Matthew S. C. Olver, Author at PrayTellBlog

Matthew S. C. Olver is Assistant Professor of Liturgics and Pastoral Theology at Nashotah House Theological Seminary, Nashotah, WI and a priest in the Episcopal Diocese of Dallas. He received his PhD from Marquette University in 2018 with a dissertation titled, "Hoc est sacrificium laudis: The influence of Hebrews on the origin, structure, and theology of the Roman Canon Missae" under the direction of Susan Wood, SCL. From 2006-13, he was the Assistant Rector at Church of the Incarnation, Dallas (Episcopal) and undertook his previous studies at Wheaton College (literature) and Duke Divinity School (MDiv, magna cum laude). He has published in The Journal of Ecumenical Studies, the Anglican Theological Review, Nova et Vetera, and Antiphon and is a regular contributor to Covenant, the weblog of The Living Church. He was a member of the last round of the Anglican-Roman Catholic Consultation in the U.S. (ARCUSA), which produced "Ecclesiology and Moral Discernment." He is married to Kristen and they have two elementary-aged children.

Ashes to Go? Context and Rationale

March 6, 2019 Matthew S. C. Olver

Many Episcopal parishes, along with other Christian in other communities, have begun to engage in a practice known as Ashes to Go. The idea is to go out into the world and bring something of the uniqueness of the Gospel to people in their busy lives.

Married Priests?

February 2, 2019 Matthew S. C. Olver

One argument that is put forward is that if men could discern a vocation to celibacy separately from discerning a vocation to the priesthood, there would be a lower rate of sexual abuse and sexual immorality amongst priests.

The Moving Feasts of Christmastide

January 4, 2019 Matthew S. C. Olver

Christmastide provides a strange array of moving feasts that are only more confusing when one begins with the Anglican Prayer Book tradition and then expands to the current Western calendar.

What to make of the Advent Wreath, or When the periphery moves to the center

December 2, 2018 Matthew S. C. Olver Uncategorized

The great Robert Taft, SJ (only recently having passed on to another shore where he now stands in a greater Light) famously reminded us that

Do we still have a king?

There is a curious feature in the Prayer of the Faithful for Episcopalians: we tend to give tremendous airtime to the executive branch. One might suspect that this is the result of some sort of residual effect of its historic relationship to the Church of England. But a look at the history of the texts says otherwise.

Liturgical revision in the Episcopal Church

October 10, 2018 Matthew S. C. Olver

Headlines this summer sounded that the Episcopal Church was revising its historical Book of Common Prayer. It turns out they were wrong. Sort of. The

The Death Penalty and the Prayers of the Faithful

August 13, 2018 Matthew S. C. Olver

Those present were invited to verbalize petitions. Veiled one-upmanship sometimes happened.

Joseph of Arimathaea and Jesus in England

August 1, 2018 Matthew S. C. Olver

Today, August 1, the Episcopal Church commemorates St. Joseph of Arimathea, whom the Gospels all record begged the body of Jesus, which he then laid

A homily for Rogation Monday

May 7, 2018 Matthew S. C. Olver Liturgical year Uncategorized

Readings: Ezekiel 47:6-12; Mark 4:26-32 Yesterday, I was wondering if Stonebank Elementary School was trying to help my kids participate in the Rogation Days this

Self-Intinction

April 23, 2018 Matthew S. C. Olver

I have to admit that I have an instinctual reaction against self-intinction, though I struggle to articulate why in a way that I find completely satisfactory.

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