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The Temple Church in London was consecrated in 1185 in
honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary on 10 February 1185, by Heraclius, Patriarch
of Jerusalem. The Knights Templar community had moved from an earlier site in
High Holborn (Old Temple) to the Temple Church area (New Temple) in 1161. (1)
Temple church was the chapel serving the London headquarters of the Knights
Templar, the famed warrior monks of the Crusades, from which it takes its name.
Many Templar churches were round, in memory of the Church of
the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, Temple Church being no exception. Effigies on
the floor of the round church generally commemorate patrons of the Knights
Templar who are buried at Temple Church. For example, one prominent patron was
William Marshal, Earl of Pembroke (1174-1219), a friend of King John, who
played a very important part in the negotiations for the Magna Carta in 1215.
Contrary to popular belief, few, if any, of these effigies are of actual
Templar knights who went to the Crusades! The effigies that one sees there
today were placed in their present position during the restoration of the
church in 1841.
The Temple Church has a long and varied history. About fifty
years after its consecration in 1185, the Templars faced much more challenging
times. The Holy Land was recaptured by the Saracens, their extensive wealth
made them a target of envious enemies, and in 1307, at the instigation of
Philip IV, King of France, with the collusion of the Pope, the Templars were
rounded up and arrested. Many historians today question a number of these
charges and the extensive use of torture in obtaining 'confessions'. The final
papal bull abolishing the Order was in 1312. In England, King Edward II took
control of the London Temple and its church. Eventually he gave it to the
Knights Hospitaller of St. John.
At the time, the lawyers in London were looking for a home
in order to attend the royal courts in Westminster, and the Temple was rented
to two colleges of lawyers, who came to be identified as the Inner and Middle
Temples., also referred to as the Inns of Court. These two colleges of lawyers
shared use of the Temple church, and it became the college chapel of those two
societies and remains so to the present day. (2)
The 16th century brought with it many changes. During 1540,
at the time of the Dissolution of the Monasteries by King Henry VIII, the
Knights Hospitaller of St. John were also abolished and their property
confiscated. The Temple again belonged to the Crown. King Henry VIII then
provided a priest for the Temple Church, to whom he gave the title 'Master of
the Temple.'
In 1585, the second Master of the Temple, Richard Alvey,
died. His deputy- the Reader, Walter Travers- expected to be promoted, but
because of his extreme Calvinist views, this did not occur. Instead, a new
Master, Richard Hooker, was appointed from Exeter College, Oxford, and upon his
arrival, a unique situation arose.
"Each Sunday morning he would preach his sermon; each Sunday
afternoon , Travers would contradict him in his! People came to call it the
Battle of the Pulpit, saying mischievously that Canterbury was preached in the
morning and Geneva in the afternoon." (3) As a result of this rather epic
battle, Richard Hooker then became recognised as the founding father of
Anglican theology.
By the close of the 16th century, the two Inns of Court had
erected many fine buildings at the Temple, yet their position as tenants was
not terribly secure. Understandably, in order to protect what they had already
built up from any future whims of the Crown, they petitioned King James I for a
more satisfactory arrangement. The result of this was that on 13 August 1608,
the king granted them a Royal Charter giving them use of the Temple in
perpetuity.- but, in modern-day parlance, there was one 'hitch'-the two Inns of
Court were also required to maintain the Temple church in perpetuity, which
were quite reasonable terms overall.
In gratitude, the Inns gave King James I a gold cup, which
was later sold in Holland when his son, Charles I, needed more funds to keep
his army in the field. This gold cup has now disappeared. So, the Temple and
Temple Church are still governed by this original Royal Charter of King James I
today.
Temple Church was restored again in Victorian times. In
1841, it was carefully restored by Smirke and Burton, being decorated in the
high Victorian Gothic style. The idea was to bring Temple Church back to its
original appearance, but, unfortunately, nothing of this fine work remains
today, as it was destroyed by fire bombs exactly 100 years after its
completion, in 1941.
After the 1841 Victorian restoration, a choir of men and
boys was introduced for the first time, which became known as one of the finest
choirs in London. In 1923, for example, Dr. G.T. Thalben-Ball was appointed
organist and choirmaster, later becoming world-renowned, especially for the
record made in 1927 of Mendelssohn's 'Hear My Prayer'(by Thalben-Ball and the
boy soloist Ernest Lough) which brought many visitors to the church from all
over the world. This tradition of high quality music is still maintained today.
In 1941, on the evening of 10 May, air raids on London
caused serious damage to Temple Church and the surrounding area. Restoration
took a long time to complete, with the choir being the first area of the church
to be rededicated in March 1954. The round church was rededicated in November
1958. (4)
But what may be the most notable feature in the church
today, the east window, was a gift from the Glaziers' Company in 1954 to
replace the window that was destroyed in the war. It was designed by Carl
Edwards and illustrates Jesus' connection with the Temple at Jerusalem. In one
panel, we see him talking with the learned teachers there, in another, driving
out the money-changers.
Since its restoration in 1954, Temple church has resumed its
role as the chapel and spiritual home of the Inner and Middle Temples. Each
Sunday morning, except August and September when the Law Courts are not in
session, the choir sings the morning service, either Mattins or Holy Communion.
It also still continues to attract many visitors from around the world.
Temple Church is an active Christian church today, also a
very fitting testimony to its fascinating Templar history from medieval times.
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