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Home , Confirmation, Emergency baptism, Rite, Sacramental character

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Quod ubique, quod semper, quod ab omnibus est; hoc Lutheransest etenim — interrupted tradition, eonfirmation is less suscep- vere propieque catholicum tibie to a common definition and practice. Confirmation does not lack historical precedent, but it is uncertain which of the FFICIALLY, NON-SACRAMENTAL devour more of many historical precedents should determine our definition the ’s time than those which have the confes- and practice of the rite. In Orthodox churches admin- sional like and the Lord’s Supper. ister confirmation and the immediately toi- a ’s wife made this lowing baptism. Eastern Orthodox confirmation is recognized ة16و Shortly after I was ordained in profound theological statement: “If spent as much time by the Roman , though in this communion it is evangelizing as they did with weddings, the whole world would administered later in life and by a .3 The infant confirma- have a long time ago been converted” — an exaggeration, but in tion of the Orthodox is hardly an option for Eutherans, unless some cases only exaggerations are the most effective vehicles the with oil () in Luther’s baptismal rite of 1523 ofthe truth. Whereas a baptism, over which there is no doubt (which he omitted in the 1526 rite) is recognized as confirma- about its status as a , can take fifteen minutes at the tion. Historically the chrism given at baptism was seen by some most, a wedding with the counseling, the rehearsals, the advice as the origin of confirmation.4 of the relevant mothers —counting step-mothers, there could Martin Chemnitz notes that originally baptism was accom- be as many as four —the itself, which requires that panied by the anointing and the , and that the minister be there at least thirty minutes before and the for several reasons these three actions were separated. Eirst, obligatory receptions, the time involved can be more than half those who received an heretical baptism were received into the a typical work week for our parishioners. Eor the weddings of orthodox communion with the laying on of hands. In the East seminarians, add an hour or two for the ceremony. this was accompanied with an anointing. A second case was an Until the proposal now afloat in some Lutheran churches emergency baptism administered by a layman. Its legitimacy was that the church bless the unions of same sex couples,3 we were confirmed by the laying on of hands by the . A third case more or less agreed who could get married. Even if the R0- arose with the spreading out ofthe church from the towns where man called a sacrament, Eutherans the bishop resided. When a (priest) or admin- together with the general Protestant population saw ft as the istered baptism, the bishop would come later to test and confirm blessing of a union which belonged to the kingdom ofthe right the ofthe newly baptized by the laying on of hands.3 hand and so doctrinally there was little about which to quibble. Our current rite of confirmation does not exactly correspond Eor the church, marriage is a lifelong union, but in the view of to any of these three usages, but they do provide a framework the world divorce can end ft. Each church tradition has learned within which it can be understood. We can go even further and to live within this tension. Even if we are unable to pstablish conclude that there are elements within our present rite which a firm foundation for confirmation, the Lutheran Church has have biblical precedence. Even if we should agree on a tentative learned to live with ft. $ome of our problems in defining or de- definition of confirmation, we could hardly insist that such a termining the value of church is the word “sacrament,” definition would be exhaustive or the last one. Confirmation a word and category not known in the $criptures and for which is more easily described than defined. We know that the rite is the Apology allows latitude in definition.^ administered with hands and appropriate words, but we maybe ة.less certain on what the rite requires and accomplishes A RITE WITH PRECEDENCE BUT ND DEFINITION Behind marriage, confirmation is a close second in devouring CONFIRMATION AS RITE OE PASSAGE: a minister’s time. With a more complex, diversified, and —for RATIONAEISM’S UNRECOGNIZED HERITAGE -at in Rockville, Con وWhen I arrived in January 164 npr.tir.11t■ the oldest Eutheran church in that state, I discovered

U a v id P. S c a e r , a contributing editor forL o g i a , is Professor of Sys- old photographs of the church decked out in flowers for con- tematic Theology and at Concordia Theological Semi- firmation. In the space at the middle of the rail stood a nary, Pt. Wayne, Indiana. trellis studded with white flowers, the kind of thing which reap­

49 50 LOGIA

peared in the marriage ofthe flower children in the After being ennfirmed, ennfirmands are, in the eyes of the late 1960s, when nuptials were leaving the church to take place ehureh and their parents, no longer eonsidered ehildren. Our outdoors in fields and woods. In my experience at Trinity of experienee teaehes us that children confirmed in eighth grade Elatbush in Brooklyn, New York, boy confirmands wore white can hardly be called children one year later. They have reached shirts and dark suits, and the wore long white evening-that age when they begin to assert their rights as individuals, style dresses. We all have our own memories of confirmation. often with a vengeance, ?hysical changes can be dramatic. Church basements and attics may yield their own treasures of Eighth- and ninth-grade students are at various levels of the relics from this golden age of confirmation in the Lutheran evolutionary process between childhood and adulthood. One Church — Missouri $ynod. feature of the Enlightenment definition is lost. Confirmation no longer recommends the confirmands for employment, espe- cially in a society in which the church carries few if any func- tions for the government. Eor many, responsible adulthood does not settle in until age Today childhood ends around thir- thirty, as evidenced in the sitcom Seinfeld. Today childhood teen orfourteen and a prolonged ends around thirteen or fourteen and a prolonged period of ad- olescence ends more likely in the mid- or late twenties. Mean- period ofadolescence ends more ingful, permanent employment, marriage, and parenthood are -late twenties. often first-time experiences of adults in their thirties. Confir ٠٢ -likely in the mid mation certificates as rem m endations for employment were long ago replaced by high school and now college diplomas, and in some cases master’s degrees. With all these changes the view of confirmation as the boundary between childhood and adulthood persists. This is - ، W h a t this all meant became clear in a visit to a German١١١ tural museum in Berlin, which featured an exhibit on confirma- especially true among larger Lutheran congregations with pa- tion in its nineteenth-century section. In what then had becomerochial schools, in which confirmation is almost like a bacca- a united German Empire, confirmation was the laureate service followed by graduation in a matter of weeks. from youth to adulthood. A confirmation certificate served $till popular in the older Midwest congregations are confirma- also as a diploma testifying to the good moral character ofthe tion class reunions which reinforces it as a rite of passage. High confirmand, mcommending the confirmand to his or her firstschool and college reunions assume the role that confirmation employers. It seems that this view ofthe rite came with the Ger- reunions once had. This may indicate that the church is losing man immigrants to the United $tates, where confirmation was its place as a significant factor in the lives of most . seen as a graduation ceremony from formal education, at which Many and cultures, including Jews and Moslems, time the confirmand took up manual work of some sort. Con- have rites of passage to instill in those receiving these rites and in firmation took place on Palm $unday, which was the traditional the community observing them that one phase of life has come end of the school year in Germany. In the nineteenth centuryto an end and another one is beginning. With the advent of fie- universal high school education still lay in the future, college ligionsgeschichte, EMightenment Rationalists understood that education was rare, a master’s was still the highest degree and communities are held together by their rituals and accordingly some schools like Johns Hopkins were just thinking ofimport- defined the in this way. They held that the sacraments ing the German doctor’s degree. Around the age of fourteen were only customs intended for the apostolic period and not my grandfather, Gustav Zimmermann, went to work delivering binding on the church, but still they had value as cultural forces. flowers for a New York Cfty muhi-millionaire, Eugene Higgins, Even from a confessional and biblical point ofview, church ritu- a man for whom he worked for sixty years until Higgins died in als, including the sacraments, serve to identify the community 1949. He had been confirmed and this meant in the minds of hisof believers to themselves and others and to bind them together.^ parents he was qualified for a job. Even though the Rationalists and $chleiermacher did not believe trough we may want to distance ourselves from a secular that the sacraments were mandated by God to create and con- ؟.definition of confirmation as a rite of passage, that remainsfirm faith, on this point they were right a dominant view. Any of the three understandings identified Eor example, a public ceremony of marriage makes it dif- by Chemnitz might be detected in our present rite, but they ficult for either party to return to the parental home. Euneral are incidental fo how our people view it. This blending of the services make ft clear to the family of the deceased that she or secular and religious in the one rite was a legacy ofthe eigh- he is no longer with them. Baptism commemorates the start of toenth-century EMightenment Germany, when Protestantismlife and commits the parents to their duties. In the Eord’s $up- was being transformed into Kulturreligion. a Confirmation, per the community of the followers of commemorates its confirmation reinforces the natural belief that ٠$ .as the Jewish Bar Mitzvah, still serves a cultural purpose in fellowship Christian communities in drawing a line between childhoodadulthood is fast approaching. Religiously, the confirmands and adolescence as the onset of adulthood. $trangely the Jew- acknowledge that they are now responsible members of the ish Bar Mitzvah copied many features of the Rationalistic church, and are acknowledged to be so. $chleiermacher ques- practice of confirmation/ tioned baptism of infants, but was willing to keep it with the اCONFIRMATION A^ A SACRAMENTAL RITE 5 understanding that confirmation would follow.!9 $ince $chlei- the ?ietists, especially in thnse places where it was no longer ermacher defined the sacraments sociologically as community practiced .14 True, the ?ietists left their imprint on the rite, but rites, he was under no compulsion to provide biblical precedent it was practiced irtermittently during the era. for ft. In spite of its atheism, the German Democratic Martin Bucer introduced a Rite of confirmation with the im- Republic retained a confirmation-like ceremony, which was the position of hands and the giving of the Holy Sphft, which were natural result of the Effiightenment definition ofthe rite. features ofthe Catholic rite (1538-39). His formula, “Receive the , protection and guard against all evil, strength and help to all goodness from the gracious hand of , Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen,”15 bears a faint but recognizable resemblance to the one currently used in the LCMS, “[Mary, Luther privately examined children John], God the Father of our Lord Jesus , give you his whose parents thought them to be Holy Spirit, the Spirit of wisdom and knowledge, of grace and ready for Communion, but such ex- prayer, of power and strength, of sanctification and the fear of God.”16 Bofo formulas are trinitarian, and incorporate ele- aminations could hardly be consid- ments ofthe rite of baptism. ered Confirmation rites. trough Luther did not provide a formula for a confirmation rite, as he did for those rites which he considered the real sac- raments such as baptism and the Lord’s Supper, he and Mel- anchthon were aware that some Lutherans continued the rite, and even gave their approval to some ofthem.17 The Reformers Today more and more people in Europe no longer look to wanted fo distance themselves from the medieval practice of the church for rites of passage, and so fewer people bring their confirmation which was administered with little or no instruc- children to church for baptism and confirmation. Any decline tion as an isolated sacramental rite to supplement what baptism in church statistics must be understood in the light of this phe- did not give. Whatever the Reformation objections were to the nomenon, which affects the Western world. The Church of Eng- medieval rite, it was now to be administered following cateche- land continues to experience a meteoric drop in the number of sis, though an emergency confirmation in some cases would -Roman Catholics give baptism an impor *ل. ﺋﻢ and . This had led observers to predict hardly allow that this church has already come to the edge of extinction. The tant place in their theology, but persist in holding that confir- Lutheran Church — Missouri $ynod (LCMS) is also in a trouble- mation bestows grace which baptism does not.19 some situation. It experienced 12,000 fewer baptism of infants in Completely removing confirmation from the liturgical life 2000 than in 1999. In that year 33,865 were baptized,11 a drop of of the Reformation church could have been accomplished in more than 25 percent. This means that in the year 2014 there will no easier way than with a cease and desist order as with indul- be 25 percent fewer children in our confirmation photographs. gences, private masses, and prayers to the , but the rite In light of past performances we can expect that only half of was so much a part of the German pysche that it remained in these children will be confirmed, ?eople marrying later in life place in some lands. In other lands where it stopped, it was re- and having fewer or no children account for these sad results. So instituted.79 Luther privately examined children whose parents we should not conclude that we are less fervent in our concern to thought them fo be ready for Communion, but such examina- evangelize; however, it cannot be overlooked that fewer people tions could hardly be considered confirmation rites. There were look to the church to carry out what were once considered the examinations before the congregation, but at best they wereEr- perfunctory rites of baptism, confirmation, and Marriage. satz ceremonies providing evidences that the candidates should be admitted fo the Lord’s $upper. Such examinations were ac- REFORMATION RESPONSES TO CONFIRMATION companied with prayers of the congregation. These measures The Apology ofthe Augsburg leaves the possibility proved fo be temporary and a full confirmation rite was again open that other rites besides baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and in wide use in Germany by the end ofthe sixteenth century. Absolution may be called sacraments. has a claim tro u g h Ersatz ceremonies made a contribution in inserting as a sacrament, though ft should be pointed out that the Brief an examination ofthe knowledge and determining the sincer- Statement is hardly as generous.!7 ?erhaps we should even go ity of the candidates for Holy Communion — items which were further and follow the lead of Herm ann Sasse who is critical of lacking from the Catholic rite, but without the imposition of Augustine’s sacramental definition “as a universal idea or cate- hands —it did not prove fo be an adequate substitute for the gory.”13 Setting aside the idea that there is one definitive under- older rite.7! Luther and Brenz objected to the laying on of hands standing ofthe sacraments overcomes one obstacle in definingas a necessary part of the rite,77 but ft was this part of the rite confirmation. But that does not give us a reprieve from finding which was noticeably missing and which for the people made our way through a tortured history to find one precedent for confirmation a rite. Words without symbols or symbolic ges- this rite upon which we could agree. tures can only with great difficulty be understood as rites. Fra- For Lutherans, the Reformation period should have prefer- ternal orders like the Masons, which preserved the Rationalistic ence. The medieval Catholic rite of confirmation fell into disuse heritage, understood this. It is also endemic fo the Lutheran among some Reformation Lutherans and was reintroduced by cultus that visible signs are part ofthe rituals.75 $weden offers LOGIA ق5 a story out of step with the German experience. Confirmation In some churches it has long been common to administer ,and under the influence of Ra-confirmation and the first Communion on the same Sunday وو had been abolished there in 1 3 tionalism was reintroduced in 1811.24 often ?entecost or another Sunday close to the end of the school year in the United States. This arrangement superficially resem- A REFGRMATIGN EXFERIMENT IN bles the custom of the Eastern Orthodox, who administer both THE TWFNTIFTH CENTURY the and confirmation with baptism to infants. Eike Three centuries later, a similar hand-less rite was under con- the Roman Catholics Lutherans separate the administration of sidération by the Inter-Eutheran Commission on confirmation/baptism and confirmation; Eutherans however have tradition- Eirst Communion $ubcommittee (1974-75) for the Lutheran ally placed the first Communion after confirmation. Only at the , in which the ECM$ participated. $ince chil- Council of Elorence in 1439 was confirmation recognized as a /٥ Book dren were now allowed (invited) to Communion before being sacrament. So ft is not surprising that since the Roman Church confirmed, the subcommittee discussed whether an holds that it is necessary for salvation, it accordingly allows for rite of some sort should accompany the first Communion. This its administration without prior instruction.“ Rome also rec- suggestion was rejected for several reasons, among which was ognizes the Orthodox rite which is administered immediately that another confirmation-like rite separating baptism from following baptism, and by a priest and not a bishop; however, Communion would be put in place. This would be seen as re- within her own communion Rome insists that confirmation be instating what they wanted removed. Defining confirmationperformed by a bishop. (Since Rome does not insist that a bish- was sufficiently problematic without having to provide another op administer confirmation, it should be asked why she insists theological rationale for a co!ffirmation-like ceremony. that only a bishop administer Ordination.) The commission held that baptism and no other rite was Like the rituals of baptism and the taken over from the required for reception of the $acrament. Without any firm medieval Catholic church, confirmation underwent an Evan- evidence, one might assume that in some of the churches the gelical ^construction among Eutherans, and by 1552 ft was in- ministers precede the first Communion with some type of an- troduced into church orders of ten cities and provinces.^ Even nouncement and prayers for the new communicants. While ad-if its practice was without firm historical and theological rea- mission to the first Communion in Lutheran churches was to sons from a Reformation perspective, its popularity with the be seen as a one-on-one experience between the pastor and thepeople provided a sufficient reason for its reinstitution. During child, ft could be that entire groups of children are admitted to the Adiaphoristic Controversy, an abridged rite without the im- the first Communion in the Roman Catholic style. As admin- position of hands and concentrating on the words was practiced istering first Communion before confirmation becomes more in the Eutheran congregations that dissented from the Eeipzig commonplace, ft is not unlikely that it will be by an examina- and Augsburg Interims. When the imperial forces no longer0C- tion or a rite or both, no matter how short they might be. cupied these lands, a more fully developed form was reinstitut- ed“ and had support of the leading theologian of the Eormula of Concord Martin Chemnitz:

Our theologians have often shown that if traditions that are Only at the Council ofFlorence useless, superstitious, and in conflict with $cripture are re- in 1439 was confirmation moved, the rite of confirmation can be used in godly fash- recognized as a sacrament. ion and for the edification ofthe church, namely in this way, that those who were baptized in infancy (for that is now the condition ofthe church) would, when they have arrived at the years of discretion, be diligently instructed in the sure and simple teaching of the church’s doctrine and, when ft While the influence of Roman Catholic practice on Luther- is evident that the elements ofthe doctrine have been suf- ans cannot be denied or ignored, the first Communion has been ficiently grasped, be brought afterward to the bishop and and should be seen as something special. With many of us, first the church. There the child who was baptized in infancy Communion was seen as a special occasion that took place on would by a brief and simply admonition be reminded of the $unday after we were confirmed, at which special clothing his baptism, namely, that he was baptized, how, why, and worn for confirmation was worn again. A confirmation ad- into what he was baptized, what in this baptism the whole ministered on Palm $unday was followed by an Com- Trinity conferred upon and sealed to him, namely the cov- munion. Whatever which might eventually be adopted to enant of peace and the compact of grace, how there $atan recognize the first Communion when ft precedes confirmation, was renounced and a profession of faith and a promise of it would probably or even inevitably resemble the Reformation- obedience made.29 era Ersatz rites. $hould this happen —and might have already happened —we would end up having two “confirmation” rites, Rerhaps no contemporary definition of confirmation can im- one without hands and the other with hands.“ This would only prove on this, though such phrases as “compact of grace” and compound any difficulties we would have in agreeing on a defi- “promise of obedience” seem strikingly out of place in a Lu- nition and practice of confirmation. theran context. CONFIRMATION AS A SACRAMENTAL RITE 53

Throw-away gowns may be in use and may prove . و:Chemnitz allows that following the example of the , 7 a laying on of hands could accompany this rite, but according to be less expensive and absolutely less troublesome than rentals to most commonly held Lutheran definitions, confirmation is that must be retrieved from the eonfirmands, often by the pas- ranked with the adiaphora.o We have no rite for an emergency tor or his wife, paeked and returned to some plaee in Illinois. confirmation and often Christians baptized as adults are notAs with graduations and weddings, professional photography confirmed, trough no Lutheran minister is concerned thatrounds out the eeremony. Confirmands are photographed with there is no salvation in the absence of confirmation, ft would their eomrades and individually with the pastor and parents. It be difficult to find a Lutheran church today which has taken the is almost as if we are eapturing the last and often one isolated ٠$.option of omitting it.31 moment of “regeneration” in the lives of some eonfirmands our theorem approaehes the level of absolute dogma that non- saeramental rituals devour more of the ehureh’s energies than do the so-ealled genuine saeraments. Though examination ofthe confir- FIECING TCGETHER A DEFINITIGN mands was an adjustment to the In discussing the development of confirmation in the Refor- Roman Catholic rite, it was hardly mation era, Bjarne Hareide identifies several Reformation un- derstandings of this rite which we will recognize as common original with the Reformers. among us.32 Frank $enn identifies other understandings which some Lutherans added after the Reformation First, the sacra- mental view sees the essential part of the rite in the laying on of the hands, generally by the bishop, to convey the Holy $pirit. confirmation in the Roman Catholic Church takes on the According to the Roman Catholic understanding, confirma- characteristics of baptism in giving graces not given in this $ac- tion is a self-contained sacrament giving what baptism cannot rament. Although Chemnitz vehemently objects to this, some give. $tated positively, confirmation bestows its own virtues common Lutheran understandings ofthe rite may have followed and graces complementing but not completing baptism. the course Chemnitz warns against. Rather than being an in- Against this view, which characterized the medieval and cidental or occasional rite, confirmation is administered afterthen Tridentine definition of the rite, the Lutherans raised their long, serious catechetical preparation and detailed examination objections; however, a giving of the Holy $pirit was included in and a great deal of ceremony. In this way we may have preserved some Reformation rites and is included Lutheranin Worship.33 what was best in both the Catholic and Lutheran understand- A second view places the emphasis on the instruction required ings. While we do not attach a sacramental value to confirma- in order to undergo the rite itself. This was the Reformation’s tion as we do to baptism, a rite consisting of a word promising or contribution to the practice of confirmation and was seen as -Contempo) مgiving the Holy Spftft (is there a real difference?) and the laying necessary by Luther, if it were to be continued .3 on of hands certainly has a about ft. rary Roman Catholicism requires instruction for confirma- A proposed rite avoids a specific bestowing ofthe Holy $pirit tion.) $ome Reformation-era churches used anErsatz rite, but and comes no closer to a sacramental understanding than thesewithout the imposition of hands it was hardly identical with words: “The almighty God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Roman Catholic confirmation rites. Lutheran forms of con- who has regenerated you through water and the Holy $pirit and firmation or theErsatz rite declared that the child was ready to has forgiven you all your sins, strengthen you with his grace receive the Holy Communion. to life everlasting.” $ince God trengthens only with the Holy trough examination of the confirmands was a Reformation $pirit, this may be a distinction without a difference, trough adjustment to the Roman Catholic rite, ft was hardly original confirmation is not necessary for salvation, parents not requir-with the Reformers. Already in the New Testament, instruc- ing their children to be instructed or confirmed, or children re- tion or was given the catechumens who were then fusing to be confirmed, present an issue of pastoral concern inexamined about their faith. Answers to these questions evolved repudiating an opportunity to be instructed in that word which into our Apostles’ . Thus the Reformers’ introduction of is the very substance of baptism. The pastor will have to decide instruction before receiving Holy Communion was only re- whether such persons exclude themselves from the church’s fel- instituting an early church practice used in connection with lowship. baptism in the earliest centuries. Nearly all New Testament documents were originally written as catecheses. CGNFIRMATIGN RITES TGDAY — Another contribution of the Reformation era to our under- FGFULARLY FRACTICED standing of confirmation rite was a statement of commitment Like other church rites, confirmations have a purpose in bring- by the confirmand to the Christian , which might be ing into the church services relatives and friends, who ironical- accompanied by promises of the parents and the . ly themselves may have failed to carry out what was expected of During the Middle Ages parents and godparents made these them as confirmands. The formal evening wear once in voguepromises at the baptism of their children.33 One, and perhaps in many churches has been replaced in many churches by white the chief, reason for retaining (or reinstating) the rite in the robes which may have some biblical significance drawn from Reformation were the Anabaptist objections to the Lutheran 54 LOGIA practice of baptizing infants, which they wrongly saw as be- mands say something about their faith. It should be noted that ing administered without faith.36 Baptism of infants gave the the Apostles’ Creed, the premier eonfession, arose as the re- Anabaptists cause to accuse the Lutherans of spiritual laxity, a sponse to questions asked of the baptized before that saerament charge still leveled against Lutherans by the Reformed. A rite was administered. of confirmation in which baptismal vows were remembered or Lutherans agree with Roman Catholies that baptism grants even repeated served to answer these objections. These played graee, but do not see eonfirmation or any other rite as neeessary a role in Martin Bucer’s rite of confirmation.^ Confirmationor upplementing what may be laeking in baptism. Lor $ehlei- hardly gave the Anabaptists reason fo desist from their accusa- ermaeher baptism without eonfirmation is ineomplete. Lor R0- tions that the Lutherans baptized infants without faith. Later man Catholies baptism is complete, but confirmation provides the Rietists changed Bucer’s understanding of confirmationthings baptism does not. In defining confirmation, we eannot -renewal.3® release ourselves from the two alternatives of seeing it as some ص as a remembrance of baptismal vows to a ritual The current LCM$ rite of confirmation, “Do you this day in thing God does towards us (the Roman Catholie view) or some- the presence of God and of this congregation acknowledge thething we do towards God (general Rrotestant view). gifts which God gave you in your baptism?” preserves Bucer’s thinking of a repetition of the rite of baptism, something re- CAN WE HAVE A PGSITIGN ON C.ONETRMATTON? sembling the now common practice of renewing or repeatingIn unsettled times, historicism, gently disguised as Romanti- ofmarriage vows. This may provide the best possible definition cism, offers a secure haven. It is a kind of nostalgia for what are for our practice of confirmation, or at least this understanding considered the better days of years gone past. Historicism fails would have to be included. to provide solutions when it draws from any number of eras. Its discoveries can be contradictory and unsettling, for example, the practice of some churches requiring personal confessions of faith instead of questioning the confirmands about the cat- echism was initiated by the Rietists. Typically Rietism held that Reformation Lutherans put the the sincerity of faith ifides qua) was more important than its contentifides quae). Later the Rationalists took this one step a confession further and had the confirmands prepare written confessions»٠ greater weight offaith. Pietists used Confirmation which they read to the congregation. Hrey wanted to make sure that confirmands understood what they believed. to test the sincerity ofpersonalfaith. This happened in the case of two of my children. One had to get to the church one hour earlier than the examination to write an essay on com m unication, and the other had the privilege of writing the essay at home. A good essay on the topic of regular church attendance was given by one confirmand in the younger ©ur situation in the United $tates today is different from son’s class. Only after hearing the prepared paper did I learn that the Reformation-era Germany, but not without parallels. With neither he nor his parents were faithful church goers. Also part the influence of revivals in the United $tates, especially as they of the ceremony for many of us, and part ofthe proposed liturgy have been popularized in the media by Billy Graham, confir- for confirmation, is recitation of a verse. This has the effect mation still answers those concerns that Christians baptized as of being a special word of God for the rest of our lives. At life’s infants are less involved in their churches than those baptized end this verse at the request ofthe deceased or the survivors has as adults. It is doubtful whether baptistic church bodies are any served as the text for the sermon. $urprise of surprises, more impressed with our rite of confirmation than were the this was an innovation ofthe Rationalists and not a specifically Reformation-era Anabaptists, but it does serve the purpose of Lutheran practice. Also part of the Rationalistic heritage was saying that faith is required for salvation. This can lead to the a pastoral exhortation for the confirmands to keep their vows !ffiuderstanding that Lutherans hold to the Reformed view which were made to God and not man.39 How many pious par- that baptism of infants is administered without faith and hence ents have exhorted their wayward children by reminding them a ritual like confirmation compensates for this deficit, a view of their confirmation vows, a most Reformed understanding of held by $cheiermacher, who has remained influential in Rrot- the sacraments in general! Elaborate dress and church decora- estant theology. tion also is the heritage of Rationalism and not the Reformation. At the heart of our differences with the Reformed in general Thus in using history and tradition to put together a doctrinal or and the in particular are entirely different understand-working definition, we may learn that things to which we dearly ings of baptism, faith, and anthropology. Lor Baptists baptism hold have no real place in Lutheran theology. Things we assumed serves as a confession offaith or pledge and for Lutherans it is a fo be L u th e ra n are not. self-contained rite presupposing, confirming, or creating faith but not dependent on faith for its value. Like any other church THE RGCKY RGAD T© DEFINITION rite, baptism is a confession in the sense that ft says something Historical romanticism is fraught with difficulties, but still what about what we believe. This is also true of confirmation whether Lutherans did in the formative years ofthe Reformation helps or not we articulate ft in just this way. In this rite the confir- us understand what we do now. Hareide’sDie Konfirmation in CONFIRMATION AS A SACRAMENTAL RITE 55 der Reformationszeit provides an excellent overview of the im- most correct answers; intellectual capacity is mistaken for faith. portant years from 1520 to 1585. Lutherans then as now were notOne hesitates to say that this is the heritage of Rationalism. all of one mind in the practice and ritual of confirmation. It was a matter of discussion with their Roman Catholic opponents FRETENDING TO HAVE A POSITION from Augsburg in 1530 fo Regensburg in 1541. Ironically, in cov- AND A PRACTICE ering diverse definitions and practices of confirmation, we areSeminary students are prepared to give instruction for confir- strangely the Reformation’s true children. With the convening mation hy courses in the Lutheran Confessions and ed- of the (1545), the Roman Catholic party so- ucation. They are required to recite Luther’s Small , lidified and codified medieval doctrinal definitions. What had but fo the best of my knowledge they are not given any dog- been said about confirmation at the Council of Tlorence (1439) matical basis for the rite itself. Any knowledge of the actual was affirmed at Trent. practice and administration of the rite has to come from the Even if Lutherans had not come to a common understandingvicarage supervisor. One can only conclude that a supervising of confirmation during the Reformation, Trent did determinepastor fills in the gaps for future pastors as they actually carry what would be unacceptable. The Augsburg Interim (1548) re- out the instruction leading fo confirmation and perform the quired Lutherans to accept certain elements ofthe Roman Cath- rite. Some of us know what fo do because we were confirmed, ,definition^** but the Leipzig Interim^! in the same year was so it can be assumed that we all know what confirmation is آ؛1 م more moderate. Lutherans could not object fo confirmation per what we are to do, what is happening, and what the benefits se, but whatever was forced upon them, especially in times of are. With a greater portion of seminary students coming from persecution, was unacceptable.42 As the Reformation era came non-Lutheran homes, knowledge from this kind of firsthand to an end, confirmation with some of the Catholic elements experience can no longer be presupposed. Neither the Con- contained in the interims were gradually more widely accepted fessions nor the synodically adopted documents like the Brief by the Lutherans, but it was still not a universal practice. It was Statement define confirmation. Thus confirmation is a work in not an either/or matter,43 which is the character of adiaphora. process, just as it was in the Reformation, which results in in- Ceremonies attached to the necessary rites ofthe sacraments do consistencies. not all have to be the same. Even more so, freedom is allowed in ceremonies attached to a rite like confirmation. LIVINC WITH INCONSISTENCIES It seems that we require less of adults joining the church than ؟SIFTING THRGUGH THE PARTS TO we do of our children. One Lutheran church confirms adult CGNSTRUCT THE WHOTF after three hours with the pastor over coffee and donuts. Epis- Hareide finds that the Lutheran Reformation confirmation copal churches have a session or two before the bishop shows rites had four parts in common: (1) public examination, (2) a up on the designated $unday morning. Ministers face the di- confession based on the catechism, (3) prayer, and (4) a bless- lemma of younger confirmands who absent themselves from ing. Other rites included: (5) an explanation of confirmation,most of the instruction and whose parents still insist that they (6) an admonition, (7) questions attached to a vow, (8) answersbe confirmed. Adults are often not totally faithful in receiving to the vow, and (9) the imposition ofthe hands. The most com- instruction. In one case, a man sent his wife, who was already mon form had five parts: (1) an examination, (2) confession, (3) a member, in his stead —vicarious confirmation. Then there is prayer, (4) imposition of hands, and (5) the blessing.44 My own the problem of the pastor who determines that members con- confirmation seems fo have fit the longer form with nine parts, firmed in one Lutheran congregation and received by transfer with the examination being administered before the congrega- do not even have a minimal knowledge of the Christian faith. tion on the $unday prior fo the rite itself, a practice instituted (Do they know the Apostles’ Creed and the sacraments?) The by the Rationalists. once intensive period of catechism instruction for both chil- Roman Catholics emphasized confirmation as a rite confer- dren and adults, which most of us received, has under societal ring sacramental grace. Reformation Lutherans put the greater pressures gradually fallen away in many churches. Churches weight on a confession offaith. Pietists used confirmation to test with parochial schools can enforce stricter standards. Rastors the sincerity of personal faith and the Rationalists wanted to without parochial schools have to depend on the good will of make sure that confirmands used as many of their intellectual parents and the children to receive instruction. talents (reason) as possible. Most of us have engaged in confir- mation rites which have had these elements.’s INCCNSISTENCIES THAT GNLY CUR PEGPLE SEE rite seems to be a construct of Catholic, Reformation, and per- Then there are the anomalies which only our parishioners see. haps ?ietistic elements: hands are laid on with a giving of the A person baptized as a child is later confirmed, but a baptized Holy $pirit, confirmands are asked about their faith, and a vow adult is not confirmed. Strangely an unbaptized child taking is extracted from them. No provision is made for a personal instruction for confirmation will often be baptized and then statement offaith, a prepared written discourse, or the relatively confirmed in the same service, but an adult entering the church intensive examination in which we were required to know themight only be baptized. This says more about what we think of number and names of the natures in Christ and differencesbaptism than what we think of confirmation, but ft does that between original and actual sin. This approach might have led too. We have in fact divided baptism into baptism of infants some ministers to commend confirmands able to provide the and baptism of adults, as if the age of the recipients determines 56 LOGIA

the character of this sacrament. Think of this situation.A child have been no better than New York today. At one point Luther of eleven is baptized and can only receive Communion after he was so disgusted with the laek of response to his Reformation is confirmed perhaps two or three years later, but an adolescent that he refused to preaeh. fifteen or older can receive Communion right after he is bap- tized. These are questions for which I do not have immediate BEING TOO HARD ON OURSELVES answers, but which show that we have difficulties in defining Under external pressure from ehurehes that doubt the ef- both confirmation and baptism. fieaey of the baptism of infants and internal pressure of our A precise or a commonly agreed upon definition of confir- own tradition fo continue the practice of confirmation, some mation may not be possible, and those who favor eliminating churches may have attempted to beef up the rite. To keep the the rite have historical precedents for support. But there are confirmands faithful for one additional year after their confir- also compelling reasons for not taking this step. Eliminatingmation, a church might give the confirmands their certificates the rite will loosen one ofthe bonds which have held congrega- the following year. The ?ietistic custom of having the confir- tions and churches together. Confirmation is one way in which mands give a personal confession of faith and the Rationalistic we relate to one another as Lutherans. Remove confirmation addition of requiring prepared statements of faith are also not and what distinguishes Eutherans from other Rrotestants unknown among us. would be lost. More importantly the Reformation contribution It is doubtful that the attempts to adjust the rite itself have which balanced the weight between confirmation as a mere produced any measurable results. This desire to nail down the ritual and as a ceremony concluding a period of instruction moment of confirmation so that this moment becomes a per- would be lost. manent lifetime commitment may come from the supposedly Humanly speaking, confirmation instruction becomes the successful rallies of evangelists, especially Billy Graham, who pastor’s last opportunity to inculcate with Christian teach- continues fo attract large audiences in person and through the ings those who will soon put their childhood behind them. No media. His rate of success and failure among those who have matter how confirmation is defined, ft has for thousands, per- made personal decisions for Christ may be no better than our haps millions, of Lutherans been the defining moment in theirstatistics with baptism and confirmation. Then there is the Christian life to which they have looked back with happiness. question of determining how many of these decisions are au- Often the pastor who confirmed them remains in their mindsthentic. $ome of those making decisions on any given night, their pastor for the rest of their lives. The ritual and the other perhaps the majority of them, do so only to encourage others. events ofthat day are firmly impressed in their memories, and, Our statistics may give the impression that as a church we are for good reason, the Bible passage spoken over them during not doing our job — at least as well as we should. confirmation has a special force and is often requested for their funeral sermons. LIVING W ITH EAIT.URE Eailure is the downside of preaching the and adminis- DELIVERING THE INSTRUCTION (CATECHESIS) tering the sacraments. It is a fact of church life from which we Without even getting into a theological understanding of con-would like to run. It is hard to accept and can be understood firmation, we should be generally agreed that up to now ft has only within biblical dimensions. Jesus’ Parable of the $ower is played an important part in the lives of our people. I say “up to the story of how ultimately succeeds in some lives, now,” simply because as the influence of the church wanes in but fails in most. The productive seed that falls on the good our society, so also the desire for confirmation among our peo- soil is the last attempt which follows the failures of the seed pie for their children. One ofthe more courageous stands was which falls on the road, on the rocky ground, and among the taken by His Late Eminence, Archbishop Cardinal O’Connor ofweeds. No sermon can ever be preached, no instruction giv- New York, in raising a mighty protest against $unday morning en, no church rite, including baptism and confirmation, can soccer. He took ft in the neck from the media, but he uncovered ever be administered with the understanding that the gospel a weakness even among Christian parents who put a greaterwill accomplish a saving purpose in every person who hears value in having their children kick around a black-and-whiteor receives ft. When growing statistics become the doctrine by ball on $unday mornings than they do on Jesus Christ and the which the church stands or falls, we take upon ourselves an things of salvation. unnecessary burden. Every minister faces the personal sorrow Of course, delivering the Christian faith is not only a $unday ofoo^ronting baptized and confirmed people who for one rea- morning problem, but a $aturday one foo. Elementary school son or another fall away. preempts the other five mornings of the week, and so, like a Then there is the unrelated statistic of those who once made beggar, the church grovels through the afternoon and evening a commitment for the ministry and did not fulfill ft or have looking for an hour to accomplish her mission. During the even fallen from the faith. My experience goes back to enter- absence of Johannes Bugenhagen from $aint Mary’s in Wit-ing prep school in Bronxville in 1949. Even an intense religious tenberg, Luther preached catechetical sermons from which the and theological education does not guarantee perseverance in Large Catechism came. With the decline of the church’s grip the faith. Ministers now know of grandparents who want their on people’s lives and the growing difficulty of delivering cat- grandchildren baptized and confirmed, but the parents see no echetical education, $unday morning catechesis maybe one so- value in any ofthe church’s rituals even as rites of passage. Even lution, even ifit is only temporary. Wittenberg in the 1520s may eighteenth-century German Rationalism had a religious tone CONFIRMATION AS A SACRAMENTAL RITE 57

to it and so the people looked to the church for baptism, confir- life to God. It gives the Holy Spirit with the laying on of hands mation, and marriage. and reeognizes the eonfirmand as worthy to reeeive the Holy Within our context this desire to have the church involved at Communion. This definition eould easily fit baptism. With the any juncture of life is gradually being eroded away. Even when exeeption of the laying on of hands, these things happen every parishioners and non-parishioners request the church’s rites time the ehureh assembles on Sunday mornings. for themselves or their family members, they may be less than Giving the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands may fully informed or even have erroneous understandings of the be problematie, but it is not necessarily problematie. Roman rites. In spite of extensive counseling by the minister, there is Catholie dependenee on the apostolie laying on of hands on no assurance that the applicants accept the church’s view ofthe the Samaritans previously baptized by Rhilip ean only with rite or for that matter, even understand it. $till the benefits of great diffieulty be seen as referring to the rite of eonfirmation any rite do not depend on the recipients’ understanding of it.as we know it; however, in the New Testament the laying on of hands was used for any number of oeeasions. In all of these CCNFIRMATICN AS CCMFCSITE BITE eases the Holy Spirit was given in one way or another, but with Triedrich Daniel Ernst Schleiermacher defined theologybywhat the understanding that the Spirit was equipping the reeipient he observed the church doing.45 In the case of confirmation we for a partieular work or thing. To say that the baptized already maybe left without any other choice in coming to a definition. have the Spirit and do not need him is true enough, but the As confirmation is practiced today, ft is a picture or moment Spirit can be given to carry out a particular work in the church ofthe Christian life in miniature. It requires instruction in the or to help a person faee a eertain period of his life, which for the Christian faith, acknowledgment of sin, confession in Christconfirmands as are filled with more uncertainties than any other Eord, a sincere desire to live without sin and to commit one’s

NCTES 1. See Herbert chilstrom. Sexual Fulfillment: For Single and Mar- parents to ask for forgiveness and their blessing. “Confirmation was ried. Straight and Gay, Young and o ld (Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg one’s admission to Holy Communion, and also the requirement for get- Fortress, 2001). chilstrom is the immediate past presiding bishop ofthe ting married in the church or serving as a baptismal sponsor. In not a Evangelical Lutheran Church ill America. For an appraisal, see Rich- few places in the early nineteenth century, it was also an admission into ard John Neuhaus, “The Public Square,”First Things no. 118 (December civil right and privileges such as going to high school, joining a guild, 2001): 92. getting a job, or (for upper-class girls) making one’s debut in society 2. Ap XIII, 2: “But we do not think that it makes much difference if, (far which purpose confirmation was sometimes delayed)” (561). for the purpose of teaching, different people have different enumera- 8. Consider the first part of Ap XV (Latin), “sacraments were insti- tions, as long as they properly preserve the matters handed down ill tuted not only to be marks of profession among human beings. . . ” Scripture.” All quotations ofthe Lutheran Confessions are taken from 9. For a discussion of baptism and confirmation in the theologies Kolb-Wengert. Sacramentum is used ill Ephesians to translate the ofthe Rationalists and Schleiermacher, see Havid p. Scaer, “The Hoc- Greek wordmysterion : “Sacramentum hoc magnum est ego autem dicotrine of baptism of infants in the German Protestant Ereology of the ,It seems that Paul realizes that the word Nineteenth Century” (Th.D. diss., Concordia Seminary, Louis .( وin Christo et،« ecclesia” (5:2 mystery or sacrament might be understood by his readers to refer to Missouri, 1963), 22-72. .Faith, ed»»' ٠١٢؛؛؟، marriage. He clarifies this by using the word of Christ's relationship to 10. Friedrich Haniel E r n s tSchleiermacher, The ,( و9 اthe church; however, here might be the roots of its being used of a riteH. R. Mackintosh and]. s. Stewart (New York: Harper and Row,6 -Hence our paragraph, by making confirmation a part ofthe ad“ :وor institution 2:67 -Catholic Church (Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, ministration of baptism, lays it as a duty on the Church to give con 1 ا؛ ٠/ﺀ Catechism . و Compare this with The Seventh Session ofthe Council firmation very close attention, ill order that, so far as the Church can .و para.112 ,(1994 - III: “If anyone says that the ordinary secure it, the later rite may approve itself the true and worthy consum , و1 وof Trent, March 47 minister of holy confirmation is not solely the bishop, but any simple mation ofinfant baptism.” priest, let him be a n a th e mquoted a ill Martin Chemnitz,Examina- 11. “Congregations’ gifts rise as member numbers fill,”The Luther- .Council ofTrent, trails. Fred Kramer (Saint Louis: Concordia an Witness 120, no. 12 (Hecember 2001): 14 «ﺀأا؛/ه ١٠؛ Publishing House, 1971), 2:181. 12. Ap X III, 11: “But if ordination is understood with reference to the -And I anointministry thee ofthe Word, we have no objection to calling ordination a sac“ :(ق5 ا( ا«؟،؛م«ﺀ Martin Luther, The 0 / 3 .4 ”.rament و-10).5 وAE9):و ”with the oil of salvation ill Jesus Christ our Lord Hermann Sasse, “Word andSacrament: Preaching and the Lord’s . وChemnitz, Examination, 2:208-10. 1 . و ﺀ1 ا؛ ill We Confess ,و69ا Lutheran Pastors, No. 42, July ٠؛ Lutheran Church (Saint Supper,”Letters 1 ا؛ «، «ﻣﻲ،«ا«م«ﻣﺖﺀ) Arthur c. Repp’s .6 Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1964) remains the best overview Sacraments, trails. Norman Nagel (Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing ofthe history of confirmation among Lutherans. A specialist ill edu-House), 14: “Christ did not institute some abstractsacramentum. He cation. Repp saw the rite as part ofthe child’s incorçioration into theinstituted the office ofthe ministry, baptism, Holy Communion, and Reprinted ill Hermann Sasse, We .-6 وcongregation. the office ofthe keys.” See also 1 1 7. For a discussion of confirmation ill the age of Rationalism, seeConfess Anthology (Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1999). .Liturgy: Catholic and Evangelical (Minneapo- 14. Repp, Confirmation, 68»»، ٠١٢؛؟، ,Frank c. Seim provides ( ا« م«رم؛«،Repp (38 ,»0 .وLiturgy, 50»»، ؛؟'٠١٢١ ,under the section entitled “The Rite of 15. Seim , 9־62وو ,(lis: Fortress Press, 1997 Confirmation and Culture ”: Following the custom of theanother translation: “Receive ye the Holy Spirit, Refuge and Protector Pietists, the confirmands were required to write a confession of theiragainst all harm, Strength and Help for all good from the hand of God, personal faith. Vows, and admonitions by the pastors to keep theirFather, Son and Holy Spirit.” vows, were at the center ofthe ceremony. Our custom of giving each 16. Lutheran Worship (Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, child a Bible passage comes from this period. In some cases a moralis- 1982), 206-7. :Reformationszeit ٢؟tic saying was substituted and ill other cases the children went to their 17. See Bjarne Hareide, Die Konfirmation ،، in LOGIA ﺀو

Eine Untersuchung der lutherische Konfirmation in Deutschland1520- as one of the functtons asstgned to and not priests. Since it 1585 (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1966). is listed with the blessing of bells, no wonder Melanchthon sees little 18. For a contemporary Roman Catholic understanding of conhr- value in the rite. .Catholic Church, para. 1309. 31. It was not practiced in eighteenth century ﺀأا؛/ه mation, seeCatechism 19. Ibid., para. 1315-21. Apostolic precedence is found in Acts 8:14- 32. Hareide, Konfirmation. For an overview see the table of con- 17 with the laying on ofthe hands on those baptized hy Philip. “Con- tents (7-8). .Lutheran Worship, 205-8 . وو hrmation perfects baptismal grace.” It grants an indelible character and is administered in the West after the child has reached the age of 34· Hareide ( Konfirmation, 58-59) notes that in the late Middle reason; however, the Eastern practice of administering baptism, con- Ages very little instruction, if any, was given before administering ftrmation, and Communion during infancy is acceptable. confirmation 20. Hareide, Konfirmation, 151. 3 5 · Ibid., 56-57· 21. Ibid. See also Seim, , 350-51. 36. For a lively presentation of the presence of faith in infants at the ﺗﻤﻢ־ﺀﺀا، Senn, Christian Liturgy, 350· Without time of their baptism, see Karl Brinkel, Die Lehre Luthers von ,׳Hareide, Konfirmation,1 6 5 .22 ,bei der Kindertaufe (Berlin: Evangelische Verlagsanstalt اﺳﻢ' س/«'ا -instruction, the papal conftrmation was for Euther“Affenspiel”— moil key business. 1958). Also see the chapterOtt infant faith in Havid F. Scaer, Baptism, 23. The ApologyX111 opens the door for multiple sacraments and Confessional Eutheran Hogmatics 9 (Saint Louis: Euther Academy, concedes that confirmation and extreme unction are inherited from 1999), 147-56· the Fathers, which even the Roman church does not require for salva- 37. Senn, Christian Liturgy, 350. tion.Kolb-Wengert , 2 2 0 -2 1 . 38. Ibid., 360. 24. Seim, Christian Liturgy, 559, 561. 39. Ibid., 361. 25. See Jeffrey A. Truscott, “Ritualizing First Communion: A Re- 40. The Augsburg Interim, which required Eutheran submission, turn to the ‘Fleshpots of Egypt,’”Lutheran Forum 35,110. 3 (Fall 2001): set forth a classical Catholic dehnition of conhrmations aas r ra a m p n t 24-26. While the title of this article is in itself revealing in warning which provided nourishment to the baptized. New Testament support against another separation of baptism from Holy Communion, forwas anchored in Acts 8:17, in which the apostles gave the Spirit to the those who desire more information note should be made of his Ph.H.baptized Samaritans hy the laying on of hands; Fuke 24:49, 111 which dissertation from Notre Hame, “Ecclesiological Baptism and Baptis- Jesus promises the Holy Spirit; and John 14:26, ill which Jesus prom- mal : Baptism, Affirmation of Baptism, and First Com- ises that the Holy Spirit will teach all things. From Acts 8:17 the rite munion in Eutheran Book ofWorship.” This article provides a valuable originally consisted only of the laying on of hands to which anointing bibliography on the matter. with oil was added to signify the giving ofthe Spirit. Also required was Catholic Church, 331, para. 1307: “But in instructionabout conhrmation, confession of Christ, and obedience ﺀأا؛/ه The Catechism .26 danger of death children should be conftrmed even if they have not yet to the church. It was administered by the bishop at the age of under- attained the age of discretion.” standing, but could with good conscience be given earlier. See Robert of س، ﺀﺀاﻣﺢ/ه־ Contexts ا،س Liturgy , 350. Repp Kolh and James A. Nestingen, eds..Sources»»، ؛؟، ٠١٢,For a listing ofthe names, see Seim .27 (Confirmation, 17) notes that conftrmation was part of Bugenhagen’s Concord (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2001), 160-61. Church Order for Brandenburg (1540) and the Wittenberg Reforma- 41. The Leipzig Interim was less burdensome and required exami- tion (1545). nation hy the bishop or his designee and reaffirmed promises made 28. Hareide, Konfirmation, 64-73. in baptism. The conhrmed were strengthened hy the 29. Chemnitz, Examination, 2:212. Lutheran objections to the R0- through the laying on ofthe hands and prayers (Kolh and Nestingen, man Catholic rite of conftrmation can be found in 2:181-216. See alsoeds., Sources and Contexts, 392). Seim, Christian Liturgy, 351. 42. See FC SD X, 26-28, “Concerning Ecclesiastical Fractices That 30. Ap X III, 6: “Confirmation and extreme unction are rites inher- Are Called Adiaphora.” Eutherans rejected human commands im- ited from the Fathers, which even the church does not require as nec- posed upon the church hy force. essaryto salvation, since they lack the command ofGod.” At the time 43. Hareide, Konfirmation, 300. .Aquinas in 44. Ibid., 295-96 ؛ﺀﻟالﻣﺂ of the Reformation, Roman Catholics followed1 holding that, “Conftrmation is necessary for salvation, although one 45. Schleiermacher, The Christian Faith, 1:88. Consider for example can be saved without it as long as it is not held in contempt.” The only his paragraph 19: “Hogmatic Theology is the science which system- other reference to conftrmation is in the Treatise (73), where it is listed atizes the doctrine prevalent in a Christian Church at a given time.” آلﻣﺂورلم؛

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