Cathedral Dean 1992–2003
Nathan Dwight Baxter
Nathan Dwight Baxter
A third generation clergyman, Nathan Baxter (b. 1948) was elected eighth dean of Washington National Cathedral in November 1991. Before becoming dean of the Cathedral, he served as the administrative dean and associate professor of Pastoral Theology at Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. A 1976 graduate of Lancaster Theological Seminary with honors and prizes in homiletics and theology, he earned a Doctor of Ministry degree from that Seminary in 1984. He was a Charles E. Merrill Fellow at Harvard Divinity School in 1998. Among his publications is Comfort & Challenge: A Pastor’s Thoughts for a Troubled Nation, released in the aftermath of the September 11th terrorist attacks. Dean Baxter officiated at the National Day of Prayer and Remembrance Presidential Prayer Service broadcast worldwide live from the Cathedral on September 14, 2001, as well as the 1997 and 2001 Presidential Inaugural Prayer Services. During his twelve years as dean he also officiated at funerals and memorial services for many distinguished Americans, among them Supreme Court Associate Justice Thurgood Marshall, Admiral Jeremy Boorda, CNO; Hon. Ron Brown, Secretary of Commerce; Hon. Pamela Churchill Harriman, Ambassador to France; J. Carter Brown, Director Emeritus of the National Gallery of Art; Katharine Graham, publisher of the Washington Post, and the Crew of the Space Shuttle Columbia. In 2006 Baxter was elected Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Central Pennsylvania.