William Temple (archbishop)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
William Temple (15 October 1881 – 26 October, 1944), Archbishop of Canterbury (1942–1944) was the second son of Archbishop Frederick Temple (1821-1902). He was educated at Balliol College, Oxford and in 1932-1933, he gave the Gifford Lectures. A renowned teacher and preacher, he 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.
Also in 1942, with Chief Rabbi Joseph Hertz, Temple jointly founded the Council of Christians and Jews to combat anti-Jewish bigotry.
Temple is widely regarded as the most brilliant Archbishop of Canterbury since St. Anselm of Canterbury in the late 11th and early 12th century[citation needed] and is regarded as one of the Doctors of the Anglican Church.[citation needed] Anglicans around the world celebrate his feast day on October 26th.
One of his more famous sayings (though it's hard to pin down a source) is that
- "the Church is the only society that exists for the benefit of those who are not its members".
He is also the author of the quote:
- Worship is the submission of all of our nature to God.
- It is the quickening of conscience by His holiness,
- nourishment of mind by His truth,
- purifying of imagination by His beauty,
- opening of the heart to His love,
- and submission of will to His purpose.
- And all this gathered up in adoration is the greatest of human expressions of which we are capable."
