pilgrimage

(noun)

A journey made to a sacred place, or a religious journey.

Related Terms

Examples of pilgrimage in the following topics:

  • Sacred Ceremonies and Pilgrimages

    • A pilgrimage is a journey or search of moral or spiritual significance.
    • For many, the pilgrimage in itself is a kind of ceremony.
    • While many religions retain pilgrimage sites specific to their spiritualities, for this chapter we will focus on the pilgrimage sites of Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, and Judaism.
    • Surviving descriptions of Christian pilgrimages to the Holy Land date from the 4th century, when pilgrimage was encouraged by church leaders.
    • The pilgrimage to Mecca (the Hajj) is one of the Five Pillars of Islam, and is the most important of all Muslim pilgrimages.

  • Pilgrimage Churches

    • The Crusades resulted in the growth and rising wealth of pilgrimage churches, many of which were built in the Romanesque style.
    • Santiago de Compostela, located near Galicia (present day Spain) became one of the most important pilgrimage destinations in Europe.
    • The result of the considerable number of new churches being built and the rising wealth of the pilgrimage churches, was the growth of Romanesque architecture.
    • James' Way is the pilgrimage route to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwestern Spain, where tradition has it that the remains of the apostle Saint James are buried.

  • The Church

    • The expansion of the Christian Church across Europe, through developments in monasticism, pilgrimages, and the Crusades, was the greatest contributing factor to the development of Romanesque art and architecture.
    • In France, the famous abbeys of Aux Dames and Les Hommes, at Caen and Mont Saint-Michel respectively, date from this period, as do the abbeys of the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela.
    • Santiago de Compostela, located near Galicia, became one of the most important pilgrimage destinations in Europe .
    • One of many such abbeys to be built along the pilgrimage Way of St James that led to Santiago de Compostela.

  • Rococo in Painting and Sculpture

    • Watteau is known for his soft application of paint, dreamy atmosphere, and depiction of classical themes that often revolve around youth and love, exemplified in the painting ‘Pilgrimage on the Isle of Scythia' .
    • Watteau's signature soft application of paint, dreamy atmosphere and depiction of classical themes that often revolve around youth and love is evident in his work 'Pilgrimage to Cythera. '

  • Painting and Sculpture

    • Antoine Watteau, Pilgrimage on the Isle of Cythera (1717, Louvre) captures the frivolity and sensuousness of Rococo painting.

  • Islam Ascendant

    • At the end of the 10th year after the migration to Medina, Muhammad performed his first truly Islamic pilgrimage, thereby teaching his followers the rules governing the various ceremonies of the annual Great Pilgrimage.
    • In 632, a few months after returning to Medina from the Farewell Pilgrimage, Muhammad fell ill and died.

  • Arabian Cities

    • Many Muslims point to the Old Testament chapter Psalm 84:3–6 and a mention of a pilgrimage at the Valley of Baca, which is interpreted as a reference to Mecca as Bakkah in Qur'an Surah 3:96.
    • The harsh conditions and terrain of the Arabian peninsula meant a near-constant state of conflict between the local tribes, but once a year they would declare a truce and converge upon Mecca in a pilgrimage.
    • Along with the port of Jidda, Medina and Mecca thrived through years of pilgrimage.

  • Buddhist Stupas

    • In addition, the stupa is considered a place of worship, and many Buddhists complete pilgrimages to significant stupas.

  • The Grand Tour and Its Portraits

    • The pilgrimage was popularized further by the advent of tour guides, such as Thomas Cook, which became synonymous with the Grand Tour.
    • It became an absolute necessity for people of means to spend time in Rome as part of their "Grand Tour," or educational pilgrimage.

  • The Crusades

    • Pilgrimages by Catholics to sacred sites were permitted, resident Christians were given certain legal rights and protections under Dhimmi status, and interfaith marriages were not uncommon.
    • Urban talked about the violence of European society and the necessity of maintaining the Peace of God; about helping the Greeks, who had asked for assistance; about the crimes being committed against Christians in the east; and about a new kind of war, an armed pilgrimage, and of rewards in heaven, where remission of sins was offered to any who might die in the undertaking.
    • Combining the idea of pilgrimage to the Holy Land with that of waging a holy war against infidels, Urban received an enthusiastic response to his speeches and soon after began collecting military forces to begin the First Crusade.