Washington National Cathedral, with long tradition of presidential funerals, readies for Carter's

The Washington National Cathedral has begun its preparations for President Jimmy Carter's state funeral service next week, continuing a long tradition of hosting such services for former presidents including Eisenhower, Reagan, Ford and Bush.  

Carter, who died on Sunday at 100 years old, will also be honored at a service in his hometown of Plains, Georgia, later this week, and will lie in state next week at the Capitol building in Washington, D.C., before the state funeral on Jan. 9.

Details about the state funeral have not been publicly released, but the cathedral is expected to lead the religious component of the service, which is also a military and family funeral service. 

Kevin Eckstrom, the cathedral’s chief public affairs officer, told Just The News that the cathedral is not responsible for planning the full ceremony because it is ultimately up to the family of the former president. But it handles a lot of larger gatherings because it has the capacity and experience to do so. The cathedral also has a professional and children chorus that frequently sign as part of the music programs for such events.  

The cathedral, whose official name is the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, has also been the site of state funerals for Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan, Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush. 

"We have training, expertise, and facilities to pull a very complicated operation together with our partners," Eckstrom said. "This is part of who we are, and what we are called to do." 

Though the program for the upcoming service is not been finalized, Eckstrom said the eulogy is typically given by people close to a former president or other dignity who has had a funeral service at the roughly 117-year-old Episcopal Church, which also is the the second-largest church building in the U.S. 

President Joe Biden previously stated that he was asked to give the eulogy at Carter's service, but the cathedral did not confirm his appearance. President-elect Donald Trump has also said he will attend. 

The program will also include musical performances from a military band, and state funerals usually have other guest musicians at the services, Eckstrom also said.

The cathedral also expects Supreme Court justices, congressional officials, and former members of Carter's administration to attend the ceremony. World leaders are also invited to state funeral services, but if the leaders cannot attend then they usually send ambassadors in their place.

State funerals are reserved for former and current presidents only, but the cathedral has held memorial and funeral services in the past including memorial services for Queen Elizabeth II and Nelson Mandela. 

The cathedral also held a burial service for former President Woodrow Wilson in 1924, and the Episcopal Bishop of Washington officiated at former President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s funeral, which was held in the East Room of the White House, in 1945.

Carter's service will mark the first state funeral since Bush.

"President Carter exemplified a life of public service rooted in personal faith," Randolph Hollerith, dean of the Washington Cathedral said shortly after Carter died . "Whether teaching Sunday School, or building houses for the poor, or working through the Carter Center to eradicate diseases in Africa, President Carter exemplified what it means to translate faith into action.

He also said: "We will leave it to others to judge his political legacy, but his graciousness in victory and defeat, his personal decency, and his dogged commitment to public service demonstrated that one need not hold public office to leave an enduring imprint on the fabric of America."

The funeral service will not be open to the public for security reasons, but viewers can watch the service online through a livestream on Jan. 9, at 10 a.m. EST.

Members of the public who do wish to pay their respects to the country's 39th president can do so in Washington while he lays in state in the U.S. Capitol from Jan. 7 through Jan. 9. A full list of the times that the public can see Carter is available here.

Carter will be interred at his home in Plains, Georgia, in a private ceremony where he will be buried next to his late-wife Rosalynn Carter, who died last year at the age of 96. 

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.