Trinity Church (Boston)

Trinity Church in the City of Boston, located in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, is a parish 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 four times 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 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, is currently under study for becoming a Boston Landmark.

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 Henry Hobson Richardson and construction took place from 1872 to 1877, when the complex was consecrated. Situated on Copley Square in Back Bay, Trinity Church is the building that established Richardson's reputation. It is the birthplace and archetype of the Richardsonian Romanesque 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.

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. 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 from a service at Truro Cathedral in Cornwall.

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 every three years, serving as choirs-in-residence at major houses of worship such as Ely Cathedral, Chichester Cathedral, and Westminster Abbey (summer 2016).