The beginning of the Episcopal Church in New Haven

New Haven was established and ruled by Congregationalists for most of its early years. Citizens were required to pay taxes to the Congregational meetinhouses, and no other churches were allowed to exist for decades.

As early as 1669 the first petition to the General Court was made to establish an Episcopal church, and it was ignored. Not until 1708 was the Episcopal Church recognized. The Toleration Act of 1708 allowed the Episcopal Church to exist, but still required everyone to pay taxes to the Congregational meetinghouse. The Relief Act of 1727 finally allowed members of the Church of England (later to become the Episcopal Church) to be exempt from paying the church tax.

Much of the Episcopal Church’s roots in New Haven can be traced to the Yale University library. In 1722, Dr. Samuel Johnson and three others began to read for orders. While some of these men were dismissed from Yale and left New Haven, Dr. Johnson was eventually ordained in the Episcopal Church and is regarded as the father of the Episcopacy in Connecticut.

After being ordained in England, Dr. Johnson worked for The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts (SPG) and came to New Haven periodically between 1730 and 1740. During this time, services were conducted in private homes.

The first missionary assigned to this area was the Rev. Jonathan Arnold, who originally came to West Haven to serve the Congregational meetinghouse that Samuel Johnson had just left. On Easter Day in 1734, Arnold received his first communion from Dr. Johnson. One year later, Arnold traveled to England to be ordained in the Church of England and to solicit funds for a new church building.

The First “Church” in New Haven

It was not until 1752 that the Episcopalians in New Haven secured a site to build their house of worship. In a town of Congregationalists, one of the major obstacles was finding someone willing to sell their land to Episcopalians. In July of 1752, Mr. Samuel Mix “did give, grant, bargain, and sell unto Enos Alling and Isaac Doolittle, for the building of a house of worship agreeable and according to the establishment of the Church of England,” a lot on the east side of Church Street, south of Chapel Street. This street was actually not named Church until Trinity was erected. Trinity was the first house of worship in New Haven to be called a “church” as opposed to a meetinghouse.

The exact date of the organization of Trinity is unclear. July 28, 1752 is the first record of Trinity’s “official” existence as a legal resident of the town and is the closest date we can surmise. Our first church was built between July 1752 and the summer of 1753.

The first church was a small wooden structure measuring 58 feet by 38 feet and only sat 150 persons. The small wooden altar was flanked by two Gothic arch-shaped tablets which are presently in Trinity’s vestibule. There were 24 families and 87 souls at the time the first building was completed.

Trinity would exist completely outside the theocratic Congregationalist structure of New Haven. Trinity parishioners challenged the structure of New Haven and also caused controversies at Yale. Trinity parishioners thought that Yale’s purpose was only to teach the arts and sciences and that Yale should not require its students to conform to any religious doctrine; students should be allowed to worship as he or his parents wished. It can be argued that Trinity introduced the whole concept of church and state separation to the colony.

Trinity and the American Revolution

Surprisingly little is recorded about Trinity and the role we played in the War for Independence. Prior to 1776, we know the Rev. Bela Hubbard was sent as a missionary to New Haven around the year 1767. Hubbard, educated at Yale and a Guilford native, also had Christ Church in West Haven under his care. He recorded services throughout Connecticut.

It is said during the war about one-third were for independence, about one-third were Loyalist or Tory, and the remaining third were indifferent. Trinity, because of their ties to the Church of England, were in large part Loyalist or neutral. The Rev. Bela Hubbard is on record for his support of the English. Not surprisingly, there were parishioners who disagreed with their clergy.

Isaac Doolittle could often be found in Westville with fellow Trinity parishioner Elijah Thomson and Jeremiah Atwater of the Congregational First Society. Since 1776, the three men had been operating a powder mill that supplied gunpowder to the patriot army.

Even as the British landed in New Haven, Hubbard decided to remain in his home. He is rumored to have shouted to his wife, “What shall I do?” His wife instructed him, “Silly, put on your robes.” The Rev. Bella Hubbard did just that and stood in the doorway in full vestments with prayer book in hand. As a result, the British troops spared his house and his property.

Trinity suffered little damage during the war. The only items plundered were some damask hangings and the Rev. Hubbard’s surplice (church vestment). British Redcoats were not to blame for the missing items. Some militia from Farmington stole the items, but only the surplice was recovered.