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THE RITE AND THEOLOGY OF CONFIRMATION

Worship
Acts 8:14-17
William J. Rauch
THE CHURCH IN CELEBRATION ...
Does the above portion of Scripture describe a sacrament? Protestants have said "No," while Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox have said, "Yes." Protestants feel that this Scripture passage describes a unique occurrence in the early church not found in later times. Furthermore, there is no direct command from Jesus (or even from the apostles) to repeat in the church this practice of laying-on-of-hands for the Holy Spirit. In fact, even Catholic scholars agree that confirmation was found in the early church in the form of the sealing prayer given at baptism.
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