CONFIRMATION
Confirmation: Strengthened by the Holy Spirit
Confirmation holds an important place in Christian sacramental life. Closely connected to Baptism, it is the rite in which believers are strengthened and confirmed by the Holy Spirit through prayer and the laying on of hands by a bishop. For this reason, Confirmation has often been called the sacrament of the Spirit.
It marks growth, maturity, and deepening commitment in the Christian life.
Confirmation in Anglican Worship
Confirmation is intended for those who have reached an age of understanding. Candidates are expected to know the essentials of the Christian faith—the Apostles’ Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, and the Ten Commandments—and to be able to answer the Catechism.
The sacramental nature of Confirmation is made clear through the rite itself. Confirmands kneel before the bishop, who lays hands upon them and prays for the gift of the Holy Spirit. The prayer explicitly invokes the sevenfold gifts of the Spirit: wisdom, understanding, counsel, spiritual strength, knowledge, godliness, and holy fear.
The 2019 Book of Common Prayer preserves this same theology. Confirmands again kneel before the bishop, who prays not only for these gifts, but also for a continual growth in the Spirit throughout the believer’s life.
Why Confirmation Is Called the “Sacrament of the Spirit”
While Baptism brings a person into union with Christ and incorporates them into the Church, Confirmation focuses especially on the empowering work of the Holy Spirit. It emphasizes strength for Christian living, courage in witness, and maturity in faith.
This emphasis reflects the pattern seen in the New Testament, where believers who were already baptized experienced further outpourings of the Spirit for mission and growth.
Biblical Foundations
The practice of Confirmation is grounded in the life of the early Church.
In the Book of Acts, new believers in Samaria were baptized, yet the apostles Peter and John traveled from Jerusalem so that they might pray for them to receive the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands. A similar event occurred in Ephesus when the Apostle Paul laid hands on believers and they received a fresh outpouring of the Spirit.
These accounts show that receiving the Spirit can involve both indwelling and empowerment—distinct but complementary aspects of the Spirit’s work.
This pattern mirrors the apostles’ own experience. They received the Holy Spirit from the risen Christ, yet later experienced a dramatic strengthening at Pentecost. Confirmation reflects this same movement of grace.
The Sevenfold Gift of the Spirit
The prayers used in Confirmation draw directly from Isaiah 11, where the prophet describes the Spirit resting upon the Messiah. These seven gifts—wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, godliness, and holy fear—represent the fullness of the Spirit’s work in shaping Christlike character.
In Confirmation, these gifts are prayed over the candidate who, through Baptism and faith, already shares in the life of Christ. The rite asks that what was planted in Baptism may now grow and bear fruit.
Why Bishops Administer Confirmation
Historically, Confirmation has been reserved to bishops. During the Reformation, some questioned why priests could not administer it. The Anglican response appealed to the consistent practice of the ancient Church.
Bishops, as successors of the apostles, visibly link the local church to the wider and historic Church. Their role in Confirmation emphasizes unity, continuity, and apostolic faithfulness rather than personal authority.
The Meaning of Confirmation
Confirmation is best understood as the completion and strengthening of Baptism. Just as life confirms birth, Confirmation confirms baptismal grace.
It is especially meaningful for those baptized as infants. In Baptism, others made promises on their behalf. In Confirmation, the baptized person stands before God and the Church to affirm those promises personally, declaring a faith that has matured and taken root.
For adults baptized later in life, Confirmation still serves as a moment of public commitment and spiritual strengthening.
A Personal Pentecost
Anglican tradition often describes Confirmation as a personal Pentecost. It is a moment when the Holy Spirit is invoked to renew, empower, and equip believers for faithful discipleship.
Together, Baptism and Confirmation mark the beginning and growth of Christian life—grace given, grace strengthened, and grace sent into the world for God’s glory.