Today is a local solemnity at the seminary where I teach, the 63rd anniversary of the dedication of our chapel. In addition to the propers, the seminarian Schola will sing my English-language translation and metrical adaptation of the early 12th-century sequence Rex Salomon fecit templum (attr. Adam of St. Victor), set to Thomas Tallis's first tune from Archbishop Parker's Psalter.

I thought you all might appreciate the rich theology and stunning imagery, which are a mere shadow of the original Latin:

King Solomon a temple built,
the Lord’s own dwelling fair;
its pattern shows Christ and his Church,
whose likeness shineth there.
He rules within his holy house,
its founder and its Lord;
By grace he joins the living stones,
in one faith’s true accord.

The marble of its corner base
is chastity’s pure flower;
The walls are virtue, squared and strong,
made firm in steadfast power.
Its length and breadth and height declare
faith, hope, and charity;
three courts within the temple shine,
One God in Trinity.

With cedar, myrrh, and sweetest balm
the holy house is blessed;
their fragrance is the saints’ good deeds,
their prayers in faith confessed.
Its vessels all are wrought of gold,
by Spirit’s fire refined;
the wise and pure their offerings make
with body, soul, and mind.

From David’s store came Solomon’s art,
and Tyre lent craftsmen’s skill;
So Jew and Gentile build as one,
the Church of God fulfilled.
O Christ, our Cornerstone divine,
unite us each to thee;
to Father, Spirit, three be praised,
throughout eternity.

Translation and metrical adaptation copyright © Christopher Holman, 2025