CONFIRMATION
DIOCESAN REGULATIONS FOR CONFIRMATION
Confirmation is normally administered on a Deanery basis. Dates should be booked with the Bishop of Ely’s secretary in the autumn of the year before the desired date. The officiant may be either the Bishops of Ely or Huntingdon, or one of the Assistant Bishops. Officiants are allotted by the Diocesan Bishop.
The Liturgy of Confirmation may be from the Common Worship or BCP, but the use of Common Worship is strongly recommended. This liturgy is available on disk from the Bishop’s Office.
The minimum age for Confirmation is 11. Permission for candidates below this age should be sought before the preparation begins. Candidates with learning difficulties are treated in exactly the same way as other candidates. We are glad to admit children aged between 7 – 11 years to communion before Confirmation (please see the next section for details).
The names and ages of those confirmed must be recorded on the form obtainable from the Bishop’s secretary. These particulars should also be entered in the parish’s Confirmation Register.
Confirmation candidates who have not previously been baptised should normally be baptised at the same service. It greatly helps the Confirmation if its relation to Baptism can be made visible.
Candidates who have already received episcopal confirmation in the Roman Catholic or Orthodox churches are not confirmed again but are admitted into the Church of England by the Bishop using the official Order of Reception. The Bishops are very happy to do this in the context of the Confirmation service, following the laying-on of hands of the other candidates. Copies of the Order of Reception can be obtained from the Bishop’s secretary. It is also to be found in Common Worship.
Confirmation is never a ‘private’ service. Every encouragement should be given to the regular congregation to attend services where their candidates are being presented. It is particularly useful to encourage those who may be thinking about the possibility of being confirmed.
DIOCESAN REGULATIONS FOR COMMUNION BEFORE CONFIRMATION
Since Communion before Confirmation is a departure from the normal tradition of the Church of England, it requires special permission. Each parish must seek the permission of the Diocesan Bishop before beginning this process.
Both the incumbent and the PCC must support the application for permission, and be prepared to draw up a parish framework.
Baptism always precedes Holy Communion, and so before admitting a person to Holy Communion, a priest must have evidence of Baptism.
Admission to Communion should be formally marked and should take place during the Sunday Eucharist in the church community where the child normally worships.
Children who are to be admitted should themselves express a wish to become communicant. They should have either parental support or the support of another adult within the church community. Seven years is normally the minimum age for admissions. Care should be taken to ensure that children with special needs are treated in the same way.
All candidates for admission should receive preparation suitable to their age and disposition. The Bishop will need to be satisfied that a programme of continuing Christian nurture is in place which will lead to Confirmation in due course.
The parish priest will decide exactly how much of the liturgy communicant children will attend. But anyone intending to receive Holy Communion should be present in the main assembly at least for the Eucharistic Prayer.
A register must be kept of every person admitted to Holy Communion before Confirmation and each should be given a certificate marking his or her admission.
ON MOVING TO ANOTHER PARISH
No baptised person who has been admitted to Communion and who remains in good standing with the church should anywhere be deprived of it. Those moving parishes should contact their new parish priest immediately.