A native of the District of Columbia, Canon Charles H. Nalls holds a Licentiate in Sacred Theology (STL) (summa cum laude) from The Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C. (The STL program prepares the graduate to teach theology in a college, seminary, or university, to function as a chaplain to various professional groups, and to act as a theological resource for a diocese and diocesan agencies.) Canon Nalls’ areas of concentration were spiritual theology and homiletic theology. As well, Canon Nalls received a Bachelor of Sacred Theology (STB) and a Master’s of Theology, both with honors, also from Dominican House. He holds additional certifications as a PREP® Marriage retreat leader, suicide intervention and prevention instructor, and as an instructor on issues pertaining to the identification and treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Canon Nalls was ordained to the diaconate in June 2001 and to the priesthood in June 2002 by the late Archbishop Robert Sherwood Morse. Currently, he serves as the priest-in-charge of the Church of the Epiphany in Amherst, Virginia. Prior to arriving at Epiphany, Canon Nalls was Dean of St. Alban’s Pro-Cathedral in Richmond, Virginia foor more than nine year. He has served traditional Anglican parishes in Washington, D.C., Newport News, Glen Allen, Virginia and Centreville, Virginia, and as a mission church planter in Virginia. As well, he heas recently established a retreat house, Edgewood, in an historic house in the heart of Amherst.
A canon lawyer, Canon Nalls became the Executive Director of the Canon Law Institute in Washington, D.C. in 1978, and the CEO of its parent charity the Ecclesiastical Lawyer’s Guild, a 501(c)(3) exempt organization. Additionally, he heads the Bp. Charles C. Grafton Theological Institute, a recently formed charity dedicated to religious education. He has been a lecturer on matters pertaining to religious law and history, church property and ecclesiastic discipline and various theological topics. The author of a number of articles and papers in theology and law, in 2009 Canon Nalls completed his first short book, Prayer: A Field Guide. His second book, Lent for Busy People, was completed in April 2017 and publication is expected in the fall.
For nearly twelve years Canon Nalls was a chaplain in the Military Departments of Maryland and Virginia, and was chief chaplain (Colonel) in the defense forces of both states. He was responsible for reorganizing, professionalizing and directing a corps of 10-15 chaplains to serve both the defense forces and the national guards in those respective states. As well, he was called to state active duty to provide pastoral care to mass casualty victims of Hurricane Katrina New Orleans, to direct spiritual support and counseling during Operation Lebanon Repatriation and, most recently, to conduct religious services and counseling to National Guard forces during the civil unrest in Baltimore. After his retirement from the Virginia Defense Force, he returned to Maryland as a battalion chaplain to the 110th IO BN, Maryland Army Guard, from which he retired in 2016. He has been recognized with the Maryland Distinguished Service Cross, the Maryland National Guard’s highest state award and the Virginia Distinguished Service Medal.
In addition to his academic work in theology, Canon Nalls holds bachelor’s degrees in history and political science (magna cum laude) from DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana and a Juris Doctor degree from the Georgetown University Law Center, earning them in 1979 and 1982 respectively. At Georgetown he was an editor of the Journal of Law and Policy in International Business.
Before his ordination to the priesthood, Canon Nalls was Assistant General Counsel, U.S. International Trade Commission and a technical adviser to the U.S. Trade Representative on NAFTA and other international trade matters before returning to private law practice in 1993. In addition to his work as an attorney, following commissioning as an Ensign in the Naval Reserve, he was an intelligence officer for 20 years with tours of duty at the Pentagon, the Office of Naval Intelligence, the Marine Corps Intelligence Activity, and the Naval Explosive Ordnance Technical Center. He has been active in a number of veteran’s organizations.
He and Elizabeth Ferre Carroll (Nalls) have been married for thirty-four years. Their daughter Laura recently completed her undergraduate work at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Virginia, with degrees in archaeology and classical studies and recently was awarded a master of arts in teaching through Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. The family makes their home a short walk from Epiphany in the center of Amherst.
