Sacrament of Confirmation:

Definition of Terms:

  • Laying on of hands: involves the physical act of placing hands on a person’s head or body during prayer or a religious ceremony. It’s often used for blessings, healing, commissioning, or the imparting of spiritual gifts.
  • Chrism: a mixture of oil and balsam, blessed by a bishop, used in various sacraments like baptism, confirmation, and anointing of the sick, symbolizing the presence of the Holy Spirit and the consecration of individuals for a specific purpose.

Also known as the “Sacrament of the Seal”, the “imposition of hands”, or the “anointing with chrism”, Confirmation is considered the sacrament of empowerment by the Holy Spirit, following baptism. Through Confirmation, Christians receive a special outpouring of the Holy Spirit, equipping them for a deeper life of faith, witness, and service in the Church. It is not necessary for salvation and therefore is usually postponed after baptism until the age of reason.

While the term “Confirmation” is not explicitly used in the Bible, the theological concepts that underlie it are present in various passages. Acts 8:14-17 describes the apostles laying hands on baptized believers in Samaria, who had not yet received the Holy Spirit despite having already been baptized. Peter and John laid their hands on them, and through this act, the believers received the Holy Spirit. This passage emphasizes that the laying on of hands played a crucial role in the conferral of the Holy Spirit, revealing a distinct sacramental action beyond baptism.

In Acts 9:17, Saul, later known as Paul, encountered a life-changing experience on the road to Damascus. Ananias was sent to Saul to lay hands on him. This action resulted in Saul regaining his sight and being filled with the Holy Spirit. Later, in Acts 19:1-6, Paul laid his hands on a group of disciples in Ephesus, resulting in the Holy Spirit coming upon them. The visible signs of speaking in tongues and prophesying indicate the profound impact of the Holy Spirit’s presence, aligning with the concept of Confirmation bestowing spiritual gifts and empowerment.

The concept of being sealed by the Holy Spirit is central to Confirmation as Ephesians 4:30 says believers are “sealed for the day of redemption” as a result of receiving the Holy Spirit. This sealing denotes a special relationship with the Spirit and emphasizes the ongoing presence and protection of the Spirit as a Christian continues to grow in maturity. Hebrews 6:2 mentions “the laying on of hands” as one of the foundational teachings in the faith. This passage reflects the importance of moving beyond elementary teachings and advancing toward maturity and references the significance of laying on of hands as a transformative element in Christian growth.

Early references to Confirmation as a distinct sacrament can be found in the writings of the Church Fathers. The Church Fathers recognized the importance of this sacrament as a means of empowering and equipping believers for their Christian journey. Confirmation is seen as a continuation of the Holy Spirit’s work begun in baptism, deepening the believer’s connection to the Church and their commitment to the faith. St. Cyril of Jerusalem (313-386 AD), in his “Catechetical Lectures,” addresses Confirmation as a sacrament through which Christians “with the oil you are made an anointed person, having part in a share of Christ, and becoming partaker of His life-giving and sanctifying Spirit.” St. Ambrose of Milan (340-397 AD) emphasizes the connection between baptism and Confirmation in his writing “On the Mysteries”. St. Augustine of Hippo (354-430 AD) said that Christians “are then sealed with the Holy Spirit when the oil of chrism is applied.”

The early Church stressed the importance of the laying on of hands and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the Sacrament of Confirmation. The laying on of hands symbolizes the transmission of the Holy Spirit’s gifts, empowerment, and transformation in the lives of believers. Confirmation serves as a means through which the Holy Spirit’s presence and influence are visibly and tangibly invoked, deepening the believer’s relationship with God and empowering them for their journey of faith.

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Bible Verses:

Acts 8:14–17
Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. 15 The two went down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit 16 (for as yet the Spirit had not come upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus). 17 Then Peter and John laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

Acts 9:17
So Ananias went and entered the house. He laid his hands on Saul and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on your way here, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

Acts 19:6
When Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied—

Hebrews 6:1-2
“Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment”

Ephesians 4:30
“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”

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Church Father Quotes:

Irenaeus of Lyons
“For as by the imposition of His hands He [the Holy Spirit] sanctified us, and gave us the pledge of the Spirit, so in like manner also does one [the bishop] do it, by oil, invoking at the same time the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” -Against Heresies, Book 3, Chapter 17, Section 1.

Theophilus of Antioch
“Are you unwilling to be anointed with the oil of God? It is on this account that we are called Christians: because we are anointed with the oil of God” (To Autolycus 1:12 [A.D. 181]).

Tertullian of Carthage
“After coming from the place of washing we are thoroughly anointed with a blessed unction, from the ancient discipline by which [those] in the priesthood . . . were accustomed to be anointed with a horn of oil, ever since Aaron was anointed by Moses. . . . So also with us, the unction runs on the body and profits us spiritually, in the same way that baptism itself is a corporal act by which we are plunged in water, while its effect is spiritual, in that we are freed from sins. After this, the hand is imposed for a blessing, invoking and inviting the Holy Spirit” (Baptism 7:1–2, 8:1 [A.D. 203]).

“No soul whatever is able to obtain salvation unless it has believed while it was in the flesh. Indeed, the flesh is the hinge of salvation. . . . The flesh, then, is washed [baptism] so that the soul may be made clean. The flesh is anointed so that the soul may be dedicated to holiness. The flesh is signed so that the soul may be fortified. The flesh is shaded by the imposition of hands [confirmation] so that the soul may be illuminated by the Spirit” (The Resurrection of the Dead 8:2–3 [A.D. 210]).

Hippolytus of Rome
“The bishop, imposing his hand on them, shall make an invocation, saying, ‘O Lord God, who made them worthy of the remission of sins through the Holy Spirit’s washing unto rebirth, send into them your grace so that they may serve you according to your will, for there is glory to you, to the Father and the Son with the Holy Spirit, in the holy Church, both now and through the ages of ages. Amen.’ Then, pouring the consecrated oil into his hand and imposing it on the head of the baptized, he shall say, ‘I anoint you with holy oil in the Lord, the Father Almighty, and Christ Jesus and the Holy Spirit.’ Signing them on the forehead, he shall kiss them and say, ‘The Lord be with you.’ He that has been signed shall say, ‘And with your spirit.’ Thus shall he do to each” (The Apostolic Tradition 21–22 [A.D. 215]).

Cyprian of Carthage
“When hands are laid upon a man and he receives the Holy Ghost, he is perfected and brought to maturity: that is the spiritual seal, and he is annointed, as the Father annointed the Lord; that is the Father’s seal.” -On the Lapsed, Epistle 70, Section 2.

“It is necessary for him that has been baptized also to be anointed, so that by his having received chrism, that is, the anointing, he can be the anointed of God and have in him the grace of Christ” (Letters 7:2 [A.D. 253]).

“Some say in regard to those who were baptized in Samaria that when the apostles Peter and John came there only hands were imposed on them so that they might receive the Holy Spirit, and that they were not re-baptized. But we see, dearest brother, that this situation in no way pertains to the present case. Those in Samaria who had believed had believed in the true faith, and it was by the deacon Philip, whom those same apostles had sent there, that they had been baptized inside—in the Church. . . . Since, then, they had already received a legitimate and ecclesiastical baptism, it was not necessary to baptize them again. Rather, that only which was lacking was done by Peter and John. The prayer having been made over them and hands having been imposed upon them, the Holy Spirit was invoked and was poured out upon them. This is even now the practice among us, so that those who are baptized in the Church then are brought to the prelates of the Church; through our prayer and the imposition of hands, they receive the Holy Spirit and are perfected with the seal of the Lord” (Letters 73[72]:9).

“[A]re not hands, in the name of the same Christ, laid upon the baptized persons among them, for the reception of the Holy Spirit?” (Letters 74[73]:5).

Seventh Council of Carthage
“[I]n the Gospel our Lord Jesus Christ spoke with his divine voice, saying, ‘Except a man be born again of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God’ [John 3:5]. This is the Spirit which from the beginning was borne over the waters; for neither can the Spirit operate without the water, nor the water without the Spirit. Certain people therefore interpret [this passage] for themselves wrongly, when they say that by imposition of the hand they receive the Holy Ghost, and are thus received, when it is manifest that they ought to be born again [initiated] in the Catholic Church by both sacraments” (Seventh Carthage [A.D. 256]).

Treatise on Re-Baptism
“[I]t has been asked among the brethren what course ought specially to be adopted towards the persons of those who . . . baptized in heresy . . . and subsequently departing from their heresy, and fleeing as supplicants to the Church of God, should repent with their whole hearts, and only now perceiving the condemnation of their error, implore from the Church the help of salvation. . . . [A]ccording to the most ancient custom and ecclesiastical tradition, it would suffice, after that baptism which they have received outside the Church . . . that only hands should be laid upon them by the bishop for their reception of the Holy Spirit, and this imposition of hands would afford them the renewed and perfected seal of faith” (Treatise on Re-Baptism 1 [A.D. 256]).

“[B]y imposition of the bishop’s hands the Holy Spirit is given to every one that believes, as in the case of the Samaritans, after Philip’s baptism, the apostles did to them by laying on of hands [Acts 8:14–17]; in this manner also they conferred on them the Holy Spirit” (ibid., 3).

Cyril of Jerusalem
“After you had come up from the pool of the sacred streams, there was given chrism, the antitype of that with which Christ was anointed, and this is the Holy Spirit. But beware of supposing that this is ordinary ointment. For just as the bread of the Eucharist after the invocation of the Holy Spirit is simple bread no longer, but the body of Christ, so also this ointment is no longer plain ointment, nor, so to speak, common, after the invocation. Further, it is the gracious gift of Christ, and it is made fit for the imparting of his Godhead by the coming of the Holy Spirit. This ointment is symbolically applied to your forehead and to your other senses; while your body is anointed with the visible ointment, your soul is sanctified by the holy and life-giving Spirit. Just as Christ, after his baptism, and the coming upon him of the Holy Spirit, went forth and defeated the adversary, so also with you after holy baptism and the mystical chrism, having put on the panoply of the Holy Spirit, you are to withstand the power of the adversary and defeat him, saying, ‘I am able to do all things in Christ, who strengthens me’” (Catechetical Lectures, 21:1, 3–4 [A.D. 350]).

“[David says,] ‘You have anointed my head with oil.’ With oil he anointed your head, your forehead, in the God-given sign of the cross, so that you may become that which is engraved on the seal, ‘a holy thing of the Lord’” (ibid., 22:7).

Serapion of Thmuis
“[Prayer for blessing the holy chrism:] ‘God of powers, aid of every soul that turns to you and comes under your powerful hand in your only-begotten. We beseech you, that through your divine and invisible power of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, you may effect in this chrism a divine and heavenly operation, so that those baptized and anointed in the tracing with it of the sign of the saving cross of the only-begotten . . . as if reborn and renewed through the bath of regeneration, may be made participants in the gift of the Holy Spirit and, confirmed by this seal, may remain firm and immovable, unharmed and inviolate. . . .’” (The Sacramentary of Serapion 25:1 [A.D. 350]).

Council of Laodicea
“[T]hose who have been illuminated are, after baptism, to be anointed with celestial chrism and thus become partakers in the kingdom of Christ” (Canon 48 [A.D. 360]).

Gregory of Nazianzus
“The Spirit comes gently and makes Himself known by His fragrance. He is not felt as a burden, for He is light, very light. Rays of light and knowledge stream before Him as He approaches. The Spirit comes with the tenderness of a true friend and protector to save, to heal, to teach, to counsel, to strengthen, to console.” -Oration 31: On the Holy Spirit.

John Chrysostom
“For as persons who have been called to a military standard, and are enrolled in the king’s army, receive the royal seal, which neither king himself nor any of his intimate friends handle, but certain of his servants, the commanders of the troops; and this, when it has been impressed and imprinted by them, comes to be a perfect guardian to them on the field of battle; thus, also, with respect to the Holy Spirit.” -Homilies on the Gospel of John, Homily 21, Section 2.

Ambrose of Milan
“For just as Christ, after His baptism, and the coming of the Holy Spirit upon Him, went forth and defeated the adversary, so also you, after holy baptism and the mystical chrism, having put on the panoply of the Holy Spirit, do stand against the opposing power and vanquish it, saying, ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.'”- De Mysteriis” (On the Mysteries), Book 7, Chapter 42, Section 65.

Pacian of Barcelona
“If, then, the power of both baptism and confirmation, greater by far than charisms, is passed on to the bishops, so too is the right of binding and loosing” (Three Letters to the Novatianist Sympronian 1:6 [A.D. 383]).

Jerome of Stridon
“We receive the Spirit of adoption, which is given us in Baptism, and signified by the oil of unction; wherefore also Confirmation is called Chrism.” -commentary on the Book of Ezekiel, Book 3, Chapter 9, Verse 18.

The Apostolic Constitutions
“[H]ow dare any man speak against his bishop, by whom the Lord gave the Holy Spirit among you upon the laying on of his hands, by whom you have learned the sacred doctrines, and have known God, and have believed in Christ, by whom you were known of God, by whom you were sealed with the oil of gladness and the ointment of understanding, by whom you were declared to be the children of light, by whom the Lord in your illumination testified by the imposition of the bishop’s hands” (Apostolic Constitutions 2:4:32 [A.D. 400]).

Augustine of Hippo
“When He [the Holy Spirit] comes to us, He also brings us to Christ. Having received Him, we are with Christ. And where Christ is, there we are also.” -On Baptism, Against the Donatists” (De Baptismo, Contra Donatistas), Book 1, Chapter 12, Section 18.

Cyril of Alexandria
“Let us receive the Holy Spirit that we may be made worthy of Christ, through whom we shall be enabled to partake of the Holy Spirit; for there is no communication of the Spirit except to those who believe in Him and are counted worthy of Him through the sanctification which takes place by grace.” -Commentary on the Gospel of John, Book 9, Chapter 9.

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Non-Catholic Quotes:

Thomas Cranmer (1489 – 1556):
“Then shall the Bishop say, ‘Defend, O Lord, this Thy Child with Thy heavenly grace, that he may continue Thine for ever; and daily increase in Thy Holy Spirit more and more, until he come unto Thy everlasting kingdom.'” – Book of Common Prayer, The Order of Confirmation

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