THE SENTENCES
One or more of the following shall be said by the Bishop
If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Counsellor, to be with you for ever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; you know Him, for He dwells with you, and will be in you.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call, one Lord, one faith, one Baptism, one God and Father of us all, who is above all and through all and in all.
But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth.
`
THE PROCLAMATION OF THE WORD
The readings are those of the Sunday or Feast Day of the Confirmation takes place at the principal service. At the discretion of the Bishop two or three of the following readings may be used instead.
THE SERMON
THE PRESENTATION AND EXAMINATION
PRIEST:
Reverend Father in God, I present unto you these persons who have been duly baptized to be confirmed.
BISHOP:
Have you examined them and found them ready and desirous to be confirmed?
PRIEST:
I have examined them and found them so to be.
The Bishop then addresses the confirmands
BISHOP:
You who have come to be confirmed must now renew the solemn promise and vow that you made, or was that was made, in your name at your baptism, and must pledge to believe and to do all those things which you or your Parents and Godparents then undertook.
Do you declare and promise that you will, with the help of God, live your life in the faith of Christ into which you were baptized?
ANSWER: I do.
BISHOP:
Do you commit yourself in love to God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit?
ANSWER: I do.
BISHOP:
Will you continue in the Apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread and in the prayers?
ANSWER: I will.
BISHOP:
Will you persevere in resisting evil and repent whenever you fall into sin?
ANSWER: I will.
BISHOP:
Will you be a witness in your daily life to God’s saving work in Christ?
ANSWER: I will.
BISHOP:
Will you seek and serve Christ by loving your neighbour as yourself remembering that every person is loved and valued by God?
ANSWER: I will.
BISHOP:
Do you put your whole trust in His grace and love?
ANSWER: I do, and with God’s help I will follow Christ as my Saviour and Lord.
The Bishop then addresses the congregation:
BISHOP:
Will you who witness these vows do all in your power to support these persons in their life in Christ?
ALL: We will.
THE PROFESSION OF FAITH
BISHOP:
Let us join with those who are to be confirmed in the profession of our Faith.
ALL:
The Act of Penitence may follow.
All may kneel to say or sing the “Veni Creator Spiritus” or some other hymn to the Holy Spirit.
PRAYER FOR THE CONFIRMANDS
The congregation remains kneeling during the prayers.
BISHOP:
Let us pray for these persons to be confirmed, and for all the baptized everywhere.
The Bishop or a person appointed leads the following litany.
LEADER:
That the Holy Spirit may open their hearts to your grace and truth.
Lord in your mercy;
ALL: Hear our prayer.
LEADER:
That they may be redeemed from all evil and rescued from the way of sin and death.
Lord in your mercy;
ALL: Hear our prayer.
LEADER:
That they may be kept in the faith and communion of your Holy Church.
Lord in your mercy;
ALL: Hear our prayer.
LEADER:
That they may go out into the world to witness to your love and transforming power.
Lord in your mercy;
ALL: Hear our prayer.
LEADER:
That they be brought to the fullness of your peace and glory.
Lord in your mercy;
ALL: Hear our prayer.
Silence may be kept. Then the Bishop says the following, stretching out his hands towards the confirmands, all kneeling:
Father, in your Son Jesus Christ you have given to these your servants new birth in baptism by water and the Holy Spirit, and have given them forgiveness of all their sins. Let your Holy Spirit strengthen them now:
The Spirit of wisdom and understanding;
The Spirit of counsel and inward strength;
The Spirit of knowledge and true godliness;
The Spirit of reverence and true religion;
and graft in their hearts the love of your most Holy Name:
Through Jesus Christ our Lord who lives and reigns with you and the same Holy Spirit, one God now and for ever. Amen.
THE CONFIRMATION
Then all of them in order, kneeling before the Bishop, he shall lay his hand upon the head of each of them saying:
Confirm, O Lord, your servant N- with your heavenly grace that he/she may continue yours for ever, and daily increase in your Holy Spirit more and more until he/she comes to your everlasting kingdom.
or
Strengthen, O Lord, your servant N- with your Holy Spirit that he/ she may continue yours forever, and daily increase in Your Holy Spirit more and more until he/she comes to your eternal kingdom.
And each one answers:
Amen.
The Bishop may sign each one on the forehead with the Holy Chrism saying:
The seal of the Spirit, the promise of the Father.
FOR RECEPTION
N_, we recognize you as a member of the one holy catholic and apostolic church, and we receive you into the fellowship of this Communion. God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, bless, preserve, and keep you. Amen.
FOR REAFFIRMATION
N, may the Holy Spirit, who has begun a good work in you, direct and uphold you in the service of Christ and his kingdom. Amen.
The Bishop concludes with this prayer:
Almighty and everliving God we pray for these your servants upon whom after the example of your Holy Apostles we have now laid our hands. Let your fatherly hand ever be over them, let your Holy Spirit ever be with them and so lead them in the knowledge and obedience of your word that they may faithfully serve you in this life and dwell with you in the life to come through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
THE GREETING OF PEACE
BISHOP:Christ is our peace, He has reconciled us to God in one Body by the cross.
ALL: We meet in His name and share His Peace.
BISHOP: The Peace of the Lord be always with you.
ALL: And also with you.
The preface is that for Christian Initiation page 130
Christian Initiation
Because in Jesus Christ our Lord you have received us as your sons and daughters, made us citizens of your kingdom, and given us the Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth.
POST-COMMUNION
One of the usual Post-Communion Prayers shall be said.
One or more of the following prayers may be added.
Almighty Father, we thank you for our fellowship in the household of faith with all those who have been baptized in your Name. Keep us faithful to our baptism, and so make us ready for that day when the creation shall be made perfect in your Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
Almighty God, whose Holy Spirit equips the Church with a rich variety of gifts: Grant that we may use them to bear witness to Christ by lives built on faith and love. Make us ready to live His Gospel and eager to do His will, that we may share with all your Church in the joys of eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
We thank you, our God and Father for those who in Confirmation have made a confession of their faith and have been welcomed into the communicant life of the Christian Family. Help us to encourage them in the way of Christ by our prayers, our friendship and our example that they may fully grow up into Him and continue steadfastly in the worship and fellowship of the Church to the glory of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
BLESSING
BISHOP:
The Holy Spirit of God lead you into all truth, give you grace to confess that Jesus Christ is Lord and to proclaim the word and works of God:
And the blessing of God Almighty, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit be upon you and remain with you for ever. Amen.
or
May the God of all grace and power through the Holy Spirit empower you for His Service and sustain you unto Eternal Life:
And the blessing of God Almighty, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit be upon you and remain with you for ever. Amen.