Sect. 255The Minister, Recipient, and Effects of ConfirmationThe Minister, Recipient, and Effects of Confirmation

I. We read in the Acts of the Apostles that, after the Samaritan converts had been baptized by Philip the deacon, the Apostles “sent unto them Peter and John, who, when they were come, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost; for He was not yet come upon any of them, but they were only baptized in the Name of the Lord Jesus; then they laid their hands upon them, and they received the Holy Ghost” (8:14–17, cf. also 19:2–6). It is plain from this that the Apostles, and not the deacons, were the ministers of the sacrament. But a celebrated difficulty has arisen as to whether this office can be exercised by simple priests, whose position lies midway between that of the bishops and that of the deacons.

According to present practice, the bishops alone in the Western Church can administer Confirmation; in extraordinary cases, however, with special powers granted by the Pope, simple priests can also administer it. On the other hand, in the Eastern Churches, simple priests are commonly the ministers; and their ministration is accepted by the Western Church as valid. There is no doubt that, though the Eastern use is tolerated, the Western is more in accordance with the Tridentine decree, the teaching of the Fathers, and theological reason. The Council condemns those who say “that the ordinary minister of holy Confirmation is not the bishop alone, but any simple priest soever” (sess. vii., De Conf., can. 3). St. Cyprian says that “they who are baptized in the Church are presented to the bishops (præpositis) of the Church, and by our prayer and imposition of hands they receive the Holy Ghost and are perfected with the seal of the Lord” (Ep. lxxiii. ad Jubajanum). St. Cornelius requires the faithful “to be sealed by the bishop (σφραγισθῆναι ὑπὸ τοῦ ἐπισκόπου)” Apud Euseb., Hist. Eccl., vi. 43). “As regards the sealing of infants,” says Pope St. Innocent, “it is clear that it is not lawful for it to be done by any one but a bishop (non ab aliis quam ab episcopo fieri licere). For presbyters, though they be priests of the second rank (second priests), have not attained to the summit of the pontificate. That this pontificate is the right of bishops only—to wit, that they may seal or deliver the Spirit, the Paraclete—is demonstrated not merely by ecclesiastical usage, but also by that portion of the Acts of the Apostles wherein it is declared that Peter and John were sent to give the Holy Ghost to those who had already been baptized. For when presbyters baptize, whether with or without the presence of a bishop, they may anoint the baptized with chrism, provided it be previously consecrated by a bishop, but not sign the forehead with that oil, which is a right reserved to bishops (episcopis) only, when they give the Spirit, the Paraclete. The words, however, I cannot name, for fear of seeming to betray rather than to reply to the point on which you have consulted me” (Ep. xxv. ad Decentium, n. 6).

II. Confirmation can be conferred only on those who have already been baptized, and in order to receive it worthily they must already be in a state of grace. “Confirmation is to Baptism what growth is to generation. Now, it is clear that a man cannot advance to a perfect age unless he has first been born; in like manner, unless he has first been baptized he cannot receive the sacrament of Confirmation” (St. Thomas, 3, q. 72, a. 6). Moreover, Baptism is, as we have seen, the gate of the other sacraments (Decr. pro Armenis). If it be objected that the early Christians received the Holy Ghost before they were baptized (Acts 10:44), we reply that by a miracle they received the effect of Confirmation, but not the sacrament itself (St. Thomas, l.c.). Confirmation is not necessary for salvation; nevertheless, so important a means of grace ought not to be lightly neglected. It was formerly administered immediately after baptism, as indeed is still the custom in the Greek Church. The Catechism of the Council of Trent, however, recommends its postponement at least until the candidate is seven years old: “for Confirmation has not been instituted as necessary to salvation, but that by virtue thereof we might be found very well armed and prepared when called upon to fight for the faith of Christ; and for this kind of conflict no one will consider children, who still are without the use of reason, to be qualified” (Part II. chap. 3, q. 17).

III. The effects of Confirmation are: (1) grace, and (2) a character.

1. As Confirmation is “a true and proper sacrament” (Council of Trent, sess. vii., can. 1), it must have the power of conferring grace. This grace is not that by which the sinner is reconciled to God, but that by which we are made more and more pleasing to Him. “Do penance, and be baptized every one of you in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:38). In particular we receive the gifts of the Holy Ghost; and of these especially fortitude to profess our faith and to fight against the enemies of our souls. “Stay you in the city till you be endued with power from on high.… You shall receive the power of the Holy Ghost coming upon you, and you shall be witnesses unto Me” (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:8).

2. On the character conferred by Confirmation, see supra, p. 375.

See St. Thomas, 3, q. 72; Chardon, liv. i. sect. ii.; De Augustinis, i. 409; Billot, p. 265; Dict. de Théol. Cath., CONFIRMATION; Cath. Encyclopædia, CONFIRMATION Turmel, pp. 130, 250, 301, 427.