Why Didn’t They Receive the Holy Spirit After Baptism?

The reception of the Holy Spirit is depicted in the Book of Acts as separate from baptism. In Acts 19:1-6  St. Paul baptizes some disciples and then lays hands on them in order for them to receive the Holy Spirit.

These are two of the sacraments of initiation: baptism and confirmation. In the ancient Church these two sacraments were closely related and confirmation was received immediately following baptism. Over time the western Church separated the sacraments in order to emphasize the importance of both of them.

For some reason the Samaritans in Acts 8 had not received the sacrament of confirmation which is why St. Peter went there to confer confirmation.