Confirmation

Confirmation is a rite used in many Christian Churches. Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox and other Oriental Churches, as well as some Anglicans view it as a sacrament. In the East it is conferred on infants immediately after baptism, while in the West it is usually conferred later. Those Protestant churches which use the rite tend to see it rather as a mature statement of faith by a person already baptised, usually an adolescent, and thus as a rite of passage.

Roman Catholic view

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 speaks of the coming of the Holy Spirit on 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 full communion with the Catholic Church.

One of the effects of the sacrament is that "it gives us 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, 1303).[1] This effect has been described as making the confirmed person "a soldier of Christ".[2]

The same passage of the Catechism of the Catholic Church also mentions, as an effect of Confirmation, that "it renders our bond with the Church more perfect". This mention stresses the importance of participation in the Christian community.

The "soldier of Christ" imagery, which remains valid[3] but is downplayed if seen as part of the once common idea of Confirmation as a "sacrament of maturity"[4], was used as far back as 350, by St Cyril of Jerusalem.[5] In this connection, the touch on the cheek that the bishop gave while saying "Pax tecum" (Peace be with you) to the person he had just confirmed was interpreted in the Roman Pontifical as a slap, a reminder to be brave in spreading and defending the faith: "Deinde leviter eum in maxilla caedit, dicens: Pax tecum" (Then he strikes him lightly on the cheek, saying: Peace be with you). When, in application of the Second Vatican Council's Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy,[6] the Confirmation rite was revised in 1971, mention of this gesture was omitted. However, the French and Italian translations, indicating that the bishop should accompany the words "Peace be with you" with "a friendly gesture" (French text) or "the sign of peace" (Italian text), explicitly allow a gesture such as the touch on the cheek, to which they restore its original meaning.

Information on other effects and broader matters concerning this sacrament can be found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1285-1321.

Orthodox views

Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox prefer to speak of this sacrament, which they closely link with baptism, as Chrismation in English, a term that Roman Catholics too use in Italian ("cresima"). These Churches confer chrismation along with baptism, as do Eastern Rite Catholics. The Roman Catholic Church does not confirm converts to Catholicism who have been chrismated in an Eastern Church, considering that the sacrament has been validly conferred and may not be repeated. When Roman Catholics (and some Protestants) convert to Orthodoxy, they are admitted by chrismation, without baptism; but, since this is a matter of local episcopal discretion, a bishop may require all converts to 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.

Anglican/Episcopal and Lutheran views

The traditional view of the Anglican Communion, expressed in the Thirty-Nine Articles, is that Confirmation is not a dominical sacrament of the Gospel but, rather, 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 as a sacrament, and the Thirty-Nine Articles do not preclude this interpretation, since they only state that there are two sacraments absolutely necessary for salvation.

"The minister of confirmation is a bishop, directly or indirectly. In the Anglican Communion the bishop alone may give confirmation. ... The renewal of the baptismal vows, which is part of the Anglican confirmation service, is in no way necessary to confirmation and can be done more than once. The unfortunate phrase 'ratify and confirm' applied to the vows since 1552 (but altered in the 1928 revision to 'ratify and confess') has led to the common error that confirmation is merely the renewal of baptismal vows. (If it were, there would be no need for the presence of a bishop.) When confirmation is given early, candidates may be asked to make a fresh renewal of vows when they approach adult life at about eighteen."[7]

Anglican doctrine thus differs from Lutheran. Lutheran confirmation (in German, Konfirmation) is a public profession of faith prepared for by long and careful instruction, while the sacramental rite, called by the Western term of "Confirmation" and the Eastern of "Chrismation", is in German called "Firmung".[8] In English, the ceremony of Konfirmation is called "Affirmation of Baptism", 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). The German-language Wikipedia article linked to the present one in English concerns Firmung, the sacrament; a separate article, Konfirmation describes the history and practice of the non-sacramental ceremony in use in Lutheran and other Protestant Churches in place of the Catholic sacrament.

In Lutheran Churches only Baptism and the Eucharist are regarded as dominical sacraments of the Gospel.

Reformed-Protestant views

In other 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 sacramental validity of Protestant confirmations, and therefore does confirm converts from Protestantism.

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.

Repetition of the sacrament

Western Christians do not normally confirm anyone who has already been confirmed, just as they do not typically baptize anyone twice. The Roman Catholic Church sees confirmation as one of the three sacraments that no one can receive more than once; see sacramental character. Eastern Orthodox Churches occasionally practise "re-chrismation", in that they usually chrismate/confirm a convert, even one previously confirmed, and administer Chrismation again to an apostate from the Orthodox Church who re-enters communion.

External links

• Catholic Sacrament of Confirmation - Initiation
• Information and Forum for Roman Catholics About to Receive Confirmation
• Catholic Encyclopedia - Catholic teaching on Confirmation
• Catechism of Filaret, 307-314 - Eastern Orthodox teaching on Confirmation/Unction with Chrism/Chrismation
• Anglican teaching on Confirmation