Guild of the Holy Trinity
The Guild of the Holy Trinity was a nineteenth century religious student organization on the Trinity campus. It was a branch of an organization called the Brotherhood of the Holy Cross.
Organized in 1870 by members of the Missionary Society, the Guild was a group for those who intended to study for the ministry and who wanted a more intentional focus on worship and mission work. Members of the Guild also had a sense of camaraderie as several other institutions across the country had already formed Brotherhood branches including Brown University, the General Theological Seminary, Columbia, Hobart, Princeton, St. Stephen's College, and Philadelphia Divinity School.
The Guild of the Holy Trinity and the Missionary Society operated side by side, and during the 1870-71 academic year, the Guild's superior (or head) and the Society's president were the same person. The Brotherhood, however, was reported to have had “ritualistic proclivities” which seemingly contributed to the Guild’s demise by 1872.
Sources
The History of Trinity College (1967) by Glenn Weaver, p. 156.
Trinity Tablet, 02/28/1872.
Trinity Tablet, 03/15/1870.