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In Christian denominations that practice [[infant baptism]], '''confirmation''' is seen as the sealing of the [[covenant (religion)|covenant]] created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as '''confirmands'''. For adults, it is an [[wikt:affirmation|affirmation]] of [[Religious belief|belief]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Catechism of the Catholic Church – IntraText - III. The Effects of Confirmation |url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P3S.HTM |access-date=11 May 2023 |website=The Holy See |at=1303 |archive-date=17 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210917135757/https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P3S.HTM |url-status=live }}</ref> The ceremony typically involves [[laying on of hands]].
[[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 (canon law)|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
In many [[Protestantism|Protestant]] denominations, such as the [[Anglican]], [[Lutheran]], [[Methodist]] and [[Reformed tradition|Reformed]] traditions, confirmation is a [[Rite (Christianity)|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.<ref name="LB1921">{{cite book |title=The Lutheran World Almanac and Annual Encyclopedia for 1921 |date=1921 |publisher=Lutheran Bureau |page=68 |language=English |quote=In this connection it should be stated that as it is the custom of the Lutheran Church to receive into full membership only those who have been confirmed}}</ref><ref name="Dada2014">{{cite book|last=Dada|first=Adelowo, E.|title=Perspectives in Religious Studies: Volume II|date= 2014|publisher=HEBN Publishers|isbn=978-9780814465|page=209|quote=Confirmation in the Anglican Communion is the laying on of hands (of the Bishop) upon those who are baptised and have come to years of discretion. In this case, it involves those baptised both at infancy and adulthood. It is the attainment of this status, among other conditions, that determines, in the Anglican Church, full membership of the Church and eligibility to be admitted to the Lord's Table, and to enjoy certain rights of the Church.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bcp/India/CSI_Confirmation.html|title=Order of Service for the Reception of Baptized Persons into the Full Membership of the Church commonly called Conformation|year=1950|publisher=Society of Archbishop Justus|access-date=7 June 2017|archive-date=24 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170624120128/http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bcp/India/CSI_Confirmation.html|url-status=live}}</ref> 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 [[means of grace|grace]]".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P3N.HTM|title=Catechism of the Catholic Church – IntraText|website=vatican.va|access-date=6 October 2017|archive-date=9 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609042345/https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P3N.HTM|url-status=live}}</ref> The Catholic and Methodist denominations teach that in confirmation, the Holy Spirit strengthens a baptized individual for their faith journey.<ref name="MCGB2014"/><ref name="Cavadini2018">{{cite web |last1=Cavadini |first1=John C. |title=Confirmation strengthens our identity as children of God |url=https://catholicphilly.com/2018/01/catholic-spirituality/confirmation-strengthens-our-identity-as-children-of-god/ |publisher=Catholic Philly |access-date=28 March 2021 |language=English |date=17 July 2018 |archive-date=27 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210127081036/https://catholicphilly.com/2018/01/catholic-spirituality/confirmation-strengthens-our-identity-as-children-of-god/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
Confirmation is not
[[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] (LDS Church) does not practice infant baptism, but individuals can be baptized after they reach 8 years old (the
There is an analogous ceremony also called confirmation in [[Reform Judaism]].{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}} Various [[Secularism|secular]] organizations also offer [[Secular coming-of-age ceremony|secular coming-of-age ceremonies]] as an alternative to Christian confirmation, while [[Unitarian Universalism|Unitarian Universalists]] have a similar [[Coming of Age (Unitarian Universalism)|Coming of Age ceremony]].
==Scriptural foundation==
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Three texts make it certain that a laying on of hands for the imparting of the Spirit – performed after the [[Baptism|water-bath]] and as a complement to this bath – existed already in the earliest apostolic times. These texts are Acts 8:4–20<ref>{{bibleverse|Acts|8:4–20}}</ref> and 19:1–7,<ref>{{bibleverse|Acts|19:1–7}}</ref> and Hebrews 6:1–6.<ref>{{bibleverse|Hebrews|6:1–6}}</ref>
In the [[Acts of the Apostles]] 8:14–17, different
{{blockquote|Now when the [[Apostles in the New Testament|apostles]] in Jerusalem heard that [[Samaria]] had accepted the word of God, they sent them [[Saint Peter|Peter]] and [[Apostle John|John]], who went down and prayed for them, that they might receive the holy Spirit, for it had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid hands on them and they received the holy Spirit.|Acts 8:14–17}}
Further on in the text, connection between the gift of the Holy Spirit and the gesture of laying on of hands appears even more clearly. Acts 8:18–19 introduces the request of [[Simon Magus|Simon the Magician]] in the following way: "When Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles' hands
==Christian denominational views==
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*it gives us a special strength of the Holy Spirit to spread and defend the faith by word and action as true witnesses of Christ, to confess the name of Christ boldly, and never to be ashamed of the Cross:
{{
|Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 1302–1303<ref>{{Cite web |title=Catechism of the Catholic Church – IntraText - III. The Effects of Confirmation |url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P3S.HTM |access-date=11 May 2023 |website=The Holy See |at=Paragraphs 1302–1303 |archive-date=17 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210917135757/https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P3S.HTM |url-status=live }}</ref>}} In the [[Latin Church]] of the Catholic Church, the sacrament is customarily conferred only on persons old enough to understand it, and the ordinary minister of confirmation is a [[bishop]]. "If necessity so requires", the diocesan bishop may grant specified [[priest]]s the faculty to administer the sacrament, although normally he is to administer it himself or ensure that it is conferred by another bishop.<ref name="intratext1">{{cite web|url=http://www.intratext.com/IXT/ENG0017/_P31.HTM|title=Code of Canon Law: text – IntraText CT|website=intratext.com|access-date=6 October 2017|archive-date=8 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171208064642/http://www.intratext.com/IXT/ENG0017/_P31.HTM|url-status=live}}</ref> In addition, the law itself confers the same faculty on the following:
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in respect of those in danger of death, the parish priest or indeed any priest.<ref name="intratext1"/>}}
"According to the ancient practice maintained in the Roman liturgy, an adult is not to be baptized unless he receives Confirmation immediately afterward, provided no serious obstacles exist."<ref>''Christian Initiation of Adults'', 34</ref> Administration of the two sacraments, one immediately after the other, to adults is normally done by the bishop of the diocese (generally at the [[Easter Vigil]]) since "the baptism of adults, at least of those who have completed their fourteenth year, is to be referred to the Bishop, so that he himself may confer it if he judges this appropriate"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.intratext.com/IXT/ENG0017/_P2V.HTM|title=Code of Canon Law: text – IntraText CT|website=intratext.com|access-date=6 October 2017|archive-date=13 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171113214345/http://www.intratext.com/IXT/ENG0017/_P2V.HTM|url-status=live}}</ref> However, if the bishop does not confer the baptism, then it devolves on the priest whose office it then is to confer both sacraments, since, "in addition to the bishop, the law gives the faculty to confirm to the following,{{nbsp}}
In [[Eastern Catholic Churches]], the usual minister of this sacrament is the parish priest, using olive oil consecrated by a bishop (i.e.
{{blockquote|The practice of the Eastern Churches gives greater emphasis to the unity of Christian initiation. That of the Latin Church more clearly expresses the communion of the new Christian with the bishop as guarantor and servant of the unity, catholicity and apostolicity of his Church, and hence the connection with the apostolic origins of Christ's Church.<ref name="vatican1"/>}}
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The Catholic Church [[Anglo-Catholicism|Anglo-Catholics]] teach that, like baptism, confirmation [[sacramental character|marks the recipient permanently]], making it impossible to receive the sacrament twice. It accepts as valid a confirmation conferred within churches, such as the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]], whose [[Holy Orders]] it sees as valid through the [[apostolic succession]] of their bishops. But it considers it necessary to administer the sacrament of confirmation, in its view for the only time, to Protestants who are admitted to full [[Communion (Christian)|communion]] with the Catholic Church.
One of the effects of the sacrament is that "it gives us a special strength of the Holy Spirit to spread and defend the faith by word and action as true witnesses of Christ, to confess the name of Christ boldly, and never to be ashamed of the Cross"
The same passage of the ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' also mentions, as an effect of confirmation, that "it renders our bond with the Church more perfect". This mention stresses the importance of participation in the Christian community.
The "soldier of Christ" imagery was used, as far back as 350, by St Cyril of Jerusalem.<ref>{{cite web| last = Sullivan| first = Tom| title = Sacrament of Confirmation (What is it all about?)| website = EWTN| access-date = 3 March 2011| url = http://www.ewtn.com/library/CATECHSM/CONFIRM1.HTM| archive-date = 5 June 2011| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110605043057/http://www.ewtn.com/library/CATECHSM/CONFIRM1.HTM| url-status = live}}</ref> In this connection, the touch on the cheek that the bishop gave while saying "{{Lang|la|Pax tecum}}" ({{Gloss|Peace be with you}}) to the person he had just confirmed was interpreted in the Roman Pontifical as a slap, a reminder to be brave in spreading and defending the faith: "{{Lang|la|Deinde leviter eum in maxilla caedit, dicens: Pax tecum}}" ({{Gloss|Then he strikes him lightly on the cheek, saying: Peace be with you}}). When, in application of the [[Second Vatican Council]]'s Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sacrosanctum concilium |url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19631204_sacrosanctum-concilium_en.html |access-date=11 May 2023 |website=www.vatican.va |archive-date=21 February 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080221180735/https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19631204_sacrosanctum-concilium_en.html |url-status=live }}</ref> the confirmation rite was revised in 1971, mention of this gesture was omitted. However, the French and Italian translations, indicating that the bishop should accompany the words "Peace be with you" with "a friendly gesture" (French text) or "the sign of peace" (Italian text), explicitly allow a gesture such as the touch on the cheek, to which they restore its original meaning. This is in accord with the Introduction to the rite of confirmation, 17, which indicates that the episcopal conference may decide "to introduce a different manner for the minister to give the sign of peace after the anointing, either to each individual or to all the newly confirmed together".
====Tradition====
In some regions it is customary for the person being confirmed to choose the name of a saint, which they adopt as their confirmation name. The saint whose name is taken is henceforth considered to be a [[patron saint]].{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}
===Eastern Churches===
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===The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints===
When discussing confirmation, [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] (LDS Church) uses the term
The ceremony is significantly simpler than in Catholic or Eastern Orthodox churches and is performed by an ordained clergyman as follows:<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/duties-and-blessings-of-the-priesthood-basic-manual-for-priesthood-holders-part-b/priesthood-and-church-government/lesson-5-performing-priesthood-ordinances?lang=eng|title=Lesson 5: Performing Priesthood Ordinances|date=7 January 2011|publisher=churchofjesuschrist.org|access-date=15 January 2019|archive-date=23 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191123145045/https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/duties-and-blessings-of-the-priesthood-basic-manual-for-priesthood-holders-part-b/priesthood-and-church-government/lesson-5-performing-priesthood-ordinances?lang=eng|url-status=live}}</ref>
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Many Anglicans, especially [[Anglo-Catholicism|Anglo-Catholics]], count the rite as one of seven sacraments. While most provinces of the Anglican Communion do not make provision for ministers other than bishops to administer confirmation, [[presbyters]] can be authorized to do so in certain South Asian provinces, which are [[United and uniting churches|united churches]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.csimichigan.org/PDF/CONFIRMATION.pdf|title=e.g. The Church of South India, Book of Common Worship (2004)|access-date=6 October 2017|archive-date=8 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180508133936/http://www.csimichigan.org/PDF/CONFIRMATION.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Similarly, the American [[Episcopal Church (United States)|Episcopal Church]] recognizes that "those who have previously made a mature public commitment in another Church may be received by the laying on of hands by a Bishop of this Church, rather than confirmed."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.episcopalchurch.org/files/documents/2015_candc.pdf|title=Canons of the General Convention 2015, Title I, Canon 17, Section 1(c)|access-date=6 October 2017|archive-date=10 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180110184220/https://www.episcopalchurch.org/files/documents/2015_candc.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Furthermore, at its General Convention in 2015 a resolution advancing presbyteral confirmation was referred to committee for further review.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://extranet.generalconvention.org/staff/files/download/15664|title=Journal of the 78th General Convention, 371|access-date=6 October 2017|archive-date=17 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161017051212/https://extranet.generalconvention.org/staff/files/download/15664|url-status=live}}</ref>
"[T]he renewal of the baptismal vows, which is part of the Anglican Confirmation service, is in no way necessary to Confirmation and can be done more than once.{{nbsp}}
===Methodist Churches===
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}}</ref> For youth and adults who are joining the Church, "those who are baptized are also confirmed, remembering that our ritual reflects the ancient unity of baptism, confirmation (laying on of hands with prayer), and Eucharist."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/what-is-the-appropriate-age-for-baptism-and-for-confirmation|title=What Is the Appropriate Age for Baptism and for Confirmation?|year=1996|publisher=The General Board of Discipleship of The United Methodist Church|quote=What if a youth or adult has not been baptized? Can he or she be part of the "confirmation preparation"? Yes, the unbaptized can share in the same experiences. By ''Water and the Spirit'' puts it this way: Youth who were not baptized as infants share in the same period of preparation for profession of Christian faith. For them, it is nurture for baptism, for becoming members of the Church, and for confirmation. Those who are baptized are also confirmed, remembering that our ritual reflects the ancient unity of baptism, confirmation (laying on of hands with prayer), and Eucharist. "The ritual of the baptismal covenant included in The United Methodist Hymnal makes clear that the first and primary confirming act of the Holy Spirit is in connection with and immediately follows baptism." (By Water and the Spirit)|access-date=4 April 2019|archive-date=4 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190404124018/https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/what-is-the-appropriate-age-for-baptism-and-for-confirmation|url-status=live}}</ref> Candidates to be confirmed, known as confirmands, take a class which covers Christian doctrine, theology, Methodist Church history, stewardship, basic Bible study and other topics.<ref>{{cite book|title=We Believe|url=http://www.bristolhouseltd.com/we-believe-student/|access-date=17 May 2014|year=2007|publisher=Bristol House|quote=Confirmation classes provide a great opportunity to give students a broad view of basic Christian beliefs including the characteristics of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit; the importance and nature of the Bible; the need to trust in Jesus Christ for salvation; and the significance of the church. We Believe Student includes these topics as well as general church history and the responsibilities of discipleship and church membership. It offers students a basic but thorough understanding of what it means to be a Christian in the United Methodist tradition.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517120611/http://www.bristolhouseltd.com/we-believe-student/|archive-date=17 May 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>
While the Holy Spirit strengthens the believer in confirmation, in Methodist theology, it is though [[entire sanctification]] that a believer is [[Baptism_with_the_Holy_Spirit#Methodism_(inclusive_of_the_holiness_movement)|baptized (filled) with the Holy Spirit]], thus being made perfect in love and wholly devoted to God, cleansed of original sin (the carnal nature), and empowered to accomplish all to which
===Presbyterian, Congregationalist and Continental Reformed Churches===
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===Irvingian Churches===
In the [[New Apostolic Church]], the largest of the [[Catholic Apostolic Church|Irvingian]] denominations, Confirmation is a rite that "strengthens the confirmands in their endeavour to keep their vow to profess Jesus Christ in word and deed
{{quotation|I renounce Satan and all his work and ways, and surrender myself to You, O triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, in belief, obedience, and the earnest resolution to remain faithful to You until my end. Amen.}}
Following the recitation of the vow, "young Christians receive the confirmation blessing, which is dispensed upon them through laying on of hands
===United Protestant Churches===
|