[2] The Homily on the Sacraments calls them the "other Sacraments"--i.e. in addition to Baptism and the Eucharist. {94} CHAPTER VIII. CONFIRMATION. (I) What it is not. (II) What it is. (III) Whom it is for. (IV) What is essential. (I) WHAT IT IS NOT. Confirmation is not the renewal of vows. The renewal of vows is the final part of the _preparation_ for Confirmation. It is that part of the preparation which takes place in public, as the previous preparation has taken place in private. Before Confirmation, the Baptismal vows are renewed "openly before the Church". Their renewal is the last word of preparation. The Bishop, or Chief Shepherd, assures himself by question, and answer, that the Candidate openly responds to the preparation he has received in {95} private from the Parish Priest, or under-Shepherd. Before the last revision of the Prayer Book, the Bishop asked the Candidates in public many questions from the Catechism before confirming them; now he only asks one--and the "I do," by which the Candidate renews his Baptismal vows, is the answer to that preparatory question. It is still quite a common idea, even among Church people, that Confirmation is something which the Candidate does for himself, instead of something which God does to him. This is often due to the unfortunate use of the word "confirm"[1] in the Bishop's question. At the time it was inserted, the word "confirm" meant "confess,"[2] and referred, not to the Gift of Confirmation, but to the Candidate's public Confession of faith, before receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation. It had nothing whatever to do with Confirmation itself. We must not, then, confuse the preparation for Confirmation with the Gift of Confirmation. The Sacrament itself is God's gift to the child bestowed through the Bishop in accordance with the teaching given to {96} the God-parents at the child's Baptism: "Ye are to take care that this child be brought to the Bishop _to be_ confirmed _by him_".[3] And this leads us to our second point: What Confirmation is. (II) WHAT IT IS. Confirmation is the completion of Baptism. It completes what Baptism began. In the words of our Confirmation Service, it "increases and multiplies"--i.e. strengthens or confirms Baptismal grace. It is the ordained channel which conveys to the Baptized the "sevenfold" (i.e. complete) gift of the Holy Ghost, which was initially received in Baptism.