In the Eastern Churches Baptism is followed immediately by Chrismation – anointing with oil as an act of separation.  The person baptized is set apart for Christ..  This is considered as the first step into confirmation.

Confirmation is a sacrament admitting a baptized person to full participation in the church. First part of the Confirmation is done during the baptism service by anointing with the Holy Murron.  Murron is a Holy Chrism (a consecrated oil used for anointing).  This is to take place only after renouncing Satan and professing Christ

Chrism is a special oil prepared usually by the bishops in a ceremonial way and consecrated by the bishop.  A biblical description of the Chrism can be found in Exodus 30

Here the blessing of the bishop upon the chrism functions as a substitute for the direct imposition of hands.

The most detailed version of the practice is by Cyril of Jerusalem who details how ointment or oil was "symbolically applied to thy forehead, and thy other organs of sense" and that the "ears, nostrils, and breast were each to be anointed." Cyril states that the "ointment is the seal of the covenants" of baptism and God’s promises to the Christian who is anointed. Cyril taught that being "anointed with the Holy anointing oil [Chrism] of God" was the sign of a Christian (Christos means "anointed"), and a physical representation of having the Gift of the Holy Spirit (Holy Ghost),

THE HOLY ANOINTING OIL:

In Exodus chapter 30, the LORD tells Moses to make a very special and
“holy anointing oil”
of
 “the finest of spices”,

including

“flowing (liquid) myrrh”,
“sweet-smelling cinnamon”, “fragrant cane”,

“cassia”,
and
“olive oil”.

This highly perfumed oil was used to consecrate (set apart) the articles used in Temple worship, including the ark of the testimony, the holy tabernacle, and all its furnishings,
which made them “Holy” (Kadosh in Hebrew) unto the Lord. This word Kadosh, means 

“set apart” "sacred, Holy, set apart for God".

Chrismation – Setting apart is an act of faith

.

(Mat 18:19)  Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven

This is our Faith

Hand it over

The following basic prayers, creeds and doctrines must be taught before they are confirmed in the Church as full members.

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy Kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
Forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil. 
For Thine is the Kingdom, the Power and the Glory, For ever and ever. Amen

 The Apostles’ Creed is the oldest creed, and lies at the basis of most others. It is thought of as crafted by the Apostles before they went out into the world.  Though we have no definite evidence for that, it is certain that   it has its roots in apostolic times, and embodies, with much fidelity, apostolic teaching.  When the Apostles' Creed was drawn up, the chief enemy was Gnosticism, which denied that Jesus was truly Man; and the emphases of the Apostles' Creed reflect a concern with repudiating this error.

I  believe in God, the Father Almighty,
    the 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 arose 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.

• Profession of Faith of the 318 Fathers who met in  Nicea in  AD 325  
• This creed was slightly modified  in the council of  Constantinople in AD 381 where traditionally, 150 bishops took part at the First Council of Constantinople

Here the fathers added the section that follows the words "We believe in the Holy Spirit"  as, “the Lord and Giver of life, who proceedeth from the Father, who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified, who spake by the prophets.”

When the Apostles' Creed was drawn up, the chief enemy was Gnosticism, which denied that Jesus was truly Man; and the emphases of the Apostles' Creed reflect a concern with repudiating this error.

When the Nicene Creed was drawn up, the chief enemy was Arianism, which denied that Jesus was fully God. Arius was a presbyter in Alexandria in Egypt, in the early 300's.

He taught that the Father, in the beginning, created (or begot) the Son, and that the Son, in conjunction with the Father, then proceeded to create the world.  Arius stuck to his position, inspite of repeated warnings from Alexander, Bishop of Alexandria and consequently excommunicated by a council of Egyptian bishops. He moved to  Nicomedia in Asia, and tried to influence the bishops over that region.    Finally, the Roman Emperor Caesar Flavius Constantine. summoned the council of Bishops in Nicea in 325 AD   from across the Roman Empire and beyond, to agree on a statement of what all Christians believe  .  One Bishop John signed in as ‘the bishop of Great India and Persia”.  Whether his See was in India or in Persia is not very clear.  At least Indian representation was there.  With the majority decision Arius was repudiated and the creed was formed  At the Council of Nicea, Emperor Constantine presided over a 381 Church bishops and leaders from around the world, with the purpose of defining the true God for all of Christianity and to eliminate all the confusion, controversy, and contention within Christ’s church. The Council of Nicea affirmed the deity of Jesus Christ and established an official definition of the Trinity - the deity of The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit under one Godhead, having three co-equal and co-eternal Persona. The Arian heresy has recently revived by the Jehovah Witness.

The creed reads as follows:

·        We believe in one God,

·        the Father, the Almighty,

·        maker of heaven and earth,

·        of all things visible and invisible.

·        We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,

·        the only begotten son of God,

 The word used here is the Greek word MONOGENETOS HUIOS, ( John 1:14)  to mean  "only begotten" or "one-of-a-kind, only, sole, unique."

·        begotten of the Father before all worlds (ages)

Since there was no creation before the generation of Jesus time does not exist since time is only a measure of change. The begetting of the Logos was not an event in time, but an eternal relationship.

·        God from God, Light from Light,

·        true God from true God,

·        begotten, not made,

This was a direct repudiation of the Arian heresy.

·        of one being with the Father.

This line: "of one essence with the Father, of one substance with the Father, consubstantial with the Father," (in Greek, HOMOOUSIOS TW PATRI) asserts that Jesus was indeed God.   

The language finally adopted in the East was that the Trinity consists of three HYPOSTASES   united in one OUSIA.   The oldest surviving Christian treatises written in Latin, states that  Trinity consists of three PERSONAE   united in one SUBSTANTIA.  "Three Persons in one Substance."  

·        Through him all things were made.

·        For us and for our salvation

·        he came down from heaven:

·         by the power of the Holy Spirit

·        he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary,

·        and was made man.

·        For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;

·        he suffered death and was buried.

·        On the third day he rose again

·        in accordance with the Scriptures;

·         he ascended into heaven

·        and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

·        He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,

·        and his kingdom will have no end.

 

·        We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,

·         who proceeds from the Father [and the Son].

  "and from the Son," is a Western addition to the Creed to make the concept that the Spirit proceded both from the Father and the Son.  They correspond to the Latin word FILIOQUE (FILI = Son, -O = from, -QUE = and), and the controversy about them is accordingly known as the Filioque controversy.   Of course the idea of time lapse in procession is not implied making Father, Son and Holy Spirit as eternally coexistent. This clause was added in the Constantinople Council in AD 381.

·        With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified.

·        He has spoken through the Prophets.

·        We believe in one holy Catholic (Universal) and apostolic Church.

Catholic church simply means Universal Church.  It implies that any denomination that accept the basic creed is a Christian Church if it follows the Apostolic teaching.

·        We acknowledge  baptism indicating the forgiveness of sins is given only once.

Indicating that there is no need to repeat baptism even if a commit sin after the baptism.  Its validity is retroactive as it is only a symbol.

·        We look for the resurrection of the dead,

·         and the life of the world to come. AMEN.

The sign of the cross is a constant confession of faith in Christ before the world.

The Three fingers held together as above indicates the unity of Trinity in the Godhead.
(the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit, three persons sharing a single essence),
The remaining two fingers  (kept pressed together and touching the palm)

represent the human and divine natures of Jesus Christ.

The fingers are then placed in the following order:

  This hand formation is then traced in a cross-like manner from the forehead, to the navel, and then left shoulder from where it is moved to the right shoulder and then to the center or heart..

It also declares the immanence and transcendence of God who incarnated into our history as Jesus and brought us salvation.

This is what my father has taught me.

Some times we say “In the name of the Father , Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen” as we move the hand to indicate the immanence of God and the incarnation of Jesus in Flesh on the earth as a Man. 

By this sign:

We confess the Trinity that exists undivided, co-eternal and co-equal.

The two fingers pressed against the palm symbolize the doctrine of the Incarnation. We remind ourselves that Jesus became man while remaining God. We confess that Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man.

However as history progressed very often the meaning of the symbols changes.  After all the meaning of a symbol is what the cultural community assign to it.  This happened in history in the sacramental symbols also.

The sign for   Confirmation of Faith to some group came to be Baptism with water

And

Initiation into teaching the way was assigned the sign of Dedication. 

Thus there is a reversal in the symbols used which causes confusion and much unwanted arguments.  There is no such thing as correct symbols.  Reality behind the symbols are that matters.  But it is necessary for the unity of a church to assign these meanings and stick by it lest it will come to no effect.  If the word “Black” is assigned the color of this paper for some group and White to mean the color of this ink, it is going to confuse people when we talk.  That is exactly what is happening with the symbols of sacrament.  It is therefore safer to stick by the ancient signs, lest we bicker over the inessentials and miss the salvation for us and to our children

In the Eastern Churches the assignment of sign is as follows:

However some of the modern churches has assigned the meaning as follows:

As one can see Baptism of the infants has been replaced with Dedication of infants.  So also the variations in the symbols used as modes have also changed.  Should we use total immersion, backward or forward immersion, partial immersion, sprinkling, or bring them under a flag?  All these are symbols.  Just as one culture when it enters another culture can think of each other as inferior and pagan, and there by destroy one another, Churches are destroying each other over the superiority of one symbol over the other.

Most Independent Churches has no baptism as an initiation to discipleship.  The setting apart ceremony is called Dedication. Baptism is then associated with Confirmation as an adult.  Because of the persuasions of the Pentecostal churches, the St.Thomas Evangelical Churches permit both methods: Dedication as infants and Baptism as adults or Baptism as infants and confirmation as adults

The purpose of the discipline is to realize faith in Jesus Christ as the children of the Christian families grow up.  There are no fixed age of maturity and no one knows when a child will be mature enough to confess faith and take responsibility of their own.

Confession of faith in the open is the test of maturity – the examination.  In the Eastern Churches normally this test is done by the bishop or clergy to make sure the candidate knows at least the three basics - The Lord’s Prayer, The Apostles Creed (this is not always insisted) and the Nicene Creed.  The sign of the cross with the three fingers is also taught since it is a constant repeated confession of Christ.

It has been found useful to have the candidate confess their faith by mouth before the Community of Faith who disciplined.  During the baptism, the god parents took the oath of allegiance to Christ on behalf of the child.  Now the same oath is taken by the adult thus taking the responsibility to walk in the Way.  

An open confession of faith is taken before the community of faith in the Mar Thoma Church in recent years as part of the confession just before the first communion.  This is an adaptation from the  Anglican Church which influenced the formation of the Mar Thoma Church.  This open confession sign does not conflict with other signs of sacraments.

In the west, Chrismation is replaced with Confimation which is a youth dedication.  This is after the discipling period.

Confirmation is reserved to those of "the age of reason"

Where Confirmation as an adult sacrament is used it is done by the Bishop by the laying on of hands saying . "be sealed with the gift of the holy spirit." 

The sign of the cross is also employed as a seal of the Holy Spirit on the forehead.  Ocasionally the anointing oil is also used.

The roots of confirmation are found in the New Testament. For instance, in the Acts of the Apostles 8:14-17: “Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent them Peter and John, who went down and prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Spirit, for it had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.”

We read in the Acts of the Apostles  that after the Samaritan converts had been baptized by Philip the deacon, the Apostles "sent to them Peter and John, who, when they were come, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Spirit; for he was not yet come upon any of them, but they were only baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus; then they laid their hands upon them, and they received the Holy Spirit".  This directly indicate that there was a rite, distinct from baptism, in which the Holy Spirit was conferred by the imposition of hands and that the power to perform this ceremony was not implied in the power to baptize and that this was done by someone of authority.

When the Apostle Paul met disciples in Ephesus who had only received the baptism of John the Baptist, they received Christian baptism and then Paul laid hands upon them and "the Holy Spirit came on them" (Acts 19:2-6).

Also, in the Gospel of John, Chapter 14, Christ speaks of the coming of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles (John 14:15-26). Later, after his Resurrection, Jesus breathed upon them and they received the Holy Spirit (John 20:22), a process completed on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4). After this point, the New Testament records the apostles bestowing the Holy Spirit upon others through the laying on of hands.

 The evidence of the presence of Holy Spirit is the nature of the confession.

1Jn 4:2  Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God.

Confirmation as such is not practiced by Baptist churches, and other groups which teach believer's baptism. It is then part of the Pre-Baptism confession of the candidate while in the water.

As a general rule, Communion,  is  given only after Confirmation.  It is generaly a rite of passage from childhood to adulthood.    The age of maturity is still not established.  Most churches consider 12- 14 years as a suitable age.  This is based on the Jewish tradition of Bar Mitzwa ceremony for which the age is usually 13.  But there are no hard and fast rule.

It certainly reflects the spirit of the gospel and of the cultural environment of the world today with their assertion of individual freedom.  Whereas in the past individuals were subject to the community, the rise of democracy and emphasis on the freedom of individual choice and a belief that salvation is personal has developed the Sacrament of Adult Baptism and the  Sacrament of Confirmation.