The Patriarch Heraclius may perhaps have been the most corrupt and licentious priest ever to hold his see. Our reports of his character, however, reach us from his enemies. The great Western chronicler of the Crusades, William of Tyre, was for decades Heraclius’ opponent and rival. In 1180 William had (and had been) expected to be appointed Patriarch of Jerusalem. But the king of Jerusalem was swayed by his mother, said to be a mistress of Heraclius — who was duly appointed Patriarch. William himself was honorably reticent in the face of this reverse. His followers were less restrained. ‘Ernoul’ tells (with more indignation, it seems, than accuracy) how his hero William was excommunicated by the new patriarch, went into exile and died at the hands of Heraclius’ own doctor in Rome. William’s narrative was expanded and continued in Old French as L’Estoire d’ Eracles: its story starts with the Emperor Heraclius who recovered the True Cross in 628 — and includes a prophecy that the Cross, secured by one Heraclius, would be lost (as it was) by another.
Can anything redeem our Heraclius’ reputation? The whole story offered welcome ammunition to Henry II’s enemies. Gerald of Wales, bitterly opposed to the Angevins, sees here the turning-point in Henry’s reign: the king failed to rise to this one supreme test; from then on his own and his sons’ adventures faced ruin. Gerald’s Heraclius was certainly no coward. Henry II had a famously volcanic temper; it was a brave — or foolish — man who would confront him. The king summoned a Great Council at the Hospitallers’ House in Clerkenwell. (Heraclius consecrated their round church too.) Surrounded by his advisers, he gave Heraclius his answer: ‘for the good of his realm and the salvation of his own soul’ he declared that he must stay in England. He would provide money instead. Heraclius was unimpressed: ‘We seek a man even without money — but not money without a man.’ Virum appetimus qui pecunia indigeat, non pecuniam quae viro. (It is a dramatic moment. Gerald, though, inherited the topos from an old story with a quite different cast.)
The Patriarch confronted Henry, Gerald tells us, at Heraclius’ departure from Dover. Here is the king’s last chance. ‘Though all the men of my land,’ said the king, ‘were one body and spoke with one mouth, they would not dare speak to me as you have done.’ ‘Do by me,’ replied Heraclius, ‘as you did by that blessed man Thomas of Canterbury. I had rather be slain by you than by the Saracen, for you are worse than any Saracen.’
‘That blessed man Thomas of Canterbury’ had been killed in 1170. The penance of the four knights who killed him was to serve with the Templars for fourteen years. Henry himself promised to pay for two hundred Templar knights for a year; and in 1172 he undertook to take the Cross himself. Thirteen years had passed. Henry was growing old. Such a vow, undischarged, threatened his immortal soul — as both Heraclius and he knew well. Henry must tread carefully. ‘I may not leave my land, for my own sons will surely rise against me in my absence.’
‘No wonder,’ said Heraclius; ‘for from the devil they come and to the devil they shall go.’
MonMay12 |
Church open for sightseeing
10:00 am–
4:00 pm
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TueMay13 |
Church open for sightseeing
10:00 am–
4:00 pm
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WedMay14 |
Church open for sightseeing
10:00 am–
4:00 pm
Choral Evensong sung by the Bar Choral Society
Organ prelude: Sonata no 5, movement 1 (Mendelssohn) This service will be live-streamed on the Church's YouTube Channel. |
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ThuMay15 |
Church open for sightseeing
10:00 am–
4:00 pm
Holy Communion
This service will be live-streamed on the Church's YouTube Channel. |
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FriMay16 |
Church open for sightseeing
10:00 am–
4:00 pm
Talk: The story of the Temple Church from the Knights Templar to the present day
Free as part of the entrance fee. |
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SatMay17 | ||
SunMay18 |
Holy Communion
Please enter the Temple via Tudor Street This service will be live-streamed on the Church's YouTube Channel. Choral Mattins
Sung by the Temple Singers Responses: Radcliffe This service will be live-streamed on the Church's YouTube Channel. |
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MonMay19 |
Church open for sightseeing
10:00 am–
4:00 pm
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TueMay20 |
SIMULCAST ECUMENICAL SERVICE OF PRAYERS FOR PEACE AND FOR UNITY AT THE 1,700th ANNIVERSARY OF THE COUNCIL OF NICAEA (20 May 325)
Also available live and thereafter on: www.templechurch.com
His late Holiness Pope Francis sent a written message of support and welcome just a few days before his death. The message will be read out at the start of the service.
Presiding in London: His Eminence Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster The Rt Rev. Archbishop Hosam Naoum, Anglican Diocese of Jerusalem
Presiding in Jerusalem: His Eminence Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem His Beatitude Theophilus III, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem
Please turn over for further details Alongside leaders of Anglican, Armenian, Coptic, Greek, Methodist and Free Church, Pentecostal and Syriac Churches. The service will be in English, Greek, Latin, Aramaic and Church Slavonic. This ecumenical service marks the 1700th anniversary of the opening day of the Council of Nicaea (20 May 325). At the Council 318 bishops agreed on the Nicene Creed, the foundational and irreplaceable statement of Christian faith which still unites Christians all over the world. The Son was declared to be homoousious – of the same substance – with the Father: the Son is not a creature, a lieutenant or in any way subordinate to His Father, but is God Himself. The service will bring together Christian leaders and communities for a profound moment of unity and prayer for peace, during this time of brokenness and conflict. We shall pray in particular for peace and safety for the Christian communities in Christ’s own native land. The Temple Church was built by the Knights Templar to protect pilgrims to the Holy Land. The Round Church (1163, perhaps the first Gothic building built in England) was modelled on the circular church of the Holy Sepulchre / Anastasis (Resurrection) in Jerusalem, the site of Christ’s death, burial and rising. The Holy Sepulchre was commissioned by Emperor Constantine shortly after the Council of Nicaea. We are very grateful to the Temple Church Trust for making us so welcome, and to The Honourable Society of Inner Temple for kindly making its Bench Apartments available. The service is organised by Friends of the Holy Land and the Temple Church in London. You will be most welcome to join us for this most special event at the anniversary of an event that has ever since defined and united us all. |
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WedMay21 |
Church open for sightseeing
10:00 am–
4:00 pm
Choral Evensong
Sung by the Temple Church Choir Organ prelude: Prelude in E flat (Harris) This service will be live-streamed on the Church's YouTube Channel. |
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ThuMay22 |
Church open for sightseeing
10:00 am–
4:00 pm
Holy Communion
This service will be live-streamed on the Church's YouTube Channel. |
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FriMay23 |
Church open for sightseeing
10:00 am–
4:00 pm
Talk: The story of the Temple Church from the Knights Templar to the present day
Free as part of the entrance fee. |
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SatMay24 | ||
SunMay25 |
Holy Communion
Please enter the Temple via Tudor Street This service will be live-streamed on the Church's YouTube Channel. Choral Communion
Sung by the Temple Singers Introit: Be ye followers of God (Thalben-Ball) This service will be live-streamed on the Church's YouTube Channel. |
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MonMay26 | ||
TueMay27 |
Church open for sightseeing
10:00 am–
4:00 pm
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WedMay28 |
Church open for sightseeing
10:00 am–
4:00 pm
Choral Evensong
Sung by the Temple Singers Organ: Prelude in C BWV547 (Bach) This service will be live-streamed on the Church's YouTube Channel. |
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ThuMay29 |
Church open for sightseeing
10:00 am–
4:00 pm
Holy Communion
This service will be live-streamed on the Church's YouTube Channel. |
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FriMay30 |
Church open for sightseeing
10:00 am–
4:00 pm
Talk: The story of the Temple Church from the Knights Templar to the present day
Free as part of the entrance fee. |
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SatMay31 | ||
SunJun01 |
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MonJun02 |
Church open for sightseeing
10:00 am–
4:00 pm
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TueJun03 |
Church open for sightseeing
10:00 am–
4:00 pm
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WedJun04 |
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ThuJun05 |
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FriJun06 |
Church open for sightseeing
10:00 am–
4:00 pm
Talk: The story of the Temple Church from the Knights Templar to the present day
Free as part of the entrance fee. |
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SatJun07 | ||
SunJun08 |
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MonJun09 |
Church open for sightseeing
10:00 am–
4:00 pm
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TueJun10 |
Church open for sightseeing
10:00 am–
4:00 pm
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WedJun11 |
Church open for sightseeing
10:00 am–
4:00 pm
Lunchtime Organ Recital: Paolo Oreni
This recital will be live-streamed on the Church's YouTube Channel. |