By Robin G.Jordan
The rites and services that have so far been produced under
the auspices of the Anglican Church in North America’s College of Bishops and
endorsed by the College unequivocally show the partisan character of that body.
It is dominated by Anglo-Catholic and philo-Orthodox bishops and bishops who
share their views.
These rites and services conform to quite different set of
doctrinal and liturgical standards than the Scriptures and the Anglican formularies.
They give expression to unreformed Catholic doctrinal views and countenance and
even enjoin unreformed Catholic liturgical practices.
Lacking in the rites and services produced to date is any
evidence of a reasonable effort to make them genuinely comprehensive,
acceptable to a broad spectrum of conservative Anglicans. The variable options
in the rites and services are largely to enable those planning a rite or
service to make it more pronouncedly Anglo-Catholic and philo-Orthodox.
Below I have reproduced A Service for Confirmation from the
Diocese of Sydney’s Common Prayer: Resources for Gospel-Shaped Gatherings. The
service is based on the Order of Confirmation in the 1662 Book of Common
Prayer. It conforms to the doctrine of the Book of Homilies and the Articles of
Religion as well as that of the 1662 Prayer Book.
Three Prayer Books are authorized for use in the Anglican
Church of Australia—The Book of Common Prayer (1662), An Australian Prayer Book (1978),
and A Prayer Book for Australia (1995).
The Anglican Church of Australia’s canons also permit its dioceses to produce
their own service books.
Among the notable features of A Service for Confirmation is
that the preface has been omitted. It leaves instruction on the nature of
confirmation and the like to the ministers preparing the confirmation
candidates and the bishop confirming them.
The service generously presumes that those who are being
presented to be confirmed have experienced the new birth. For this reason they
desire to profess their faith in Jesus Christ before the gathered church and to
receive the prayers of the church. It does not teach that regeneration
accompanies baptism while at the same time it does not rule out that
possibility. It does not infer that confirmation is a biblical ordinance or a
sacrament. Indeed it is silent on those issues. It is a service that both
Anglo-Catholics and conservative evangelicals can use.
A SERVICE FOR CONFIRMATION
The service takes
place within a Service of the Word and Prayer or the Lord’s Supper.
1. The candidates are
presented to the bishop.
Let us pray
Almighty God, our heavenly Father, by your Holy Spirit you
have called these your servants and made them your children by adoption and
grace; mercifully grant that, being strengthened by the same Spirit, they may
continue your servants and receive your promises; through our Lord Jesus Christ
your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever
and ever. Amen.
THE COMMITMENT
3. The bishop says to
the candidates
Those who are to be confirmed are first invited to reaffirm
the promises made at their baptism.
You must therefore declare again your allegiance to Christ
and your rejection of all that is evil: the devil and all his works, the empty
display and false values of the world, and the sinful desires of the flesh.
The bishop may address each candidate
individually
Therefore I ask you
Do you turn to Christ?
I turn to Christ.
Do you repent of your sins?
I repent of my sins.
Do you reject selfish living, and all that is false and
unjust?
I reject them all.
Do you renounce Satan and all evil?
I renounce all that
is evil.
The bishop says to the
candidates as a group
Will you each, by God's grace, strive to live as a disciple
of Christ, loving God with your whole heart, and your neighbour as yourself,
until your life’s end?
I will, with God's
help.
4. The bishop says to
the congregation
You have heard these our brothers and sisters respond to
God's call to love and serve him throughout their lives.
Will you support them in this high calling?
We will do so.
5. The bishop says to
the candidates
You who are to be confirmed must now yourselves affirm
before God and his church the Christian faith into which you were baptised.
Do you believe in God the Father?
I believe in God, the
Father Almighty,
creator of heaven
and earth.
Do you believe in God the Son?
I believe in Jesus
Christ,
God’s only Son, our
Lord,
who was conceived
by the Holy Spirit,
born of the virgin
Mary,
suffered under
Pontius Pilate,
was crucified,
died, and was buried;
he descended to the
dead.
On the third day he
rose again from the dead;
he ascended into
heaven,
and is seated at
the right hand of the Father;
from there he will
come to judge
the living and the
dead.
Do you believe in God the Holy Spirit?
I believe in the Holy
Spirit,
the holy catholic
church,
the communion of
saints,
the forgiveness of
sins,
the resurrection of
the body,
and the life
everlasting. Amen.
The bishop says to the
congregation
This is the faith of the Church.
The congregation
responds
This is our faith: We
believe in one God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
THE CONFIRMATION
6. The bishop says
We come now to confirm those who have been baptised and
instructed in the Christian faith, laying hands on them and praying that God’s indwelling
Spirit will strengthen and guide them throughout their lives.
Let us pray that God who has begun a good work in these our brothers and sisters will
carry it on to completion until the day of Christ.
.
Almighty and everliving God, you have been pleased to grant
to your servants new birth by water and the Holy Spirit and have given them forgiveness
of their sins; strengthen them, we pray, with the Holy Spirit; grant that they
may grow in grace; and give them the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the
spirit of discernment and inner strength, the spirit of knowledge and true
godliness, and fill them, Father, with wonder and awe in your presence, now and
for ever. Amen.
7. The bishop lays his
hand on each of the candidates individually.
Defend, O Lord, this 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. Amen.
or
Strengthen Lord your servant N with your Holy Spirit. Empower
and sustain him/her for your service.
Amen
8. The bishop prays.
Let us pray.
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your
name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done on
earth as in heaven.
Give us today our
daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those
who sin against us.
Lead us not into
temptation,
but deliver us from
evil.
For the kingdom, the
power, and the glory are yours
now and forever.
Amen.
Almighty and everliving God, we pray for these your servants
upon whom we have now laid our hands, following the apostles’ example, to assure
them of your love for them. May your fatherly hand ever protect them. Let your
Holy Spirit ever be with them to uphold them in the love of Christ and to lead
them in obedience to your word. Strengthen them with your heavenly grace and
keep them in eternal life; through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
9. Other prayers
follow
10. The bishop
concludes the service with these words
Go forth into the world in peace;
be of good courage;
hold fast that which is good;
render to no one evil for evil;
strengthen the fainthearted; support the weak; help the
afflicted;
give honour to all;
love and serve the Lord, rejoicing in the power of the Holy
Spirit;
and the blessing of God almighty,
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
be among you and remain with you always. Amen
be among you and remain with you always. Amen
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