When/How did Christ institute Confirmation?

[9-10ths_Penguin]

Something reminded me of a question that popped into my head during my niece's Confirmation.

AFAIK (and correct me if I'm wrong), the Church teaches that Christ personally instituted all of the sacraments. I can see justification for some of them in the Bible: baptism, the Eucharist, Holy Orders and marriage come to mind.

However, I've never been able to figure out the basis for the sacrament of Confirmation. Is there a Bible verse that the Church considers documentation of Christ instituting Confirmation (like the sacraments I listed above), or is it a matter of Holy Tradition alone that Christ instituted Confirmation?

Just curious.

 

[Quiddity]

Holy Tradition always plays a role in what we believe. We tend to see confirmation as a sacrament in search of its own theology. There is some development involved here but I’ll just give you the basics. I’ll start by vaguely explaining the sacraments of Initiation.

Think of the force and how the Jedi’s abilities to sense it increases within time. As a catholic we go through Sacraments of Initiation (Baptism, Eucharist, and Confirmation) to increase our awareness and heighten our state. I know I’m making it sound mystical and it is but it also has a real application in our cognitive processes and how we develop it. Everything we do isn’t just something we do because it’s a nice ceremony and then it somehow ends up in the ether. It’s the supernatural becoming natural and the natural becoming supernatural. The whole point being is to elevate us in everyway. The experience of course varies from person to person.

Now, since you are only asking about Confirmation I’ll focus on just that but it’s important to know that they are all interconnected with each other. There is some history behind it (as there is with much our faith) but I’m a bit hesitant about going into it for fear of boring you to death or it may possibly raise more questions; I’ll wait and see.

You can find confirmation spoken of in Bible passages such as Acts 8:14–17, 9:17, 19:6, and Hebrews 6:2.

Catholic answers talks about Hebrews 6:2:

Hebrews 6:2 is especially important because it is not a narrative account of how confirmation was given and, thus, cannot be dismissed by those who reject the sacrament as something unique to the apostolic age. In fact, the passage refers to confirmation as one of Christianity’s basic teachings, which is to be expected since confirmation, like baptism, is a sacrament of initiation into the Christian life.

We read: "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" (Heb. 6:1–2).

Notice how in this passage we are walked through the successive stages of the Christian journey—repentance, faith, baptism, confirmation, resurrection, and judgment. This passage encapsulates the Christian’s journey toward heaven and gives what theologians call the order of salvation or the ordo salutis. It well qualifies as "the elementary teachings" of the Christian faith.

I will note that early Christians celebrated Confirmation and Baptism together; which is probably why it was sometimes hard to spot confirmation. It went: birth (baptism), breath, (confirmation) and nourishment (Eucharist); in that order. It wasn’t changed until later for reasons I can get into later.

I can ramble on but I’ll stop there and see if that was helpful.

 

[Dunemeister]

So "laying on of hands" = "confirmation"? On what basis does the RCC make that claim?

 

[Quiddity]

From one of my favorite doctors of the Church, St. Jerome:

"Thirsty men in their dreams eagerly gulp down the water of the stream, and the more they drink the thirstier they are. In the same way you appear to me to have searched everywhere for arguments against the point I raised, and yet to be as far as ever from being satisfied. Don't you know that the laying on of hands after baptism and then the invocation of the Holy Spirit is a custom of the Churches? Do you demand Scripture proof? You may find it in the Acts of the Apostles. And even if it did not rest on the authority of Scripture the consensus of the whole world in this respect would have the force of a command. For many other observances of the Churches, which are due to tradition, have acquired the authority of the written law, as for instance the practice of dipping the head three times in the layer, and then, after leaving the water, of tasting mingled milk and honey in representation of infancy; and, again, the practices of standing up in worship on the Lord's day, and ceasing from fasting every Pentecost; and there are many other unwritten practices which have won their place through reason and custom. So you see we follow the practice of the Church, although it may be clear that a person was baptized before the Spirit was invoked."
Jerome, Against the Luciferians,8(A.D. 379),in NPNF2,VI:324

And from one of your own:

J.N.D. Kelly (Anglican patristic scholar)
"Speculation about baptism in the third century revolves around its function, universally admitted hitherto, as the medium of the bestowal of the Spirit. Infant baptism was now common, and this fact, together with the rapid expansion of the Church's numbers, caused the administration of the sacrament to be increasingly delegated by bishops to presbyters....We observe a tendency to limit the effect of baptism itself to the remission of sins and regeneration, and to link the gift of the Spirit with these other rites [Chrismation, Confirmation, and the laying on of hands -- detailed analysis from the ante-Nicene Fathers on Baptism follows].....

As Jerome notes and one of your own states, this was the custom of the Church. But as JND Kelly and I have stated that this was something that developed in the first three centuries. Confirmation was always a sacrament that was linked and performed along side baptism as the Church fathers and the Scriptures points to this reality.

 

[Katzpur]

Something reminded me of a question that popped into my head during my niece's Confirmation.

AFAIK (and correct me if I'm wrong), the Church teaches that Christ personally instituted all of the sacraments. I can see justification for some of them in the Bible: baptism, the Eucharist, Holy Orders and marriage come to mind.

However, I've never been able to figure out the basis for the sacrament of Confirmation. Is there a Bible verse that the Church considers documentation of Christ instituting Confirmation (like the sacraments I listed above), or is it a matter of Holy Tradition alone that Christ instituted Confirmation?

Just curious.

Darn! I just noticed that this thread is in the Catholic DIR, so maybe I should keep my thoughts to myself. But I do have a quick comment, since this is something I've always found interesting. Mormonism accepts the same seven sacraments that Catholicism does -- including confirmation. Most Protestant religions accept only some of them.

I just noticed that Dunemeister questioned Victor about "the laying on of hands" referring to confirmation. Before I noticed that this thread was in the Catholic DIR, I thought of the following passage:

Acts 8:14-17 Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John: Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost: (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.

To a Latter-day Saint, being confirmed is becoming an official member of the Church and is the time when the Holy Ghost is conferred by the laying on of hands. How does this compare to the Catholic belief?

 

[Quiddity]

Darn! I just noticed that this thread is in the Catholic DIR, so maybe I should keep my thoughts to myself. But I do have a quick comment, since this is something I've always found interesting. Mormonism accepts the same seven sacraments that Catholicism does -- including confirmation. Most Protestant religions accept only some of them.

I just noticed that Dunemeister questioned Victor about "the laying on of hands" referring to confirmation. Before I noticed that this thread was in the Catholic DIR, I thought of the following passage:

Acts 8:14-17 Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John: Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost: (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.

To a Latter-day Saint, being confirmed is becoming an official member of the Church and is the time when the Holy Ghost is conferred by the laying on of hands. How does this compare to the Catholic belief?

I used that very verse in my first post.

It's similar, but one can technically be a catholic and not have been confirmed yet. Since confirmation is now done during the high school age. To become an official member one only be baptized and the sacraments that follow (Eucharist and Confirmation) are a part of the Christian Initiation.

 

[Katzpur]

I used that very verse in my first post.

Well, duh.

It's similar, but one can technically be a catholic and not have been confirmed yet. Since confirmation is now done during the high school age. To become an official member one only be baptized and the sacraments that follow (Eucharist and Confirmation) are a part of the Christian Initiation.

Thanks. Now I'm just bummed out that this isn't a debate thread. Oh, well...

 

[Scott1]

Something reminded me of a question that popped into my head during my niece's Confirmation.

Congrats to your niece on behalf of the Catholic crew at RF!

AFAIK (and correct me if I'm wrong), the Church teaches that Christ personally instituted all of the sacraments. I can see justification for some of them in the Bible: baptism, the Eucharist, Holy Orders and marriage come to mind.

Correct: CCC #1210 Christ instituted the sacraments of the new law. There are seven: Baptism, Confirmation (or Chrismation), the Eucharist, Penance, the Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders and Matrimony.

However, I've never been able to figure out the basis for the sacrament of Confirmation. Is there a Bible verse that the Church considers documentation of Christ instituting Confirmation (like the sacraments I listed above), or is it a matter of Holy Tradition alone that Christ instituted Confirmation?

Well, it seems Victor did a wonderful job with this question (as usual) but I'll just toss out a bit more (as usual ):

The Catechism offers a bit of history that I believe is relevant:

Two traditions: East and West
1290 In the first centuries Confirmation generally comprised one single celebration with Baptism, forming with it a "double sacrament," according to the expression of St. Cyprian. Among other reasons, the multiplication of infant baptisms all through the year, the increase of rural parishes, and the growth of dioceses often prevented the bishop from being present at all baptismal celebrations. In the West the desire to reserve the completion of Baptism to the bishop caused the temporal separation of the two sacraments. The East has kept them united, so that Confirmation is conferred by the priest who baptizes. But he can do so only with the "myron" consecrated by a bishop.
1291 A custom of the Roman Church facilitated the development of the Western practice: a double anointing with sacred chrism after Baptism. The first anointing of the neophyte on coming out of the baptismal bath was performed by the priest; it was completed by a second anointing on the forehead of the newly baptized by the bishop. The first anointing with sacred chrism, by the priest, has remained attached to the baptismal rite; it signifies the participation of the one baptized in the prophetic, priestly, and kingly offices of Christ. If Baptism is conferred on an adult, there is only one post-baptismal anointing, that of Confirmation.
1292 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.

In order to properly understand the "origin" of this Sacrament, you should know that we believe Confirmation is a "continuation" of the grace offered in Baptism. The first section in the Catechism on Confirmation stresses this:
1285 Baptism, the Eucharist, and the sacrament of Confirmation together constitute the "sacraments of Christian initiation," whose unity must be safeguarded. It must be explained to the faithful that the reception of the sacrament of Confirmation is necessary for the completion of baptismal grace. For "by the sacrament of Confirmation, [the baptized] are more perfectly bound to the Church and are enriched with a special strength of the Holy Spirit. Hence they are, as true witnesses of Christ, more strictly obliged to spread and defend the faith by word and deed."

You can read the whole section on Confirmation from the Catechism if you'd like:
Catechism of the Catholic Church - PART 2 SECTION 2 CHAPTER 1 ARTICLE 2

Hope that helps.... God bless.