William Temple was a priest in the
Church of EnglandThe Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
. He served as
Bishop of ManchesterThe Bishop of Manchester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Manchester in the Province of York.The current bishop is the Right Reverend Nigel McCulloch, the 11th Lord Bishop of Manchester, who signs Nigel Manchester. The bishop's official residence is Bishopscourt, Bury New Road,...
(1921–29),
Archbishop of YorkThe Archbishop of York is a high-ranking cleric in the Church of England, second only to the Archbishop of Canterbury. He is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and metropolitan of the Province of York, which covers the northern portion of England as well as the Isle of Man...
(1929–42), and
Archbishop of CanterburyThe Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
(1942–44).
A renowned teacher and preacher, Temple is perhaps best known for his 1942 book
Christianity and Social Order, which set out an Anglican social theology and a vision for what would constitute a just post-war society. He is also noted for being one of the founders of the Council of Christians and Jews in 1942.
Early life
Temple was born in 1881 in Exeter, the second son of Archbishop
Frederick TempleFrederick Temple was an English academic, teacher, churchman and Archbishop of Canterbury from 1896 until his death.-Early life:...
(1821–1902). From an early age, he suffered from
goutGout is a medical condition usually characterized by recurrent attacks of acute inflammatory arthritis—a red, tender, hot, swollen joint. The metatarsal-phalangeal joint at the base of the big toe is the most commonly affected . However, it may also present as tophi, kidney stones, or urate...
and a cataract which left him
blindBlind may refer to:* The state of blindness, being unable to see* A window blind, a covering for a windowBlind may also refer to:-Electronics, engineering, and science:...
at age 40. He was educated at
Rugby SchoolRugby School is a co-educational day and boarding school located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire, England. It is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain.-History:...
and
Balliol College, OxfordBalliol College , founded in 1263, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England but founded by a family with strong Scottish connections....
, where he obtained a double first in classics and served as president of the
Oxford UnionThe Oxford Union Society, commonly referred to simply as the Oxford Union, is a debating society in the city of Oxford, Britain, whose membership is drawn primarily but not exclusively from the University of Oxford...
.
After graduation, he became fellow and lecturer in Philosophy at Queen's College, Oxford from 1904–1910 and was ordained priest in 1909. Between 1910 and 1914 he was Headmaster of
Repton SchoolRepton School, founded in 1557, is a co-educational English independent school for both day and boarding pupils, in the British public school tradition, located in the village of Repton, in Derbyshire, in the Midlands area of England...
after which he returned to being a full time clergyman, becoming Bishop of
ManchesterManchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
in 1921 and
Archbishop of YorkThe Archbishop of York is a high-ranking cleric in the Church of England, second only to the Archbishop of Canterbury. He is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and metropolitan of the Province of York, which covers the northern portion of England as well as the Isle of Man...
in 1929. During his life, Temple wrote constantly and completed his largest philosophical work,
Mens Creatrix (“The Creative Mind”) in 1917. In 1932–33, he gave the
Gifford LecturesThe Gifford Lectures were established by the will of Adam Lord Gifford . They were established to "promote and diffuse the study of Natural Theology in the widest sense of the term — in other words, the knowledge of God." The term natural theology as used by Gifford means theology supported...
, published in 1934 as
Gifford Lectures, Nature, Man, and God.
Support for social reforms
In 1942, Temple became
Archbishop of CanterburyThe Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
. In the same year he published
Christianity and Social Order. The work attempted to marry faith and socialism and rapidly sold around 140,000 copies.
Temple defended the working-class movement and supported economic and social reforms. As the first President (1908–1924) of the
Workers' Educational AssociationThe Workers’ Educational Association seeks to provide access to education and lifelong learning for adults from all backgrounds, and in particular those who have previously missed out on education. The International Federation of Workers Education Associations has consultative status to UNESCO...
he was a member of the
Labour PartyThe Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
from 1918 to 1925. He was chairman of an international and interdenominational Conference on Christian Politics, Economics and Citizenship held in 1924 and participated in the ecumenical movement. He was the Anglican delegate to the
Lausanne ConferenceConferences held in Lausanne, Switzerland include the:*Lausanne Conference was the First International Congress on World Evangelization*Lausanne Conference, 1949 related to Palestinian-Jewish negotiations and the 1949 Armistice Agreements...
of 1927, and helped prepare the
World Conference of ChurchesThe World Council of Churches is a worldwide fellowship of 349 global, regional and sub-regional, national and local churches seeking unity, a common witness and Christian service. It is a Christian ecumenical organization that is based in the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland...
in
EdinburghEdinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, 1937. Temple was also influential in bringing together the various churches of the country to support the Education Act of 1944. His influence also led to the formation of the British Council of Churches and the
World Council of ChurchesThe World Council of Churches is a worldwide fellowship of 349 global, regional and sub-regional, national and local churches seeking unity, a common witness and Christian service. It is a Christian ecumenical organization that is based in the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland...
.
World War II
Against the background of
persecution of Jewish people during the World War IIThe Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
, Temple jointly founded with Chief Rabbi
Joseph Hertz----Rabbi Joseph Herman Hertz, CH was a Jewish Hungarian-born Rabbi and Bible scholar. He is most notable for holding the position of Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom from 1913 until his death in 1946, in a period encompassing both world wars and The Holocaust.- Early life :Hertz was born in the...
the Council of Christians and Jews to combat anti-Semitism and other forms of prejudice in Britain. In March 1943, Temple addressed the
House of LordsThe House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
in which urged action to be taken on the atrocities being carried out by Nazi Germany. He said:
Temple drew criticism from his numerous Quaker connections, by writing an introduction to "Christ and Our Enemies" which did not condemn the Allied
carpet bombingCarpet bombing is a large aerial bombing done in a progressive manner to inflict damage in every part of a selected area of land. The phrase invokes the image of explosions completely covering an area, in the same way that a carpet covers a floor. Carpet bombing is usually achieved by dropping many...
of Germany citing the fact that he was "not only non-pacifist but anti-pacifist".
In 1944, he published
The Church Looks Forward (1944). He also publicly supported a negotiated peace, as opposed to the unconditional surrender that the Allied leaders were demanding.
A visit to
NormandyNormandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
during
Operation OverlordOperation Overlord was the code name for the Battle of Normandy, the operation that launched the invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II by Allied forces. The operation commenced on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landings...
in the summer of 1944 made Temple the first Archbishop of Canterbury to go into battle since the Middle Ages.
Death
William Temple died at
Westgate-on-SeaWestgate-on-Sea is a seaside town in northeast Kent, England, with a population of 6,600. It is within the Thanet local government district and borders the larger seaside resort of Margate...
, Kent on 26 October 1944. He was cremated at Charing Crematorium, Kent. Dr. Temple was the first Primate of All England to be cremated and his
cremationCremation is the process of reducing bodies to basic chemical compounds such as gasses and bone fragments. This is accomplished through high-temperature burning, vaporization and oxidation....
had an immense effect upon the opinion of church people not only in his country, but also throughout the whole Anglican community. His ashes are buried on the south side of
CoronaThe Corona is the east end of Canterbury Cathedral, named after the severed crown of Thomas Becket , whose shrine it was built to contain....
at his cathedral. A house at
Tenison's SchoolArchbishop Tenison's Church of England High School, commonly known as Tenison's, is a selective historic 11-18, voluntary aided, mixed school in the London Borough of Croydon, England, part of the educational provision of the Anglican Diocese of Southwark and Croydon Council. It is a specialist...
is named after him. There is a memorial to him at the parish church of St George in
BicknollerBicknoller is a village and civil parish on the western slopes of the Quantock Hills in the English county of Somerset.Administratively, the civil parish falls within the West Somerset local government district within the Somerset shire county, with administrative tasks shared between county,...
, Somerset where he spent his holidays from 1933–1944..
Legacy
He has a high school named after him: Archbishop Temple High School in Fulwood, Preston. The former William Temple College in Manchester and Archbishop William Temple CoE Primary School in Hull were also named after him. An International Student Residence in London, William Temple House, also bears his name.
Veneration
Temple is honoured in the
Church of EnglandThe Church of England commemorates many of the same saints as those in the Roman Catholic calendar of saints, mostly on the same days, but also commemorates various notable Christians who have not been canonised by Rome, with a particular though not exclusive emphasis on those of English origin...
and in the
Episcopal Church (USA)The veneration of saints in the Episcopal Church is a continuation of an ancient tradition from the early Church which honors important people of the Christian faith. The usage of the term "saint" is similar to Roman Catholic and Orthodox traditions. Those in the Anglo-Catholic tradition may...
on 6 November.
Works
- Church and Nation (1915)
- Personal Religion and the Life of Fellowship (1926),
- Christianity and the State (1928)
- Nature, Man and God (1934)
- Men Without Work (1938)
- Christianity and the Social Order (1942)
- The Church Looks Forward (1944).
External links