Robin Griffith-Jones (born 1956) is a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

priest,

Master of the Temple The Temple Church is a Royal peculiar church in the City of London located between Fleet Street and the River Thames, built by the Knights Templar as their English headquarters. It was consecrated on 10 February 1185 by Patriarch Heraclius of Je ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and a lecturer at

King's College, London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

. Griffith-Jones was educated at

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

and

New College, Oxford New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at th ...

, before working at

Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, at Rockefeller Center in New York City and at Alexandra House in Hong Kong. It is ...

for some years. He is a fellow of the

Society of Antiquaries of London A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Societ ...

. In 1999, Griffith-Jones was appointed Master of the Temple in London, the title given to the senior cleric of the

Temple Church The Temple Church is a Royal peculiar church in the City of London located between Fleet Street and the River Thames, built by the Knights Templar as their English headquarters. It was consecrated on 10 February 1185 by Patriarch Heraclius of J ...

. His official style is currently "The Reverend and Valiant Master of the Temple"; this is not used on the official website but is confirmed by the Middle Temple website and has been used by him in interviews. Prior to this he was chaplain of

Lincoln College, Oxford Lincoln College (formally, The College of the Blessed Mary and All Saints, Lincoln) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford, situated on Turl Street in central Oxford. Lincoln was founded in 1427 by Richard Fleming, the ...

, from 1992 to 1999 and a

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

from 1989 to 1992. He is the son of

Mervyn Griffith-Jones John Mervyn Guthrie Griffith-Jones (1 July 1909 – 13 July 1979) was a British judge and former barrister. He led the prosecution of Penguin Books in the obscenity trial in 1960 following the publication of D. H. Lawrence's ''Lady Chatterley' ...

, who was the prosecutor at the

Lady Chatterley The word ''lady'' is a term for a girl or woman, with various connotations. Once used to describe only women of a high social class or status, the equivalent of lord, now it may refer to any adult woman, as gentleman can be used for men. Inform ...

trial and the

Common Serjeant of London The Common Serjeant of London (full title The Serjeant-at-Law in the Common Hall) is an ancient British legal office, first recorded in 1291, and is the second most senior permanent judge of the Central Criminal Court after the Recorder of Lon ...

The Old Bailey The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The s ...

. In December 2015 he appeared on the BBC's ''

The Sky at Night ''The Sky at Night'' is a monthly documentary television programme on astronomy produced by the BBC. The show had the same permanent presenter, Sir Patrick Moore, from its first broadcast on 24 April 1957 until 7 January 2013. The latter date ...

'', when the programme's topic was about the

Star of Bethlehem The Star of Bethlehem, or Christmas Star, appears in the nativity story of the Gospel of Matthew chapter 2 where "wise men from the East" (Magi) are inspired by the star to travel to Jerusalem. There, they meet King Herod of Judea, and ask him: ...

, talking to

Dallas Campbell Robert Dallas Campbell (born 17 September 1970) is a British television presenter and television and stage actor, best known as a presenter on the factual Channel 5 series ''The Gadget Show'' in 2008 and BBC One science series '' Bang Goes t ...

. He is the brother of

John Griffith-Jones John Guthrie Griffith-Jones (born 11 May 1954) is a British accountant. He was chairman of the Financial Conduct Authority. Early life John Griffith-Jones was born on 11 May 1954. He is the son of Mervyn Griffith-Jones and Joan Baker. He was ...

Books

*2000: ''The Four Witnesses: The Rebel, the Rabbi, the Chronicler, and the Mystic''. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco *2004: ''The Gospel According to Paul: The Creative Genius Who Brought Jesus to the World''. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco *2006: ''The Da Vinci Code and the Secrets of the Temple: The Master of The Temple''. Norwich: Canterbury Press *2008: ''Mary Magdalene: The Woman whom Jesus Loved''. Norwich: Canterbury Press

References

External links

List of publications
1956 births Living people Alumni of New College, Oxford 20th-century English Anglican priests 21st-century English Anglican priests English religious writers Fellows of Lincoln College, Oxford Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London People educated at Westminster School, London Academics of King's College London Masters of the Temple {{ChurchofEngland-clergy-stub