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In 1957, Norman Wates, a London businessman, made funds available to the Archbishop of Canterbury for financing the travel and related costs of a clergy exchange program with The Episcopal Church. The immediate goal was to exchange as many as ten English and American priests and their families each year. The Archbishop of Canterbury notified the Rt. Rev. Henry Knox Sherrill, and the first clergy exchange began in 1958; however, “The Anglican Interchange Program” didn’t receive its official designation as the Wates-Seabury Plan until June 1960.

The Presiding Bishop felt that The Episcopal Church should provide additional funding so he drew upon parish, diocesan, and national church funds to support the American side of the exchange. The Episcopal Church formalized the exchanges in December of 1959 when the National Council passed a resolution providing funds for an exchange program administered by the Presiding Bishop with the assistance of the Presiding Bishop's Advisory Committee on Anglican Relations.

The program operated successfully through the 1965–1966 exchanges, but at that point it had became apparent that the Church of England was unable to contribute the funds necessary to receive Norman Wates' continued support. An attempt to prevent the demise of the program took place in 1966 with an “Inter-Diocesan Exchange.” Although The Episcopal Church on the national level aided the 1966–1967 exchange, it did not take place under the Wates-Seabury Program nor was it inter-primatial as were the prior exchanges.

Several attempts were made to revive the program but they ceased with the death of Wates in 1969. In all, between 1958 and 1967, fourteen exchanges took place with eleven of those operating under the Wates-Seabury Program.

Canon Edward N. West, born in Boston, served The Episcopal Church for nearly five decades, primarily at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in New York. After ordination in 1934 and early service as curate and rector at Trinity Church, Ossining, New York, West became Canon Sacrist (1941) and Canon Residentiary (1943) at the Cathedral, later serving as Sub-Dean (1966) and Cathedral Master of Ceremonies (1981–1990).

West was widely recognized for his expertise in church architecture, heraldry, and religious symbolism. He chaired the New York Diocesan Commission on Church Building (1944–1981) and served as Vice Chairman of the Joint Commission on Church Architecture and Allied Arts (1948–1969), advising on renovations and designs for churches, vestments, banners, and altar ware. His most famous creation, the Compass Rose (1954), became the official emblem of the Anglican Communion and is featured in cathedrals worldwide, including Canterbury Cathedral and the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.

A scholar of liturgy and religious art, West lectured at the General Theological Seminary, advised the General Convention’s Standing Liturgical Commission, and wrote extensively on church symbolism, liturgy, and worship. His publications include The Language of Christian Symbolism, The History of the Cross, and several meditations and essays based on Cathedral worship. A close friend of Madeline L’Engle, he inspired the character Canon Tallis in her novels. West died in New York City in 1990, and his ashes are interred beneath his Compass Rose in the Cathedral’s Great Choir.

William White, the first Bishop of Pennsylvania (1787-1836), was born into a wealthy and prominent family in Philadelphia in 1748. He was educated at the College of Philadelphia, where he eventually received his Doctor of Divinity degree. Ordained deacon in 1770 and priest in 1772, White became first assistant minister and then rector of Christ Church and St. Peter’s in Philadelphia, a position in which he served for the remainder of his life. He also served as chaplain of the Continental Congress during the Revolutionary War, president of the first and fourth General Conventions, and Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in America from 1795 until his death in 1836. Additionally, White played a leading role in many civic organizations and educational institutions such as the Philadelphia Bible Society, the American Philosophical Society, and the General Theological Seminary.

Bishop White was a critical figure in the formation of the Protestant Episcopal Church, contributing not only as a talented organizer and a pragmatic reconciler between differing opinions, but also as a proponent of constitutional law and republican forms of government. His accepted recommendations for the Church constitution that included the establishment of The Episcopal Church as a self-governing and independent ecclesiastical body, the inclusion of laity with equal representation as clergy in governing bodies, and the right of dioceses to elect their own bishops. In addition, he proposed a new Prayer Book and planned for obtaining the episcopate from the English bishops that would extend the line of apostolic succession to America without requiring bishops to swear allegiance to the King of England.