Confirmation

Confirmation, Affirmation, Reception is a church practice of what the Anglican Catechism calls “rites and sacraments.”

This practice (rite) is deeply charged “sites” of God’s grace. They are sacraments because they are visible signs that confirm an invisible / spiritual grace. Primary sacraments are Baptism and Eucharist, but we view confirmation, marriage, ordination, reconciliation, and unction (anointing of the sick).

There are tat least three reasons to be confirmed. First, if you wish to affirm or reaffirm your commitment to Christ. Second, if you wish to receive empowerment from the Holy Spirit. And third, if you wish to be recognized within the Great Tradition, joining more than 85 million people around the world.

For adults, confirmation is usually about deciding that the Anglican Tradition is where they belong and Luminous is where they hang their hat. Those confirmed in other liturgical denominations, would be received into the Episcopal / Anglican Way. While some shy away from calling Confirmation a sacrament, the witness of the church throughout the ages, especially in the Episcopal / Anglican world, has seen fit to uphold them as a vital means through which God mediates grace to us.

Where did Confirmation come from?

Confirmation arose out of the early church’s reflection on Scripture in connection to how one became a Christian. It was first used to describe what happened when a bishop would lay hands upon, pray for, and anoint the forehead of the newly baptized with oil, signifying the gift of the Holy Spirit. The newly baptized/confirmed would then proceed to receive their first Eucharist.

Gradually, in the western churches (Eastern Orthodox churches still confirm infants immediately upon Baptism), Confirmation became separable from Baptism. For Anglican churches, the normal course would be that you were baptized as an infant, and then as a teenager undergo instruction (catechesis), which prepared you for Confirmation.

In both Baptism and Confirmation, the Holy Spirit is present. (It’s a standard rule of Trinitarian theology that wherever there’s one person of the Trinity. In Baptism, the Spirit regenerates us into new life, marked as Christ’s own forever. In Confirmation, on the other hand, the Spirit deepens and strengthens life.

Teenagers & Confirmation

In the course of their spiritual development, those baptized at an early age are invited, when they are ready and have been duly prepared, to make a mature public affirmation of their faith and commitment to the responsibilities of their Baptism and to receive the laying on of hands by the bishop (BCP pg. 412)

In other words, for young adults, confirmation is usually about taking ownership of their baptismal covenant and professing what they believe. 

Fr. Chad walks Students through four Catechism classes each year. This invites them into Confirmation when appropriate.