Membership: Confirmation and Reception

By Rev. Rebecca

Most Episcopal parishes will consider a person an informal member of their parish once one starts attending regularly, contributing, participating, etc. However, to formally become an Anglican or Episcopalian, one must be received and/or confirmed Which option is chosen depends on whether a person was already confirmed and who confirmed them. If one was confirmed by a Bishop in apostolic succession (meaning a Bishop who traces the lineage of their consecration back to the apostles), they are considered already confirmed and will simply be “received” formally into the Anglican Communion by the Bishop. Otherwise a person will need to be confirmed by an Anglican/Episcopal Bishop by the laying on of hands in the formal rite of confirmation. In Acts 8 we read about the apostles praying and then laying their hands on new adult converts following baptism, as a distinct and separate act from baptism. This is the basic foundation for the rite of confirmation. If a person has already been baptized, they don't have to be re-baptized because Anglicans recognize all baptisms as valid and one baptism is sufficient (as long as it was in the name of the Trinity). Ordinarily to be confirmed or received as an adult from another denomination, the process is fairly simple and straightforward and your priest can tell you what instruction is needed and whether you will need a sponsor. After receiving sufficient instruction, you are ready to be confirmed the next time the Bishop visits the parish (usually once a year) or at another convenient time for the Bishop. Most churches begin confirming youth at age 12 or 13, close to the “age of accountability” in the Jewish tradition. Confirmation is simply one more means of grace that God provides for us and serves as a formal way to “confirm” our Christian faith and take up membership in the church.