ממוזער|250px|כנסיית טמפל
'''כנסיית טמפל''' או '''כנסיית המקדש''' (באנגלית: Temple Church) היא כנסייה מהמאה ה-12 בלונדון שבאנגליה. הכנסייה נמצאת בין רחוב פליט ונהר התמזה, וכל האזור סביבה נקרא על שמה - "טמפל" ("Temple").

במקור נבנתה הכנסייה כמפקדה של מסדר הטמפלרים, ובה נוהל ב-המלך ג'ון על חתימת המאה ה-14 הפכה הכנסייה לרכוש הכתר, ומאז היא משמשת מרכז לשתיים מלשכות עורכי הדין של לונדון.

במהלך הבליץ במלחמת העולם השנייה ניזוקה הכנסייה ושוקמה לאחר המלחמה.

הכנסייה שימשה רקע לספרו של דן בראון - "צופן דה וינצ'י".

==תכנון ובנייה==
ממוזער|250px|כנסיית טמפל כיום
ממוזער|200px|קברי האבירים
לפני בניית הכנסייה נהגו האבירים הטמפלרים להיפגש במבנה שבנה סיטי ללא אישור ראש המסדר.

לכנסייה שני חלקים: הכנסייה העגולה ובניין מלבני שנקרא "צ'אנסל" (Chancel)

===הכנסייה העגולה=== 
בהתאם למסורות המסדר תוכננה הכנסייה כמבנה עגול, בדומה לכנסיית הקבר בירושלים. קוטר הכנסייה 16.7 מטרים והיא נתמכת על ידי עמודי שיש.

הכנסייה נחנכה ב-הנרי השני.

הכנסייה ידועה בזכות קברים של בעלי שם הנמצאים בתוכה. הידוע שבהם הוא קברו של המלך ג'ון - פגישה שהובילה לחתימה על המגנה כרטה.

===שינויים ארכיטקטוניים===
על מנת למלא את רצונו של הנרי השלישי להיקבר בכנסייה, הוצא ממנה אזור המקהלה, ונבנה המבנה המרובע הצמוד לכנסייה,  המכונה "צ'אנסל". המבנה נחנך ביום העלייה לשמים בשנת 1240. מאוחר יותר חזר בו הנרי מהחלטתו והעדיף להיקבר במנזר וסטמינסטר, אך אחד מבניו, שמת בילדותו, נקבר בכנסייה.

המבנה מחולק לשלושה תחומים באמצעות שני טורי עמודים. גובה כל עמוד התומך בתקרה 13 מטרים. העמודים המקוריים של המבנה נפגעו בשריפה שהציתו פצצות תבערה במהלך הבליץ, והוחלפו בעת שיפוץ הכנסייה.

==שימוש בידי מסדר הטמפלרים==
מסדר הטמפלרים היה אחד המסדרים החזקים באנגליה. ראשו שימש כברון הראשון של הממלכה (primus baro) והיה חבר הפרלמנט. אל הכנסייה והמתחם הטמפלרי נהגו לבוא הן מלכי אנגליה, הן מלכים זרים והן נציגי האפיפיור.

בכנסייה נשמרו כספי המסדר. היו אלה סכומים גדולים שהיוו בנק של המסדר. בסופו של דבר הביאו כספים אלה לנפילת המסדר, לאחר שמלכי אירופה בכלל ומלך אנגליה בפרט חמדו את עושרם הרב.

==שימוש בכנסייה לאחר סופם של הטמפלרים==
לאחר נפילתו של מסדר הטמפלרים, השתלט אדוארד השני על נכסיו, ביניהם הכנסייה, והפכם לנכסי הכתר.
מאוחר יותר הוענקה הכנסייה למסדר הג'יימס הראשון צו שהעניק את הכנסייה למכללות לתמיד.

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| caption          = ''The Temple Church in 1892'', by Herbert Railton
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| address          = City of London
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}}

The '''Temple Church''' is a late 12th century District (green) and Circle (yellow) lines.

== History ==
===Construction===
In the mid 12th century, before the construction of the church, the Knights Templar in London had met at a site in Roman temple in order, by the 1160s the site had become too confined, and the Order purchased the current site for the establishment of a larger monastic complex as their headquarters in England. In addition to the church, the new compound originally contained residences, military training facilities, and recreational grounds for the military brethren and novices, who were not permitted to go into the city without the permission of the Master of the Temple.

The church building comprises two separate sections. The original nave section, called the '''Round Church''', and an adjoining rectangular section, built approximately half a century later, called the '''Chancel'''. In keeping with the traditions of the order, the nave of the church was constructed on a round design based on the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. The nave is 55 feet in diameter, and is surrounded by the first-ever free-standing dark Purbeck Marble columns. It is probable that the walls and grotesque heads were originally painted in colours.

It was consecrated on Heraclius, Patriarch of Jerusalem. It is believed that Henry II was present at the consecration.

=== 1185–1307 ===

The Knights Templar order was very powerful in England, with the Master of the Temple sitting in parliament as ''primus baro'' (the first legates of the Pope. The Temple also served as an early depository bank, sometimes in defiance of the Crown's wishes to seize the funds of nobles who had entrusted their wealth there. The independence and wealth of the order throughout Europe is considered by most historians to have been the primary cause of its eventual downfall.

In January 1215 William Marshall (who is buried in the nave next to his sons, under one of the 9 marble medieval King John and the Richard I. William swore on behalf of the king that the grievances of the barons would be addressed in the summer, leading to John's signing of Magna Carta in June.

William later became Henry III. Henry later expressed a desire to be buried in the church and so, in the early 13th century, the choir of the original church was pulled down and a new larger structure, now called the Chancel, was built. It was consecrated on Ascension Day 1240 and comprises a central aisle and two side aisles of identical width. The height of the vault is 36 feet 3 inches. One of Henry's sons, who died in infancy, ''is'' buried in the Chancel, but Henry later altered his will with instructions to be interred in Westminster Abbey.

=== Crown seizure ===

After the destruction and abolition of the Knights Templar in 1307, Edward II took control of the church as a Crown possession. It was later given to the Inner and Middle Temples, two of the four Inns of Court (the other two being Lincoln's Inn and Gray's Inn).

=== 16th&ndash;19th centuries ===
thumb|right|200px|The interior of the Round Church in the early 19th century.

In 1540, the church became the property of Henry VIII abolished the Knights Hospitaller in England and confiscated their property. Henry provided a theological conflict between Calvinists and supporters of the Church of England. At that time, William Shakespeare also knew it and hence, in his play ''Henry VI, part 1'', it and the Temple garden feature as the setting for the fictional scene of the plucking of two roses and the start of the 15th century Wars of the Roses. In 2002, this was commemorated with the planting of new white and red roses in the modern gardens.

Following a later agreement in 1608 by James I, the two Inns were granted the use of the church in perpetuity, and continue to use the Temple as their chapel, on condition that they supported and maintained the church.

The church was undamaged by the organ to the church for the first time. The church was restored again in 1841 by Smirke and Burton, who decorated the walls and ceiling in the high Victorian Gothic style, in an attempt to bring the church back to its original appearance. Further restoration work was executed by James Piers St Aubyn in 1862.
left|thumb|250px|An 1827 woodcut of The Temple Church.
=== Second World War ===

On German air raid of incendiary bombs set the roof of the Round Church on fire,<ref> "London:the City Churches” Pevsner,N/Bradley,S New Haven, Yale, 1998 ISBN 0300096550</ref> and the fire quickly spread to the nave and chapel. The organ and all the wood parts of the church, including the Victorian renovations, were destroyed and the dark Purbeck marble columns of the Chancel cracked from the intense heat. Although these columns still supported the vault, they were deemed unsound and replaced by replicas. The original columns had a light outward lean, an architectural quirk which was duplicated in the replacement columns.

During the renovation by the architect Wren in the 17th century were in storage and they were replaced in their original position. The church was rededicated in November 1958.

== Use ==
left|thumb|250px|The Temple Church today.
Among other purposes, the structure was originally used for Templar initiation ceremonies. In England, the ceremony involved new recruits entering the Temple via the western door at dawn. The initiates would enter the circular nave, and then take monastic vows of piety, chastity, poverty and obedience. The details of initiation at the time were a closely-guarded secret, though this secrecy later caused trouble as gossip and rumours spread about possible Templar blasphemy. These suspicions were manipulated and expanded by the Order's enemies, such as King Philip IV of France.

The Temple Church holds regular [http://www.templechurch.com/pages/church/this_month.pdf church services], including Holy Communion on Sunday morning. It also holds weddings, but only for members of the Inner and Middle Temples. The Temple Church serves both the Inner Temple and the Middle Temple as a private chapel.

The Temple Church has always been a royal peculiar, and the choristers have the privilege of wearing scarlet cassocks as a result. This means that it is subject to the jurisdiction of the Crown, and not of the Bishop of London. Modern-day relations with the Bishop of London are, however, very good; he regularly attends events and services at the Temple Church.
left|thumb|200px|Marble effigies of medieval knights in the Temple Church.
=== In ''The Da Vinci Code'' ===