(i) The first report of the Liturgical Commission Baptism and Confirmation 1958 was founded on the principle that the sequence of baptism, confirmation and the eucharist was the normative rite of Christian initiation. This was also the clearly stated principle of the revised Roman rite Ordo Initiationis Christianae Adultorum 1972, and the basis of the ASB rite of 1980. Normative meant the
formative norm, not necessarily the - most usual way in which the rite was performed. The Initiation services of 1998 have undermined this unity by placing Holy Baptism on its own first (pp 13-96),
and then secondly a rag-bag of forms under the heading The Eucharist with Baptism and Confirmation, together with Affirmation of Baptismal Faith and Reception into the Communion of the Church of England (pp 97-183).
(ii) In the preliminary report GS 1152 (1995) the Liturgical Commission recognized the existence of 'two conflicting views' about confirmation. The traditional view was noted first, though without much conviction, ie the Mason-Dix thesis. The Hanson-Lampe thesis, set outaqgressi.vely in- the Ely Report (GS 30, 1971), was then outlined more sympathetically. The latter is in effect the thesis upon which the new services are based, viz that baptism in water in the name of the Holy Trinity is the whole of Christian initiation.
(i) The collect (pp 34, 104) suggests that baptism is the whole of initiation.
(ii) The traditional mention of the devil (ASB 'evil') in the renunciation formulae has been restored (p 36): a point gained.
(iii) The Apostles' Creed, the traditional baptismal creed, has also been restored (p 38): another gain. But it is now recited, in response to interrogations, not only by the candidates or their godparents. but also by the congregation. But it is the faith of the candidates, not of the congregation, which in this context is in question.
(iv) A mini-creed ('Do you turn to Christ as Saviour' etc), totally otiose, has previously been tacked on to the renunciations (p 36).
(v) A new sub-section is introduced, viz 'Commission' (pp 26-28). This takes the place of the exhortation at the conclusion of baptism in the BCP, in which it is required that the baptized
should learn the Creed, the Lord's Prayer and the Ten Commandments, and so soon as he can say them should be brought to the bishop to be confirmed by him. The 'Commission' has instead alternative forms. Neither of them mentions the Creed, the Lord's Prayer or the Ten Commandments, or the Catechism, and only the first alternative mentions confirmation, and that in a single brief clause. Once again the Hanson-Lampe thesis has triumphed.
3 Confirmation
(i) In the second part of the new Services (pp 97 ff), the form for baptism, confirmation, affirmation of faith, reception into the communion of the Church of England, and the eucharist, is placed first (pp 103-121). This is a bewildering complex, which masks the relationship between baptism, confirmation and the eucharist. Only after this complex form does the form for baptism, confirmation and the eucharist follow (pp 122-133). This confusing arrangement of forms bears out once again the Hanson Lampe thesis.
(ii) There is now a double confirmation formula at the imposition of the hand, one new, the other old ASB. (pp 112, 130). The first is otiose.the other meaningless.
(iii) Repeatedly in these forms provision is made for 'Testimony' (pp 105, 124, 136, 145). This misconceives the nature of Christian initiation. The rite of initiation is not concerned with whether candidates experience a spiritual high or a spiritual low, whether they are articulate or tongue-tied. The relevant question is: do they profess the faith of the Catholic Church?
The new Services distinguish between different kinds of oil (as the ASB did not). The 1995 report governed their use by rubric (as the ASB did not). But now they are no longer governed by rubric, but once again are banished to the prefatory Notes (p 100), where they can be overlooked. This of course weakens their significance.
(i) Baptism and confirmation were in origin separate from the eucharist, and were celebrated in different buildings - the baptistery and the basilica. unlike the eucharist, they are not really congregational rites at all. For only after chrismation in the baptistery did the neophytes enter the
basilica, there to join the faithful, first in the prayers, and then in the offertory and the communion.
(ii) The new Services seek to turn baptism and confirmation into congregational rites, with lots of Vs and Rs and joining in prayers. Nowhere is this process more artificial than in the welcome formula (pp 29, 43, 57, 114, 131), sometimes before the prayers, sometimes after - a muddle. The welcome is truly expressed in the prayers, in the offertory, and in the communion. In the conditions of modern parish life, moreover, where it seems that baptisms are now de rigueur at the eucharist, the welcome is often hollow, since the baptismal party has usually not been seen before, and will probably not be seen again.
MICHAEL MORETON
14 February 1999