Contemporary Trends in the Theological Understanding of Christian Pilgrimage (original) (raw)
Related papers
“Seeking the Sacred through Pilgrimage”: A Theological Perspective
Journal of Orthodox Christian Studies, Johns Hopkins University Press, 2021
This paper aims to offer a theological taxonomy vis-à-vis the practice of pilgrimage. The taxonomy is constructed around three theological imperatives: that of Revelation, of the Incarnation, and the Sacramental. Acknowledging the polymorphic nature of pilgrimages, as religious, social, and ethno-cultural events which invite multi-layered investigation, this paper proposes an interdisciplinary bridging exercise by translating these theological imperatives into language that can be related to the sociological, anthropological, or ethnographic approach to pilgrimage, in order to highlight some interdisciplinary points of correspondence. The paper also touches on issues of secularization, the negotiation of public space by the religious event, and queries the role of the Church—particularly in the Eastern Orthodox context—in translating or inhibiting the translation of said theological imperatives in the wider social milieu.
Pilgrimage is often seen as a physical journey to a sacred destination fixed by custom, destination-centred and broadly penitential in tone. The work of anthropologists in the last century broadened definitions to consider pilgrimage, across a range of faiths, in terms of a journey of transition and formation of identity. More recent historical scholarship has critiqued the longer development of our idea of pilgrimage, as well as its theological structures and markers. This diachronic approach to pilgrimage has also considered its origins with respect to early Christian conceptions of the life of the Christian in society and found resonances for patterns of lay pilgrimage in early monastic ideas. Such historical-theological dimension of research into pilgrimage provides a useful platform from which we can interrogate the idea of 'faith tourism' or 'pilgrimage tourism'. Many people of faith visit particular churches and holy sites to invoke their historic dimensions as well as to see what is presently on such sites. Visitors seek to re-enact historical narratives in the performance of certain pilgrimages and liturgies associated with them. Historical studies of theology thus may identify narratives that drive choices of action in pilgrimage. An historical reflection on pilgrimage may also be productive in widening definitions of pilgrimage for future development and may offer ideas for development of resources for the traveller.
New Pathways in Pilgrimage Studies
Despite the different types of pilgrimage (internal, moral, and place pilgrimage), they all involve movement and an engagement with the sacred. Anthropological research has focused mainly on place pilgrimage and this entry begins by outlining the social and economic processes which have encouraged the growth of this form of pilgrimage since the 1960s. It then proceeds to discuss both religious and nonreligious place pilgrimage around the world and illustrates these pilgrimages through particular examples. Key changes in the anthropological study of pilgrimage since the 1970s are considered next and the entry concludes by outlining two promising avenues which researchers are exploring: (1) alternatives to the dominant constructivist approach; and (2) attempts to break down the boundaries between Anglophone and non‐Anglophone pilgrimage research.
RESEARCHING PILGRIMAGE: Continuity and Transformations
Pilgrimage is one of the oldest and most basic forms of population mobility known to human society, and its political, social, cultural and economic implications have always been, and continue to be, substantial. This study aims to examine key issues, arguments and conceptualizations in the scholarship on pilgrimage in order to better understand how it has changed over the years. The findings indicate a shift to a postmodern approach within the study of pilgrimage, particularly with regard to the increasingly obfuscated boundary between tourism and pilgrimage reflected in the terms secular pilgrimage and religious pilgrimage. Dedifferentiation has penetrated the scholarship in terms of its features and its multidisciplinary treatment by researchers.
Section Monographies: Pilgrimage (indirect)
this section, I only will discuss the book Pilgerfahrt im spätantiken Nahen Osten (3./4.-8. Jahrhundert). Paganes, christliches, jüdisches und islamisches Pilgerwesen. Fragen der Kontinuitäten by Vlastimil Drbal. The aim of his monograph is to take a cross-religious approach to late antique pilgrimage in the Middle East and Egypt. In particular, attention should be drawn to the many things that non-Christian, Jewish, Christian and Islamic pilgrimages have in common, without, of course, ignoring the sometimes-significant differences. In this regard, this monograph is opposed to those standpoints that primarily regard Christian and Islamic pilgrimage as closed phenomena and either do not or only insufficiently consider the preliminary stages and similarities with the pilgrimage of other religions. A fairly large number of publications deal with the early Christian pilgrimage, without mentioning a single word about connections with pilgrimages in other religions. In some of these publications on Christian pilgrimage, the connections to pilgrimage in other cultures are simply passed over in silence, in others it is expressly regarded as a purely Christian phenomenon, a phenomenon that appeared from the beginning with the dawn of the new Christian religion. Despite significant differences, the author is convinced of the existence of no-Christian pilgrimage, which in many formal and social aspects was the historical ancestor of later pilgrimages. Even in non-Christian Antiquity, we encounter ritualised journeys to holy centres, which are often far from the pilgrim's place of residence. Even in the non-Christian world, healing places played a special role, and pilgrims hoped to visit them for recovery. Places were frequently visited where, according to the conviction of many people, miracles took place and where they believed they could come into contact with divine forces. Just as Mekka was considered the navel of the world in Judaism, Jerusalem and Islam, so Delphi assumed this role in the Greek world. One of the most significant objections to the existence of non-Christian pilgrimage among researchers who are wholly dependent on an understanding of Christian pilgrimage is that a pilgrimage should be associated only with the beliefs a pilgrim held prior to the journey, a journey undertaken by a pious pilgrim should have had primarily religious aims. However, as Jaś Elsner and Ian Rutherford rightly object, such limitations would exclude not only non-Christian antiquity from relation to pilgrimage, but most non-Christian and non-Islamic pilgrims as well. The most difficult point-if we want to compare pilgrimage in the religions mentioned-is the terminology of pilgrimage, which is dealt with in the introductory chapter. At this point it should be noted that the terms in the (late) ancient religious cultures that we relate to pilgrimage are often much broader semantically. It must be decided on a case-by-case basis whether the phenomenon in question can be reconciled with today's understanding of pilgrimage. In modern research (Rutherford, Elsner) there is a tendency to understand pilgrimage more openly and to include new phenomena in it. On the one hand, this tendency makes it possible to write the present monograph at all, on the other hand, it is probably appropriate to draw certain limits. 1 With regard to pilgrimage, Drbal uses the following concept: first, the existence of a sacred place or place is considered sacred; secondly, to this holy place a way is made, which implies a distance, and thirdly, both before and during the journey, after arriving at the holy place and during the return journey, (individual or collective) religious acts, for example songs, prayers and so on are accomplished. Drbal applies further concepts from Ritual Studies, namely liminality, as coined by Victor Turner. It describes the threshold state in which a pilgrim (in our context) finds himself after having ritually detached himself from the prevailing social order. This is followed by René Gothóni, who speaks of the aspect of transformation: for him, a pilgrimage is a "transformation journey". During a pilgrimage, the pilgrim experiences a
Pilgrimage: A Study of the Biblical Experience
Jeevadhara, 1982
Scholars who have observed the practice of pilgrimage in several religions and cultures have discerned basic elements common to the experience. These are interpreted differently in both details and the theological vision achieved, but much can be learned from a reflection on the structure of life imposed upon the pilgrims and those whom they encounter.
feature Notes on Pilgrimage and Pilgrimage Studies
Practical Matters, 2016
This article discusses some recent theoretical and methodological trends in studies of pilgrimage, a field that has grown significantly as of late. It begins by exploring how scholars might study failure during pilgrimage, and the difficulties therein. It moves on to discuss the fruitful, but also fitful, coexistence of scholars and practitioners who contribute to studies of pilgrimage. It ends by tracing some avenues for further research that would move beyond the confines of a subfield, creating the potential for work on pilgrimage to shape important conversations in multiple disciplines and areas of expertise.
Pilgrimage in the Modern World: Collected Stories
2018
CATHERINE PAGE LAGARDE: Pilgrimage in the Modern World: Collected Stories (Under the direction of Dr. Matthew Bondurant) This thesis seeks to creatively explore various aspects of the modern pilgrimage in a collection of two nonfictional personal essays and one fictional short story, all of which are thematically linked. It is a study of faith, doubt, journey, and their intersection and manifestation in the modern world. It is inspired both by personal experiences as well as the works of various authors, most notably Carlos Eire, Walter Macken, Dodie Smith, Sharon Creech, Sigrid Undset, St. Thomas More, and St. Thomas Aquinas. This work seeks to give modern context and understanding to traditional understandings of “pilgrimage,” as described in The Catechism of the Catholic Church. Far from changing or turning away from this traditional understanding of the word, this work serves instead to uphold it within a modern context.