Peter2 wrote:Julia Minor wrote:
[snip]
Sorry, poor phrasing on my part. Yes, the physical Temple wasn't built until after (as I recall) the end of the War Against The Fallen. The Church it was built to serve, though, was programmed into the colonists before they ever landed on Safehold. Some characters in the novels use "Temple" to refer to the CoGA, that's how I was using it.
Tangent: I'm almost certain Langhorne and Company always intended to build some sort of physical temple. They knew they weren't immortal, which meant they knew at some point the CoGA would end up under the direct supervision of people who weren't part of the command staff. A "final gift" in the form of a miraculous temple shaped by the Archangels' own will and command would help ease the transition from direct Archangelic rule to the rule of the vicars.
A thought occurred to me. The temple as described in TFT was built of materials which made it pretty well impregnable, so how did the old hierarchy arrange for the escape tunnel that Clyntahn used? I can think of 3 possibilities:–
(1) the start of the tunnel (or at least a weakness which could be exploited) was built into the original plans,
(2) the old hierarchy retained the capability of modifying the temple's structure, or
(3) the planners either overlooked the temple's underground vulnerability or assumed it didn't matter.
Or can anybody think of any further alternatives?
It was mentioned that the tunnel was lit with lighting like the kind found in the temple. It was built of brick and the ceiling was low. That too was mentioned as they wished they could have Clyntahn on a horse because he was so out of shape.
With that in mind, that tunnel could have been an access tunnel for covertly bringing in material to build the temple and was never closed off. Maybe because circumstances prevented that early in the history. We do know the Inquisition knew about it, how is another question. Maybe has to do with the secret files we heard about.
W
speculating on the motives and reasons behind a character's actions is an exercise in futility. RFC's misdirection and subtlety is evident in the fact he is a character himself. 
