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Nashotah House is a seminary of The Episcopal Church located in Nashotah, Wisconsin, approximately 30 miles from Milwaukee. It opened its doors 1842, and received its official charter in 1847. It offers the following degree programs:
- Master of Divinity (M.Div.)
- Master of Theological Studies (M.T.S.)
- Master of Sacred Theology (S.T.M.)
It also offers a one-year certificate program in Anglican Studies, geared toward students who have received an M.Div. from a non-Anglican institution and wish to be ordained within the Anglican tradition.
The institution is generally regarded as one of the more theologically conservative seminaries within The Episcopal Church.
History
Nashotah House was founded by three young deacons of the Episcopal Church, James Lloyd Breck, William Adams, and John Henry Hobart, Jr. - all recent graduates of General Theological Seminary in New York City, at the bidding of Bishop Jackson Kemper. Breck writes of these early days:
"The students boarding with us are all theological. They are Chiefly young men, sons of the farmers, and all communicants of the Church. Our students, like ourselves, are poor, but not the less worthy for all that. They seek the Ministry, but are unable to attain it without aid. We have a house; for this we pay no rent; it belongs to the Church, and so do we. We have land. They work four hours a day for their board and washing, and we give them their education without cost. Thus their clothing is their only expense, and to enable them to purchase this, we give them six weeks vacation during the harvest, when they can earn the highest wages.
Brother Adams and myself work four hours, except when we Are teaching or doing Missionary labor. We must all work for our board. That is the only way in which they will feel it their duty to labor and to study, and the only way in which our people will feel their duty to the Church, and to ourselves as clergy of the same.
We rise at 5am, Matins at 6. The Morning Service of the Church at 9. On Wednesdays and Fridays, the Litany at 12. On Thursdays, the Holy Eucharist at the same hour of 12. The Evening service of the Church at 3, and Family Prayer or Vespers at 6:30 or 7pm. Our students labor between 7 and 9 in the morning, and 1 and 3 in the afternoon."
Nashotah House, was from the beginning, a center for High Church thought and discipline. Breck, the first dean, was highly committed to the principles of the Oxford Movement. Later, famous professors such as James DeKoven would bring Anglo-Catholic worship and practice to the seminary. This began with the daily celebration of the Eucharist as well as the use of vestments, candles, and incense.
Nashotah began as a community of self-help, and it has largely stayed that way. All students have work crew assignments - cleaning bathrooms, mowing lawns, sweeping floors, and taking other chores.
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