Pilgrimage

A pilgrimage is a journey by a religious person to a place that is sacred according to his or her religion.

Table of contents

1 Pilgrimage in Hinduism 2 Pilgrimage in Buddhism 3 Pilgrimage in Judaism 4 Pilgrimage in Christianity 5 Pilgrimage in Islam 6 Pilgrimage in the Bahá'í Faith 7 Pilgrimage in the Ancient World 8 Pilgrimage in Mesoamerica

Pilgrimage in Hinduism

There are several holy places with great significance to Hindus. Some of these (in India) include:

Badrinath

Kedarnath

Gangotri

Yamunotri

Rishikesh

Haridwar

Benares

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 Buddhism

Gautama Buddha spoke of four holy sites that followers may seek.

Lumbini birth place

Sarnath (formally Isipathana) where he delivered his first teaching

Bodh Gaya place of Enlightenment

Kusinara (now Kusinagar, India) where he passed away

Pilgrimage in Judaism

Until its destruction in 70 AD, the Temple in Jerusalem was the centre of the Jewish religion, and all who were able were under obligation to visit and make sacrifice, particularly at key festivals.

Following the diaspora, the centrality of pilgrimage in Judaism ended.

Pilgrimage in Christianity

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 apparitionss 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.

Pilgrimage in the Bahá'í Faith

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.

Karnak, Egypt.

Thebes, Egypt. Oracle.

Delphi, Greece. Oracle.

Ephesus Temple of Diana.

Baalbek Syria.

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.

See also: Pilgrim