EKPOMA REVIEW

There is no denial of the fact that the idea of many contemporary Catholic Christians about confirmation is shaped by the definition in the Catechism of Baltimore that Confirmation is a sacrament through which we receive the Holy Ghost to make us strong and perfect Christians and soldiers of Christ (no. 166). This definition tends to emphasise confirmation as a sacrament of Christian maturity. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, however emphasizes that confirmation, together with Baptism and Eucharist are sacraments of initiation whose unity must be safeguarded (CCC. 1212, 1285).How can we possibly consider the notion of Confirmation as a sacrament of Christian maturity and one whose unity with baptism and eucharist must be kept? Is our present ritual practise reflective of the initiation character of the sacrament? When and how did this differentiation in the primary role of the sacrament emerge? This essay responds to these, and some other pertinent questions regarding the true character of the sacrament of Confirmation. It assumes that the survey of the historical, theological, and ritual understanding of the sacrament can help to put in right perspective the true character of the sacrament and thus affect the present practice.

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