We are a small Episcopal Church on the banks of the Rappahannock in Port Royal, Virginia. We acknowledge that we gather on the traditional land of the first people of Port Royal, the Nandtaughtacund, and we respect and honor with gratitude the land itself, the legacy of the ancestors, and the life of the Rappahannock Tribe. Our mission statement is to do God’s Will in all that we do.

2023 Sun June 4

Trinity Sunday

Trinity Sunday, the first Sunday after Pentecost, honors the Holy Trinity—the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Although the word “trinity” does not appear in Scripture, it is taught in Matthew 28:18-20 and 2 Corinthians 13:14 (and many other biblical passages). It lasts only one day, which is symbolic of the unity of the Trinity. 

Trinity Sunday is one of the few feasts of the Christian Year that celebrates a reality and doctrine rather than an event or person. The Eastern Churches have no tradition of Trinity Sunday, arguing that they celebrate the Trinity every Sunday.  The Western Churches did not celebrate it under the 14th century under an edict of John XXII

Since that time Western Christians have observed the Sunday after Pentecost as a time to pause and reflect on the Christian understanding of God

The intention of the creeds was to affirm the following core beliefs:

 -the essential unity of God  

 -the complete humanity and essential divinity of Jesus  

 -the essential divinity of the Spirit  

Understanding of all scriptural doctrine is by faith which comes through the work of the Holy Spirit; therefore, it is appropriate that this mystery is celebrated the first Sunday after the Pentecost, when the outpouring of the Holy Spirit first occurred.  

The Trinity is best described in the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed, commonly called the Nicene Creed from 325AD.

Essentially the Trinity is the belief that God is one in essence (Greek "ousia"), but distinct in person (Greek "hypostasis"). The Greek word for person means "that which stands on its own," or "individual reality," but does not mean the persons of the Trinity are three human persons. Therefore we believe that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are somehow distinct from one another (not divided though), yet completely united in will and essence. 

The Son is said to be eternally begotten of the Father, while the Holy Spirit is said to proceed from the Father through the Son. Each member of the Trinity interpenetrates one another, and each has distinct roles in creation and redemption, which is called the Divine economy. For instance, God the Father created the world through the Son and the Holy Spirit hovered over the waters at creation. 

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Exploring Rublev’s famous Trinity Icon

This was written by Bill Gaultiere published by Trinity Episcopal

“Andrei Rublev painted “The Hospitality of Abraham in 1411” for the abbot of the Trinity Monastery in Russia. Rublev portrayed what has become the quintessential icon of the Holy Trinity by depicting the three mysterious strangers who visited Abraham (Genesis 18:1-15).

“In the Genesis account the Lord visits Abraham in the form of three men who are apparently angels representing God. Abraham bows low to the ground before his three visitors and they speak to Abraham in union and are alternatively referred to by the Genesis writer as “they” or “the Lord.” Abraham offers them the hospitality of foot washing, rest under a shade tree, and a meal and they offered him the announcement that God was going to give he and his wife Sarah a son, though Sarah was far past the age of childbearing.

“Rublev was the first to paint only the three angelic figures and to make them of equal size. Rublev depicts the three as One Lord. Each holds a rod in his left hand, symbolizing their equality. Each wears a cloak of blue, the color of divinity. And the face of each is exactly the same, depicting their oneness.

“The Father is like the figure on the left. His divinely blue tunic is cloaked in a color that is light and almost transparent because he is the hidden Creator. With his right he blesses the Son – he is pleased with the sacrifice he will make. His head is the only one that is lifted high and yet his gaze is turned to the other two figures.

“The Son is portrayed in the middle figure. He wears both the blue of divinity and reddish purple of royal priesthood. He is the King who descends to serve as priest to the people he created and to become part of them. With his hand he blesses the cup he is to drink, accepting his readiness to sacrifice himself for humanity. His head is bowed in submission to the Father on the left.

“The Spirit is indicated in the figure on the right. Over his divinely blue tunic he wears a cloak of green, symbolizing life and regeneration. His hand is resting on the table next to the cup, suggesting that he will be with the Son as he carries out his mission. His head is inclined toward the Father and the Son. His gaze is toward the open space at the table.

“Did you notice the beautiful circular movement in the icon of Father, Son, and Spirit? The Son and the Spirit incline their heads toward the Father and he directs his gaze back at them. The Father blesses the Son, the Son accepts the cup of sacrifice, the Spirit comforts the Son in his mission, and the Father shows he is pleased with the Son. Love is initiated by the Father, embodied by the Son, and accomplished through the Spirit.”

From Henro Nouwen, Dutch priest (psychology professor, writer, theologian) writing more than 500 years after this painting, “The more we look at this holy image with the eyes of faith, the more we come to realize that it is painted not as a lovely decoration for a convent church, nor as a helpful explanation of a difficult doctrine, but as a holy place to enter and stay within.”

Trinity Sunday- Hymn of the Week – “Holy, Holy, Holy”

Reginald Heber (1783 – 1826) was an English clergyman, traveller, man of letters and hymn-writer who, after working as a country parson for 16 years, served as the Anglican Bishop of Calcutta until his sudden death at the age of 42.

Reginald Heber wrote "Holy, Holy, Holy" while serving as vicar of Hodnet, Shropshire, England. He was the first to compile a hymnal ordering hymns around the church calendar. Wanting to celebrate a triune God, Heber wrote "Holy, Holy, Holy" for Trinity Sunday–a day that reaffirmed the doctrine of the Trinity and was observed eight Sundays after Easter. The hymn was first published in 1826.

Years later, John Dykes composed the tune Nicaea especially for Heber’s "Holy, Holy, Holy."

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Celebrating the Rappahannock River

In Year A The first reading is taken from the creation story in Genesis, Genesis 1:1-2:4a. There is a portion which deals with the waters.

“And God said, “Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” So God made the dome and separated the waters that were under the dome from the waters that were above the dome. And it was so. God called the dome Sky. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.”

“And God said, “Let the waters under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.”

It led me to think of the Rappahannock River, a portion which flows by St. Peter’s and Port Royal. We celebrate the river in a yearly celebration “Gospel on the River” and on Easter Sunday in the Sunrise service.

We usually sing “Shall We Gather at the River”, a hymn of the River which was written one afternoon in July, 1864, when Robert Lowry, the author, was pastor of the Hanson Place Baptist Church, Brooklyn, N.Y. The weather was oppressively hot, and the author was lying on a lounge in a state of physical exhaustion. His mind raced through various symbols of life – the heavenly river, the throne and the saints.

The river is a constant factor today as it was in the past. It was the reason why Port Royal was created in the 18th century. Today it is celebrated for its beauty, peace, and recreation.

The King Singers released “Down in the River to Pray”, recorded acapella from their homes during COVID-19 which was the basis for our video. The original album it was on goes back to 2005. They write, “From our homes during isolation, we recorded a song which has been very special to us ever since it was arranged by our former baritone, Philip Lawson, in 2002.” The song is much older. The earliest known version of the song, titled “The Good Old Way,” was published in Slave Songs of the United States in 1867.The song (#104) was contributed to that book by George H. Allan of Nashville, Tennessee, who may also have been the transcriber.

This video was put together as a another means of celebrating the river. It was created for Trinity Sunday in 2020. Photographs of the Rappahannock river in various seasons at various events (Gospel on the River) were combined with their vocal adaptation to create a video celebrating the peace and spiritual nature of that river.

Sunday links, Trinity Sunday, June 4, 2023

  • Web site
  • YouTube St. Peter’s Page for viewing services
  • Facebook St. Peter’s Page
  • Location – 823 Water Street, P. O. Box 399, Port Royal, Virginia 22535

    • A wild Pentecost – Holy Spirit, Bluegrass and Preaching

  • Sun. June 11, 2023, 11am Holy Eucharist, St. Peter’s Trinity Sunday YouTube 823 Water St. Port Royal, VA 22535
  • Lectionary for June 4, 2023, Trinity Sunday, Trinity Sunday
  • Sun., June 4, UTO Boxes final reception
  • The Psalms study Mon, June 5 , 7:00pm Zoom link Meeting ID: 879 7169 4710 Passcode: 803192 Participants, choose one Psalm to share with the group (Book 3–Psalms 73-89, Book 4–Psalm 90-106)
  • Ecumenical Bible Study, Wed., June 7, 10am-12pm, Parish House Reading Lectionary for June 11
  • Jamaica Fundraiser until June 17
  • June, 2023 Newsletter
  • All articles for Sunday, June 4, 2023

    • Introduction to the Trinity – what it is and what it is not

    The core belief

    The doctrine of the Trinity is the Christian belief that there is One God, who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

    Other ways of referring to the Trinity are the Triune God and the Three-in-One.

    The Trinity is a controversial doctrine; many Christians admit they don’t understand it, while many more Christians don’t understand it but think they do.

    In fact, although they’d be horrified to hear it, many Christians sometimes behave as if they believe in three Gods and at other times as if they believe in one.

    Trinity Sunday, which falls on the first Sunday after Pentecost, is one of the few feasts in the Christian calendar that celebrate a doctrine rather than an event.

    A fundamental doctrine

    The doctrine of the Trinity is one of the most difficult ideas in Christianity, but it’s fundamental to Christians because it:

     -states what Christians believe God is like and who he is 

     -plays a central part in Christians’ worship of an “unobjectifiable and incomprehensible God” 

     -emphasises that God is very different from human beings 

     -reflects the ways Christians believe God encounters them is a central element of Christian identity 

     -teaches Christians vital truths about relationship and community 

     -reveals that God can be seen only as a spiritual experience whose mystery inspires awe and cannot be understood logically  

    Unpacking the doctrine

    The idea that there is One God, who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit means:

    -There is exactly one God  

     -The Father is God  
     -The Son is God  
     -The Holy Spirit is God  
     -The Father is not the Son  
     -The Son is not the Holy Spirit  
     -The Father is not the Holy Spirit  

    An alternate way of explaining it is:

    There is exactly one God

    There are three really distinct Persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

    Each of the Persons is God

    Common mistakes

    The Trinity is not

     -Three individuals who together make one God  

     -Three Gods joined together  

     -Three properties of God 

    BBC’s Trinity Page