Holy Trinity

In Christian doctrine, the unity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as one God in three persons. The word Trinity does not appear in the Bible. It is a doctrine formulated in the early church to interpret the way God revealed himself, first to Israel, then in Jesus as Saviour, and finally as Holy Spirit, preserver of the church. The doctrine of the Trinity developed in the early centuries of the church and was explicitly stated at the Council of Nicaea in 325.

Learn more about Trinity, Holy with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.

Church of the Holy Trinity (Toronto)

The Church of the Holy Trinity is a church in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is a church of the Anglican Church of Canada.

Origins

The simple Gothic Revival architecture structure was built in 1847, by architect H.B. Lane, who also designed Little Trinity Anglican Church on King Street and St. George the Martyr Church in Toronto.

The funds for its construction were a gift by Mary Lambert Swale of Settle, England. Swale had originally made the donation anonymously, but her name was eventually revealed. She had provided the gift with the stipulation that the church be open to the public, with no reserved pews.

Holy Trinity was the fourth Anglican church in Toronto, after St. James' Cathedral, Little Trinity, and St. George the Martyr Church.

The church's first rector was Henry Scadding.

Location and community involvement

The church is located at 10 Trinity Square, next to the west side of the Toronto Eaton Centre. The original Eaton Centre construction plans called for the church to be demolished as well, but the parishioners successfully resisted and forced the mall's design to be changed.

Since its construction, the city of Toronto has expanded so that the church now finds itself in the middle of Toronto’s urban core. As a result, the church has tailored its ministry to the urban homeless and needy, and maintains a memorial outside the church doors which lists the names of homeless people who have died on the streets of Toronto.

The church also has an active outreach to Toronto's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. Prior to acquiring its first building in 1985, the Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto worshipped there, and the church vocally supported Anglican priest James Ferry after he was inhibited by the Anglican Church in 1991 when his sexual relationship with another man was discovered.

Holy Trinity has also become an important venue for artistic events. The church participates as a venue in Toronto's annual Nuit Blanche, and presents a weekly series of classical, choral and jazz concerts throughout the year, as well as a dramatization of the Christmas story every December since 1937.

Due to the church's excellent acoustics, Canadian rock band Cowboy Junkies recorded their 1988 breakthrough album The Trinity Session at the church on November 27, 1987. In 2006, they returned to record a 20^th anniversary edition of the album, Trinity Revisited.