The picture of initiation as described in the New Testament is anything but clear. We know that the word “Confirmation” is never used in the New Testament, rather the ritual we now call “Confirmation” is linked to Baptism. In Christian Baptism (Rom. 6; Col. 2:11 ff.); one is justified (I Cot. 6:11) on account of one's righteousness; one is adopted as a child of God (Gal. 3:26-4:7; Rom. 8:12-17); one is anointed (2 Cor. 1:21 fl; i John 2:20, 27) with the Spirit (Acts 2:38; ! Cot. 6:11-13; 2 Cot. 1:22) into the Messianic people (i Cot. 12:13; Gal. 3:27-29); and all of this with a view to the “day of redemption” (Eph. 4:30; cf. John 3:5). Baptism in the N.T. is regarded as the foundation of all discipleship and Christian life (Acts 2:~7-41). Baptism brings one into an already existfhg commun±ty through the working of the Spirit. Baptism, in its earliest theology, was performed for the remission of sins and the imparting of the Spirit.
The New Testament evidence of the relationship between Baptism and what we now call “Confirmation” is based on three New Testament texts: Acts 8:4-20, Acts 19:!-17, and Hebrews 6:1-6. Some scholars claim that from these texts it is clear that a laying on of hands for the imparting of the Spirit – performed after the water-bath and as a complement to this bath – existed already in the earliest apostolic times. But there are other scholars who say that these passages in Acts are exceptions to the normal reception of the Spirit at Baptism.
An early writer, St. Justin Martyr, records a ceremony that had developed around the simple act of baptism. Tertullian, another early writer, who dates from around the second and third centuries, wrote that Christian initiation included not only washing with water, “Baptism”, but also an anointing with oil. He went on to speak of a signing with the cross and the imposition of the bishop's hands. Another writer, St. Cyprian, shows that Christian initiation ceremonies consisted not only of baptism and water but also the imposition of the bishop's hands and the signing with the cross of the Lord.
About 215, St. Hippolytus wrote a work entitled The Apostolic Tradition. In this work we get the first pictures of the Church's celebration of the gift and reception of the Spirit of Christ. He described the ceremony as follows:
A presbyter “priest” baptized the candidates who went down into the water with a deacon or with a deaconess in the case of women. The presbyter asked the one to be baptized if he/she believed in The Father. As he/she responded “I be-lieve”, the presbyter with his hand on the candidate's head immersed him/her once in the water. This procedure was repeated twice again as faith was professed in Christ Jesus and in the Holy Spirit. ~ As the candidates emerged from the baptismal water, they were anointed with the oil of thanksgiving by the presbyters. In the case of women, presbyters anointed only the head; deaconesses anointed the rest of the body. .When the newly baptized put on their clothes, they went from the baptistry to the assembly of Christians in the Church. The bishop then laid his hand upon them and prayed for the gift of the Holy Spirit. The bishop poured consecrated oil into his hands and placed his hand on the head of each candidate saying, “I anoint you with the Holy Oil in God the Father Almighty, in Christ Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.” He then sealed the candidate by making the sign of the cross on his/her forehead. The kiss of peace with, “the Lord be with you” and~ “also with you” followed. The prayer of the faithful was recited followed by the Eucharist.
One great contribution of the age of the early Church theologians was the development of the catechumenate. Community responsibility and involvement were demanded as integral to the initiating process. Documents from this era speak of Christian initiation as being celebrated annually by the entire community at the Easter Vigil where the order followed was the water-bath, anointing, the hand-laying and full acceptance into the community with the reception of the Eucharist. The anointing and hand-laying which later became known as Confirmation, was seen as 'the affirmation of Baptism and as leading up to the reception of the Eucharist.
The Christian community of the fourth century developed a complex series of ritual actions for unfolding the fullness of the mystery of Christ in the lives of adults coming to believe in Jesus. First of all, believing Christians or sponsors presented the candidates for acceptance into the catechumenate. Then followed a long period, often of several years' duration, in which the candidates were gradually introduced into a way of living that was shared by other Christians and marked by a sense of continual conversion. This conversion came through listening to the Word of God, frequent prayer, and regular periods of fasting and alms-giving. ~
Finally, some of the candidates were chosen - usually at the beginning of the Lenten season - to prepare for Christian initiation during the celebration of the Easter Vigil. During the season of Lent, the entire community prayed frequently for the candidates as they were instructed in a prayerful way in the mysteries of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. The important expressions of the faith-community were experienced and nurtured. The Our Father and the Creed were presented to them in a special ceremony. Finally, in the celebration at the Easter Vigil, the candidates listened with the entire faith-community to the Word of God, prayed, and fasted throughout the night. As dawn broke, the candidates were led to the pool for Baptism and there were immersed in the water by the bishop as they professed their faith in the Trinity. The bishop was often assisted by deacons and ~n Syria by deaconesses. The newly-baptized were then signed by the bishop with the gift of the Spirit through the laying on of hands and anointing. Finally, the neophytes completed their initiation by bringing forth the gifts of bread and wine for the Eucharistic celebration and by sharing the Eucharist with the Christian community for the first time. This intense conversion experience in the midst of the Christian community was usually followed by a period of catechesis (called The Mystago-gia), lasting for the fifty days of Pentecost, in which the meaning of all the signs of Christian initiation were unfolded. Thus, in a broad outline, we have the celebration of the process of becoming a Christian, a process that celebrated the dying and rising with Christ, a sharing in Christ's paschal mystery, and a process that terminated with the-sending of the Spirit on Pentecost (cf. paragralplh 19 of Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults). Each year the lives of the entire faith-community were touched again by this cycle.
In the earliest centuries of the Church, Baptism was a radical commitment but after the Edict of Milan (313 A.D.) it lost a great deal of its radical decisiveness, elitism, martyrdom, and ready-for-heaven complexion. Because of the Edict, it was no longer dangerous to be a Christian and the numbers who wanted to become Christian increased dramatically.
Later in the fifth century Augustine's idea that Baptism was necessary for the remission of original sin led to a tremendous increase in infant Baptism. Priests were doing the water-Baptisms and the post-baptismal anointings were reserved for the bishops. This led to long intervals between the sacraments in the Western Churches.
Confronted with three separate rites, medieval theologians predictably discerned three separate sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist. Once the anointing was separated in time and meaning from Baptism and the Eucharist, and designated as a sacrament whose effect was to strengthen the recipient, it became subject to a variety of theological interpretations. Some claimed the anointing was to strengthen recipients to give Christian witness to the world. Others maintained that it strengthened recipients to defend the Church as soldiers of Christ. The soldier of Christ view was somewhat influenced by the experience of the Crusades. Most such interpretations, however, lost sight of the original place and meaning of the laying on of the hands and the anointing in the process of initiation into the Church. Few of them related Confirmation to Baptism or the Eucharist or did justice to the traditional theme of the gift of the Spirit.
One of the profound innovations of the twentieth century came through the pastoral concern of Pope Plus X. He did not feel that it was Wise to postpone the reception of Eucharist to such a late age and introduced the practice of first Communion being moved to an earlier age, usually called the age of reason, around seven or eight. This pastoral concern of Pope Pius X has indeed had much fruit for introducing children at an earlier age into an understanding of the whole sacramental life. On the other hand, problems seemed to arise immediately with regard to the age of Confirmation. In some sections of Europe, Confirmation was also brought forward to about the age of seven. In other areas, Confirmation was even brought to as early an age as two or three, and this practice still remains in some sections of South America., The general practice, however, was to leave Confirmation after First Communion and generally around the age of twelve.
At the same time, new dimensions of the sacrament of Confirmation also began to be emphasized. In addition to the concept of the confirmed becoming a soldier of Christ with the task of defending the faith and witnessing to it, Confirmation also began to acquire an emphasis as directed toward involvement in Christian apostolate. At the same time, there seemed to be a new understanding that Confirmation could correspond to a mature, Christian commitment made at a more adult age.
The Second Vatican Council decreed that all the sacraments of initiation be revitalized and given their proper place in the~. life of the Church. In addition, in the revision of the rites, the Church hoped to make the nature and purpose of the sacraments clear to the people of today, as well as encourage their active participation in the celebration of the sacraments. In the norms established by Pope Paul VI in 1971 when the Rite of Confirmation was revised, adult converts should receive Confirmation and Eucharist at the same time they receive Baptism. However, with regard to children, the decree states that “in the Latin Church the administration of Confirmation is generally postponed until about the seventh year. For pastoral reasons, however, especially to strengthen the faithful in complete obedience to Christ the Lord and in loyal testimony to Christ, episcopal conferences may choose an age which seems more appropriate, so that the sacrament is given at a more mature age after appropriate formation.” (ROC, ~1)
Consequently, the National Council of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) agreed to leave the decision regarding the age of Confirmation to the local ordinary (diocesan bishop). This was confirmed by the United States N.C.C.B. after the implementation of the revised 1983 Code, Canon 891.