The Society of the Holy Trinity (''Societas Trinitatis Sanctae'' or STS) is a

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

ministerium A ministerium is an association of clergy from various religious groups who come together to accomplish a specific purpose, often to build collegiality and to meet or address socioeconomic needs in the community. The represented churches, synagogu ...

dedicated to the renewal of Lutheran churches and ministry. The society was founded in 1997 by 28 pastors. As of April 2015, 283 pastors are subscribed to the Rule of the Society.

Beginnings

The Society of the Holy Trinity was founded in response to the theological climate in the formative years of the

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is a mainline Protestant Lutheran church headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA was officially formed on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three Lutheran church bodies. , it has approxim ...

(ELCA). A primary concern among those who would become founders of the society was language for God: specifically, the triune name of "Father, Son, and Holy Spirit." Efforts during and immediately after the formation of the ELCA to introduce gender-neutral Trinitarian formulae in the rite of

Baptism Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...

and other liturgical rites failed to gain official acceptance; however, the determination of those who demanded the change, and their entrenchment in positions of power in the new denomination, was highly alarming to those who would eventually become founders of the Society. In response to this and other theological issues, a group of pastors developed the "9.5 Theses" and published them for discussion in the ELCA. Over 700 pastors and 300 laypeople signed the document, but the leaders of the denomination refused to give a public hearing to the "9.5 Theses". This refusal to acknowledge the existence of the issues led to the formation of the Society, conceived as an oratory in which pastors would support each other in being faithful to the vows made at ordination. From its beginning, the society has been an inter-Lutheran ministerium. Membership is open to both male and female pastors from any Lutheran church body.

Rule

A Lutheran

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

becomes a member by publicly subscribing to the Rule at the annual general retreat, usually held in the early fall of each year. Pastors are challenged to remain faithful to their

ordination Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorization, authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominational ...

vows by continual deepening of formation in: prayer (Chapters I and V), Christian life as duty and example (Chapter II), collegiality (Chapters III and IV), and study (Chapter VI). In addition, the rule outlines a faithful pastoral practice seeking to renew Lutheran congregational life along

catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and confessional lines. Among the trajectories for renewal are a recovery of the public prayer of the divine office or

canonical hours In the practice of Christianity, canonical hours mark the divisions of the day in terms of fixed times of prayer at regular intervals. A book of hours, chiefly a breviary, normally contains a version of, or selection from, such prayers. In ...

(Chapter I), and worship practice according to scriptural, creedal, and confessional standards, including the restoration of the practice of voluntary private confession and absolution in Lutheran congregations (Chapter VII). Finally, the Rule commits members to pursuing the cause of Lutheran unity as well as the unity of the Western Church (Chapter VIII).

Governance

Chapter IX of the Rule outlines the governance of the Society. The entire Society is under the pastoral direction of a

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

, who appoints a

vicar A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...

. The senior convenes the Society once a year in a general retreat, with local chapters meeting at least three other times during the year under the direction of a chapter dean. Both the senior, at general retreats, and the deans, at chapter retreats, are elected for three-year terms by a "pure ecclesiastical

ballot A ballot is a device used to cast votes in an election and may be found as a piece of paper or a small ball used in secret voting. It was originally a small ball (see blackballing) used to record decisions made by voters in Italy around the 16t ...

." Any member of the Society may receive votes on any ballot. Successive ballots are taken until consensus is reached. A vicar, secretary, and editor are appointed by the senior. A bursar is elected by majority vote. On September 23, 2015, The Rev. Patrick J. Rooney was elected for a three-year term as Senior of the Society of the Holy Trinity. He is the third Senior in the history of the Society.

Pastoral statements

In 2008 the society received two statements of its leadership council by consensus at its general retreat. These statements give pastoral guidance to members concerning "Language in Worship" (in response to new worship resources developed by American Lutheran denominations) and "Same-Sex Unions" (anticipating the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly which voted to allow congregations, synods, and churchwide units to decide for themselves whether to call those in committed same-sex relationships to rostered leadership).

References

External links

Society of the Holy Trinity website
{{Lutheran orders Lutheran orders and societies Christian organizations established in 1997 Christian religious orders established in the 20th century Lutheran organizations established in the 20th century