Mij for tfaeir wd&re, ordaining elders, imparting mi- racnlooB gifts, so important to the instruction of con- rerts, and to the fornbliing convincing evidences of the trath and power of the (jk)8peL The unction, or ehrism, referred to in 1 Jolm ii, 27, and 2 Cor. i, 21, has been supposed by some to refer to the ceremony of confirmation ; it seems rather to relate to a spiritual anointing, to the royal and priestly dignity of Chris- tians, or to the conmiunication of extraordinaiy and nuraculons gifts. (2.) As the practice cannot be traced to Kew-Testament authority, so neither do the earliest records of ecclesiastical antiquity contain any dear and certain testimony concerning it. Passages supposed to refer to this rite have been pointed out in the writings of Dionysius, in the Apostolical Con- stitutions, in Clement, and in Eusebius; but they rather relate to the sacrament of baptism. Confab matim mi connte^on wUh baptism may be traced to the time of TertuUian, who informs us that the ceremo- nies of unction and the imposition of hands followed immediately alter baptism. Cyprian refers to the subject of confirmation, and applies to it the word iocramentwnf but it is evident, fh>m the use of the term at the time in which he wrote, and from the scope of the passages in which it occurs, that sacrct' mentum was not used in its strictly theological mean- ing, but simply in the sense of eeremony. Numerous references to later writers might be made to show the connection of baptism and confirmation. The baptism of adults being regarded as a solemn compact or cove- nant, confirmation flawed as the seal by which the contract was ratified ; and hence confirmation waMid- ministered, not by the person officiating, but by the bishop. At the stated baptismal seasons, the Ushop was chiefly occupied with the rite of confirmation ; but be sometimes commenced the whole solemnity by the baptism of a few individuals with his own hands. When baptism was administered in the absence of the bishop, confirmation was solemnized at some conven- ient season afterwards, either by the bishop or by his representative. Hence it followed that confirmation was often deferred until several years after baptism, especially in those dioceses which were seldom visited, either on account of their great extent, or the negli- gence or ignorance of the bishop. Even after the ffm- frd introduction of infant baptism, confirmation im- mediately succeeded. In the Oriental churches, bap- tism, confirmation, and the Lord's Supper are admin- istered in immediate succession ; a probable evidence that such was the ancient custom. (8.) The perma- nent separation of confirmation firom baptism is genei^ Ally traced to the ISth century. The bishop was, for the most part, the ordinaiy minister. Several canons ^y to the other orders of the clergy the right of con- finning ; but presbyters appear to have conferred int- pofiition of hands, (a) in the absence of the bishop ; <>r, (&) in the presence of the bishop, only by his ex- press orders ; or, (c) on the conversion of a reputed heretic, if such a one, desirous of being received into the church, was at the point of death while the bishop was absent. Deacons were on an equality with pres- byters fai this respect, until they were absolutely foi^ bidden to administer this rite by the Council of Tole- do, A.D. 400.
In the Latin Church, after the separation of con- finnation from baptism, a series of preliminary relig- *0M exercises was requisite for ttus rite, similar to tbose which had been previously required for baptism. Raines given in baptism were sometimes changed in confirmation. Sponsors were also required; and a •fPwate edifice in some instances provided, called con- yf^otoriuM^ (ilbaioriwn, and chrismarium. After the dwme of baptisteries, both baptism and confirmation ^[ws administered in the church (Farrar; Bingham, Ong. Ecdee, bk. xii, ch. i, n ; Neander,a. Bitt. i, 816).
Confirmation is a sacntment in the Romish and ^wek churches. In the Greek Church confirmation is
administered at the same time with, or as soon as pos- sible after, baptism, even in the case of infSsnts, it be- ing considered perilous to die without it ; and in the Latin Church also it is often administered to young children — the Church of Rome not considering a per- son a ** complete Christian" till he has partaken of this * ' sacrament." To reconcile this opinion with the sal- vation of children who die after baptism but before confirmation, or '* committing actual sin," the Church of Rome has decided that they are confirmed by death, as they cannot sin afterwards. In England, five cen- turies ago, children were usually confirmed at the age of five years. The Council of Trent appointed from the age of seven to twelve ; and a synod of Milan, in 1565, prohiUted confirmation under seven years of age. The canon law fixes no time, but says ** of perfect age," which may be interpreted strictly or laxly. The earlier German Reformers rejected it even as a ceremony; but it was restored through the influence of Spener in the 17th century, and is now in use, as a renewal of the baptismal covenant, in the Reformed and Lutheran Churches. In the Church of England, and in the Protestant Episcopal Church, it is a formal rite, administered by the bishop. These churches di- rect that the child shall be confirmed '*so soon as he can say the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and the Ten Commandments in the vulgar tongue, and is ftnther instructed in the Church Catechism set fbrth for that purpose.*' Bishop Gibson, to elucidate the words " years of discretion," in the Act 18, 14, Car. II, refers to Lyndwood's Gloss upon Archbishop Walter's Con- stitutions, which makes the proper age to be above seven and under fourteen. Tlie ritualists and •canon- ists of the English Church generally incline to a ten- der age. Thus, in reply to Bucer, who " finds fault with our Church for administering confirmation too soon," and says that none ought to be confirmed '* who have not had opportunity of giving sufficient testimo- nies of their foith and desire of living to God by their life and conversation," Wheatly argues that confirma- tion is administered "to assist them in manifesting their fiiith and practice, and is not to be deferred till these are already manifested." The rite, he says, is to guard them against sin, before they are expoMd to temptation, '* that so the Holy Spirit may take early possession of their youthf^ hearts, and prevent those sins to which, without his assistance, the very tender- ness of their age would be apt to expose them.** All that the Church demands, he adds, is "that they should understand the nature and advantages of the rite, and the obligations it lays upon them.** The High and Low Church diflfer as to the essence of con- firmation, the latter regarding it as being essentially a personal renewal of the promises made in the name of the subject by others at baptism, while the High-Church- men look upon it as a kind of sacramental rite for con- veying the strengthening power of the Holy Ghost. Some High-Churchmen have therefore maintained that the Roman doctrine of the sacramental character of con- firmation (as well as of all the other sacraments of the Church of Rome) may, in some sense, be accepted by the Anglican Church. It is connected with this dif- ference of views as to the sacramental character of confirmation that the High - Churchmen generally urge an earlier (about five or six years) and the Low- Churchmen a later age (i^m fourteen to sixteen), for the performance of the rite. Their diflterence of opinion became the subject of an animated conference when, a few years ago, bishop Baring, of Durham, re- ftised to confirm any children less than fourteen years of age. See Coleman, Ancient Chrittianity^ ch. xx; Bangs, O^iMi/ Church, p. 819 (N. Y. 12mo); Burnet, Hist, of Engl, Reformation, i, 466, 588 ; Wilson, Banqh ton Licture, p. 260; Whately, Iffant Baptism, p. 86; Schaff, ApostoUc Church; Palmer, On the Church t Procter, On Common Prayer; Elliott, DeUneaiion of Bomamsm. See a list of treatises on catechunkens and