Confirmations

Confirmation marks the point in the Christian journey at which you affirm for yourself the faith into which you have been baptized and your intention to live a life of committed discipleship. This affirmation is confirmed through prayer and the laying on of hands by the confirming bishop. The Church also asks God to give you power through the Holy Spirit to enable you to live in the way of Jesus.

Your confirmation will be led by the bishop (or archbishop). It may take place during the main Sunday service at your own church or at a special service. It may also take place at the cathedral or in another church in your diocese.

Some of the Confirmation Candidates with Archbishop Sentamu in our Church, Dec 2013

There may be a rehearsal before the confirmation service so that you understand everything that happens in the service. The priest will make sure you know where to sit and when you need to move. Some parts of the service will be for the whole congregation to join in; some will be for just you and the other confirmation candidates to say.

Most of the confirmation service will normally take place at the front of the church, but for the renewal of baptism promises, candidates may be asked by the bishop to gather around the font. (The font is a large basin on a pedestal, containing the water for baptism.)

The (arch)bishop will speak to every candidate by name saying:

(name), God has called you by name and made you his own.

He then lays his hand of the head of each saying:

Confirm, O Lord, your servant with your Holy Spirit.

The Church of England has two authorized confirmation services.  One is taken from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer and is in 17th century English. Most confirmations use a service in contemporary English, taken from Common Worship (2000)

For more information from the Church of England about confirmation in the church, please click on the following link.