Trinity's Ethos
Trinity has always rested upon a commitment to the scriptural vision of holiness and ministry as it has been expressed in the Anglican tradition. In terms of our particular ethos, then, this means:
First, we affirm the authority, trustworthiness, and sufficiency of Scripture as "God's Word written." We believe that God gave us Scripture that we might be saved through faith in His Son and transformed by the Word in the power of the Holy Spirit. We believe that these truths have been faithfully transmitted in the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds, reliably interpreted in the 39 Articles of the Anglican Reformation, and given liturgical expression in the Book of Common Prayer.
Second, we seek to be shaped by the example of Jesus' ministry. Jesus came into the world to minister and to give of Himself. This determines both how we live with each other and what sort of graduates we seek to form. We are committed to training both lay and ordained ministers, believing that the whole people of God are called to witness to Him and serve God's creation.
Third, we are committed to holiness, to being increasingly conformed to His image as individuals and as a community. We seek to be devoted to the Lord and to live in accordance with His character and purpose, and to this end we search the Scriptures and freely make use of the devotional and spiritual classics of Christian history. Only students who have a personal commitment to Christ are accepted for the degree and diploma programs.
Fourth, we welcome students from the "three streams" (evangelical, Anglo-Catholic, and charismatic), as well as from other Christian traditions. We are committed to our Anglican and Episcopal identity and confident in our Scriptural and evangelical roots. We rejoice in our Church's liturgical life, concern for the balance of Word and Sacrament, respect for tradition, openness to all of God's truth, power, and episcopal order.
Finally, our life together is dedicated to mission and evangelism. We believe mission originates in the heart of God. We pray for a passion not just to know the Lord ourselves but to bring others within the reach of His saving embrace. We are committed to help lead and encourage the Church in evangelism and mission. We are a Great Commission fellowship.
We do covenant to serve the Lord and each other, according to our several callings, in the following ways:
Worship
We commit ourselves to the discipline of private and public worship. We will spend a daily time in prayer and biblical meditation. We shall attend daily chapel when present on campus and will participate in appointed quiet days.
Family and Community Life
Those of us who are married commit ourselves to spend a responsible amount of time with our spouses and children. Those who are single will establish and maintain a local network of friends for prayer, fellowship, and support. We pledge ourselves to sexual fidelity in marriage, as described in the 1979 BCP ("to join together this man and this woman"), and chastity in the single state.
As members of Christ's Body, we will involve ourselves in the community life of the School, so that we may rejoice, laugh, and weep together. We will attend solemn assemblies and advisee groups as a significant part of this mutual submission to one another.
We will seek to love one another as Christ loves us. We will refuse to gossip but instead speak words of encouragement. We will confront one another openly and seek reconciliation when offense has been given.
Study
We are gathered as a community of learning. Students will attend assigned classes and the Dean's Hour and Simeon Lectures. We will take seriously our worship of the Lord with our minds in all our studies.
Service to the World
While specially gathered for study, we are also gathered for mission and service to those outside the School. We commit ourselves to devote regular time, talent, and treasure to personal evangelism, neighborly visitation, and public service.
We thank God for our common calling in covenant with Him and with each other. We ask help from our closest associates - family members, advisors and advisees, co-workers and friends - to be faithful to our commitments, and we trust that the Holy Spirit will guard and guide us in this task.
We affirm our belief in historic Christianity as revealed in the Scriptures and summarized in the three Creeds (the Apostles', the Nicene, and the Athanasian) and the Thirty-Nine Articles. We recognize the need today for reaffirming the following beliefs:
Article I: The Holy Trinity
The mystery of the Holy Trinity, namely, that the one God exists eternally in the three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; and has so revealed himself to us in the Gospel.
Article II: The Lord Jesus Christ
The full deity and full humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ, God Incarnate, who by reason of his birth of the Virgin Mary, sinless life, atoning death, bodily resurrection, glorious ascension, and triumphant reign, is the only Mediator between God and man.
Article III: The Holy Scriptures
The trustworthiness of the canonical books of the Old and New Testaments as "God's Word written," which contain all things necessary for salvation, teach God's will for His world, and have supreme authority for faith, life, and the continuous renewal and reform of the Church.
Article IV: Justification and Sanctification
The justification of the repenting and believing sinner as God's gracious act of declaring him righteous on the ground of the reconciling death of Christ, who suffered in our place and rose again for us; and sanctification as the gracious continuing activity of the Holy Spirit in the justified believer, perfecting his repentance, nurturing the new life implanted within him, transforming him into Christ's image, and enabling him to do good works in the world.
Article V: The Christian Church
The Church as the Body of Christ, whose members belong to the new humanity, are called to live in the world in the power of the Spirit, worshipping God, confessing His truth, proclaiming Christ, supporting one another in love, and giving themselves in sacrificial service to those in need.
Article VI: Spiritual Gifts and Ministry
The calling of all Christians to exercise their God-given gifts in ministry, and to work, witness, and suffer for Christ; together with the particular call of ordained ministers, who, by preaching, teaching, and pastoral care, are to equip God's people for his service, and to present them mature in Christ.
Article VII: The Gospel Sacraments
The sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion as "visible words" which proclaim the gospel, and are means of grace by which faith is quickened and strengthened; in particular, the significance of the Lord's Supper as a communion in the Body and Blood of Christ, who offers himself to us in the action of this sacrament, so that by faith we may feed on Him in our hearts and offer ourselves to him in gratitude for our salvation through His cross; also, the openness of the Lord's Table as the place where all baptized believers, being one in Christ, are free to celebrate their common salvation in the Lord, and to express their common devotion to his person and his service.
Article VIII: The Return of Christ
The personal return in glory of our Lord Jesus Christ at the end of this age for the resurrection of the dead, some to life, some to condemnation, for the glorification of his Church, and for the renewal of the whole creation.
Trinity is a school firmly rooted and established in the Anglican evangelical tradition. Our primary calling is to train leaders and ministers who will, in faithfulness to the Lord and to Scripture, be a leaven throughout the Church.
Though Trinity is an Episcopal seminary, we do serve all those committed to the advance of the Gospel. Students from many denominations form approximately 15% of our student body. In the diversity of our faculty and students, centered in an orthodox understanding of the faith, we experience the tensions and pains inherent in living with different ways of expressing that faithfulness in the world. We are committed to using the unique resources of a seminary to address the painful and controversial issues before our Church. Our faculty is committed to engaging the needs and concerns of the day and helping the Church discern the faithful, biblical answers. We strive to live in Christian charity and "agree to disagree agreeably" on secondary matters in the service of the gospel, with the expectation that refusing to let divisive issues divide us will be a model for the Church.
Though founded in the evangelical tradition, the school is not monochromatic in its expressions of worship and spirituality. We have always welcomed a diverse population of evangelicals, charismatics, and Anglo-Catholics, all sharing the riches of their traditions and striving to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
