A pilgrimage is a journey by a religious person to a place that is sacred according to his or her
religion.
There are several holy places with great significance to Hindus. Some of these (in India) include:
The first four sites in the list above together comprise the
Chardham, or four holy pilgrimage destinations. It is believed that travelling to these places leads
to moksha, the release from
samsara (cycle
of rebirths).
Pilgrimage in Direct Worship
Pilgrimage in the religion of
Direct Worship is mandatory and
involves visiting the pilgrimage site which houses the grave of the prophet of the religion.
Gautama Buddha spoke of four holy sites that followers may seek.
Pilgrimage in Judaism
Within Judaism, the
Temple in Jerusalem was the center of the Jewish religion, until its destruction in
70 AD, and all who were able were under obligation to visit and offer sacrifices known as the
korbanot, particularly during the
Jewish holidays.
Following the destruction of the
Second Temple and the onset of the
diaspora, the centrality of pilgrimage to
Jerusalem in Judaism was discontinued. In its place came prayers and rituals hoping for a reurn to
Zion, see
Jerusalem, Jews
and Judaism.
Pilgrimages were first made to sites connected with the life, birth and crucifixion of
Jesus. Surviving descriptions of Christian pilgrimages to the
Holy
Land date from the 4th century, when pilgrimage was encouraged by church fathers like
Saint Jerome. Pilgrimages also began to be made to Rome and other sites associated with the
Apostles,
Saints and Christian martyrs, as well as to
places where there have been alleged
apparitions of the
Virgin Mary.
Major Christian pilgrimage sites include:
-
Canterbury associated with St.
Thomas Beckett
-
Croagh Patrick, Ireland. Saint Patrick.
-
Conques, France
-
Cologne, Germany. Relics of the Three Kings.
-
Czestochowa, Poland. Virgin Mary image.
-
Fatima, Portugal. Apparition of the Virgin Mary.
-
Glastonbury, England. St Joseph of Arimathea.
-
Guadalupe, Spain.
- Shrine of
Our Lady of Guadalupe,
Mexico City. Apparition of the Virgin Mary.
-
Jerusalem Site of the teaching, trial and crucifixion of Jesus.
-
Knock, Ireland
-
Lisieux, France.
Saint Therese of Lisieux, burial place.
-
Lourdes, France. Apparition of the Virgin Mary. Place of healing.
-
Mount Athos, Greece. Orthodox monastic centre.
-
St.
Patrick's Purgatory, Donegal, Ireland
-
Nidaros, Norway
-
Turin, Italy. Holy Shroud.
-
Rome Site of the deaths of
Saint
Peter, Saint Paul and other early martyrs. Headquarters of the
Catholic Church.
-
Santiago de Compostela, Spain. Famous medieval
pilgrimage to the shrine of Saint James.
-
Vierzehnheiligen,
Germany.
-
Walsingham, England. Virgin Mary apparition site.
Pilgrimage in Islam
Pilgrimage to Mecca – the
hajj – is one of the
Five Pillars
of Islam. It should be attempted at least once in the lifetime of all able-bodied
Muslims.
Bahá'u'lláh decreed pilgrimage in His Motherbook (Kitáb-i-Aqdas) to two
places: the House of Baha'u'llah in
Baghdad,
Iraq, and the House of the Báb in
Shiraz,
Iran. In two separate Tablets, known as Suriy-i-Hajj, He prescribed specific rites for each of these pilgrimages
(lifting the injunction regarding the shaving of one's head for pilgrimage in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas). It is obligatory to make the
pilgrimage, "if one can afford it and is able to do so, and if no obstacle stands in one's way". Baha'is are free to choose
between the two Houses, as either has been deemed sufficient. And although women are not bound to perform pilgrimage, they are
certainly not prohibited to do so.
Later,
Abdul'Baha designated the Shrine of Baha'u'llah at Bahji (the
Qiblih) as a site of pilgrimage also. No rites have been prescribed for this
pilgrimage.
Pilgrimage in the Ancient World
Many ancient religions had holy sites, temples and groves, where pilgrimages were made.
Pilgrimage in Mesoamerica
The concept of pilgrimage was also found in
Pre-Columbian
Mesoamerica. Important pilgrimage sites included:
-
Teotihuacan (still visited centuries after its buildings fell to ruin),
said to be where the gods gathered to plan the creation of mankind
-
Chichen Itza, especially the sacred cenote, a natural well sacred to
the rain god Chac, into which
sacrifices
were thrown.
-
Izamal, sacred to the creator god
Itzamna
-
Cozumel, sacred to
Ix Chel, goddess
of the moon and childbirth.
