Temple Church http://www.templechurch.com/

OPTIONAL VISIT: Tiffany Circle member, Quenelda Avery, kindly invites you to attend a service on Sunday 02 March at Temple Church, an historic church for its role in the development of the and then famously, in the ‘DaVinci’ Code book and film. The service is from 11:15-12:30 and then the Master will meet the members and take them for a look round the church in the remaining time before tea. Temple Church is a short walk or taxi ride down the Strand from the Savoy. This is purely optional, but please let your staff representative know if you are interested in attending. Transportation is not being provided, but it is about a 10 minute walk or taxi drive (due to the one-way streets).

General Information

The Temple Church lies ‘off street’ between and the , in an ‘oasis’ of ancient buildings, courtyards and gardens. To make sure that you find you way to the Church, you may like to check Directions before visiting us.

The Church is generally open every day. We would not want you to be disappointed by finding the Church closed; if you are planning a visit, you may like to contact the Verger first, John Shearer, 020 7353 3470, [email protected], to confirm our current opening hours.

History

The Temple Church is one of the most historic and beautiful churches in . Use the left-margin tool-bar to read its story, period by period. Here are eight hundred years of history: from the Crusaders in the 12th century, through the turmoil of the Reformation and the founding father of Anglican , to some of the most famous church music in London, week by week – music which we invite you to come and hear when you are next within striking distance of the Temple.

The Church was built by the Templar, the order of crusading founded to protect pilgrims on their way to and from Jerusalem in the 12th century. The Church is in two parts: the Round and the Chancel. The Round Church was consecrated in 1185 by the patriarch of Jerusalem. It was designed to recall the holiest place in the Crusaders’ world: the circular Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. It is a numinous space – and has a wonderful acoustic for singing.

The Reverend Robin Griffith-Jones, Master of The Temple

Robin Griffith-Jones worked at the auctioneers Christies on leaving Oxford in 1978. After working, 1984-6, with Mother Theresa’s Sisters in India and with the long-term homeless in London, Robin studied theology in Cambridge. He served as Curate (assistant minister) in outer Liverpool, 1989-92 and as Chaplain at Lincoln College, Oxford University, 1992-9; at Oxford he was also College Lecturer in Theology for Exeter College. He is now a Visiting Lecturer in New Testament Studies at King’s College, London.

Robin was appointed Master of the Temple in 1999. Apart from the Temple Church itself, his chief interest is in the New Testament. He has written four books: The Four Witnesses (about the gospels,2000); The Gospel according to Paul (2004);The Da Vinci Code and the Secrets of the Temple(2006); and, most recently, Mary Magdalene (2008, with the title Beloved Disciple in the USA). All are available through amazon.com.

Here at the Temple, we have had two years of special projects. Robin launched and ran the series of discussions Islam in English Law, whose papers he and his colleagues are now preparing for publication. A Temple Church / Courtauld Institute conference studied the Church’s own history; Robin co-edited the papers which were published in 2010 under the titleThe Temple Church in London. The Church has been pleased to host the exhibition Lawyers without Rights: German-Jewish Lawyers in the Third Reich.

Music

The Temple Church was built by the . The Round Church was consecrated in 1185 and the Chancel dates from the 1230s. In 1308, the Temple Church contained ‘two pairs of organs’ and, in the vestry, ‘twenty-eight choir copes and four little copes for the choristers.’

Seven hundred years later, the Temple Church still resounds to music being made to the glory of God. The Temple Church Choir and the fine Harrison & Harrison organ can also be heard in concert, along with two professional ensembles based at the church: The Temple Singers and The Temple Players. We are delighted to announce that the Temple Church Choir is now represented by Hazard Chase.

Services

Our services at the Temple follow the of the . The Book of Common Prayer reached its present form in 1662.

Most of our services are choral. We invite the congregation to join, of course, in singing the hymns, the Venite (at Mattins) and the Creed (at Communion). For the rest, we hope that you will enjoy the singing of the choir and the playing of the organ.

Such a service is an opportunity to bring our own cares quietly to God; and to set those cares within the vast, unfolding purposes of God, our Creator and Redeemer. We hear in these services of God’s unending love for his people and for his whole creation: in the story of the Old Testament and the songs of the psalms; in the story of Jesus himself; in the letters of the apostles; and in the hymns and creeds of the early church. So we learn, as a church and its members, to trust God’s care for ourselves and for those we love; and to entrust ourselves to the life that he calls us to live.

The Temple Church and Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code

Tucked into a quiet courtyard inside a maze of buildings in the heart of London, The Temple Church is a unique place of worship from the 12th Century that stands as a testament to the Templars who built it. Walking into this somewhat austere church, visitors’ footsteps echo lightly across the stone floor. The plain walls, however, were once as colorful as the history of the unique place. Although the walls were once painted with bright colors, the primary decoration of the Temple Church today is the incredible light that fills the space like a warm fire. The entire church glows, even on cloudy days.

Although Dan Brown suggests in his book that the circular form of the Templar churches were a salute to the Roman Pantheon and sun worshippers, the Templar churches were actually built in a circular design to remind them of King Solomon’s Temple, The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, a round domed building that is built at the site where Jesus was buried. The Temple Church is currently one of only five surviving round churches in England. King Henry III added the Chancel, or rectangular part of the church, and originally planned to be buried there. The King changed his mind and his will, however, and upon his death it was found that he actually wanted to be buried in . He did, however, bury his young son, Henry, in this quiet place.The Temple Church has an unusual design. It is comprised of the original Round Church, a circular nave that was consecrated to the Virgin Mary on February 10, 1185 by Heraclius, and a rectangular chancel that was added 55 years later. The Templar Knights were originally founded in 1118, less than a century before this church was built.

Even though the Templar Knights became known for their wealth and power, their beginnings were actually just the opposite. The design on their seal showing two knights on horseback reflected that in the beginning they often rode two knights to a horse, because they were too poor to afford a horse for each . A unique order of monks, the Templar Knights were soldier-monks who took vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. Their main mission was to protect pilgrims on their way to the Holy Land. In Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code, Langston, Sophie, and Leah Teabing hunt through The Temple Church looking for clues to the riddle:

‘In London lies a knight a interred. His labour’s fruit a Holy wrath incurred. You seek the orb that ought be on his tomb. It speaks of Rosy flesh and seeded womb.’

The only problem is that although most people think the stone carvings on the floor of the Round Church are tombs, they are actually . The effigies inside the Round Church show knights posed for battle, ever at the ready to protect the travelers under their care. There are nine stone knights and one symbol of a sword and shield inset into the limestone floor of the church. The oldest of the effigies depicts Sir Roger de Ros, and was created in 1227. These are effigies however, not graves. There are no knights beneath the stone designs. Only their images stand watch over this ancient church. It’s not until Silas holds them at gunpoint, that Langston and Sophie realize that the riddle points to Sir Isaac Newton’s tomb in Westminster Abbey.