Editing Confirmation (section)

==Scriptural foundation==
{{Original research section|date=April 2024}}
The roots of confirmation are found in the Church of the [[New Testament]]. In the [[Gospel of John]] chapter 14, Christ speaks of the coming of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles (John 14:15–26).<ref>{{bibleverse|John|14:15–26}}</ref> Later, after his [[Resurrection of Jesus|Resurrection]], Jesus breathed upon them and they received the Holy Spirit (John 20:22),<ref>{{bibleverse|John|20:22}}</ref> a process completed on the day of [[Pentecost]] (Acts 2:1–4).<ref>{{bibleverse|Acts|2:1–4}}</ref> In Christianity, this Pentecostal outpouring of the Spirit was held as the sign of [[Messianic Age|the messianic age]] foretold by the prophets (cf. Ezekiel 36:25–27;<ref>{{bibleverse|Ezekiel|36:25–27}}</ref> Joel 3:1–2).<ref>{{bibleverse|Joel|3:1–2}}</ref> Its arrival was proclaimed by the [[Saint Peter|Apostle Peter]]. Filled with the Holy Spirit, the apostles began to proclaim "the mighty works of God" (Acts 2:11; Cf. 2:17–18).<ref>{{bibleverse|Acts|2:11}}; {{bibleverse|Acts|2:17–18}}</ref> After this point, the [[New Testament]] records the apostles bestowing the Holy Spirit upon others through the laying on of hands.

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 ministers are named for the two actions. It is not [[Philip the Evangelist|deacon Philip]], the baptiser, but only the [[Apostles in the New Testament|apostle]]s who were able to impart the [[pneuma]] through the laying on of hands:

{{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". In Acts 19, baptism of the disciples is mentioned in quite general terms, without the minister being identified. Referring to 1 Corinthians 1:17,<ref>{{bibleverse|1 Corinthians|1:17}}</ref> it can be presumed that Paul left the action of baptising to others. However, Acts 19:6<ref>{{bibleverse|Acts|19:6}}</ref> then expressly states that it was Apostle Paul who laid his hands upon the newly baptised.{{efn|Though the author of Acts was likely an admirer of Paul, scholarly consensus is that the author "does not share Paul's own view of himself as an apostle; his own theology is considerably different from Paul's on key points and does not represent Paul's own views accurately";<ref>{{Cite book |last=Boring |first=M. Eugene |title=An Introduction to the New Testament: History, Literature, Theology |publisher=Westminster John Knox Press |year=2012 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=leFrgkyEtusC&pg=PA556 |isbn=978-0-664-25592-3|page=590}}</ref> it is also posited that the author of Acts did not have access to any of [[Authorship of the Pauline epistles|Paul's authentic letters]], such as 1 Corinthians, which is widely considered to have been written by Paul himself,<ref>{{cite book |last=Wall |first=Robert |title=New Interpreter's Bible |volume=X |publisher=Abingdon Press |date=2002 |page=373}}</ref> thus explaining the discrepancy between views.}} Hebrews 6:1–6 distinguishes "the teaching about baptisms" from the teaching about "the laying on of hands". The difference may be understood in the light of the two passages in Acts 8 and 19.<ref>{{cite book | author = B. Neunheuser OSB | title = Baptism and Confirmation | place = Freiburg – London | publisher= Herder – Burns & Oates| year = 1964 | pages = 42–52| series = The Herder History of Dogma}}</ref>