>From the [Catholic] Council at Trent in 1547 -- "As the Christian church expanded and grew, different practices developed in the East and the West. In the eastern churches confirmation or anointing was closely connected with baptism and first communion. Often times in the same service a person was baptized, confirmed and received holy communion. All three were considered sacraments. In the western church confirmation was separated from the sacrament of baptism. The local parish priest would baptize, but only the bishop could confirm. The bishop might come to a church once a year to perform confirmations. During the medieval ages confirmation became more and more infrequent. In the west confirmation was considered a sacrament during the first half of the twelfth century. However, it was not declared a sacrament by the church until the Council of Florence in 1439. In 1547 the Council of Trent fixed this as official doctrine that confirmation is a sacrament. The Council also fixed the age of confirmation between the ages of seven and twelve." However... "There were attempts within Lutheranism to return to the traditional form of confirmation without the Roman Catholic heretical teachings. In the traditional form confirmation emphasized the laying on of hands and especially the instruction which preceded this. First communion often occurred a few weeks or months after the rite of confirmation. Later in the 17th and 18th centuries first communion often took place one or two years after confirmation." And... "Historically you will have noticed that since confirmation was linked with the end of formal elementary education, it came at the age of 13 or 14." Today... Confirmation takes place, after two years of "Saturday School" instruction, at about age 14, on Palm Sunday. First communion for confirmands takes place shortly after. Adult confirmation classes are handled differently and are not as intense, usually meeting once a week for six to eight weeks. This is my experience with Lutheran Confirmation practices in my Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod. Myrna Madigan Broadlands, IL > > On Feb 11, 2008 3:58 PM, Hal McCawley <halmac@cox.net> wrote: > >> Could anyone help place probable ages for these children? >> >> CONFIRMATION: "On September 29th, 1811 those confirmed to Holy Communion >> were: 13 names including David Dothero and Elisabeth Dothero." Records >> of >> Heidelberg Evangelical Lutheran (Old Dutchmans Creek) Church located on >> the >> east side of Dutchmans Creek in what is now Davie Co, NC.

Myrna, I, too, was raised in the Missouri Synod...? However, my mother was raised ELCA...? Some of the practices differ.? I was told, at one time, that the Missouri Synod was the most strict...? hmmmmm Jan -----Original Message----- From: Myrna Madigan <myrna@ecicwireless.com> To: jweaks@forevermedia.com; rowanroots@rootsweb.com Sent: Mon, 11 Feb 2008 5:33 pm Subject: Re: [ROWANROOTS] Age requirement for Luth Ch confirmation to HolyCommunion in 1811Rowan Co, NC >From the [Catholic] Council at Trent in 1547 -- "As the Christian church expanded and grew, different practices developed in the East and the West. In the eastern churches confirmation or anointing was closely connected with baptism and first communion. Often times in the same service a person was baptized, confirmed and received holy communion. All three were considered sacraments. In the western church confirmation was separated from the sacrament of baptism. The local parish priest would baptize, but only the bishop could confirm. The bishop might come to a church once a year to perform confirmations. During the medieval ages confirmation became more and more infrequent. In the west confirmation was considered a sacrament during the first half of the twelfth century. However, it was not declared a sacrament by the church until the Council of Florence in 1439. In 1547 the Council of Trent fixed this as official doctrine that confirmation is a sacrament. The Council also fixed the age of confirmation between the ages of seven and twelve." However... "There were attempts within Lutheranism to return to the traditional form of confirmation without the Roman Catholic heretical teachings. In the traditional form confirmation emphasized the laying on of hands and especially the instruction which preceded this. First communion often occurred a few weeks or months after the rite of confirmation. Later in the 17th and 18th centuries first communion often took place one or two years after confirmation." And... "Historically you will have noticed that since confirmation was linked with the end of formal elementary education, it came at the age of 13 or 14." Today... Confirmation takes place, after two years of "Saturday School" instruction, at about age 14, on Palm Sunday. First communion for confirmands takes place shortly after. Adult confirmation classes are handled differently and are not as intense, usually meeting once a week for six to eight weeks. This is my experience with Lutheran Confirmation practices in my Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod. Myrna Madigan Broadlands, IL > > On Feb 11, 2008 3:58 PM, Hal McCawley <halmac@cox.net> wrote: > >> Could anyone help place probable ages for these children? >> >> CONFIRMATION: "On September 29th, 1811 those confirmed to Holy Communion >> were: 13 names including David Dothero and Elisabeth Dothero." Records >> of >> Heidelberg Evangelical Lutheran (Old Dutchmans Creek) Church located on >> the >> east side of Dutchmans Creek in what is now Davie Co, NC. ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to ROWANROOTS-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message ________________________________________________________________________ More new features than ever. Check out the new AIM(R) Mail ! - http://webmail.aim.com