What is Confirmation?

Every year on the second Sunday of Advent, our bishop visits Incarnation. One of the most powerful moments of this annual visit is confirmation, when the bishop places his hands on a person's head and prays for the filling of the Holy Spirit. But what is confirmation?

Perhaps my favorite description of confirmation is "the ordination of the layperson." In confirmation, the bishop lays hands on a person and prays for the strengthening of the Holy Spirit for a life of service to God. In this way, confirmation is a rite of Christian maturity and mission, a public acknowledgement of the continuation of the Spirit's work in baptism.

During the baptism liturgy, we tell parents and godparents that when their baptized children have learned the Christian faith, they should "come to the bishop to be confirmed, to publicly claim the faith for their own and be further strengthened by the Holy Spirit to serve Christ and his kingdom" (Book of Common Prayer, p. 163). In other words, baptism is when the Holy Spirit births a person into the body of Christ. Confirmation is when the Holy Spirit strengthens that person for a lifetime of continual growing and deepening in the Christian faith.

This strengthening by the Spirit is not only for the good of the confirmed person; it also equips them to be sent out for the good of others. Confirmation marks someone with a deeper sense of Christian vocation as a witness and minister of Jesus in all the ordinary places of their lives: their households, neighborhoods, and workplaces.

In other words, confirmation is a powerful moment of grace in which a person makes a public profession of faith, and the church affirms, supports, and strengthens that faith in return.

Confirmation is open to anyone who is baptized, affirms the Nicene Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and the Ten Commandments, and is ready to make a public profession of faith. Perhaps the best way to understand confirmation is simply by reading the introduction and liturgy in the Book of Common Prayer, which begins on page 174.

Those who are already confirmed may also wish to reaffirm their faith; the liturgy is the same, but the bishop's prayer is ever-so-slightly different. Reaffirmation can be especially meaningful for those who are returning to the faith, experiencing inward spiritual renewal, or going through a significant life transition. In fact, I was reaffirmed several years ago and found it incredibly meaningful; I still treasure the prayers the bishop prayed publicly for me.

Interested in exploring confirmation? We will hold a confirmation class on one of the following dates (TBD depending on critical mass):

Sunday, Nov 22, 11:30am

Sunday, Nov 29, 11:30am

Wednesday, Dec 2, 7pm

Please reach out if you'd like to attend (indicate date availability) or with any questions!

Warmly,

Amy