Trinity Episcopal Church
AI summary — doctrinal positions on this page are inferred by AI from this church's own public statements and may be inaccurate.
Inherited from denomination
What The Episcopal Church teaches
Positions bound by the denomination's confessional standards. This is what the tradition teaches; whether this specific congregation publicly holds each is a separate question — see Statements below.
Confessional standard: Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion
Affirms
- Apostolic SuccessionstandardHistoric episcopate — tactile line of consecration from the apostles.
- Homosexual practice and biblical sexual ethicsweakSame-sex marriage authorization implies moral affirmation.
- Infant BaptismstandardWestminster XXVIII; Book of Concord SC IV; Council of Trent Session VII; Wesleyan Articles Art. XVII
- Permissibility of divorce and remarriageweakMatthew 19:9 (adultery ground); 1 Corinthians 7:15 (abandonment ground). Practice varies.
- Women in pastoral / ordained officeweakVarious denominational actions (TEC 1976, ELCA 1970s, PC(USA) 1956, AG 1935, CofE 1994 priests / 2014 bishops, etc.)
Denies
- Assumption of MaryweakUniversal Protestant rejection — not attested in Scripture; not received as dogma.
- Immaculate ConceptionstandardUniversal Protestant + Orthodox rejection. Orthodox reject on the grounds that they hold prepurification at the Annunciation, not conception.
- Marriage as one man and one womanweakPC(USA) 2015; ELCA 2009; TEC 2015; UMC 2024. Same-sex marriage authorized in polity.
- TransubstantiationstandardOrthodox reject the Aristotelian metaphysics; Lutherans use 'sacramental union'; 39 Articles Art. XXVIII rejects explicitly; Reformed/Baptist reject substance-change.
Wrestles with
- Believer's BaptismweakPaedobaptist bodies practice adult baptism on credible profession where infant baptism was omitted, but do not consider it normative.
- Pacifism vs. just-warweakDefault just-war framework — usually unwritten. Inheriting at weak confidence.
- Perpetual Virginity of MaryweakHistorically held by Luther, Calvin, Zwingli; retained as pious opinion (not binding) by confessional Lutherans and traditional Anglicans.
- Real PresenceweakCalvin's spiritual presence (genuinely present but not physically) is neither strong affirm nor deny; Anglican/Methodist typically hold a receptionist view.
- TheotokosweakConfessionally valid title (Ephesus is a received council) but not used devotionally; retained in liturgy where liturgy is retained.
In their own words
Statements
about_us
<!DOCTYPE html> About | Trinity Church top of page TRINITY EPISCOPAL CHURCH SHREWSBURY A Part of the Anglican Community A community of individuals from all walks of life who live out their faith through service to others. About What to Expect Our Priest Being an Episcopalian History Outreach Worship & Events Who We Are Contact Us More Use tab to navigate through the menu items. Welcome to the community of Christians who have made Trinity their spiritual home. We believe that God loves us all whether faith-full or full of doubt, gay or straight, divorced or married, church going from birtSource ↗
about_us
<!DOCTYPE html> Who We Are | Trinity Church top of page TRINITY EPISCOPAL CHURCH SHREWSBURY A Part of the Anglican Community A community of individuals from all walks of life who live out their faith through service to others. About What to Expect Our Priest Being an Episcopalian History Outreach Worship & Events Who We Are Contact Us More Use tab to navigate through the menu items. WHO WE ARE Rector Reverend Ann Scannell Parish Administrator Lisa Buteau Sexton Bob Donahue Organist Christopher Lundell Vestry: 2026 Linda Jackson - Senior Warden Sherrie AlariSource ↗
about
--> About | Trinity Church top of page TRINITY EPISCOPAL CHURCH SHREWSBURY A Part of the Anglican Community A community of individuals from all walks of life who live out their faith through service to others. About What to Expect Our Priest Being an Episcopalian History Outreach Worship & Events Who We Are Contact Us More Use tab to navigate through the menu items. Welcome to the community of Christians who have made Trinity their spiritual home. We believe that God loves us all whether faith-full or full of doubt, gay or straight, divorced or married, church going from birth or newly curioSource ↗
about
--> Contact Us | Trinity Church top of page TRINITY EPISCOPAL CHURCH SHREWSBURY A Part of the Anglican Community A community of individuals from all walks of life who live out their faith through service to others. About What to Expect Our Priest Being an Episcopalian History Outreach Worship & Events Who We Are Contact Us More Use tab to navigate through the menu items. Trinity Episcopal Church 440 Main Street Shrewsbury, MA. 508-842-6040 office@trinityshrewsbury.org CONTACT US 440 Main Street, Shrewsbury, MA 508-842-6040 Choose Trinity Church as your charity of choice when you shSource ↗
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