Trinity Parish Episcopal Church

Centrally located on the southern edge of the Plaza de la Constitución in St. Augustine’s Historic Downtown, Trinity Parish is an active Episcopal Church.

Trinity has a long and storied history, having been founded in 1821. However, this historic place of worship is steadily growing into the future.

History of Protestantism in Florida

Trinity Parish's story actually "starts" more than 50 years before the church itself was founded. Because Florida was founded as a Spanish colony, Roman Catholicism was the only officially practiced religion from 1565 to 1763.

It wasn't until Florida's British Period (1764-1783) that Protestantism came to Florida. Reverend John Forbes — the first Protestant clergyman to officiate in St. Augustine — arrived here in 1764. Early Protestant services were held in the abandoned Spanish buildings throughout the city.

St. Peter's Anglican Church, which stood south of the Plaza on St. George St., is considered a "sister predecessor" of Trinity Parish.

Rev. Andrew Fowler & The Birth of Trinity Parish

After the end of Florida's Second Spanish Period (1784-1821), St. Augustine became an American city. Trinity Parish was the first Protestant Church founded in Florida.

In October 1821, Reverend Andrew Fowler traveled from Charleston, South Carolina to serve as a minister and teacher. He arrived in St. Augustine during a major yellow fever epidemic.

Despite being warned about the quarantine, the 61 year old reverend insisted that he be brought to shore. Fowler believed that people needed a minister in times of sickness and strife. And right he was — the sick, dying, and mournful people of St. Augustine embraced his presence.

Much to his surprise, Fowler even encountered Catholic citizens requesting his prayers. When he asked the Catholic priest (Father Miguel Crosby, at the time) if he could do so, Crosby replied: "You have no occasion to make any apology on that head; you are perfectly welcome to visit such sick people in my congregation, as may desire it; and I shall be thankful."

Rev. Fowler was deeply impacted by his experiences in St. Augustine, and urged the Episcopal Church to install a permanent minister and church.

Trinity Parish's Current Location

Rev. Mellish Motte officially incorporated Trinity Parish (simply referred to as "the Episcopal Church" in historical records) in 1823. The first cornerstone was laid in 1825.

After some back-and-forth with the Catholic Church in St. Augustine, Trinity Parish was granted its current property through an Act of Congress in 1827.

Early Vestry of Trinity Parish

The members of Trinity's congregation in the mid-1800s was a real whos-who of early Florida history — with DuPonts, Putnams, and Gibbs' abound.

Together, parishioners worked to finish construction of their coquina church. Trinity's first location was about the size of a double-wide trailer, with its only entrance facing the Plaza de la Constitucion to the north.

Services began on June 30th of 1831 and the space was formally consecrated in 1834.

Trinity Parish and the Civil War

Florida was third to secede from the United States of America, doing so in January of 1861. The war-torn years that followed took a toll on the city of St. Augustine and Trinity Parish. Records show that the church did remain open during this time period, although services were not performed regularly.

Three Civil War Generals Baptized Here

The saying that the U.S. Civil War pitted "brother against brother" is startlingly true in the story of Trinity Parish.

William Wing Loring (1818-1886)

The eldest of the three, William Wing Loring was nicknamed "the boy soldier" when he fought in the Second Seminole War as a teenager. After attending military school and college, he participated in the Mexican War as a regimental major.

Loring was a colonel stationed in New Mexico when the American Civil War broke out. Though he had never considered himself a secessionist, he chose to join the Confederate Army because of his southern heritage, telling his men: "the South is my home ... and [I] shall join the Southern Army, and each of you can do as you think best."

Loring became a brigadier general. Over the course of those four bloody years, Loring's reputation earned him another nickname, "Old Bluster" for his militaristic passion.

Edmund Kirby Smith (1824-1893)

Born in St. Augustine to a prominent family, Edmund Kirby Smith attended West Point in 1845 and participated in the Mexican War as a captain.

In the same year that the Civil War started, he was promoted from major to brigadier-general. For the majority of the war, Smith commanded the Trans-Mississippi Department of the Confederate Army.

Smith was the Confederacy's last "full" general to surrender his troops to the Union on May 26, 1865 (Stand Watie was the last land general to surrender [June 23rd, 1865] and the troops of the CSS Shenandoah surrendered in Liverpool, England on November 6, 1865).

Edmund Jackson Davis (1827-1883)

The youngest of the three generals baptized at Trinity, Davis stands out most within this trio. Instead of becoming a general for the Confederate Army, Edmund Jackson Davis was a Union general.

In 1861, Davis even pleaded with Robert E. Lee not to betray the United States by violating his oath of allegiance. During the War, Davis commanded volunteers within Texas as a brigadier-general.

On May 26, 1865, Edmund Jackson Davis was present at the surrender of the Confederate Trans-Mississippi Department, where his fellow St. Augustinian, Edmund Kirby Smith, was on the other side of the conflict.

Despite their parallel origins, each man made a unique mark on history (understatement of the 19th century).

Trinity Parish During Reconstruction

As the city began to calm down after the Civil War, Trinity Parish Episcopal Church is recorded to have been a place of peace.

During her 1873 visit to St. Augustine, author Constance Fenimore Woolson attended an Easter service at Trinity, writing:

"The church stood on the Plaza; it was small, but beautiful and complete, with chancel and memorial windows of stained glass. Flowers adorned it, intertwined with the soft cloudy gray moss ... Not the least impressive incident, at least to Northern eyes, was the fact that the ranks of the children singing, "Onward, Christian soldiers," were headed by an officer in the United States uniform ... And when, in reading his report, the superintendent bowed his head in acknowledgment of the rector's cordial aid and sympathy, those who know that the rector had been himself a soldier all through those four long years, and fighting, too, on the other side, felt their hearts stirred within them to see the two now meeting as Christian soldiers, bound together in love for Christ's kingdom, while around them, bearing flower-crowned banners, stood children both from the North and from the South, to whom the late war was as much a thing of the dead past as the Revolution of seventy-six."

Trinity's Turn of the Century Facelift

A major renovation to Trinity Parish Episcopal Church occurred in the early 1900s, wherein the entire church was practically rebuilt to accommodate the growing congregation.

The first services in the new cruciform structure were hosted on January 18, 1903. The Rt. Rev. Edwin C. Weed, Bishop of Florida, consecrated the new building on April 7, 1905.

The St. Augustine Civil Rights Movement (1951-1968)

By 1964, the efforts of local Black citizens to secure their civil rights had been ongoing in St. Augustine for more than a decade.

That spring, summons by local activists led to a collaboration with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). Dr. King's presence here earned national attention.

The events of the St. Augustine movement are recognized as pivotal to the passing of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

Trinity Parish Episcopal Church Integrated

In 1964, Trinity Parish was the first white Episcopal church to welcome Black worshippers to join their congregation. Fr. Charles Seymour, a rector for the church, was a driving force behind this decision. A photo of Black parishioners exiting Trinity Parish circulated in newspapers across the country.

However, Fr. Seymour was forced into resignation by segregationists in Trinity's congregation. There is now a courtyard and garden dedicated to his brave service for civil rights and inclusion.

Stained Glass at Trinity Parish

The first stained glass windows at Trinity Parish were placed around 1859. There are now 28 unique and custom-made stained glass windows in the church, including a window signed and crafted by Louis Comfort Tiffany. 

Worship Services at Trinity Parish

Trinity Parish St. Augustine now has two locations — one in downtown St. Augustine and one in Silverleaf. Their worship schedule is as follows:

Downtown

215 St. George Street, St. Augustine, Florida 32084

North Campus

6350 CR16A, St. Augustine, Florida 32092

Visit the Trinity Parish St. Augustine website's calendar for more events.

Visiting Trinity Parish Episcopal Church

The church hosts free historic tours on Friday and Saturday afternoon, offering guided and self-guided options.

Parking

Parishioners have access to three parking lots on Sundays. 

1. Trinity Parish lot on the corner of St. George Street and Artillery Lane.
2. Lightner Museum lot on Cordova Street.
3. Cathedral Parish School lot on Bridge Street.

View the Trinity Parish parking and facilities map on their website.