Confirmation
In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. For adults, it is an affirmation of belief.[1] It involves laying on of hands.
For other uses, see Confirmation (disambiguation).
Catholicism views confirmation as a sacrament. The sacrament is called chrismation in the Eastern Christianity. In the East it is conferred immediately after baptism. In Western Christianity, confirmation is ordinarily administered when a child reaches the age of reason or early adolescence. When an adult is baptized, the sacrament is conferred immediately after baptism in the same ceremony. Among those Christians who practice teen-aged confirmation, the practice may be perceived, secondarily, as a "coming of age" rite.[2][3]
In many Protestant denominations, such as the Anglican, Lutheran, Methodist and Reformed traditions, confirmation is a rite that often includes a profession of faith by an already baptized person. Confirmation is required by Lutherans, Anglicans and other traditional Protestant denominations for full membership in the respective church.[4][5][6] In Catholic theology, by contrast, it is the sacrament of baptism that confers membership, while "reception of the sacrament of Confirmation is necessary for the completion of baptismal grace".[7] The Catholic and Methodist denominations teach that in confirmation, the Holy Spirit strengthens a baptized individual for their faith journey.[8][9]
Confirmation is not practiced in Baptist, Anabaptist and other groups that teach believer's baptism. Thus, the sacrament or rite of confirmation is administered to those being received from those aforementioned groups, in addition to those converts from non-Christian religions.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) does not practice infant baptism, but individuals can be baptized after they reach the "age of accountability". Confirmation in the LDS Church occurs shortly following baptism, which is not considered complete or fully efficacious until confirmation is received.[10]
There is an analogous ceremony also called confirmation in Reform Judaism.
Confirmation name[edit]
In many countries, it is customary for a person being confirmed in some dioceses of Catholic Church and in parts of Lutheranism and Anglicanism to adopt a new name, generally the name of a biblical character or saint, thus securing an additional patron saint as protector and guide.[78] This practice is not mentioned in the official liturgical book of the rite of confirmation and is not in use in Spanish and French-speaking lands, nor in Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands or the Philippines. Although some insist on the custom,[79] it is discouraged by others and in any case is only a secondary aspect of confirmation.[80]
As indicated by the different senses of the word christening, baptism and the giving of a personal name have traditionally been linked. At confirmation, in which the intervention of a godparent strengthens a resemblance with baptism, it became customary to take a new name, as was also the custom on other occasions, in particular that of religious profession. King Henry III of France (1551–1589) was christened Edouard Alexandre in 1551, but at confirmation received the name Henri, by which he afterwards reigned. Today usually no great use is made of the confirmation name, although some treat it as an additional middle name. For example, A Song of Ice and Fire author George R. R. Martin was born George Raymond Martin, but added his confirmation name Richard as a second middle name. However, even after the English Reformation, the legal system of that country admitted the lawfulness of using one's confirmation name in, for instance, purchasing land.[81]
Repetition of the sacrament or rite[edit]
The Catholic Church sees confirmation as one of the three sacraments that no one can receive more than once (see sacramental character). It recognizes as already confirmed those who enter the Catholic Church after receiving the sacrament, even as babies, in the churches of Eastern Christianity, but it confers the sacrament (in its view, for the first and only time) on those who enter the Catholic Church after being confirmed in Protestant churches, seeing these churches as lacking properly ordained ministers.[82]
In the Lutheran Churches, those individuals who received the sacrament of baptism according to the Trinitarian formula in a non-Lutheran church are confirmed as Lutherans, ordinarily during the Easter Vigil—the first liturgy of Eastertide.[83] The rite of confirmation is preceded by a period of catechetical instruction.[84]
In the Anglican Communion, a person who was previously confirmed in another denomination by a bishop or priest recognized as validly ordained is "received" rather than confirmed again. Some dioceses of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America recognize non-episcopal Confirmations as well and these individuals are received into the Anglican Communion rather than re-confirmed.[85] In other dioceses, confirmations of those Christian denominations are recognized if they have a valid apostolic succession in the eyes of the Anglican Communion (e.g. Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Catholic Church, etc.).[86]
Eastern Orthodox churches occasionally practise what is seen by other Christians as "re-Chrismation", in that they usually chrismate/confirm – and sometimes rebaptize – a convert, even one previously confirmed in other churches. The justification is that the new Chrismation (or baptism) is the only valid one, the earlier one being administered outside of the Church and hence being little more than a symbol. The Eastern Orthodox will also chrismate an apostate from the Orthodox Church who repents and re-enters communion. According to some interpretations, the Eastern churches therefore view confirmation/Chrismation as a repeatable sacrament. According to others, the rite is understood as "part of a process of reconciliation, rather than as a reiteration of post-baptismal chrismation".[87]