Confirmation (sacrament)

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Confirmation is a rite used in many Christian churches. Though beliefs about confirmation differ among traditions, it is commonly seen as a mature statement of faith of a person already baptised. Customarily, it is done during adolescence, and, as such, is often seen as a rite of passage. In some traditions, confirmation is seen as a sacrament.

1 Roman Catholic views
2 Orthodox views
3 Anglican/Episcopal and Lutheran views
4 Reformed-Protestant views
5 Latter-day Saint views
6 Each person is confirmed at most once
7 External links

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Roman Catholic views

In the Roman Catholic Church, Confirmation or Chrismation is one of the seven sacraments instituted by Christ for the conferral of sanctifying grace and the strengthening of the union between individual souls and God.

In Catholic teaching, the effect of the sacrament is the special outpouring of the Holy Spirit, as once granted to the apostles on the day of Pentecost. Confirmation brings an increase and deepening of the grace of Baptism - this is why the sacrament is called "confirmation" - rooting us more deeply in the divine filiation which makes us cry, "Abba! Father!" (Romans 8:15), uniting us more firmly to Christ, increasing the gifts of the Holy Spirit in us, rendering more perfect our link with the Church, and giving a special strength of the Holy Spirit to spread and defend the faith by word and action as true witnesses of Christ, to confess the name of Christ boldly, and never to be ashamed of the Cross (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1302-1303].

The roots of Confirmation are found in Acts of the Apostles 8:14-17, "Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent them Peter and John, who went down and prayed for them, that they might receive the holy Spirit, for it had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid hands on them and they received the holy Spirit." See also the Gospel of Saint John, chapter 14 where Christ discusses the coming of the Holy Spirit with the Apostles.

In the Latin-Rite (i.e., Western) Catholic Church, the sacrament is customarily conferred only on persons old enough to understand it, and the ordinary minister of Confirmation is a bishop. Only for a serious reason may the diocesan bishop delegate a priest to administer the sacrament (canon 884 of the Code of Canon Law). However, a priest may by law confer the sacrament if he baptizes someone who is no longer an infant or admits a person already baptized to full communion, or if the person (adult or child) to be confirmed is in danger of death (canon 883).

In Eastern-Rite Roman Catholic Churches, the usual minister of this sacrament is the parish priest, using olive oil consecrated by a bishop (i.e., chrism), and administering the sacrament immediately after Baptism.

"The practice of the Eastern Churches gives greater emphasis to the unity of Christian initiation. That of the Latin Church more clearly expresses the communion of the new Christian with the bishop as guarantor and servant of the unity, catholicity and apostolicity of his Church, and hence the connection with the apostolic origins of Christ's Church" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1292).

Reserving administration of the sacrament to a bishop, who cannot be present at every infant Baptism, means that large groups of older children and young adults are confirmed together, making the occasion something of a rite of passage and an opportunity to profess personal commitment to the faith. However, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1308 warns: "Although Confirmation is sometimes called the 'sacrament of Christian maturity,' we must not confuse adult faith with the adult age of natural growth, nor forget that the baptismal grace is a grace of free, unmerited election and does not need 'ratification' to become effective."

In the early twentieth century, Pope Pius X encouraged the admission of children to reception of the Eucharist as soon as they reached the age of reason, in contrast to the later age at which they had been admitted for some centuries. Since the age for Confirmation remained as before, those being confirmed generally received the Eucharist several years earlier. However, the three sacraments of Christian initiation, Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist, are increasingly conferred, within the Latin-Rite Catholic Church, in the traditional order, which is obligatory when an adult is baptized.

The Catholic Church teaches that, like Baptism, Confirmation marks the recipient permanently, making it impossible to receive the sacrament twice. It accepts as valid a Confirmation conferred within Churches, such as the Eastern Orthodox Church, whose Holy Orders it sees as valid through the apostolic succession of their bishops. But it considers it necessary to administer the sacrament of Confirmation, in its view for the first and only time, to Protestants who are admitted to communion with the Catholic Church.

A fuller treatment of Roman Catholic teaching on this sacrament can be found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1285-1321.

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Orthodox views

In Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox churches, there is no direct theological analogue to the modern Anglican and Lutheran "confirmation". The Roman Catholic Church considers the Orthodox Church's practice of Chrismation to be an eastern equivalent of confirmation, and does not confirm converts to Catholicism who have been chrismated in an Eastern church, considering them already confirmed. Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches practice chrismation as part of the normal baptism, since it is seen as part-and-parcel, quite inseparable, though distinct, in the Orthodox theology of baptism. When Roman Catholics (and some Protestants) convert to Orthodoxy, they are admitted via Chrismation alone, but this is a matter of local episcopal discretion, and a bishop may require all converts be admitted by baptism if he deems it necessary. (Depending upon the form of the original baptism, some Protestants must be baptized upon conversion to Orthodoxy.)

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Anglican/Episcopal and Lutheran views

The traditional view of the Anglican Communion, taken from the Thirty-Nine Articles, is that Confirmation or Affirmation of Baptism is not a dominical sacrament of the Gospel but, rather, is a lesser sacramental rite. The Thirty-Nine articles recognise only two dominical sacraments of the Gospel, Baptism and the Eucharist; however, many Anglicans, particularly those in the Anglo-Catholic tradition, view Confirmation (chrismation) as a sacrament, and the Thirty-Nine Articles does not preclude this intrepretation, since it only states that there are two sacraments absolutely necessary for salvation. Only a bishop may administer the rite that is called "Confirmation," but the actual sacramental action, the chrismation, is usually administered by a priest immediately after baptism. If a person has been confirmed (chrismated) by a bishop in the apostolic succession, they may be received into the Anglican Communion, rather than being chrismated again when they convert to an Anglican church. In being received, the individual has severed ties to his or her former denomination and has become part of the Anglican Communion. Since the standard practice is that chrismation is conferred immediately following baptism, the rite known as "Confirmation" has come to be seen as a mature affirmation of the faith which is graced by the laying-on of the bishop's hands.

Until the 1960s, generally only Confirmed Anglicans were allowed to take Communion in an Anglican church. This has been changed in many Anglican churches to permit any baptised Christian to take Communion. As a result, adults who convert to Anglicanism do not have to be Confirmed unless they wish to be.

It is still standard that those baptised as either infants or as young children go through the Rite of Confirmation upon reaching an age of mature choice.

In Lutheran churches, as in Anglican, only Baptism and the Eucharist are regarded as the dominical sacraments of the Gospel. Like Anglicans, Lutherans confer chrismation, which is considered a sacramental rite, immediately following Baptism, even of infants. The rite of Affirmation of Baptism is considered a mature and public profession of the faith which "marks the completion of the congregation's program of confirmation ministry" (Lutheran Book of Worship - Ministers Desk Edition, p.324).

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Reformed-Protestant views

In Protestant churches, confirmation is often called a "rite" rather than a sacrament, and is held to be merely symbolic rather than an effective means of conferring divine grace. The Roman Catholic Church does not recognize the validity of Protestant confirmations, and therefore do confirm converts from Protestantism.

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Latter-day Saint views

In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, confirmation is considered a necessary saving ordinance and is typically administered shortly after baptism. One or more Melchizedek Priesthood holders place their hands on the person's head and one of them says the words of the ordinance, adding any additional words of blessing or advice as he feels inspired. Through confirmation, a person becomes an official member of the Church and receives the Gift of the Holy Ghost.

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Each person is confirmed at most once

Western Christians do not normally confirm anyone who has already been confirmed, just as they do not typically baptize anyone twice. Roman Catholics have made it an explicit dogma that confirmation is one of the three sacraments that no one may receive more than once; see sacramental character. On the other hand, the Orthodox insist that chrismation upon conversion is necessary.

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