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 CONFESSOR

215

CONFIRMATION

Confessor. — (1) Etymology and primitive mcan- iH;;.--The word confessor is derived from the Latin confitcri, to confess, to profess, but it is not found in writers of the classical period, having been first used by the Christians. With them it was a title of honour to designate those brave champions of the Faith who had confessed Christ publicly in time of persecution and had been punished with imprisonment, torture, ixile, or labour in the mines, remaining faithful in their confession until the end of their lives. The tille thus distinguished them from the martyrs, who were so called because they imderwent death for the Faith. The first clear evidence of the distinction i list spoken of is found in an epitaph which is recorded \'y De Rossi (Bullettino di archeologia cristiana, 1864, p .iO): "A Domino coronati sunt beati confessores iMinites martjTum Aurelius Diogenes confessor et \ aleria Felicissima vivi in Deo feeerunt" [The lilcssed confessors, companions of the martyrs, have \<i-vn crowned by the Lord. Aurelius Diogenes, con- fessor, and Valeria Felicissima, put up (this monument) during their lifetime]. Among writers St. Cyprian is the first in whose works it occurs (Ep. xxxvii) : " Is denium confessor illustris et verus est de quo post- modum non erubescit Ecclesia sed gloriatur " (That confessor, indeed, is illustrious and true for whom the Church does not afterwards blush, but of whom she boasts) ; he shows in the pa-ssage that suffering alone for the Faith did not merit the title of confessor unless perseverance to the end had followed. In this mean- ing the title is of more frequent occurrence in the Christian WTiters of the fourth century. Sidonius ApoUinaris (Carmen xvii), to quote one instance, writes, "Sed confessorem virtutiuu signa sequuntur" (But signs of power follow the confessor). A similar use may be verified in Lactantius, " De morte perse- cut.", XXXV ; St. Jerome, Ep. Ixxxii, 7; Prudentius, IIcpi a-Te., 55, etc.

(2) Later meaning. — After the middle of the fourth century we find confessor used to designate those men of remarkable virtue and knowledge who con- fessed the Faith of Christ before the world by the prac- tice of the most heroic virtue, by their wTitings and preachings, and in consequence began to be objects of veneration, and had chapels (martyrin) erected in their honour, which in the previous centuries had been the especial privilege of the martyrs. In the Eastern Church the first confessors who received a public cul- tus were the abbots St. .\nthony and St. Hilarion, also St. Philogonus and St. Athanasius. In the West Pope St. Silvester was so venerated even before St. Martin of Tours, as can be shown from the "Kalen- darium" published by Fouteau — a dociunent which is certainly of the time of Pope Liberius (cf . " Prjeno- tata" in the aforesaid " Kalcndarium", iv).

(3) Modern meaning. — Since the time when the Roman pontiffs reserved to themselves definite decis- ion in causes of canonization and beatification, the title of confessor (pontiff, non-pontiff, doctor) belongs only to those men who have distinguished themselves by heroic virtue which God has approved by miracles, and who have been solemnly adjudged this title by the Church and propo.sed by her to the faithful a,s ob- jects of their veneration. (See M.\rtyrs; Persecu- tions; Beatification AND Canonization.) For the office of confessor in the Sacrament of Penance see Penance, Sacrament op.

Benedict XIV, De Srrvorum Dei Bealificatione et Beatorum Canonizaiwne, I. v, no. 3 sqq.; Innocent III, De Mj/sl. Mis.-;., Ill, x; Bellarmine, De A/i-swi. II, xx. no. ,'>; Martigny, Did. des aniiquilejt ehrfliennes, s. v.; Peters in Kraus, lieal-Encyk., 8. v.; LcFT in Kirrhrnlex., s. v. Bekenner.

Camillus Beccari.

Confirmation, a sacrament in which the Holy Ghost Ls given to those already baptized in order to make them strong and perfect Christians and soldiers of Jesus Christ. It has been variously designated : /3e-

/3a(w(ri5 or confirmalio, a making fast or sure ; Te\(lu<ra or consummatio, a perfecting or completing, as ex- pressing its relation to baptism. With reference to its effect it is the "Sacrament of the Holy Chost", the "Sacrament of the Seal" (signnculum, sigillum, o-ippa- yts). From the external rite it is known iis the " im- position of hands" (iirWeais x"pwi'), or as "anointing with chrism" (unctio, chrisrmilio, xp'^Aia, ijjjpov). The names at present in use are, for the \Vestem Church, confirmatio, and for the Greek, rb inipov.

I. Present Practice and Doctrine. — Rile. — In the Western Church the sacrament is usually adminis- tered by the bishop. At the beginning of the cere- mony there is a general imposition of hands, the bishop meantime praying that the Holy Ghost may come down upon those who have alreacly been regenerated: "send forth upon them thy sevenfold Spirit, the Holy Paraclete." He then anoints the forehead of each with chrism, saying: " I sign thee with the sign of the cross and confirm thee with the chrism of salvation, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost." Finally he gives each a slight blow on the cheek saying: "peace be with thee". A prayer is added that the Holy Spirit may dwell in the hearts of those who have been confirmed, and the rite closes with the bishop's blessing.

The Eastern Church omits the imposition of hands and the prayer at the beginning, and accompanies the anointing with the words: "the sign [or seal] of the gift of the Holy Ghost." These several actions symbolize the nature and purpose of the sacrament: the anointing signifies the strength given for the spiritual conflict; the balsam contained in the chrism, the fragrance of virtue and the good odour of Christ; the sign of the cross on the forehead, the courage to confess Christ, before all men; the imposi- tion of hands and the blow on the cheek, enrolmeiit in the service of Christ which brings true peace to the soul. (Cf. St. Thomas, "Summa. Theol.", Ill, Q. Ixxii, a. 4. For interesting details regarding the blow on the cheek, see "Am. Eccl. Review", I, 101.)

Minister. — The bishop alone is the ordinary minis- ter of confirmation. This is expressly declared by the Council of Trent (Scss. VII, De Conf., C. iii). A bishop confirms validly oven those who are not his own subjects; but to confirm licitly in another diocese he must secure the permission of the bishop of that diocese. Simple priests may be the extraordinary ministers of the sacrament provided they obtain spe- cial delegation from the pope. This has often been granted to missionaries. In such cases, however, the priest cannot wear pontifical vestments. He Is obliged to use chrism blessed by a Catholic bishop and to ob' serve what is prescribed in the Instruction issued by the Propaganda, 21 March, 1774 (appendix to Roman Ritual). In the (ireek Church, confirmation is given by simple priests without special delegation, and their ministration is accepted by the Western Church as valid. They must, however, use chrism ble.ssed by a patriarch.

Mifltcr and Form. — There has been much discussion among theologians as to what constitutes the e.s.sential matter of this sacrament. Some, e. g. Aureolus and Petavius, held that it consists in the imposition of hands. Others, with St. Thomas, Bellarmine, and Maldonatus, maintain that it is the anointing with chrism. According to a third opinion (Morimis, Tap- per) either anointing or imjiosition of hands suffices. Finally, the most generally accepted view is that the anoint ing and t he imposition of hands conjointly are the matter. The " imposition ", however, is not that with .vhich the rite begins but the laying on of hands which takes ]ilace in the act of anointing. As Peter the Lom- bard declares: Panlifix per imjxmtionem manus con- firmandosungitin jraiilc (IV Sent., dist. xxxiii, n. l;cf. De Augustinis, " De re sacrarrii'iitari.i", 2d ed., Rome, 1889), I. The chrism emi)loycil must be a mixture of