The Trinitarian Order, Ordo Sanctissimae Trinitatis de Redemptione Captivorum, was founded by St. John de Matha (d. 1213) with the participation of St. Felix de Valois (d. 1212). The first abode was located in Cerfroid, in the diocese of Meaux in France. Pope Innocent III approved the Order in his bull Operante divine dispositionis of December 17, 1198 and ratified the Rule written by St. John de Matha who described the aim of the Trinitarian mission as ransoming captives from pagans as well as providing hospital care to the sick and the poor. The Trinitarians wear white habits with a blue and red cross on their scapulars and black cloaks. The Order grew very fast in numbers in France where they were also called Maturinians from their Parisian location dedicated to St. Maturin. They spread to Spain, Portugal, Scotland, England, Italy, and Germany. Later they also came to Poland, and the territories of present Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Austria where they were called White Spaniards. From the very beginning they were involved in redemption and missionary work in North Africa. After a few attempts at reforming the Order in France, Spain and Portugal in the 16th century, St. John Baptist of the Conception carried out a radical reform, approved by the Pope Clement VIII in his brief Ad militantis Ecclesiae of August 20, 1599. This started a branch of Spanish Discalced Trinitarians, the only one still existing today; since the Order went through difficult times in the 19th century due to the French Revolution and numerous suppressions.
The Trinitarians, who ordinarily spent only a third of their income on their own needs, did not have enough resources to sponsor costly works of art for God’s and their own glory. Their founder, St. John de Matha, had set this poverty into the text of his Rule. Different branches of the Order treated the problem of art differently in their legislation. The Calced Trinitarians, possessing larger financial resources, accepted a very general theory of art which resulted in rich artistic endowments. On the other hand, the Discalced Trinitarians, both Spanish and French, who followed the original Rule of John de Matha more strictly, paid more attention to the theory of art in their legislation and consequently avoided rich and pompous works of art.
Iconography of the Order of the Holy Trinity stresses Trinitarian values. There are not many architectural structures referring symbolically to the Holy Trinity because apart from one outstanding building – San Carlino church in Rome designed by Francesco Borromini, there are not any other constructions propagating Trinitarian values except for some isolated structures like towers of a triangular plan or belfries with three bells. Also the popularity of a specific type of church – the one with three side chapels on each side of the nave in 17th century architecture was due to aesthetic and utilitarian principles and not to the Trinitarian ideology.
The three colours of the Trinitarian habit were interpreted as referring to particular Divine Persons: white to the Father, blue to Christ, and red to the Holy Spirit. Among the symbols of the Holy Trinity the triangle was the most popular, whereas the others, e.g. three criss-crossing circles or manus Dei referring more often to God the Father only, were less widespread. All the traditional Trinitarian representations popular in art are present in the Trinitarian iconography: three Angels (as the Old Testament Holy Trinity), a head with three faces as well as three alike or even identical persons. The Holy Trinity where God the Father and Jesus were shown as alike persons and the Holy Spirit as a dove can only be found in Central America. Vertical representations of the Holy Trinity of a type Compassio Patris gained some popularity whereas The Throne of Grace or Paternitas was less known. However, the most popular representation of the Holy Trinity in the Trinitarian iconography showed the three Divine Persons in majesty – God the Father as a patriarch with a globe or scepter, Jesus with wounds, most often with a cross, and the Holy Spirit as a dove flying between them. Sometimes Our Lady completed the picture, often as de Remedio or the Immaculate Conception.
