This week in Christian history: Third Crusade ends, first Anglican service in Canada, first US Senate chaplain dies

By Michael Gryboski, Mainline Church Editor Sunday, September 01, 2024

Third Crusade ends – Sept. 2, 1192

English King Richard I (1157-1199), commonly known as Richard the Lionheart for his extensive military career, being anointed during his coronation at Westminster Abbey. | Wikimedia Commons

This week marks the anniversary of when the Third Crusade ended via the signing of the Treaty of Jaffa between King Richard the Lionheart and Islamic ruler Saladin (also known as Salah ad-Din).

The Treaty of Jaffa was named after a town located 40 miles from Jerusalem, where, earlier in the year, King Richard’s Christian army had successfully fended off Saladin’s Islamic forces.

“Ultimately, both sides became weary of fighting, and a truce was finally agreed upon,” wrote Aaron Reich of the The Jerusalem Post in 2021. “It was agreed that Christians and Muslims alike would both be allowed to safely travel in the Holy Land. Jerusalem would remain under Muslim control.”

“Christian pilgrims would be allowed to enter, and the coastline from the city of Tyre to Jaffa would remain in Christian hands. Leaving Jerusalem under Islamic control also allowed the city's Jews to continue living there — as, unlike the crusaders, Saladin extended tolerance to Jews.”