KEY STATEMENT: “I renounce Satan and all his work and ways, and surrender myself to You, O triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, in belief, obedience, and the earnest resolution to remain faithful to You until my end. Amen.”

 

Our present confirmation vow is contained in a text that was drafted at the start of the third century AD. This text is known as the Traditio Apostolica, which, when translated from Latin, means “Apostolic Tradition”. This Apostolic Tradition is ascribed to the scholar Hippolytus of Rome. Next to the Didache, the “doctrine of the twelve Apostles”, which dates back to the second century, the Traditio Apostolica is the most important source of information concerning congregational life and divine service order in the early Christian congregations.

The text of our confirmation vow is contained in the Apostolic Tradition among the specifications for baptism. It was thus originally a baptismal vow that was, as a rule, given by adults who had converted to Christian faith and had completed their course of baptismal instruction. When children were baptized, their parents or another family member would give the vow on their behalf.

In the New Apostolic Church, this ancient baptismal vow is used as a confirmation vow. When they give this vow, the confirmands confirm the vow which their parents gave on their baptism and sealing.

The term “confirmation” derives from Latin confirmation, which can  be taken to mean “reinforcement” or “consolidation”. At confirmation, the confirmands reinforce the yes given on their behalf when they received the sacraments, and thereby promise to live a life following Christ.

The confirmation vow consists of two formulas, one of them a formula of renunciation and the other a confessional formula, which bring to expression some fundamental decisions that are part of being a Christian: the no to evil is a renunciation of Satan, while the yes to the triune God signifies surrender to God as the Lord of our lives.

The renunciation formula reads: “I renounce Satan and all his work and ways.” (In the original it says: “I renounce, you, Satan, all your pomps and all your works.”)

The idea behind this formula is that the confirmands have decided to deliberately turn away from evil, which has become personified in Satan. From then on it is their own responsibility to do so! Examples of the works of the evil one include the temptation to turn away from God or even to rise up in rebellion against Him, as well as idol worship, contempt for the sacrifice of Christ, disregard for the will of God, lovelessness, or unbridled thirst for power. Those who utter these words in faith thereby express the desire to distance themselves from all of this.

This renunciation formula does not mean, however, that those who have spoken it are suddenly without sin or that they will always succeed at resisting the influences of the evil one. Rather, it brings to expression that the confirmands are aware of their sinfulness and do not want to lead a life in the domain of that which is evil and opposed to God. That is why the support and the help of the Holy Spirit. Using only their own strength, human beings are incapable of keeping this vow.

Following the renunciation formula is the confessional formula, which declares: “I ... surrender myself to You, O triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, in belief, obedience, and the earnest resolution to remain faithful to You until my end.”

First of all, those who speak this formula thereby make it clear that they accept the triune God as their Lord, and that He is to define their lives. Belief and obedience are the essential aspects of a life with God. To believe in God is to have trust in Him. Obedience to the divine will is an essential result of faith.

At the end of this vow, the confirmands speak of an earnest resolution. This brings to expression that the confessional formula is not lightly spoken, but rather that those who speak it are serious about fulfilling it. They thus profess the will to live their lives with God in a manner consistent with their faith; in other words, the will to remain faithful to Him until their end. Here the faithfulness which the confirmands promise is nothing other than their response to faithfulness of God, which comes to expression in the gift of the sacraments and in His protection and support.

 

REFERENCE

Jean-Luc Schneider (2018), Community magazine, Friedrich Bischoff publishing, Zurich, Switzerland.