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Confirmation |
One of the things that
I’ve been thinking about as we’ve worked on organizing this year’s
youth Confirmation Class is the question of how Confirmation, as a
practice and ritual, began. After all, most of us who grew up in
the Episcopal Church were confirmed as a matter of course. And
those of us who came into the church later might have chosen to be
confirmed as part of their decision to become Episcopalian. But
why is there such a thing as Confirmation, anyway?
Actually, confirmation was not part of the earliest church. The main reason for this was that in order to be Baptized, a preparation period of about 3 years was required. Only adults were baptized, not because there was any prejudice against infant baptism, but because in a world where Christianity was such a minority the odds of anyone being born in a Christian household were very small. There was no such thing as a ‘cradle Christian,’ because almost no one would have had two Christian parents.
In a world where the only people who are baptized are adults, and where those adults are only baptized after a 3-year period of instruction and formation, there was no need for confirmation. The bishop, who would have been bishop of only a small area, such as a city, would have done all the baptisms, and would have laid hands on all the candidates for baptism as part of the service. So for many years there was no separate confirmation.
Soon after the legalization of Christianity there came the problem of what to do with infants who were being raised in Christian households. In addition, as bishops acquired more territory to oversee, it became impossible for them to officiate at every baptism. It was at this point that infant baptism became an option, and that confirmation began to be separated from baptism.
In the Middle Ages, confirmation came to be seen as a ‘completion’ of baptism. While those who were baptized were part of the body of Christ, they were nonetheless not fully integrated into the church until after their confirmation. In some indefinable way, the idea came into being that without the bishop’s hands confirming someone, that person was not completely a member.
Today we have reached back to the early church’s understanding in many ways. Baptism, we say in our Prayer Book, is “full initiation by water and the Holy Spirit into Christ’s Body the Church” (298). Baptism is not a partial initiation requiring Confirmation to complete it. Baptism, by itself, is full and complete. (By the way, in the Episcopal Church we demonstrate this by allowing children to receive communion as soon as they and their parents are ready, at whatever age that may be).
So why do we bother with Confirmation at all? The answer there lies in that 3-year instruction period that early Christians were required to undergo before Baptism. Today we are in the happy circumstance of having many children born into Christian families, and for many of them it is entirely appropriate that their young child or baby be baptized as an infant. They are full and complete members of the Church from their earliest days. They are never on the outside, excluded, looking in.
But after the Sacrament of Baptism takes place, there is still a need for instruction, for teaching, for self-discovery. There is still a need for young people to have a chance to think critically about the vows that were made on their behalf when they were children. And there is still an opportunity for us all to realize that these people are members not only of our local parish church but also of the wider church, as symbolized in the Bishop.
As a result we here at St. Luke’s we have Confirmation ‘class’ for youth 9th grade and up who have not yet been confirmed. We are hoping that holding Confirmation off until 9th grade will allow the members of the group to do more than simply listen to lectures about the history of the Episcopal Church. We hope to have discussions, to learn about the vows that were taken for us in Baptism, and, most of all, to deepen our relationship with the Living Christ through the Spirit.
Actually, confirmation was not part of the earliest church. The main reason for this was that in order to be Baptized, a preparation period of about 3 years was required. Only adults were baptized, not because there was any prejudice against infant baptism, but because in a world where Christianity was such a minority the odds of anyone being born in a Christian household were very small. There was no such thing as a ‘cradle Christian,’ because almost no one would have had two Christian parents.
In a world where the only people who are baptized are adults, and where those adults are only baptized after a 3-year period of instruction and formation, there was no need for confirmation. The bishop, who would have been bishop of only a small area, such as a city, would have done all the baptisms, and would have laid hands on all the candidates for baptism as part of the service. So for many years there was no separate confirmation.
Soon after the legalization of Christianity there came the problem of what to do with infants who were being raised in Christian households. In addition, as bishops acquired more territory to oversee, it became impossible for them to officiate at every baptism. It was at this point that infant baptism became an option, and that confirmation began to be separated from baptism.
In the Middle Ages, confirmation came to be seen as a ‘completion’ of baptism. While those who were baptized were part of the body of Christ, they were nonetheless not fully integrated into the church until after their confirmation. In some indefinable way, the idea came into being that without the bishop’s hands confirming someone, that person was not completely a member.
Today we have reached back to the early church’s understanding in many ways. Baptism, we say in our Prayer Book, is “full initiation by water and the Holy Spirit into Christ’s Body the Church” (298). Baptism is not a partial initiation requiring Confirmation to complete it. Baptism, by itself, is full and complete. (By the way, in the Episcopal Church we demonstrate this by allowing children to receive communion as soon as they and their parents are ready, at whatever age that may be).
So why do we bother with Confirmation at all? The answer there lies in that 3-year instruction period that early Christians were required to undergo before Baptism. Today we are in the happy circumstance of having many children born into Christian families, and for many of them it is entirely appropriate that their young child or baby be baptized as an infant. They are full and complete members of the Church from their earliest days. They are never on the outside, excluded, looking in.
But after the Sacrament of Baptism takes place, there is still a need for instruction, for teaching, for self-discovery. There is still a need for young people to have a chance to think critically about the vows that were made on their behalf when they were children. And there is still an opportunity for us all to realize that these people are members not only of our local parish church but also of the wider church, as symbolized in the Bishop.
As a result we here at St. Luke’s we have Confirmation ‘class’ for youth 9th grade and up who have not yet been confirmed. We are hoping that holding Confirmation off until 9th grade will allow the members of the group to do more than simply listen to lectures about the history of the Episcopal Church. We hope to have discussions, to learn about the vows that were taken for us in Baptism, and, most of all, to deepen our relationship with the Living Christ through the Spirit.
Copyright © 2003, Joshua
H. Varner for St Luke's Episcopal Church
Confirmation classes at St. Luke's are
held periodically, usually once a year in the winter. Anyone
interested in attending should call or email the church office for
information about dates and times for the next class.