Where did the pilgrims go? There was no shortage of places for Christian
pilgrims but Jerusalem had pride of place as it contained the sites associated
with the suffering, death and glorification of Christ. But the tomb of Christ was for a long time
inaccessible. The Emperor Hadrian,
according to St. Jerome who spent many years in the Holy Land, had deliberately
built a temple to Venus on the site. St
Leo the Great, Pope from 440-461 AD, speaks of the value of living in Jerusalem
or visiting it: ‘A person there is taught to understand the power of the
Gospel, not only by the written words but by the witness of the places
themselves. What elsewhere may not be
disbelieved, cannot there remain unseen.
Why are things read or heard doubtful where all the mysteries of man’s
salvation obtrude themselves upon the sight and touch.’ St Jerome says it simply: ’One understands
holy scripture better when one has seen with one’s own eyes Judaea and
contemplated the ruins of the ancient cities.’
Origen, who died 254 AD, speaks of the ardent desire of Christians to go
‘in search of the traces of Jesus and his disciples and prophets. In Shakespeare’s Henry IV the King speaks of
‘those holy fields over whose acres walked those blessed feet which fourteen
hundred years ago were nailed for our advantage on the bitter cross.’
No wonder that pilgrims felt that they could
receive the grace of God in great measure at the places where Christ had
carried out his great works of redemption.
Many early pilgrims spoke of the sense of unity they experienced as they
mingled with fellow pilgrims from so many diverse lands. It seems to have been Constantine’s original
intention to promote such unity when he launched what history termed his Holy
Land Plan around the year 330 AD. He did
much to promote Jerusalem and Bethlehem as places of devotion by the imposing
basilicas and other buildings he had constructed. The Bishop of Caesarea, Eusebius, a keen
supporter of the Emperor, says that Constantine had been inspired by Christ to
make the place of his resurrection ‘a centre of attraction and venerable to
all’. St Cyril of Jerusalem (died 386
AD) devised a series of services particularly for Holy Week closely linked to
the Holy Places in the city where he was bishop. St Jerome, however, did stress – as did other
Fathers of the Church – that Christians ‘dare not confine the omnipotence of
God to one narrow corner of the world...
From Jerusalem and from Britain the court of heaven is equally open.’ But this ‘one narrow corner of the world’
became much narrower when Palestine fell into the hands of the Muslims. Christian pilgrims were subjected to many
indignities. This eventually gave rise
to a chain of events that led to the Crusades.
Rome of course attracted many pilgrims ever since
Constantine allowed Christians freedom to worship. St Bede, who completed the Ecclesiastical
History of the English People in 731 AD, states that going to Rome is ‘reckoned
to be of great moment.’ In the fourth
century Pope Damasus had opened up the catacombs, restored the tombs of the
martyrs, placing beautifully lettered inscriptions on them and actively
encouraged pilgrims to visit. Gregory
the Great – the Pope who sent Augustine and his companions to England – lent
his considerable authority to promoting pilgrimages to Rome. The draw of the Apostles Peter and Paul was
immense but it was Peter especially who exercised the greatest pull because he
was seen as living on in the bishops of Rome.
Some pilgrims went to Rome intent on staying there so that on the day of
the Resurrection their proximity to Peter would be of benefit!
But when the Eternal City was overrun by people
from outside the boundaries of the Empire – with the Emperor long settled far
away in Constantinople – Rome was no longer a safe destination for
pilgrims. Santiago de Compostela became
hugely popular because of its reputed links to St James and great numbers from
all over Europe including Britain and Ireland travelled there. In Britain Walsingham and Canterbury became
massively popular
I
am indebted to ‘Pilgrimage Yesterday and Today’ by J.G.Davies
