Holy Trinity Church (Nashville)

Holy Trinity Church is a historic Episcopal church at 615 6th Avenue South in Nashville, Tennessee, currently a parish of the Episcopal Diocese of Tennessee. The congregation was formed in 1849 as a mission of the nearby Christ Church Episcopal, attained parish status in 1851, and grew to around fifty members per service by the beginning of the American Civil War. During the war, the church was occupied by Federal troops and was badly damaged. After repairs, services continued and a new mission was opened on Wharf Avenue, which catered to the African American population of Nashville and soon overtook Holy Trinity in membership. After Holy Trinity lost parish status in 1895, the two missions merged and continued to serve the African American community of Nashville. Its congregation was largely made up of faculty and students from nearby Fisk University and other educational institutions. The mission reattained parish status in 1962, and the current rector is Bill Dennler.Construction of the congregation's Gothic Revival style building began in 1852 and continued incrementally for more than three decades until the building was finally completed and consecrated in 1888. The building features a square central tower housing the narthex, adjoined to which is a tall bell tower. Pointed arch stained glass windows are featured throughout, and a steeply gabled roof is adorned with matching stone crosses. The interior of the church features a hammerbeam roof and an elaborate carved altar. Holy Trinity was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.