Editing Confirmation (section)

===Catholic Church===
{{main|Confirmation in the Catholic Church}}
[[File:Firmung 1679.jpg|thumb|German wood cut depicting confirmation service (1679)]]
In the teaching of the Catholic Church, confirmation, known also as [[chrismation]],<ref name="vatican1">{{cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P3Q.HTM|title=Catechism of the Catholic Church – IntraText|website=vatican.va|access-date=6 October 2017|archive-date=12 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171012102259/http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P3Q.HTM|url-status=live}}</ref> is one of the seven [[Sacraments (Catholic Church)|sacraments]] instituted by Christ for the conferral of sanctifying grace and the strengthening of the union between the individual and God.

The ''[[Catechism of the Catholic Church]]'' in paragraphs 1302–1303, states:

{{Blockquote|It is evident from its celebration that the effect of the sacrament of Confirmation is the special outpouring of the Holy Spirit as once granted to the [[Twelve Apostles|apostles]] on the day of [[Pentecost]].

From this fact, Confirmation brings an increase and deepening of baptismal grace:
*it roots us more deeply in the divine filiation which makes us cry, "Abba! Father!" (Romans 8:15);
*it unites us more firmly to Christ;
*it increases the gifts of the Holy Spirit in us;
*it renders our bond with the Church more perfect;
*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:

{{blockquote|Recall then that you have received the spiritual seal, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of right judgment and courage, the spirit of knowledge and reverence, the spirit of holy fear in God's presence. Guard what you have received. God the Father has marked you with his sign; Christ the Lord has confirmed you and has placed his pledge, the Spirit, in your hearts.|style=font-size:inherit;}}
|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 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:

{{blockquote|[W]ithin the confines of their jurisdiction, those who in law are equivalent to a diocesan Bishop (for example, a [[vicar apostolic]]);
in respect of the person to be confirmed, the priest who by virtue of his office or by mandate of the diocesan Bishop baptises an adult or admits a baptised adult into full communion with the Catholic Church;
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}}... priests who, in virtue of an office which they lawfully hold, baptize an adult or a child old enough for catechesis or receive a validly baptized adult into full communion with the Church."<ref>Rite of Confirmation, 7</ref>

In [[Eastern Catholic Churches]], the usual minister of this sacrament is the parish priest, using olive oil consecrated by a bishop (i.e. [[chrism]]) and administering the sacrament immediately after baptism. This corresponds exactly to the practice of the early Church, when at first those receiving baptism were mainly adults, and of the non-Latin Catholic Eastern Churches.

{{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"/>}}

====Rite of confirmation in the West====
The main reason why the West separated the sacrament of confirmation from that of baptism was to re-establish direct contact between the person being initiated with the bishops. In the Early Church, the bishop administered all three sacraments of initiation (baptism, confirmation and Eucharist), assisted by the priests and deacons and, where they existed, by deaconesses for women's baptism. The post-baptismal chrismation in particular was reserved to the bishop. When adults no longer formed the majority of those being baptized, this chrismation was delayed until the bishop could confer it. Until the 12th century, priests often continued to confer confirmation before giving Communion to very young children.<ref>Ronald Minnerath, "L'ordine dei Sacramenti dell'iniziazione", in ''[[L'Osservatore Romano]]'', 23 May 2007</ref>

After the [[Fourth Lateran Council]], Communion, which continued to be given only after confirmation, was to be administered only on reaching the age of reason. Some time after the 13th century, the age of confirmation and Communion began to be delayed further, from seven, to twelve and to fifteen.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=21K7EEXAivMC&pg=PA91 Kay Lynn Isca, ''Catholic Etiquette'']{{Dead link|date=June 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} (Our Sunday Visitor 1997 {{ISBN|0-87973-590-2}}), p. 91</ref> In the 18th century, in France the sequence of sacraments of initiation was changed. Bishops started to impart confirmation only after the first Eucharistic communion. The reason was no longer the busy calendar of the bishop, but the bishop's will to give adequate instruction to the youth. The practice lasted until Pope [[Leo XIII]] in 1897 asked to restore the primary order and to celebrate confirmation back at the age of reason, a change that lasted less than two decades. In 1910, his successor, Pope [[Pius X]], showing concern for the easy access to the Eucharist for children, in his Letter {{Lang|la|Quam Singulari}} lowered the age of first communion to seven. That was the origin of the widespread custom in parishes to organise the First Communion for children at {{Clarify|text=2nd grade and confirmation in middle or high school|reason=what ages are meant? Grades and types of school will vary widely between countries|date=November 2021}}.<ref name = SAM>{{cite journal | author = Samuel J. Aquila | title = Confirmation as a Sacrament of Initiation | url = http://www.ewtn.com/library/BISHOPS/sacinitiat.HTM | journal = L'Osservatore Romano | access-date = 4 July 2018 | volume = 2012 (14), 4 April | page = 5 | archive-date = 24 September 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180924182933/http://www.ewtn.com/library/BISHOPS/sacinitiat.htm | url-status = dead }}</ref>

The 1917 Code of Canon Law, while recommending that confirmation be delayed until about seven years of age, allowed it be given at an earlier age.<ref>{{Cite web |title=CIC 1917: text – IntraText CT |url=http://www.intratext.com/IXT/LAT0813/_P2G.HTM |access-date=11 May 2023 |website=www.intratext.com |archive-date=30 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930035241/http://www.intratext.com/IXT/LAT0813/_P2G.HTM |url-status=live }}</ref> Only on 30 June 1932 was official permission given to change the traditional order of the three sacraments of Christian initiation: the Sacred Congregation for the Sacraments then allowed, where necessary, that confirmation be administered {{em|after}} [[first Communion|first Holy Communion]]. This novelty, originally seen as exceptional, became more and more the accepted practice. Thus, in the mid-20th century, confirmation began to be seen as an occasion for professing personal commitment to the faith on the part of someone approaching adulthood.

However, the Catechism of the Catholic Church (1308) warns: "Although Confirmation is sometimes called the 'sacrament of Christian maturity,' we must not confuse adult faith with the adult age of natural growth, nor forget that the baptismal grace is a grace of free, unmerited election and does not need 'ratification' to become effective."<ref name="usccb1">{{cite web|url=http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/pt1sect2.htm|title=Catechism|website=usccb.org|access-date=6 October 2017|archive-date=2 August 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080802202711/http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/pt1sect2.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

On the [[Canon law (Catholic Church)|canonical]] age for confirmation in the Latin Church Catholic Church, the present [[1983 Code of Canon Law]], which maintains unaltered the rule in the 1917 Code, lays down that the [[Sacraments of the Catholic Church|sacrament]] is to be conferred on the faithful at about the [[Age of reason (canon law)|age of discretion]] (generally taken to be about 7), unless the [[episcopal conference]] has decided on a different age, or there is a danger of death or, in the judgement of the [[Catholic minister|minister]], a grave reason suggests otherwise (canon 891 of the Code of Canon Law). The Code prescribes the age of discretion also for the sacraments of Reconciliation<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.intratext.com/IXT/ENG0017/_P3G.HTM|title=Code of Canon Law: text – IntraText CT|website=intratext.com|access-date=6 October 2017|archive-date=29 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171229102833/http://www.intratext.com/IXT/ENG0017/_P3G.HTM|url-status=live}}</ref> and first Holy Communion.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.intratext.com/IXT/ENG0017/_P38.HTM|title=Code of Canon Law: text – IntraText CT|website=intratext.com|access-date=6 October 2017|archive-date=5 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210905100605/http://www.intratext.com/IXT/ENG0017/_P38.HTM|url-status=live}}</ref>

In some places the setting of a later age, e.g. mid-teens in the United States, 11 or 12 in Ireland and early teens in Britain, has been abandoned in recent decades in favor of restoring the traditional order of the three sacraments of Christian initiation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ewtn.com/library/BISHOPS/ordsacinit.htm|title=The Restored Order of Sacraments of Initiation|website=ewtn.com|access-date=6 October 2017|archive-date=1 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201211703/http://www.ewtn.com/library/BISHOPS/ordsacinit.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>[http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=24839 Confirmation before communion, Liverpool decides] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130411202541/http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=24839 |date=11 April 2013 }}</ref><ref>[http://www.interchurchfamilies.org/journal/firs_com.shtm Interchurch Families] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111003045214/http://www.interchurchfamilies.org/journal/firs_com.shtm |date=3 October 2011 }}</ref><ref name = SAM/> Even where a later age has been set, a bishop may not refuse to confer the sacrament on younger children who request it, provided they are baptized, have the use of reason, are suitably instructed and are properly disposed and able to renew the baptismal promises.<ref>Letter of the [[Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments]] published in its 1999 bulletin, pages 537–540</ref>

====Effects of confirmation====
The Catholic Church teaches 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".<ref>''Catechism of the Catholic Church'', 1303.</ref><ref name="usccb1"/> This effect was described by the Council of Trent as making the confirmed person "a soldier of Christ".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cin.org/users/james/ebooks/master/trent/tsacr-c.htm|title=THE CATECHISM OF TRENT: The Sacraments – Confirmation|website=cin.org|access-date=6 October 2017|archive-date=28 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220828093758/http://www.cin.org/users/james/ebooks/master/trent/tsacr-c.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

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}}