Why Nashotah House?
By Toby F. Coley, Ph.D.
If one were to ask why Nashotah House Theological Seminary should be the foremost option for Anglican theological formation, the answer is that nowhere else provides the core practices of Anglican spirituality and intellectual tradition. Drawing on St. Benedict’s Regula, the Book of Common Prayer was designed so that all people could read and take part in the liturgy of the Church: the Eucharist, Daily Office, and private prayer—the traditional threefold path of Christian growth commended by the Church catholic. Nashotah House provides the atmosphere and services that enable Christians to practice these three acts of worship daily.
Spending an intensive week at Nashotah last summer, I was struck by the beauty of St. Mary’s chapel, the reverence which all who participate in the worship bring to their tasks, and the dedication to God’s glory displayed in every detail of the liturgy. Wandering across the campus feels like joining an ancient and revered tradition: the historic buildings, the mesmerizing grounds, and a palpable sense of God’s presence in this place. Summer, when the weather invites one to leisurely strolls and meditative silences, is arguably the best time to visit Nashotah House. The Benedictine community life is on full display—students are warm and charitable, the faculty and staff are caring and attentive, and God’s truth, goodness, and beauty are evident at every turn.
One detail that captures each of these transcendentals is the intimate community that Nashotah develops through its attention to worship, proper instruction, and the discipleship and wellbeing of its students and their families. Nashotah seeks to train priests, deacons, and laypeople in the theological tenets, context, and history of the catholic faith once delivered to the saints, and it actively works toward that training in the sense that the Church has understood that word from its earliest days.
The Greek word from which “ascetics” is derived appears in Acts 24:16, where St. Paul, defending himself before Governor Felix says, “So I always take pains to have a clear conscience toward both God and man” (Acts 24:16 ESV). Paul’s “take pains” is the Greek word askeo. It is often used, as St. Paul’s does elsewhere with related words, for training an athlete. This training is not only mental (or intellectual), but intensely physical—including the whole person and directed toward a final goal. Such is the training that Nashotah House offers its community—intensely forming them in the love of God through the means provided in the Scriptures and Church tradition.
During my intensive week this past July, I was blessed to take part in Dr. Greg Peters’ class in ascetical theology—a course designed to introduce and explore Christian formation via the sources, methods, and ends of ascetical theology. Such a class is infinitely practical: the end of ascetical theology is growth toward union with God and toward a charity that fills and transforms our natural life into God’s supernatural life. All our acts of worship—Eucharist, Daily Office, private prayer—are directed toward this end.
My time at Nashotah House helped form a clearer intellectual understanding but also nurtured bonds with fellow brothers and sisters in the Body of Christ who are on similar journeys. In studying how Christians over the years have progressed in the life of the Spirit, we grew in our own understanding of applying theology, with a pastoral heart, to everyday living. Sitting around a table with a small class, we were able to learn more than names and faces; we wrestled with how to love God ever more deeply and lead lives that reflect that love as we guide and direct the people with whom we interact daily in our own contexts—all while being able to share each other’s struggles and perspectives.
I developed friendships this past summer term that I’ll treasure for a lifetime. I know where my classmates minister, how their contexts affect their practices, and how God is using them to expand His kingdom. For those who come to Nashotah House to study, change and growth are fostered by this place. If you want to come to a seminary to learn theology and to be the same person you were before, then Nashotah is not the place for you. If you seek to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength and love your neighbor as yourself, then welcome to Nashotah.
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Toby F. Coley is Assistant Professor of English at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor where he teaches courses in rhetoric and composition, British literature, advanced composition, and advanced rhetoric. His research investigates the connections between writing, ethics, digital media, and religion.