Trinity Anglican Seminary: The Dean’s Vision for Anglican Renewal

Trophimus Center at Trinity Anglican Seminary

By Jesse Nigro

ANGLICAN COMPASS March 13, 2026

Trinity Anglican Seminary occupies a unique place in the life of the Anglican Church in North America. For nearly five decades, it has stood at the crossroads of renewal, reform, and formation within North American Anglicanism. Today, under the leadership of Dean and President Dr. Bryan Hollon, Trinity is clarifying its mission in a new season of the ACNA’s life: to form clergy and leaders who are deeply rooted in Scripture, grounded in the Anglican tradition, and equipped to serve a province that is still coming into its own.

I recently spoke with Dr. Hollon about his journey into Anglicanism, Trinity’s history and theological commitments, and the seminary’s vision for serving the ACNA in the decades ahead. What emerged from our conversation was not simply an institutional profile, but a portrait of a seminary that understands itself as part of a larger ecclesial story.

A Scholar on the Canterbury Trail

Bryan Hollon did not grow up Anglican. He was raised in the Disciples of Christ, attending “a wonderful little church in the small town of Weslaco, Texas.” His early church experience was earnest and faithful, but Anglicanism was not on his radar.

His turning point came at Baylor University. During his undergraduate years, Hollon experienced a conversion to Christ while enrolled in a theology class. The serious study of theology awakened in him an interest that had remained mostly dormant in his mainline upbringing and distracted, early college years.

“I decided when I was 19 years old that I wanted to be a professor of theology,” Hollon told me. “I wanted to communicate the faith in a way that was compelling to others.”

Encountering Radical Orthodoxy

That conviction led him to pursue doctoral work on medieval exegesis, particularly the nouvelle théologie of Henri de Lubac and the ressourcement movement. This research led Hollon to engage directly with Anglican scholars associated with Radical Orthodoxy, and he debated John Milbank (the movement’s founder) on the proper interpretation of de Lubac. At the heart of these studies was a simple but profound conviction: theology must be rooted in Scripture, and Scripture must be read within the great tradition of the Church.

For de Lubac, Hollon explained, engagement with culture is always mediated through exegesis. “I won that one,” he chuckled, recalling crossing swords with Milbank. Scripture stands at the center. That emphasis on figural interpretation and theological depth would later resonate strongly with Anglicanism’s own classical commitments.

Encountering Anglicanism

Hollon first encountered Anglican worship at a small 1928 Prayer Book church plant, All Saints, in Canton, Ohio. Hollon helped start the church, and although it was small and short-lived, he was able to attend an Anglican church founded shortly after ACNA’s creation. The experience left a deep impression.

“We sang the whole liturgy,” he recalled. “It was beautiful. It shaped our family.”

Though that particular congregation eventually closed, the seed had been planted. Anglicanism was no longer merely an intellectual curiosity. It had become home.

Catechesis and the Hunger for Depth

Hollon spent years teaching theology at Malone University while also engaging in lay formation through the C. S. Lewis Institute. During that time, he grew increasingly concerned about the thinness of catechesis in many churches.

“I had always been frustrated by what seemed to me to be a lack of substance,” he said. “From the pulpit and in the classroom.”

In 2017, Hollon planted St. John’s Anglican Church in Canton. The parish grew steadily, shaped by intentional catechesis and liturgical life. One of his former students, a Trinity grad, now serves as its rector. For Hollon, this was yet another avenue through which he could pursue his conviction of going deep into theology at the congregational level.

“I believed very sincerely that churches could be built upon real substance,” he reflected, “that people were craving it.”

For many years, Hollon assumed his vocation would remain squarely in the academy. Ordination was not part of his original plan. “It was never my intention to become ordained,” he admitted, “and certainly not to be an administrator.” His youthful ambition had been straightforward: become a productive scholar and communicate the faith compellingly.

Called to be Dean

As St. John’s in Canton grew, Hollon’s role shifted. Catechesis no longer existed only in lecture halls or lay institutes. It was embodied in the preaching of the Word, the administration of the sacraments, and the patient work of shepherding a congregation. The same theological depth he had cultivated in the classroom proved pastorally fruitful in parish life.

At the same time, his involvement with Trinity deepened. He had been sending students there for years, and he knew the faculty. He had also participated in broader conversations about catechesis and Anglican formation within the ACNA. When Bishop Roger Ames gathered ordinands in the Anglican Diocese of the Great Lakes, Hollon found himself drawn more fully into the province’s life and received his ordination.

The transition to Trinity’s presidency came during a season of institutional and personal change. Malone University, where Hollon had served for many years, had taken a decisive turn on issues of sexuality that placed it at odds with historic Christian teaching. Hollon had already begun discerning a departure. Meanwhile, he had stepped down from leadership at St. John’s after ensuring the parish was stable and able to call a full-time rector.

When Trinity’s then-dean announced his retirement in 2022, Hollon’s name surfaced quickly. He knew the faculty. He understood the seminary’s history. More importantly, he shared its theological instincts and its commitment to serving the ACNA. What began as a short list of candidates soon became a clear vocational summons.

“When the offer came,” he said, “it felt like a genuine call.”

A Seminary Born of Renewal

To understand Trinity Anglican Seminary, one must situate it within the renewal movements of the late twentieth century. Founded as Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry in 1976 following a Fellowship of Witness gathering, Trinity became a powerful center of evangelical Anglican renewal within The Episcopal Church.

Leaders such as John Guest and Peter Moore helped shape its early direction. Bishop Al Stanway became its first dean and president. John H. Rodgers, Jr., who would later play a significant role in AMiA and Gafcon, was among its early faculty.

In those early years, Trinity served as a gathering place for Anglicans committed to orthodox theology and evangelical vitality. Long before the formation of the ACNA in 2009, Trinity was forming leaders who would later shape the province.

“Many of the senior bishops will tell you,” Hollon noted, “that there would be no ACNA without Trinity.”

Movements such as New Wineskins and SAMS found fertile ground at Trinity. The seminary became a hub where theological clarity and missionary zeal met.

Yet the institutional landscape has changed dramatically since those days. The ACNA is a gradually maturing province. Many of its clergy and bishops did not personally experience the conflicts that gave rise to it. Trinity’s task is no longer simply renewal within a mainline context. It is formation for a new ecclesial reality.

Clarifying Identity in a New Season

One of the most significant recent developments in Trinity’s history was its formal disaffiliation from The Episcopal Church in 2021. While the ACNA was established in 2009, Trinity remained affiliated with The Episcopal Church for more than a decade afterward.

The decision to disaffiliate clarified Trinity’s mission but came at a cost. Approximately 30 percent of its donor base was lost in the transition. The seminary had to navigate both financial and relational challenges.

Yet for Hollon, the move was necessary.

“There is really no point in us existing if we cannot serve the ACNA,” he said.

In 2024, the seminary formally adopted the name Trinity Anglican Seminary. The change signaled publicly what had already become clear in practice. Trinity’s future is bound up with the Anglican Church in North America. This is what we call “skin in the game.”

Reformed Catholicity

At the heart of Trinity’s theological vision is a phrase coined by John H. Rogers, Jr.: “We are Catholic because we are Reformed”. Hollon explains that this means holding Reformation doctrines and historic catholicity together in a unique way.

Trinity does not treat the English Reformation as a rupture from the great tradition but as a renewal within it. It interprets Scripture within the communion of saints, not isolated from it.

This commitment shapes the classroom. The faculty and curriculum introduce students to the Church Fathers, medieval theology, and the Reformers, not as museum pieces but as living interlocutors. Figural interpretation of Scripture receives emphasis, inviting students to read the Bible in a way that is both historically grounded and theologically rich.

Such formation resists the fragmentation that often characterizes modern theological education. It calls students into a larger, coherent vision of the faith.

Formed by Common Prayer

One of the practical concerns Hollon heard from bishops upon assuming leadership was the need for stronger liturgical formation. The ACNA now includes many clergy who come from non-Anglican backgrounds. Rather than simply providing a revivalist outpost within TEC, where seminarians primarily came from traditional worship settings, prayer book worship cannot be assumed.

“There is a major need for training in the Prayer Book, the rubrics, and our musical tradition,” Hollon observed.

In response, Trinity has renewed its emphasis on chapel formation. Students participate regularly in morning and evening prayer and in weekly Eucharist. They receive training to lead worship with confidence and care, attentive to the details of Anglican liturgy.

The goal is not rigid uniformity but faithful competence. A priest should know his way around the altar. He should understand why the liturgy unfolds as it does. He should be able to lead worship that is reverent, beautiful, and pastorally sensitive.

Formation happens not only in lectures but in the steady rhythm of common prayer.

The Trophimus Center

A visible expression of Trinity’s broader engagement is the Trophimus Center, a historic church building the seminary now uses for worship, lectures, and provincial gatherings. Located near the main campus, the Center provides a space where the ACNA can gather for events such as provincial councils and synods, reinforcing Trinity’s role as a hub for wider Anglican life.

“It’s important to have Anglican spaces to conduct Anglican business,” Hollon said, “and we’re glad to be part of that.”

The Trophimus Center also serves as a teaching and community hub. It functions alongside the seminary’s primary chapel, providing an additional local for student formation and offering a stunning visible witness to the richness of Anglican worship. I have not yet visited the center, but photos online show an impressive setting for Anglican study and worship.

The Anglican Formation Network

Looking ahead, Trinity’s next ambitious initiative is the Anglican Formation Network. The ACNA’s constitution and canons outline nine standards for theological education. Yet over time, the consortium tasked with overseeing those standards has lost cohesion.

Trinity Anglican Seminary prides itself as a seminary that tethers its entire curriculum directly to those nine standards.

The Anglican Formation Network seeks to encourage collaboration among Anglican faculty, study centers, and seminarians across the province. Rather than attempting to centralize everything under one institutional umbrella “we don’t want to own everything” says Hollon, the aim is to cultivate relationships and shared commitments.

In a geographically dispersed province without a unified campus ministry structure, such coordination can provide a necessary pipeline for future ordinands. Trinity envisions gathering teachers and preachers from across the ACNA to think together about cultural engagement, catechesis, and evangelism in a rapidly shifting society.

A Province in Need of Unity

The ACNA contains a range of churchmanships and theological emphases. Questions surrounding women’s orders, diocesan structures, and other issues continue to shape provincial conversations.

In that context, seminaries play a quiet but crucial role. When students from different backgrounds live, study, and pray together for three years, they form friendships that outlast institutional debates. They learn to listen, to sharpen one another, and to remain committed to the shared life of the Church.

Institutions like Trinity provide a space where that kind of relational unity can take root.

TAS Exists to Serve the ACNA

Hollon speaks about Trinity Anglican Seminary’s future with both conviction and humility.

“We serve at the pleasure of the bishops,” he said. “Our role is not to change the ACNA from the outside. It is to instill virtue and the classic Prayer Book tradition in our students.”

That posture reflects a maturing vision of theological education. A seminary exists for the Church. It receives its mission from the Church and returns its gifts to the Church through well-formed leaders.

As the Anglican Church in North America continues to grow and define its identity, Trinity Anglican Seminary stands ready to serve. Rooted in Scripture, attentive to the great tradition, committed to Anglican worship, and invested in provincial unity, it seeks to form leaders who can preach Christ faithfully in this generation and the next.

For those discerning a call to ministry, Trinity offers not merely a degree program but a community shaped by common prayer, serious study, and a clear commitment to the future of Anglicanism in North America.

Disclaimer: Trinity Anglican Seminary is a Sponsoring Partner of Anglican Compass; however, this article has undergone our normal editorial process.

Image: The Trophimus Center at Trinity Anglican Seminary, courtesy of TAS. Digitally edited by Jacob Davis.