Confirmation – is it still the sacrament of Christian initiation?
Confirmation – is it still the sacrament of Christian initiation?

Summary/Abstract: The sacrament of confirmation is an integral part of Christian initiation. It is not necessary forsalvation but together with baptism and the Eucharist forms unity which is the foundation of life inChrist and which should be preserved. Historical and theological reasons confirm it and despite theinterruption of chronological order of celebration, liturgical practice also supports this claim. Baptismis incorporation in Christ, in his Mystical Body, confirmation enhances the grace of baptism through thegift of the Holy Spirit, whereas the Eucharist completes and crowns the initiation giving food which isthe pledge of eternal life. Facing disquieting phenomena of punctualistic understanding of confirmationin terms of both preparation and mystagogy, the author indicates the criteria of the unity of the sacramentsof Christian initiation. In this context, confirmation is not the sacrament of Christian maturity butopening sacramental perspective offers indispensable means of achieving it.

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