Image courtesy of Restoration Anglican Church.

Confirmation is an opportunity for those who were baptised as children to publicly confirm the commitment to the Christian faith that was made on their behalf by their parents and godparents. It can serve as an important milestone for our children taking on the faith we have sought to pass on throughout their childhood.

The Confirmation service is taken by a Bishop who lays his hands on the heads of the confirmees and prays for them. This practice loosely descends from the ‘laying on of hands’ mentioned in Paul’s letters to Timothy (1 Timothy 4:14, 5:22; 2 Timothy 1:6).

A service of Confirmation may happen during a normal Sunday service or it may be held separately. Usually, a church waits until there is a group of young people ready to be confirmed at the same time.

Anglican Confirmation differs from Roman Catholic Confirmation in two ways: the Roman Catholic Church considers Confirmation to be a sacrament and encourages children to be confirmed at a younger age (around eight).

At what age do people get confirmed?

Throughout the centuries, Confirmation has always been undertaken when children were of a sufficient age to answer for themselves—to understand the Christian faith and publicly commit themselves to it.

In the Sydney Anglican Diocese, it was customary for confirmees to be in Year 8 or turning 14, but now children as young as ten may be confirmed if they seem ready. Adults of any age can also be confirmed.

Our church held a Confirmation service when our eldest son was turning 12. After giving it some thought, our son decided to join the group. He was on the cusp of starting high school and seemed ready to take the step of making his own declaration of faith. Twelve also seemed like a fitting age, as in the comparable Jewish tradition of the bar-mitzvah (which Jewish young people undertake at the age of 12/13 to become a ‘son/daughter of the commandment’ in their own right).

Do you have to be confirmed to take Communion?

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