15 October 1881 born in Exeter, son of Frederick Temple, Archbishop of Canterbury 1896-1902
1900 Exhibitioner of Balliol College, Oxford
1904 Fellow of Queen’s College, Oxford
1904-1910 Lecturer in philosophy at Queen's College, Oxford
1909 Ordained priest
1910-14 Headmaster, Repton School
1914-17 Rector, St. James's, Piccadilly
(While in the last two posts, Temple led the Life and Liberty movement, an unofficial body designed to stimulate change in the governance of the Church of England)
1919-1921 Canon of Westminster
1921-1929 Bishop of Manchester
1929-1942 Archbishop of York
1942-1944 Archbishop of Canterbury
26 October 1944 died in Westgate-on-Sea, Kent
Temple was a Leader in the ecumenical movement and in educational and labour reforms. A man of considerable energy and intellectual ability, he wrote constantly, completing his largest philosophical work, Mens Creatrix (1917; 'The Creative Mind'), the night before his marriage.
Among other works are a volume of Gifford talks, Nature, Man, and God (1934), Christianity and Social Order (1942), and The Church Looks Forward (1944).
Temple's sympathetic attitude toward the Labour movement led him to join the Labour Party (1918-25); he was also president (1908-24) of the Workers' Educational Association.
He was chairman of an international and interdenominational Conference on Christian Politics, Economics and Citizenship held in 1924, an Anglican delegate to the ecumenical Faith and Order Conference at Lausanne in 1927, and chairman of the Faith and Order Conference held in Edinburgh in 1937.
The British Council of Churches and the World Council of Churches owe their formation largely to the initiatives provided by Temple, and his influence both inside and outside Parliament brought the various churches of the country to support the Education Act of 1944.
Temple's theological position has been described as a Hegelian Idealism, affirming links between church and state and thus making it appropriate for Christian pronouncements to be made on social problems and economic policies.
A brief introduction to William Temple (1881-1944)
In 1942, when Winston Churchill was faced with a vacancy at Lambeth Palace, he had no difficulty in choosing the right candidate to present to the king. William Temple stood head and shoulders above any rival, although he was far too humble to see it like that. Temple held the office of Archbishop of Canterbury for only 2 years, but in that short time he established himself as probably the greatest Archbishop of the 20th century.
Himself the son of an archbishop (Frederick), he was a larger-than-life person, outstandingly talented, full of energy, humour, generosity, and far-ranging in his interests. Firmly rooted in prayer and scripture, and uniting solid learning with great administrative ability, Temple’s name was known as much by the ordinary working man as it was at court or in parliament. His public speeches and radio broadcasts commanded widespread attention and respect. MORE>
