![]() Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, like many fans of Elvis Presley, visited Graceland.Ī modern phenomenon is the cultural pilgrimage which, while involving a personal journey, is secular in nature. Rutherford were both appointed pilgrims before they joined the board of directors of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania the IBSA later adopted the name Jehovah's Witnesses and renamed pilgrims as traveling overseers. ![]() International Bible Students Association (IBSA) pilgrims were excellent speakers, and their local talks were typically well-publicized and well-attended. Zoroastrians have as their main pilgrimage destinations the city of Yazd and the temples of Pir-e Sabz and Pir-e Naraki in Iran, as well as the cities of Navsari and Udvada in India.īeginning in 1894, Christian ministers under the direction of Charles Taze Russell were appointed to travel to and work with local Bible Students congregations for a few days at a time within a few years appointments were extended internationally, formally designated as "pilgrims", and scheduled for twice-yearly, week-long visits at each local congregation. Hindu pilgrimage destinations may be holy cities ( Varanasi, Badrinath) rivers (the Ganges, the Yamuna) mountains (several Himalayan peaks are sacred to both Hindus and Buddhists) caves (such as the Batu Caves near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) temples festivals, such as the peripatetic Kumbh Mela, in 2001 the biggest public gathering in history or the tombs and dwelling places of saints ( Alandi, Shirdi). Others include the many temples and monasteries with relics of the Buddha or Buddhist saints such as the Temple of the Tooth in Sri Lanka and the numerous sites associated with teachers and patriarchs of the various traditions. Places of pilgrimage in the Buddhist world include those associated with the life of the historical Buddha: his supposed birthplace and childhood home ( Lumbini and Kapilavastu in Nepal) and place of enlightenment ( Bodh Gaya in northern India), other places he is believed to have visited and the place of his death (or Parinirvana), Kushinagar, India. Modern Orthodox pilgrim in Kiev Pechersk Lavra, Ukraine Paul before his arrival to the city, sites in the ' Holy Land' connected with the life of Christ (such as Bethlehem, Jerusalem and the Sea of Galilee) or places associated with saints, visions and miracles such as Lourdes, Santiago of Compostela, Canterbury and Fatima. As in the Middle Ages, modern Christian pilgrims may choose to visit Rome, where according to the New Testament Christians received a letter from St. Other Islamic devotional pilgrimages, particularly to the tombs of Shia Imams or Sufi saints, are also popular across the Islamic world. Hajj, the great Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca (now in Saudi Arabia), is an obligatory duty at least once for every Muslim who is able to make the journey. Many religions still espouse pilgrimage as a spiritual activity. These travels often resulted in the founding of new abbeys and the spread of Christianity among the pagan population in Britain and in continental Europe. This sort of pilgrimage was an ascetic religious practice, as the pilgrim left the security of home and the clan for an unknown destination, trusting completely in Divine Providence. One group of pilgrims in early Celtic Christianity were the Peregrinari Pro Christ, (Pilgrims for Christ), or "white martyrs", who left their homes to wander in the world. While many pilgrims travel toward a specific location, a physical destination is not always a necessity. ![]() In the early period of Hebrew history, pilgrims traveled to Shiloh, Dan, Bethel, and eventually Jerusalem (see also Three Pilgrimage Festivals, a practice followed by other Abrahamic religions). In Greece, pilgrimages could either be personal or state-sponsored. The Greek and Roman customs of consulting the gods at local oracles, such as those at Dodona or Delphi, both in Greece, are widely known. Pilgrims and the making of pilgrimages are common in many religions, including the faiths of ancient Egypt, Persia in the Mithraic period, India, China, and Japan. In the spiritual literature of Christianity, the concept of pilgrim and pilgrimage may refer to the experience of life in the world (considered as a period of exile) or to the inner path of the spiritual aspirant from a state of wretchedness to a state of beatitude. Typically, this is a physical journey (often on foot) to some place of special significance to the adherent of a particular religious belief system. A pilgrim (from the Latin peregrinus) is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) who is on a journey to a holy place.
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