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Confirmation/Reaffirmation of Baptismal Vows
Home > Life Events > Confirmation/Reaffirmation of Baptismal Vows
The practice of Confirmation is in transition. A generation ago, when Anglicans mostly brought their infants for baptism, Confirmation was celebrated by twelve-year-olds as a personal “taking-on” of the vows which had been made for them by their parents and godparents in baptism.
Three factors have intervened to modify this practice.
- The first is that fewer and fewer “cradle Anglicans” are bringing their infants for baptism. This means that many who come for baptism today are old enough to make their vows for themselves: they do not need a supplementary rite, such as confirmation, in order to do so.
- Secondly, the Church has recognized that adolescence is possibly the worst time to ask people for a life commitment. Young people are seeking to define their identity, and they do this, in part, by pushing against the boundaries, and questioning authority – including that of the Church. It is hardly fair to ask them to commit to something it is only normal for them to reject for a time. Consequently, many churches are delaying confirmation until young people have weathered these storms, and are truly ready to reaffirm the vows of their baptism.
- Thirdly, the Anglican Church realises that the desire and need to recommit to the vows of baptism can occur more than once in our lives. For any number of reasons – perhaps a falling away, or a serious illness, or an experience of the numinous, or a simple renewal of interest in the Christian message – adults find themselves needing a way to make a public declaration of their re-commitment to the Christian way. This is Confirmation.
Confirmation and the Reaffirmation of Baptismal Vows (in the presence of the bishop) are essentially the same thing. Generally speaking, the first time one does this, we call it Confirmation. Thereafter, it is called Reaffirmation.
For further information, please download the brochure or contact the Church Office.
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