Jana Strukova

A Vocational Model of Confirmation: Calling Youth to Active Faith in the Slovak Lutheran Church Jana Strukova

This book examines the practice of confirmation in the post-communist context of Slovakia and the Slovak Lutheran Church during 1993-2003. It proposes a fresh approach to the theory and practice of confirmation for churches that find themselves surrounded by new political, cultural, and spiritual realities. This new paradigm of confirmation speaks to a context that is transitioning from communism to democracy. Drawing on Martin Luther's concept of vocation, confirmation embodies an active response to God's gift of baptismal grace. Emphasizing confirmation as agency, youth are nurtured in the practices of owning and living out their faith in broader society. Articulating a theological basis for a faith active in the world, this vocational approach to confirmation contributes to the values and practices of building a democratic and civil society. This book will be of interest to academic theologians, students of theology, and pastors.