THAT IS TO SAY

AN INSTRUCTION TO BE LEARNED OF EVERY PERSON BEFORE HE BE BROUGHT TO BE CONFIRMED BY THE BISHOP

WHAT is your Christian name?
    Answer. N. or NN.
    Question. Who gave you this name?
    Answer. My Godfathers and Godmothers in my Baptism; wherein I was made a member of Christ, the child of God, and an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven.
    Question. What did your Godfathers and Godmothers then for you?
    Answer. They did promise and vow three things in my name. First, that I should renounce the devil and all his works, the pomps and vanity of this wicked world, and all the sinful desires of the flesh. Secondly, that I should believe all the Articles of the Christian Faith. And thirdly, that I should keep God's holy will and commandments, and walk in the same all the days of my life.
    Question. Dost thou not think that thou art bound to believe, and to do, as they have promised for thee?
    Answer. Yes verily: and by God's help so I will. And I heartily thank our heavenly Father, that he hath called me to this state of salvation, through Jesus Christ our Saviour. And I pray unto God to give me his grace, that I may continue in this state of salvation unto my life's end.

    Repeat the Articles of thy Belief.

I BELIEVE in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth:
    And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord, Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, Born of the Virgin Mary, Suffered under Pontius Pilate, Was crucified, dead, and buried: He descended into hell¹; The third day he rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, And sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; From thence he shall come to judge the quick² and the dead.
    I believe in the Holy Ghost; The holy Catholic Church; The Communion of Saints; The Forgiveness of sins; The Resurrection of the body, And the Life everlasting. Amen.

1 Meaning here: went into the place of departed spirits.

    What dost thou chiefly learn in these Articles of thy Belief?
    Answer. First, I learn to believe in God the Father, who hath made me, and all the world.
    Secondly, in God the Son, who hath redeemed me, and all mankind.
    Thirdly, in God the holy Ghost, who sanctifieth me, and all the elect people of God.
    And these three Persons in one God I praise and magnify, saying,
    Glory be to the Father, and to the Son : and to the Holy Ghost;
    As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be : world without end. Amen.

    You said that your Godfathers and Godmothers did promise for you, that you should keep God's commandments. Tell me how many there be?
    Answer. Ten.
    Question. Which be they?

The answers may end at the asterisks (*).

THE same which God spake in the twentieth chapter of Exodus, saying, I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
    I. Thou shalt have none other gods but me.
    II. Thou shalt not make to thyself any graven image, nor the likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or in the earth beneath, or in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down to them, nor worship them*. For I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, and visit the sins of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me, and shew mercy unto thousands in them that love me, and keep my commandments.
    III. Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain*. For the Lord will not hold him guiltless, that taketh his Name in vain.
    IV. Remember that thou keel) holy the sabbath-day. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all that thou hast to do*; but the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God. In it thou shalt do no manner of work, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, thy man-servant, and thy maid-servant, thy cattle, and the stranger that is within thy gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the seventh day, and hallowed it.
    V. Honour thy father and thy mother*; that thy days may be long in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
    VI. Thou shalt do no murder.
    VII. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
    VIII. Thou shalt not steal.
    IX. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
    X. Thou shalt not covet* thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his servant, nor his maid, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is his.

    In what words did our Lord sum up the Ten Commandments?

OUR Lord Jesus Christ said: Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord: and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: This is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: there is none other commandment greater than these.
    On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.

    What dost thou chiefly learn by these commandments?
    Answer. I learn two things: my duty towards God, and my duty towards my neighbour.
    Question. What is thy duty towards God?
    Answer. My duty towards God is:
    I. To believe in him, to fear him, and to love him, with all my heart, with all my mind, with all my soul, and with all my strength;
    II. To worship him, to give him thanks, to put my whole trust in him, to call upon him,
    III. To honour his holy Name and his word,
    IV. And to serve him truly all the days of my life.
    Question. What is thy duty towards thy neighbour?
    Answer. My duty towards my neighbour is to love him as myself, and to do to all men as I would they should do unto me:
    V. To love, honour, and succour my father and mother: To honour and obey the Queen, and all that are put in authority wider her: To submit myself to all my governors, teachers, spiritual pastors and masters: To order myself lowly and reverently to all my betters:
    VI. To hurt nobody by word nor deed:
    VIII. To be true and just in all my dealing:
    VI. To bear no malice nor hatred in my heart:
    VIII. To keep my hands from picking and stealing,
    IX. And my tongue from evil-speaking, lying, and slandering:
    VII. To keep my body in temperance, soberness, and chastity:
    X. Not to covet nor desire other men's goods; but to learn and labour truly to get mine own living, and to do my duty in that state of life, unto which it shall please God to call me.

    My good child, know this, that thou art not able to do these things of thyself, nor to walk in the commandments of God, and to serve him, without his special grace; which thou must learn at all times to call for by diligent prayer. Let me hear therefore if thou canst say the Lord's Prayer.

OUR Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive them that trespass against us; And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil. Amen.
    Question. What desirest thou of God in this prayer?
    Answer. I desire my Lord God our heavenly Father, who is the giver of all goodness,
    To send his grace unto me, and to all people,
    That we may worship him, serve him, and obey him, as we ought to do.
    And I pray unto God, that he will send us all things that be needful both for our souls and bodies;
    And that he will be merciful unto us, and forgive us our sins;
    And that it will please him to save and defend us in all dangers spiritual and bodily; and that he will keep us from all sin and wickedness, and from our spiritual enemy, and from everlasting death.
    And this I trust he will do of his mercy and goodness, through our Lord Jesus Christ. And therefore I say, Amen, So be it. 

HOW many Sacraments hath Christ ordained in his Church?
    Answer. Two only, as generally¹ necessary to salvation; that is to say, Baptism, and the Supper of the Lord.
    Question. What meanest thou by this word Sacrament?
    Answer. I mean an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace given unto us. The outward and visible sign was ordained by Christ himself, as a means whereby we receive the grace, and a pledge to assure us thereof.
    Question. How many parts are there in a Sacrament?
    Answer. Two: the outward visible sign, and the inward spiritual grace.
    Question. What is the outward visible sign or form in Baptism?
    Answer. Water: wherein the person is baptized, In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
    Question. What is the inward and spiritual grace?
    Answer. A death unto sin, and a new birth unto righteousness: for being by nature born in sin, we are hereby made the children of grace.
    Question. What is required of persons to be baptized?
    Answer. Repentance, whereby they forsake sin: and faith, whereby they stedfastly believe the promises of God made to them in that Sacrament.
    Question. Why then are infants baptized, when they can neither repent nor believe?
    Answer. Because they promise them both by their Godparents: which promise, when they come to age, themselves are bound to perform.
    Question. Why was the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper ordained?
    Answer. For the continual memorial of the sacrifice of the death of Christ, and of the benefits which we receive thereby.
    Question. What is the outward part or sign of the Lord's Supper?
    Answer. Bread and Wine, which the Lord hath commanded to be received.
    Question. What is the inward part, or thing, signified?
    Answer. The Body and Blood of Christ, which are verily and indeed taken and received by the faithful in the Lord's Supper.
    Question. What are the benefits whereof we are partakers thereby?
    Answer. The strengthening and refreshing of our souls by the Body and Blood of Christ, as our bodies are by the bread and wine.
    Question. What is required of them who come: to the Lord's Supper?
    Answer. To examine themselves, whether they repent them truly of their former sins, stedfastly purposing to lead a new life; have a lively faith in God's mercy through Christ, with a thankful remembrance of his death; and be in charity with all men.
    Question. What is Confirmation?
    Answer. Confirmation is an apostolic and sacramental rite by which the Holy Spirit is given to complete our Baptism, so that we may be strengthened in our Christian life.
    Question. How did the Apostles administer Confirmation?
    Answer. The Apostles administered Confirmation by praying that the Holy Spirit might come down upon those who had been baptized, and by laying their hands upon them.
    Question. What is required of those who are to be confirmed?
    Answer. Repentance and faith, by which we make ready our hearts and minds to receive this gift of the Holy Ghost.

Ministers shall diligently instruct and examine in this Catechism the children committed to their charge. And it is expedient also that they should openly in the church instruct and examine them in some part of it on Sundays and Holy-days, either after the Second Lesson at Evening Prayer, or at some other convenient time.

And all Fathers, Mothers, Masters, and Dames, shall cause their Children, Servants, and Prentices, (which have not learned their Catechism,) to come to the church at the time appointed, and obediently to hear and be ordered by the Minister, until such time as they have learned all that is here appointed for them to learn.

THE ORDER OF

OR LAYING ON OF HANDS UPON THOSE THAT ARE BAPTIZED AND COME TO YEARS OF DISCRETION

To the end that Confirmation may be ministered to the more edifying of such as shall receive it, the Church hath thought good to order, that none shall be confirmed but such as can say the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and the Ten Commandments; and can also answer to such other questions as in the short Catechism are contained: which order is very convenient to be observed; to the end that children being now come to the years of discretion, and having learned what their Godfathers and Godmothers promised for them in Baptism, they may themselves, with their own mouth and consent, openly before the Church, ratify and confess the same; and also promise, that by the grace of God they will evermore endeavour themselves faithfully to observe such things, as they by their own confession have assented unto.

So soon as children are come to a competent age, and can say, in their mother tongue, the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and the Ten Commandments; and also can answer to such other questions as in the Catechism are contained; they shall be brought to the Bishop to be confirmed by him.

OF THE ADMINISTRATION OF CONFIRMATION OR LAYING ON OF HANDS

2. The Bishop shall give due notice to every Clergyman of the time and place at which Confirmation is to be administered for members of his Congregation, and the Clergyman shall earnestly endeavour to prepare those of his Congregation who are desirous of receiving this Holy Ordinance.

3. Before presenting any candidate for Confirmation the Clergyman shall satisfy himself that the candidate has been baptized.

4. Not less than seven days before the Confirmation, unless the Bishop dispense with notice, the Clergyman shall give to the Bishop a list of the persons to be presented for Confirmation, and he shall answer any question that may be put to him by the Bishop respecting their ages and qualifications.

5. Each candidate for Confirmation shall, whenever possible, have a Witness present as his Godparent at Confirmation.

THE INTRODUCTION

Upon the day appointed the Bishop (or some other Minister appointed by him) shall read this Preface following, unless he shall otherwise determine.

DEARLY beloved in the Lord, in ministering Confirmation the Church doth follow the example of the Apostles of Christ. For in the eighth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles we thus read:
    They therefore that were scattered abroad went about preaching the word. And Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and proclaimed unto them the Christ. When they believed Philip preaching good tidings concerning the kingdom of God and the Name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Now when the Apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John; who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost: for as yet he was fallen upon none of them; only they had been baptized into the Name of the Lord Jesus. Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.
    The Scripture here teacheth us that a special gift of the Holy Spirit is bestowed through laying on of hands with prayer. And forasmuch as this gift cometh from God alone, let us that are here present pray to Almighty God that he will strengthen with his Holy Spirit in Confirmation those who in Baptism were made his children.
    You, then, who are to be confirmed must now declare before this Congregation that you are stedfastly purposed, with the help of this gift, to lead your life in the faith of Christ and in obedience to God's will and commandments; and must openly acknowledge your-selves bound to fulfil the Christian duties to which your Baptism hath pledged you.

 
THE RENEWAL OF BAPTISMAL VOWS

DOST thou renounce the devil and all his works, the vain pomp and glory of the world, with all covetous desires of the same, and the sinful desires of the flesh, so that thou wilt not follow nor be led by them?
    Answer. I do.

DOST thou believe the Christian Faith as contained in the Apostles' Creed?
    Answer. I do.

I BELIEVE in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth:
    And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord, Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, Born of the Virgin Mary, Suffered under Pontius Pilate, Was crucified, dead, and buried: He descended into hell; The third day he rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, And sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
    I believe in the Holy Ghost; The holy Catholic Church; The Communion of Saints; The Forgiveness of sins; The Resurrection of the body, And the Life everlasting. Amen.

DOST thou promise that thou wilt endeavour to keep God's holy will and commandments, and to walk in the same all the days of thy life?
    Answer. I do.

 
THE CONFIRMATION

No Instruction or Hymn shall intervene between Our help, &c. and the Laying on of hands, but a Hymn may be sung in the course of the Laying on of hands.

OUR help is in the Name of the Lord;
    Answer. Who hath made heaven and earth.
    Bishop. Blessed be the Name of the Lord;
    Answer. Henceforth, world without end.
    Bishop. Lord, hear our prayers;
    Answer. And let our cry come unto thee.

Let us pray.

ALMIGHTY and Everliving God, who hast vouchsafed to regenerate these thy servants by water and the Holy Ghost, and hast given unto them forgiveness of all their sins: Strengthen them, we beseech thee, O Lord, with the Holy Ghost the Comforter, and daily increase in them thy manifold gifts of grace; the spirit of wisdom and understanding; the spirit of counsel and ghostly strength; the spirit of knowledge and true godliness; and fill them, O Lord, with the spirit of thy holy fear, now and for ever. Amen.

SIGN them, O Lord, and mark them to be thine for ever by the virtue of the holy cross; mercifully confirm them with the inward unction of the Holy Ghost, that they may attain unto everlasting life. Amen.

Then all of them in order kneeling before the Bishop, he shall lay his hand upon the head of every one severally, saying,
 

1 That is: necessary for all where they may be had.

DEFEND, O Lord, this thy child with thy heavenly grace, that he may continue thine for ever; and daily increase in thy Holy Spirit, more and more, until he come unto thy everlasting kingdom. Amen.

THE Lord be with you;
Answer And with thy spirit.

And (the people kneeling down) the Bishop shall add,

ALMIGHTY and Everliving God, who makest us both to will and to do those things that be good and acceptable unto thy Divine Majesty: We make our humble supplications unto thee for these thy servants, upon whom (after the example of thy holy Apostles) we have now laid our hands, to certify them (by this sign) of thy favour and gracious goodness towards them. Let thy fatherly hand, we beseech thee, ever be over them; let thy Holy Spirit ever be with them; and so lead them in the knowledge and obedience of thy word, that in the end they may obtain everlasting life; through our Lord Jesus Christ, who with thee and the Holy Ghost liveth and reigneth, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

 
THE DISMISSAL

O ALMIGHTY Lord, and Everlasting God, vouchsafe, we beseech thee, to direct, sanctify, and govern both our hearts and bodies, in the ways of thy laws, and in the works of thy commandments; that through thy most mighty protection, both here and ever, we may be preserved in body and soul; through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

Then the Bishop shall bless them, saying thus,

THE blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, be upon you and remain with you for ever. Amen.

And there shall none be admitted to the Holy Communion, until such time as he be confirmed, or be ready and desirous to be confirmed.

When Confirmation is administered at Morning or Evening Prayer, then all the prayers after the Third Collect may be omitted.