Trine Bapti.«m. A mode of administering the sacrament, which was so universal in the iirimitive Churcii that some entertain no doubt of its being de- rived from apostolic tradition. The person bai)tized was thrice immersed, or water was thrice poured on him, in the name of the three persons of the (lodhead. ■The reason of trine baptism was manifest: the three immersions showed the distinction of the three divine Persons, although liie baptism was only one, in the name of the undivided Codliead — "one baptism for the re- mission of sins." Tluis in l)aptism the unity of the Di- vine Nature and the distinction ofilie three I'crsons are clearly imjilied and set forth. The first who departed from this usage was Knnomius the Arian. Trine bai>tism was according to the fill ieth apostolical canon, the bisho]) or presbyter who baptized with one immersion being or- dered to be deposed. In the 6th and 7th centuries one immersion in l)aptism was substituted by some in Sjiain for the ordinary rule of the Chinch, the Council ot Tole- do (A.D. 68o, canon 6) allowing single immersion in Spain, to avoid schism; but this iimovaiion lasted for ©idj' a short period, the early usage being restored, and
remaining the rule of the AA'estern Church. Single inmiersioii has never been authorized by the Eastern Church. See Blunt, Diet, ofjjoct. and IJist. Theol. s. v.; Landon, Manual of Councils, p. 582.
Trine -God Controversy. In the churches
over which liincrnar ( (|. v. ), archliisbop of Kheims. ])re- sided, he forbade the singing of the last words of a very ancient hymn — 7'e trina Deitas, unaque poscimus ("Of thee, trine Deity, yet one, we ask") — on the ground that this phraseology subverted the sim])licity of the Divine Nature, and implied the existence t>{ th)-ee Gods. The Benedictine monks would not obey this mandate of Hincmar; and one of their number, Ilatranmus, wrote in defence of a trine Deity. (Jodeschalciis, hearing of this dissension while in prison, sent forth a paper, in which he defended the cause of his fellow-monks. For this he was accused by Hincmar of Tritheism, and was confut- ed in a book written expresslj' for that purpose. But this controversy soon subsided; and, in spite of Hinc- mar's efforts, the words retained their place in the hymn. See jSIosheim, Ch. Hist. bk. v, ch. ii, p. 94.
Trinitarian Brothers, or Order of the IMost HoEY 'Vmy.\rY forthe Redemption o/'CVr^i^/rw, was found- ed by St. John of ^latha, who was born at Fancon, Brov- ence, in 1154. When he first celebrated divine service, after his ordination, he beheld a vision of an angel in white, having a cross of red and blue on his breast, and his hands, crossed over each other, rested on the heads of two slaves who knelt on each side of him. He, with another holy man, Felix de Vatois, arranged the insti- tution of a new order for the redemption of slaves. They went to Rome, and received the approval of Inno- cent III in 1198. They assumed the white habit, hav- ing on the breast a Greek cross of red and blue. They returned to France, and received from Gaudier de Cha- tillon lands in the province of Yalois. The pope also gave them at Rome the church and convent of S.Maria della Navicella, on the Monte Celio. Honorius III con- firmed their ride, and in 1267 Clement \Y approved of a change in their rules permitting them to purchase meat and own horses. They had at one time two hun- dred and fifty convents in France, three in Spain, forty- three in England, fifty-two in Ireland, besides others in Portugal, Italy, Saxony, Hungary, and Bohemia. In 1594 the Barefooted branch of this order was begun by Jean Baptiste de la Conception in the convent of Yalde, Spain. He was granted a bull by Clement VIII in 1598
Spniiish Tiiuitnriiui Monk.
TRINITARIAN SISTERS 551
TRINITY
to establish a reform in his order and lead them back to the ancient practice. The foiniders of the Trinitarians lilacetl themselves under the protection of St. Radegun- (ia. queen of Clothaire V of France, who afterwards took tlie religious habit and founded a monastery at Poitiers. See Jameson, Lpc/. of Monastic Orders, p. 2 17 sq.; Migne, J)ict. Jes Ordres Re/iff. s. v.
Trinitarian Sisters. This order was founded at Yaleiicein 1615, and constituted a convent in ltJ9ti. They received tetters patent from Louis in 1712, and were registered in Parliament in January, 1728. They es- tablished two hospitals, which were in 1802 devoted to the care of aged men and women. They have been quite flourishing since 1837. See Migne, Diet, des Or- dres Rtiiff. s. v.
Triuitaiiau Nun.
Trinitarians. A general name for all Christians who hold the doctrine of the divine Trinity (q. v.).
Trinity. The doctrine of the Trinity in the god- head includes the three following particulars, viz. (a) There is onl}"^ one (lod, one divine nature; (6) but in this divine nature there is the distinction of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, as three (subjects or persons); and (c) these three have ecpially, and in common with one atiother, the nature and perfection of supreme df- vinity. It was the custom in former tiines for thefilo- gians to blend their own speculations and those of others witli the statement of tlie Bible doctrine. It is custom- ary now to exhibit first the simple doctrine of the Bible, and afterwards, in a separate part, the speculations of the learned respecting it.