# The Liturgy of Confirmation: A gift of the Holy Spirit or a Profession of Faith?

Isabelle Bore

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Isabelle Bore. The Liturgy of Confirmation: A gift of the Holy Spirit or a Profession of Faith?. The Book of Common Prayer: généalogie, réception et influences de la liturgie anglicane dans l'occident chrétien, CORPUS EA 4295 et Culture et Religion dans les Pays Anglophones, Sep 2012, AMIENS, France. hal-04301259

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Submitted on 22 Nov 2023

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Isabelle BORE

Université de Picardie-Jules Verne

# THE RITE OF CONFIRMATION : A GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
## OR A PROFESSION OF FAITH ?

First of all, I'd like to thank the organizers of this conference for giving me the opportunity to present this paper.

I entitled this paper : the rite of Confirmation : a gift of the Holy Spirit or a Profession of Faith ? Actually, I had the idea of presenting this paper after reading about recent discussions both in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Protestant Churches (The French Reformed Church and the Lutheran Church) as to the future of the rite of Confirmation and I found it interesting to investigate the reasons for these theological disorders. In this perspective, we'll study the history of the Confirmation rite and we'll compare different denominations in order to see why the Roman Catholic Church and the Protestant Churches are in trouble whereas the Anglican Church doesn't seem to be concerned with these questions. So, we'll focus first on the practice of Confirmation from the early ages of the Church to the Middle Ages, then, we'll study the theological uncertainties underlying this practice and finally, we'll assess to what extent these uncertainties provoked the deconstruction of the rite at the time of the Reformation and its reconstruction according to three different lines.

### 1) From the early ages of the Church to the Middle Ages

#### A) *A few historical landmarks*

In the early ages of the Church, Confirmation was part of the rite of initiation, and therefore was administered immediately after Baptism. The Apostles and, later, the bishop administered all three sacraments of initiation (Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist),
assisted by the priests and deacons. The post-Baptismal chrismation in particular was reserved to the bishop. As christianism developed, it became impossible for the bishops to go on administering all three sacraments. The Eastern Churches chose to maintain the unity of all three sacraments by allowing priests to administer Confirmation. The Western Churches found a different solution as they chose to keep a direct link between the person being initiated and the bishop. The sacrament of Confirmation was separated from that of Baptism and the chrismation was delayed until the bishop could confer it. Until the XIIth century, bishops often continued to confer Confirmation before giving Communion to very young children but after the Fourth Lateran Council (1215), Communion, which continued to be given only after Confirmation, was to be administered only on reaching the age of reason.

### B) *The rite of Confirmation in the British Isles*

The British Isles have nothing exceptional. St Cuthbert's biographers report that the Confirmation of the newly baptized was made an important part of the bishop's duty. They mention journeys undertaken by St Cuthbert mainly with this object and they note that children were brought to him for Confirmation from the secluded parts of the country.

Apart from these elements derived from the Life of St Cuthbert, there is nothing specific concerning this sacrament before the Pontifical of Egbert, Archbishop of York. This text dating back to the eighth century is considered as one of the oldest prescriptions for administering the sacrament but it was only during the thirteenth century, in the wake of the fourth Lateran council that strict measures were really taken to secure the proper administration of the sacrament. In general, the councils and synods direct the priest to admonish the people regarding the Confirmation of their children and they insist on the necessity to receive this sacrament early. Thus the Synod of Worcester (1240) decreed that parents who neglected to have their child confirmed within a year after birth should be forbidden to enter the church. The Synod of Exeter (1287) enacted that children should be confirmed within three years from birth, otherwise the parents were to fast on bread and water until they complied with the law. At the Synod of Durham the time was extended to the seventh year.
### C) The rite of Confirmation in the Western Churches

The rite consisted of imposition of hands, anointing, and accompanying words, usually a prayer calling upon God to send down the Holy Ghost and confer upon the neophytes the seven gifts: reverence, understanding, courage, knowledge, wisdom, awe, wonder and right judgment. By this rite the Holy Ghost was conferred upon those already baptized, and a mark or seal was impressed upon their souls. At that time, the sacrament of Confirmation was undoubtedly a gift of the Holy Spirit producing spiritual cognition.

## 2) Theological uncertainties

### A) A sacrament

Even if there was a general agreement on the necessity to receive this sacrament, it doesn't mean that this sacrament didn't raise any questions. The main problem lay in the definition of what a sacrament is. The Roman Catholic Church defined the sacraments as "an outward sign instituted by Christ to give grace". It's the second element of the definition ie the institution by Christ which was discussed far before the Reformation.

### B) Certainties

The Fathers can't help to solve the problem of the origin of the sacrament because they considered that the rites of initiation were instituted by Christ and they didn't enter into any minute discussion as to the time, place and manner of the institution. It's necessary to wait until the Schoolmen to see a discussion of the institution of Confirmation. This discussion was made possible by the clarification as to the number of the sacraments and by a more exact definition of what a sacrament is. The theologians started from the fact that there was in the Church a ceremony of anointing with chrism accompanied with the words "I sign thee with the sign of the cross". This ceremony was performed by the bishop only and couldn't be repeated. When they came to examine the doctrine underlying this practice, they all admitted that it was a sacrament. So strongly did they insist upon the principle *Lex orandi, lex credendi* that they took for granted that the anointing must be the matter, and the words "I sign thee", the form, and that no one but a bishop could be the valid minister. But when they came to justify this doctrine by the authority of Scripture they met the difficulty that no mention is made there either of the anointing or of the words.
### C) The problem raised by the lack of biblical evidence

Indeed, if we have a look at the Bible, we notice that there are very few passages dealing with what could be linked with a rite of Confirmation. You'll find the passages used by the Schoolmen in the hand-out given to you. From the first two quotes<fnref n="1" /> we learn that in the earliest ages of the Church there was a rite, different from Baptism, in which the Holy Ghost was conferred by the imposition of hands and that the power to perform the ceremony was not implied in the power to baptize. Nothing is said as to the origin of this rite and no mention is made of anointing with chrism even if the idea of unction is commonly associated with the giving of the Holy Ghost (quotes 3 to 5)<fnref n="2" />. In the last quote<fnref n="3" />, there is an allusion to the ceremony of Christian initiation but the ceremony is considered to be so well known to the faithful that no further description is necessary. This account of the practice and teaching of the Apostles proves only that the ceremony was no mere examination of those already baptized, no mere profession of faith or renewal of Baptismal promises.

### D) Solutions ?

In spite of this lack of biblical elements, the Schoolmen tried to solve three questions: the institution of the sacrament, the determination of the matter and form, the reservation of the rite to bishops. Regarding the institution there were three opinions. The Dominican School taught that Christ Himself was the immediate author of Confirmation. Earlier writers (e.g Hugh of St Victor and Peter Lombard) held that it was instituted by the Holy Ghost through the instrumentality of the Apostles. The Franciscans also maintained that the Holy Ghost was the author, but that He acted either through the Apostles or through the Church after the death of the Apostles.

The question of the institution of the sacrament is intimately linked with the determination of the matter and form. All agreed that these consisted of the anointing (including the act of placing the hand upon the candidate and the words, "I sign thee", or "I confirm thee"). The question was to know whether this action and these words were of divine, of Apostolic, or of merely ecclesiastical origin. St. Albertus held that both were ordained by Christ Himself; others that they were the work of the Church; but the common opinion was that they were of Apostolic origin. St. Thomas was of opinion that

<footnote n="1">¹ - Ac 8:14-17 and Ac 19:1-6</footnote>

<footnote n="2">² - Luke 4:18; Ac 10:38; 1 John 2:20-27</footnote>

<footnote n="3">³ - He 6:1-4</footnote>
the Apostles actually made use of chrism and the words, *Consigno te*, and that they did so by Christ's order. The silence of Scripture needn't surprise us, he says, (quote 7)"for the Apostles observed many things in the administration of the sacraments which are not handed down by the Scriptures" (*Summa Theologiae* III.72.3).

As far as the reservation of the rite to bishops is concerned the Schoolmen explained that as the sacrament is a sort of completion of Baptism, it is fitting that it should be conferred by "one who has the highest power in the Church" (*Summa Theologiae* III.72.11). They were aware, however, that in the primitive Church simple priests sometimes administered the sacrament. This they accounted for by the fewness of bishops, and they recognized that the validity of such administration is a matter of ecclesiastical jurisdiction. (quote 7)

Although the various questions were set forth very clearly, it didn't produce unanimity; rather it served to bring out the uncertainty with regard to them all. The Reformers were to use these uncertainties to question Confirmation as a sacrament and as a gift of the Holy Spirit.

### 3) The impact of the Reformation

#### A) *The Protestant Churches*

The Protestant Reformers, influenced by their rejection of all that couldn't be clearly proved from Scripture and by their doctrine of justification by faith only, refused to admit that Confirmation was a sacrament. This is Luther's position in the *De Captivitate Babylonica*. According to the Confession of Augsburg, it was instituted by the Church, and it doesn't have the promise of the grace of God. In the *Loci Communes Rerum theologicarum* Melanchthon taught that it was a vain ceremony, and was formerly nothing but a catechism in which those who were approaching adolescence gave an account of their faith before the Church. In his *Commentary on the Colossians*, he added that the minister was not a bishop only, but any priest whatsoever.

It doesn't mean, however, that Confirmation was abolished. Actually, it was adapted to the new faith and it survived to the present day. It consists of the examination by the candidate of the profession of faith made for him at the time of his Baptism by his godparents. This public profession of faith is prepared for by long and careful instruction. In English, it's called "affirmation of Baptism", and it's a mature and public profession of
the faith which “marks the completion of the congregation’s program of Confirmation ministry”<fnref n="4" />. Therefore, Confirmation isn’t considered as a sacrament or a means of conferring divine grace. It’s seen as a rite of passage or initiation to full Christian discipleship. It’s a symbolic act giving the baptised person the opportunity to make a mature statement of faith. By the way, to show the distinction between the Lutheran rite and the Catholic sacrament the German language uses for Lutheran Confirmation a different word (*Konfirmation*) from the word used for the sacramental rite of the Catholic Church (*Firmung*).

### B) *The Roman Catholic Church*

Shaken by the Protestant dissent, the Roman Catholic Church had to reassert its faith. It was the mission of the Council of Trent. But at the time of the Council the difficulty was felt to be so great that the assembled Fathers contented themselves with only a few canons on the subject. They defined that Confirmation was not "a vain ceremony but a true and proper sacrament"; and that it was not "in olden days nothing but a sort of catechism in which those who were entering upon youth gave an account of their faith in the face of the Church" (can. i). They didn't define anything specific about the institution by Christ; though in treating of the sacraments in general they had already defined that "all the sacraments of the New Law were instituted by Christ our Lord" (Sess. VII, can. i). Nothing whatever was said about the form of words to be used; and regarding the matter they merely condemned any one who should maintain "that they who ascribe any virtue to the sacred chrism of Confirmation offer an outrage to the Holy Ghost" (can. ii). Elsewhere (Sess. VII, can. ix) the council defined that in Confirmation a character is imprinted in the soul, that is, a certain spiritual and indelible sign on account of which the sacrament cannot be repeated; and again (Sess. XXIII) the council declared that "bishops are superior to priests; they administer the Sacrament of Confirmation; they ordain the ministers of the Church; and they can perform many other things over which functions others of an inferior rank have no power". This guarded language, so different from the definite canons on some of the other sacraments, shows that the council had no intention of deciding the questions at issue among theologians regarding the time and manner of the institution by Christ (direct or indirect institution), the matter (imposition of hands or anointing, or both), the form ("I sign thee", etc., or "the seal", etc.), and the minister (bishop or priest).

<footnote n="4">⁴ - Lutheran Book of Worship, *Ministers Desk Edition*, p.324</footnote>
Unlike what takes place in the Protestant churches, the rite focuses clearly on the gift on the Holy Spirit. The bishop prays that each person will receive the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit: 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 in Advent and first Holy Communion the following Easter.

### C) *The Anglican Church*

As for the Anglican Church, it combined the specificities of the Protestant and the Roman Catholic churches. The XVIth century Thirty-Nine Articles (quote 9) list Confirmation among those rites "commonly called Sacraments" which are "not to be counted for Sacraments of the Gospel ... for it has not the like nature of sacraments with Baptism and the Lord's Supper, for it has not any visible sign of ceremony ordained of God" (Art xxv). Confirmation is a "commonly called Sacrament" because it wasn't directly instituted by Christ with a specific matter and form and it isn't necessary to salvation. The language of the Articles has led some to deny that Confirmation and the other rites are sacraments at all. However, "commonly called sacrament" doesn't mean "wrongly called sacrament" and the Ritualistic party made good use of the loophole left by the wording of article xxv to make Confirmation more than a formal rite. The comparison of the different
prayer books reveal these hesitations going from the complete rejection of the Catholic
doctrine and practice (1549) to a near approach to these (1662). I have no time to give
examples but testimonies could easily be quoted for either of these opinions.

If we have a look at the rite of Confirmation described in the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, we notice that like the Lutheran Churches, the Anglican church retains “the Confirmation of children, by examining them of their knowledge in their articles of faith and joining thereto the prayers of the Church for them.” (Homily on Common Prayers and Sacraments p. 300). The Book of Common Prayer Confirmation rite requires candidate to renew the solemn promise 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. Then, the bishop lays hands on the candidates and 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.

Even if it's part of the Anglican Confirmation service, the renewal of the Baptismal promises is in no way necessary to Confirmation and can be done more than once. When Confirmation is given early, candidates may be asked to make a fresh renewal of promises when they approach adult life at about eighteen. The unfortunate phrase “ratify and confirm” applied to the promises since 1552 (but altered in the 1928 revision to ‘ratify and confess’) has led to the common error that Confirmation is only the renewal of Baptismal promises. If it were, there would be no need for the presence of a bishop. And Anglicans are unique in Christianity in that only bishops may administer Confirmation, unlike the Roman Catholic Church where, in the Latin Rite, Confirmation conferred by a priest is valid “if he has the faculty to do so, either from the general law or by way of a special grant from the competent authority”, and, in the Eastern Rites, Confirmation is usually administered by a priest immediately after Baptism, as is the practice also of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Therefore, unlike what happens in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Lutheran Churches, Confirmation in the Anglican Church has two aspects. 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. In this sense it's a profession of faith. But it's also a gift of the Holy Spirit since 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.
To conclude, we may say that the Rite of Confirmation had to face two main revolutions. The first one occurred in the Middle Ages when it was decided to divide Christian Initiation into two different rites. The second one took place in early modern Europe when the different Churches had to decide whether Confirmation was a gift of the Holy spirit or a personal profession of faith. Protestants formalized their dissent: the personal commitment that the profession of faith represented was given pride of place. Sacramental grace was given by Baptism and the Eucharist. Confirmation, which was seen an unbiblical invention and a source of superstitious practices, was used as a profession of faith late in childhood. Catholics kept Confirmation as a gift of the Holy Spirit. It was therefore logical to receive the sacrament as early as possible, the age of reason being the deadline. Anglicans chose a middle way. They integrated modern subjectivism while keeping the traditional medieval coherence. Confirmation and First Communion given by the bishop were both a profession of faith and a gift of the Holy Spirit. The balance reached by the association of tradition and modernity may inspire the other two denominations as they are thinking of a renewal of their rites of Confirmation. Through ecumenical channels it could help Protestants to reintroduce the Holy Ghost in their rite while convincing Roman Catholics of going back to the traditional order – Baptism, Confirmation, the Eucharist – for Christian Initiation. Perhaps it'll be the third revolution of the Rite of Confirmation. Watch this space!

Thank you for your attention!