Christian Pilgrimage (Edexcel GCSE Religious Studies B)

The History & Purpose of Pilgrimage

Pilgrimage in Christianity

• A pilgrimage is a journey by a believer to a holy site for religious reasons

• Pilgrimage in itself is an act of worship and devotion

• In Christianity pilgrimage is not compulsory; however, there are special places for Christians and it can help to build individuals’ spirituality

• The importance and significance of pilgrimage depends on the individual Christians and the denomination that they follow

Reasons for Christian Pilgrimage

• There are many reasons why a pilgrimage might be important for Christians

  • The Bible tells the story of Jesus and his parents making the pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and Christians may want to follow in their footsteps

  • Some Christians believe that some pilgrimage sites will help them to heal (physically or spiritually)

  • The person may want to ask God for forgiveness

  • It could be to deepen their faith or concentrate more on their religion

  • Christians may also want to strengthen the community of Christians by meeting others with the same beliefs

  • Some Christians (Catholics) make pilgrimages to shrines where they believe the Virgin Mary has appeared. For example, Lourdes

  • Other Christians (Protestants) may visit places where they can find peace to be able to study the bible and pray. For example, Iona

Places of Pilgrimage in Christianity

Lourdes

• Lourdes is an example of a pilgrimage that Roman Catholics go to seek healing

  • Lourdes is a town in southwestern France, in the foothills of the Pyrenees mountains

  • Catholics believe that at Lourdes in 1850 ta 14 year old girl called Bernadette Soubirous had 18 visions of the Virgin Mary

  • A Bishop carried out an enquiry into the reliability of her claims and found some people healed from the water and her explanations of the visions meant it must be true

  • A spring of water appeared and miraculous healings are said to have taken place

  • About 2 million people each year visit Lourdes and many of them are sick or have disabilities

  • Even though only a small number are thought to have been physically healed, most people return from their visit to Lourdes with a deep sense of God’s love and peace

  • Not all Catholics go to Lourdes to experience healing or miraculous cures. Others go to:

    • Be cleansed from sin

    • Bathe in the water to symbolise baptism

    • Some go to pray at a holy site

    • Feel the religious atmosphere

    • Praise God

    • Have a vision or religious experience

Iona

• Iona is a tiny island off the southwest coast of Mull in the Inner Hebrides

  • In 563 AD Columba arrived in Iona with 12 followers, built his first Celtic church and established a monastic community

  • Iona has since become a place of pilgrimage and retreat for many Christians of numerous denominations

  • Iona is a symbol of Christian unity and it shows that different Christian groups can live, work and worship together

  • The community must follow the ‘rules’ of the community wherever they are

  • There is a time for silence, for reflection or meditation, for reading the Bible or holy books, and for enjoying the area’s natural beauty

  • Christians who visit Iona hope to grow spiritually and strengthen their faith

Other Places of Pilgrimage

• There are many other places identified as significant pilgrimage sites within Christianity

  • Some Christians might visit Jerusalem because there are places which relate to the life and death of Jesus

  • Roman Catholics might visit Rome because it is where the Pope (the head of the Catholic Church) lives

  • Some Christians visit Taize in central France to join the monastic order or to experience and share in the community’s way of life

  • In Walsingham Norfolk, there is a replica of the Virgin Mary in an area where a woman received a vision in 1061; today it is a popular place for Christians to visit and pray to Jesus

Divergent Christian Teachings on Pilgrimage Today

• Pilgrimage is still very important to many Christians

  • Some would argue that they are even more important in today’s hectic lifestyle

  • They can help people realise that material things won’t make them happy

  • They can break their dependence on technology and use of social media

  • They can set you free from the stresses and strains of everyday life

•  However, some believe that pilgrimage is unnecessary and even wrong

  • They believe that the internal spiritual journey is more important than any external visit to a holy place

  • Some Christians believe that emphasising special, holy places is wrong as God can be encountered anywhere

  • The Protestant reformers were against pilgrimage 

• Some Christians also believe that It breaks the commandment not to worship idols

  • They may believe that worshipping and praying to the Virgin Mary is idol worship

  • Mediaeval pilgrimage sites often had relics, like the physical remains of Jesus’ cross or shroud or the saints which were believed to be holy and were worshipped, but only God should be worshipped

  • Often the relics were false and so the pilgrims were deceived

• Rich people paid others to go on pilgrimage for them to gain spiritual benefits without the effort of doing it themselves