Trinity Church in the City of Boston, located in the

Back Bay Back Bay is an officially recognized Neighborhoods in Boston, neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, built on Land reclamation, reclaimed land in the Charles River basin. Construction began in 1859, as the demand for luxury housing exceeded the ...

neighborhood of

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, is a

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts. The congregation, currently standing at approximately 4,000 households, was founded in 1733. Three services are offered each Sunday, and weekday services are offered once a week from September through June. Within the spectrum of worship styles in the Anglican tradition, Trinity Church has historically been considered a

Broad Church Broad church is latitudinarian churchmanship in the Church of England in particular and Anglicanism in general, meaning that the church permits a broad range of opinion on various issues of Anglican doctrine. In the American Episcopal Churc ...

parish. In addition to worship, the parish is actively involved in service to the community, pastoral care, programs for children and teenagers, and Christian education for all ages. The church is home to several high-level choirs, including the Trinity Choir, Trinity Schola, Trinity Choristers, and Trinity Chamber Choir. The building, designed by

Henry Hobson Richardson Henry Hobson Richardson, FAIA (September 29, 1838 – April 27, 1886) was an American architect, best known for his work in a style that became known as Richardsonian Romanesque. Along with Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright, Richardson is one ...

, is currently under study for becoming a

Boston Landmark A Boston Landmark is a designation by the Boston Landmarks Commission for historic buildings and sites throughout the city of Boston based on the grounds that it has historical, social, cultural, architectural or aesthetic significance to New Engla ...

History

After its former site on Summer Street burned in the Great Boston Fire of 1872, the current church complex was erected under the direction of Rector Phillips Brooks (1835–1893), one of the best-known and most charismatic preachers of his time. The church and parish house were designed by

and construction took place from 1872 to 1877, when the complex was consecrated. Situated on Copley Square in

, Trinity Church is the building that established Richardson's reputation. It is the birthplace and archetype of the

Richardsonian Romanesque Richardsonian Romanesque is a architectural style, style of Romanesque Revival architecture named after the American architect Henry Hobson Richardson (1838–1886). The revivalism (architecture), revival style incorporates 11th- and 12th-century ...

style, characterized by a clay roof, polychromy, rough stone, heavy arches, and a massive tower. This style was soon adopted for a number of public buildings across the United States. The stone used was Dedham Granite. Stanford White, then working in H.H. Richardson's office, designed the current main tower of the Trinity Church of Boston in 1872, basing it on the romanesque tower of the Old Cathedral of Salamanca (Spain). According to L.C. Norton, the inventor of door checks, the heavy main entrance doors of Trinity Church were the first to be fitted with a quiet and effective means to resist slamming. This led to a patented pneumatic door check that was seen throughout the 1880s to 1910s. Norton's door check device eventually developed into the modern door closer with his guidance in both the Norton Door Controls and LCN companies.

Music

Choirs

Each December, the choirs of Trinity offer three iterations of a service of Candlelight Carols. These are a "Boston tradition", and very popular events, drawing nearly 5,000 attendees from as far away as

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

. A traditional scene in Copley Square in December is that of a long line of people waiting to enter the church for the free event. The service is based on the Nine Lessons and Carols model developed at

King's College, Cambridge King's College, formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, is a List of colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college lies beside the River Cam and faces ...

from a service at

Truro Cathedral The Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a Church of England cathedral in the city of Truro, Cornwall. It was built between 1880 and 1910 to a Gothic Revival design by John Loughborough Pearson on the site of the parish church of St Mary. His ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

. In addition to their primary function of supporting worship, the choirs of Trinity Church are fixtures in the rich musical landscape of Boston. The Trinity Choir has toured extensively, and can be heard on several critically acclaimed recordings. The Trinity Choristers are a group of children who learn music and sing in the tradition of the Royal School of Church Music. The current Director of Music and Organist is Colin Lynch. The Trinity Choir and Trinity Choristers tour

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

every three years, serving as choirs-in-residence at major houses of worship such as

Ely Cathedral Ely Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Ely, is an Church of England, Anglican cathedral in the city of Ely, Cambridgeshire, England. The cathedral can trace its origin to the abbey founded in Ely in 67 ...

Chichester Cathedral Chichester Cathedral, formally known as the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity, is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Chichester. It is located in Chichester, in West Sussex, England. It was founded as a cathedral in 1075, when the seat of th ...

, and

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

(summer 2016).

Organs

* 1876: The original organ at Trinity was built by Hilborne L. Roosevelt in 1876, his Opus 29. It had mechanical action, assisted by Barker levers on all divisions and an electrically controlled Echo division, but its location in the chancel proved unsatisfactory, and the organ was moved to the gallery. * 1903: Hutchings-Votey built a new instrument for the chancel and made both organs playable from a single console. * 1924: Ernest M. Skinner undertook a rebuilding project, Opus 479, involving changes to both the Roosevelt and Hutchings-Votey instruments, but by 1926 it had expanded to Opus 573 as a virtually new organ in the gallery, as well as a new chancel console. * 1956:

Aeolian-Skinner Aeolian-Skinner Organ Company, Inc. of Boston, Massachusetts was an American builder of a large number of pipe organs from its inception as the Skinner Organ Company in 1901 until its closure in 1972. Key figures were Ernest M. Skinner (1866–1 ...

provided a new console in 1956 and, in 1960, installed a new chancel organ. * 1962: The gallery organ was extensively rebuilt, and major tonal modifications were made by Jason McKown, who maintained the organs for many years. * 1987: Jack Steinkampf' installed a rank of horizontal trumpet pipes under the west gallery window. This festival trumpet is given in memory of Paul Albert Merrill. * Late 1990s: In conjunction with the parish's building campaign, a plan was set out with Foley-Baker, Inc., for the cleaning and refurbishment of both organs and their joint console. * Late 2010s: Since 2012, the Church has slowly acquired a stockpile of Skinner and Aeolian-Skinner pipes from the general period of Trinity's organ. The pipes were installed and the organ reworked in an attempt to recapture the original Skinner sound. This work was a collaboration of Trinity's former and current organ curators: Foley-Baker Inc., of Tolland, Connecticut (who renovated the nave organ in 1999–2001, and the chancel organ in 2007), and Jonathan Ambrosino, who also maintains the organs at Old South Church and Church of the Advent. In 2018 a new four-manual organ console was built by Richard Houghten of Milan, Michigan, and J. Zamberlan & Co., in Wintersville, Ohio. The nave and chancel organs feature 121 stops, 113 ranks, and 6898 pipes.

Worship

Trinity Church offers three services on Sundays, including a now rarely heard modified version of Rite I Morning Prayer including a

sermon A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present context ...

and extra

anthem An anthem is a musical composition of celebration, usually used as a symbol for a distinct group, particularly the national anthems of countries. Originally, and in music theory and religious contexts, it also refers more particularly to sho ...

, as well as a service of sung

Compline Compline ( ), also known as Complin, Night Prayer, or the Prayers at the End of the Day, is the final prayer liturgy (or office) of the day in the Christian tradition of canonical hours, which are prayed at fixed prayer times. The English wor ...

in the late evening. Weekday services include Wednesday

Evensong Evensong is a church service traditionally held near sunset focused on singing psalms and other biblical canticles. It is loosely based on the canonical hours of vespers and compline. Old English speakers translated the Latin word as , which ...

and Thursday

Holy Eucharist The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an ordinance in others. Christians believe that the rite was instituted by J ...

with Prayers for Healing. Trinity has played host to many special services over the years, due mainly to its central location in Boston, large seating capacity, and reputation as a parish willing to open its doors and be "Boston's church." These services have included interfaith (

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

) services immediately following the

9/11 The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

attacks, a similar service following the July 2005 London bombings, and many prominent funerals, consecrations of bishops, and the like.

Community service

The parish supports many forms of community outreach and social justice ministry. These include partnerships with Rosie's Place, the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization, Pine Street Inn,

Habitat for Humanity Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI), generally referred to as Habitat for Humanity or Habitat, is a U.S. non-governmental, and tax-exempt 501(C)(3) Christian nonprofit organization which seeks to build affordable housing. The international ...

, Community Servings, the Walk for Hunger, the Rodman Ride for Kids, and others. The Trinity Boston Foundation is a nonprofit organization with a mission to support the social and emotional well-being and development of young people. Formed in 2007, it grew out of several of Trinity Church's outreach ministries, and now functions as a separately incorporated subsidiary organization that directly serves approximately 500 young people in the Boston community. The Trinity Boston Foundation's programs honor and respect people of all faith traditions, including those with no faith tradition.

Rectors

In the

Episcopal Church in the United States of America The Episcopal Church (TEC), also known as the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America (PECUSA), is a member of the worldwide Anglican Communion, based in the United States. It is a mainline Protestant denomination and is ...

, the Rector is the priest elected to head a self-supporting parish. Because of the importance of Trinity Church in the life of the city of Boston, the Rectors had great influence in the political and social sphere, especially in the early years of the church through the mid-1900s. Phillips Brooks, who was Rector from 1869 to 1891 has been memorialized in the official calendar of the Episcopal Church. His feast day in the calendar according to the 1979

Book of Common Prayer The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the title given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christianity, Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The Book of Common Prayer (1549), fi ...

is January 23. His statue is located on the left exterior of the church. The following are the Rectors of Trinity Church from its founding to the present day:

Art and architecture

upright=1.1, ''David's Charge to Solomon'', a stained-glass window installed in 1882 by Edward Burne-Jones and William Morris in Trinity Church">William_Morris.html" ;"title="Edward Burne-Jones and William Morris">Edward Burne-Jones and William Morris in Trinity Church The building's plan is a modified Greek Cross with four arms extending outwards from the central tower, which stands 64 m (211 ft) tall. The church is situated in Copley Square, and since the 1970s, in the shadow of the

John Hancock Tower The John Hancock Tower, colloquially known as the Hancock, is a 60-story, skyscraper in the Back Bay neighborhood of downtown Boston, Massachusetts. The pinnacle height (including antennas) is . Designed by Henry N. Cobb of the firm I. M. Pe ...

. Having been built in Boston's

, which was originally a

mud flat Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats or, in Ireland, slob or slobs, are coastal wetlands that form in intertidal areas where sediments have been deposited by tides or rivers. A global analysis published in 2019 suggested that tidal f ...

, Trinity rests on some 4,500 wooden piles, each driven through 30 feet of gravel fill,

silt Silt is granular material of a size between sand and clay and composed mostly of broken grains of quartz. Silt may occur as a soil (often mixed with sand or clay) or as sediment mixed in suspension (chemistry), suspension with water. Silt usually ...

, and

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolinite, ). Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impuriti ...

, and constantly wetted by the water table of the Back Bay as they will rot if exposed to air. The central portal may have been modeled on that of Saint Trophîme at Arles, Its interior

mural A mural is any piece of Graphic arts, graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' ...

s, which cover over were completed entirely by American artists. Richardson and Brooks decided that a richly colored interior was essential and turned to

John La Farge John La Farge (March 31, 1835 – November 14, 1910) was an American artist whose career spanned illustration, murals, interior design, painting, and popular books on his Asian travels and other art-related topics. La Farge made stained glass ...

(1835–1910) for help. La Farge had never performed a commission on this scale, but realized its importance and asked only for his costs to be covered. The results established La Farge's reputation. The church's windows were originally clear glass at consecration in 1877, with one exception, but soon major windows were added. Four windows were designed by

Edward Burne-Jones Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, 1st Baronet, (; 28 August 183317 June 1898) was an English painter and designer associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood's style and subject matter. Burne-Jones worked with William Morris as a founding part ...

and executed by the studio of

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was an English textile designer, poet, artist, writer, and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts movement. He was a major contributor to the revival of traditiona ...

. Another four windows were exceptional commissions by

, and revolutionized window glass with their layering of opalescent glass. The Suter window (donated by Hales W. Suter) was painted by

Charles Mills Charles, Charlie or Chuck Mills may refer to: Academics * C. Wright Mills (Charles Wright Mills) (1916–1962), American academic sociologist * Charles Henry Mills Charles Henry Mills (January 29, 1873 – July 23, 1937) was an England, En ...

. Trinity Church is the only church in the United States and the only building in Boston that has been honored as one of the "Ten Most Significant Buildings in the United States" by the

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C. AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach progr ...

. In 1885, architects voted Trinity Church as the most important building in the U.S.; Trinity Church is the only building from the original 1885 list still included in the AIA's current top ten list. The building was designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

on December 30, 1970. The church also houses sculptures by

Daniel Chester French Daniel Chester French (April 20, 1850 – October 7, 1931) was an American sculpture, sculptor in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His works include ''The Minute Man'', an 1874 statue in Concord, Massachusetts, and his Statue of Abr ...

and

Augustus Saint-Gaudens Augustus Saint-Gaudens (; March 1, 1848 – August 3, 1907) was an American sculpture, sculptor of the Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts generation who embodied the ideals of the American Renaissance. Saint-Gaudens was born in Dublin to an Iris ...

In popular culture

In 1985 Trinity Church was featured in the opening scene of the second television episode portraying novelist

Robert B. Parker Robert Brown Parker (September 17, 1932 – January 18, 2010) was an American writer, primarily of fiction within the mystery/detective genre. His most famous works include the 40 novels written about the fictional private detective Spenser. ...

's character— Boston's preeminent detective, Spenser— in '' Spenser For Hire'': "No Room at the Inn". Interior scenes from the 1999 thriller ''

The Boondock Saints ''The Boondock Saints'' is a 1999 Vigilante film, vigilante Action film, action thriller film written and directed by Troy Duffy in his list of directorial debuts, feature directorial debut. Starring Willem Dafoe, Sean Patrick Flanery, Norman R ...

'' were filmed within Trinity Church. The church was featured in the 2015 video game ''

Fallout 4 ''Fallout 4'' is a 2015 action role-playing game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. It is the fourth main game in the ''Fallout'' series and was released worldwide on November 10, 2015, for Microsoft Windo ...

''. The Trinity Church was prominently shown in

Reba McEntire Reba Nell McEntire ( ; born March 28, 1955), or simply Reba, is an American country music, country singer and actress. Dubbed "Honorific nicknames in popular music, The Queen of Country", she has sold more than 75 million records worldwide. Sin ...

's 1986 music video for " Whoever's in New England".

Gallery

File:Trinity Church Boston during construction ca1875.jpg, Trinity Church construction, Boston, ca.1875 File:19th century idealized illustration of Copley Square, Boston.jpg, An 1896 illustration of the church File:Detroit Photographic Company (0370).jpg, A circa 1900 photograph of the church File:Copley Square from old John Hancock Building, 1950s.jpg, View over the church and Copley Square 1950s File:Copley Square with Trinity Church and Hancock Tower.jpg, Trinity Church and adjacent

File:Boston Trinity Church 04.jpg,

and

's Stained glass windows "Nativity of Jesus" 1882 File:USA Massachusetts Boston Trinity Nativity-window.jpg, Edward Burne-Jones and William Morris's ''The Worship of the

Magi Magi (), or magus (), is the term for priests in Zoroastrianism and earlier Iranian religions. The earliest known use of the word ''magi'' is in the trilingual inscription written by Darius the Great, known as the Behistun Inscription. Old Per ...

'' window, 1882 File:USA Massachusetts Boston Trinity-Nativity-detail-2.jpg, Edward Burne-Jones and William Morris's ''The Worship of the Shepherds'' window, 1882 File:USA Massachusetts Boston Trinity Nativity-detail-1.jpg, Detail from Edward Burne-Jones and William Morris's ''The Worship of the Shepherds'' window, 1882 File:Boston Trinity Church 07.jpg, Portal of the Boston Trinity Church

References

External links

Official website

Flickr photos of Trinity Church

Boston Public Library The Boston Public Library is a municipal public library system in Boston, Massachusetts, founded in 1848. The Boston Public Library is also Massachusetts' Library for the Commonwealth (formerly ''library of last recourse''), meaning all adult re ...

{{Authority control 19th-century Episcopal church buildings Churches completed in 1877 Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Episcopal church buildings in Massachusetts Episcopal churches in Boston Henry Hobson Richardson church buildings Historic district contributing properties in Massachusetts Landmarks in Copley Square National Historic Landmarks in Boston National Register of Historic Places in Boston Presidential churches in the United States Religious organizations established in the 1730s Richardsonian Romanesque architecture in Massachusetts Romanesque Revival church buildings in Massachusetts Towers in Massachusetts