Church, he or she must receive baptism, confirmation and Holy Communion in that order.

In some parts of the world, Catholic dioceses are returning to the traditional order, allowing children to be confirmed before they receive their first Holy Communion for the first time at the age of seven or eight.

In Salford diocese, which oversees Catholic churches in towns and villages in Greater Manchester, Merseyside and Lancashire, the former bishop, Patrick Kelly, decided to reinstate the symbolic context of confirmation.

After infant baptism, children in parishes throughout the diocese would be confirmed at the age of eight at Pentecost. They would make their first confession (sacrament of reconciliation) in advent and first Holy Communion the following Easter.

This is theologically acceptable because a bishop can delegate his apostolic power to priests.

But such an arrangement means that the bishop confirms fewer people. In other Catholic dioceses in this country, the bishop will normally confirm any baptised person who seeks confirmation in one of several mass ceremonies held throughout the year.

Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Churches

Eastern Churches refer to confirmation as Chrismation. They confer Chrismation at the same time as baptism. This is also the practice of Eastern Rite Catholics. (An Eastern rite Catholic is in union with the Pope but is not a member of the Roman Catholic Church).

The special relationship between Roman Catholics and members of the Eastern Churches means that the Catholic Church does not confirm converts from the Eastern rite.

By contrast, when Roman Catholics and Protestants convert to Orthodoxy, they are usually received into the Church by Chrismation but without baptism.

However, some bishops require converts to be admitted through baptism. Protestants, in particular, may have to be baptised again.

Church of England, Methodist, Baptist confirmation

Church of England

Some of the practices surrounding confirmation in the Church of England are similar to the Roman Catholic Church but only the bishop can confer the sacrament.

Traditionally, confirmation was part of a wider ceremony of Christian initiation in the Church of England. It only became a separate rite when bishops were no longer able to preside at all baptisms.

Anglicans who choose to be confirmed make a further commitment to the Christian journey that began with their baptism. It marks their decision to live a responsible and committed Christian life.

Through prayer and the laying of hands, the bishop asks God to send his Holy Spirit to give them the strength to live as disciples of Christ.

Like baptism, there are two different types of confirmation services in the Church of England. There are those that follow the confirmation rite in The Book of Common Prayer and those that follow the confirmation rite from the Common Worship pattern.

The Book of Common Prayer confirmation rite requires candidates to:

• Renew the solemn promise and vow made on their behalf at baptism. The bishop then leads the people in a prayer asking God to strengthen those confirmed with the Holy Spirit and asks they be given the seven gifts of God's grace mentioned in Isaiah (see above).
• The laying on of hands by the bishop followed by a prayer
• The bishop leads prayers to God the Father asking that the Holy Spirit will be with those confirmed and that they will be led to eternal life.

The Common Worship rite follows many of the same basic elements of The Book of Common Prayer but is longer.

• In this rite the bishop asks candidates to state whether they are ready to affirm their faith in Jesus Christ. Candidates may be invited to give a short testimony about how God has brought them to this point in their life.
• The bishop calls on candidates to renounce the devil and acts of evil.
• Candidates join with the bishop and the rest of the congregation to recite the Apostles' Creed as an expression of the Christian faith they are now affirming for themselves. They may be sprinkled with holy water as a reminder of their baptism.
• The bishop leads the people in praying for the Holy Spirit to rest upon those confirmed. He addresses each candidate by name and recites a special confirmation prayer.
• The bishop may commission the candidates, asking them to express their commitment to a life of Christian discipleship. Candidates may sometimes be anointed with oil as an additional sign of their anointing by the Holy Spirit.

In the Church of England, there is no set age for confirmation although it has been traditional for people to be confirmed in their early teens.

However, anyone who is old enough to answer responsibly for himself/herself and has received appropriate preparation can be confirmed.

In many dioceses, the local bishop has set a minimum age for confirmation.

Methodist Church

The Methodist Church offers the rite of confirmation for any member who wants to make a public statement of faith as a committed Christian.

Like Anglicans and Catholics, Methodists confirm the promises that were made on their behalf as a baby.

A minister conducts the confirmation service through the laying of hands and the following prayer: "Lord, confirm your servant by your Holy Spirit that he/she may continue yours forever."

Baptist Church

Confirmation does not take place in the Baptist Church where believers are baptised as adults through full immersion. A core belief is that the baptised makes a firm commitment to discipleship and the church.

Some Baptist churches may also be willing to re-baptise a person who has embraced the Christian faith although they were baptised as a baby into another denomination.