Three current and former archbishops of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) gathered February 25 at Nashotah House in honor of their denomination’s prayer book.
Nashotah House hosted 61 bishops, priests, deacons, professors, and seminarians from across the country for a ceremony honoring the addition of ACNA’s 2019 edition of the Book of Common Prayer to the Underwood Prayer Book Collection. It joins rare and historic prayer books dating back to the 16th century that are available for research purposes.
The seminary did not initially expect a large crowd for the event, which was to be held in the Frances Donaldson Library, but it was moved into Adams Hall in the DeKoven Commons after exceeding the library’s capacity.
After a Mass and Evensong at the Chapel of St. Mary the Virgin—with a homily by Archbishop Steve Wood—the group gathered in Adams Hall for a reception. Former Archbishops Foley Beach and Robert Duncan spoke about the importance of the new prayer book, alongside Dean Lauren Whitnah and the Rev. Ben Jefferies, who served as lead designer on the ACNA Liturgy Task Force for the 2019 edition.
“The 2019 is a major achievement,” Whitnah told The Living Church. “It was something people wanted to celebrate in 2020, but for all the reasons we’re aware of, that did not happen. A number of the folks who worked on the 2019 were Nashotah House alumni, faculty, friends, and students, so they came not only to celebrate the reception of this book into our special collections but because they appreciate the contribution of this place in particular.”
The copies donated by Anglican House Publishers included multiple editions of the 2019 prayer book, plus copies of the St. Bernard Breviary and the New Coverdale Psalter. The breviary is a version of the 2019 prayer book’s daily office pointed for chanting and the psalter contains its new translation of the Book of Psalms, which “seeks to preserve the poetry, phrasing, and rhythm” of the 16th-century translation of the classic prayer books. Archbishop Duncan donated two copies from his personal archive, including the first printed copy of the 2019 book.
Roughly half of the ACNA Liturgy Task Force’s 11 committee members were Nashotah faculty or alumni, including Jefferies and the Rev. Dr. Arnold Klukas, a retired professor of liturgy.
While the seminary serves 81 dioceses and ecclesiastical jurisdictions of the Episcopal Church and the ACNA, it strives not to show overt preference for either church. Worship in St. Mary’s Chapel uses the Episcopal Church’s 1979 Book of Common Prayer, which seminary officials say they find more flexible and applicable. There are no plans to begin using the 2019 book for corporate worship.
“Dean Whitnah has to walk a fine line in keeping both the ACNA and TEC interested, which is a competitive task,” Jeffries said. “To get the occasional thing like this, to say we support and celebrate the ACNA and its mission, says a lot about its dual integrity.”
“The nature of Nashotah House presently is that the majority of the faculty are in TEC but the majority of the students are in the ACNA,” he added.
A Nashotah House spokesperson noted that 39% of its students are ACNA, 33% are members of the Episcopal Church, 10% are from Continuing Anglican churches and the remaining 15% belong to other churches.
“The bylaws of Nashotah House fixed that only the 1979 prayer book is to be used normally in the chapel. Its roots are deep in that of TEC, but including the 2019 in the Underwood collection reminds them that, while the 1979 is still there shaping prayer on campus, there is love and warmth for this other book. I hope this event is the seed of incorporating the 2019 more into campus prayer life,” Jefferies said.
“The 1979 is the common denominator,” Whitnah said. “It is authorized for use in the ACNA and gives us the most flexibility in corporate worship. Any decision has to balance what makes sense for the community in day-to-day life and what will best prepare our students in their future ministry. Many students don’t go on to use the 1979 in their prayer ministries, but feel well prepared to by our training.”
Tyler Hummel is a freelance writer based in Elkhorn, Wisconsin.
