pilgrim

1. A religious devotee who journeys to a shrine or sacred place.
2. One who embarks on a quest for something conceived of as sacred.
3. A traveler.
4. Pilgrim One of the English Separatists who founded the colony of Plymouth in New England in 1620.

[Middle English, from Old French peligrin, from Late Latin pelegrīnus, alteration of Latin peregrīnus, foreigner. See peregrine.]

The religious dissenters who left England for Holland in 1608 and then left Holland for Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1620, where they founded the first successful English colony in New England, considered themselves pilgrims. This was not at all a new word. What was new was that later in the century these and other early English settlers would come to be known not just as pilgrims but as the Pilgrims, with a capital P.

The inspiration for their pilgrimage came from the New Testament, specifically Paul's letter to the Hebrews, where he writes of the faithful of earlier times: "These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.... And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly..." (Heb. 11:13-16).

That was the frame of mind of the English religious separatists who departed for New England in the summer of 1620, according to the history written a decade later by their governor, William Bradford: "So they lefte that goodly and pleasante citie [Leyden], which had been ther resting place near 12. years; but they knew they were pilgrimes, and looked not much on those things, but lift up their eyes to the heavens, their dearest cuntrie, and quieted their spirits."

In later times, as the pilgrim spirit of these and other early settlers of New England continued to be emphasized, they began to be spoken of as the Pilgrims. Early evidence for this comes in 1660 with mention of the Pilgrims Harbour in New Haven Colony. In another century or two, schoolchildren were learning about the landing of the original Pilgrims on Plymouth Rock on December 11, 1620.

n.

A traveler that is taken seriously. A Pilgrim Father was one who, leaving Europe in 1620 because not permitted to sing psalms through his nose, followed it to Massachusetts, where he could personate God according to the dictates of his conscience.

Pilgrim by Gheorghe Tattarescu.

This article is about people as pilgrims. For other uses, see Pilgrim (disambiguation).

A pilgrim is one who undertakes a pilgrimage, literally 'far afield'. This is traditionally a visit to a place of some religious or historic significance; often a considerable distance is traveled. Examples include a Christian or Jew visiting Jerusalem or a Muslim visiting Mecca. No religion has laid greater stress on the duty of a pilgrim than Islam in the Hajj. In the United States the word "Pilgrims" usually refers to the European settlers of New England, who celebrated the "First Thanksgiving" with the Native Americans in 1621.

Contents 1 Religious pilgrims 2 Cultural pilgrims 3 Notable pilgrims 4 References 5 Literature 6 External links

Religious pilgrims

Main article: Pilgrimage

An Indian pilgrim in Gangasagar in West Bengal, India

Pilgrims are common in many religions, including the faiths in ancient Egypt, Persia in the Mithraic period, India, China, and Japan. The Greek and Roman custom of consulting the gods at local oracles, such as those at Dodona or Delphi, both in Greece, is widely known. In Greece, pilgrimages could either be personal, or state-sponsored.^[1]

In the early period of Hebrew history, pilgrims traveled to Shiloh, Dan, Bethel, and eventually Jerusalem, leading the way for the other Abrahamic religions to include the practice. The great Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca (now in Saudi Arabia), is obligatory for every able Muslim, and other Islamic devotional pilgrimages, particularly to the tombs of saints, are numerous. The early Christians made pilgrimages to the scenes of the Passion of Christ in Jerusalem. Even after Jerusalem had been occupied by the Saracens, the liberty of pilgrimage, on payment of a tax, was secured by treaty; the necessity of protecting pilgrims, however, gave rise to the medieval military orders, such as the Knights Templar.

While religious pilgrims usually travel toward a singular destination, a physical location is not a necessity. One group of pilgrims in early Celtic Christianity were the Peregrinari Pro Christ, (Pilgrims for Christ), or "white martyrs," where pilgrims left with the intent to wander.^[2] This sort of pilgrimage was an ascetic religious practice, leaving home and the clan for an unknown destination, in complete trust of Divine Providence. These travels often resulted in the founding of new abbeys and spreading Christianity among the pagan population in Britain as well as on continental Europe.

Cultural pilgrims

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi visited Graceland, like many fans of Elvis Presley

A cultural pilgrimage, while also about personal journey, involves a secular response. Destinations for such pilgrims can include historic sites of national or cultural importance, and can be defined as places "of cultural significance: an artist's home, the location of a pivotal event or an iconic destination."^[3] An example might be a baseball fan visiting Cooperstown, New York. Other typical global destinations for cultural pilgrims include Auschwitz concentration camp, Gettysburg Battlefield, the Ernest Hemingway House or even Disneyland.^[3] Cultural pilgrims can also travel on religious pilgrimage routes, such as the Way of St. James, as a historic or architectural tour rather than a religious experience.^[4]

Secular pilgrims are also found under communist regimes. These devotional but strictly secular pilgrims visited locations such as the Mausoleum of Lenin or Mausoleum of Mao Zedong, or the Birthplace of Karl Marx. Such visits were sometimes state-sponsored.

Notable pilgrims

Pope John Paul II was known as the "pilgrim pope" for his travels.

Many national and international leaders have gone on pilgrimages for both personal and political reasons.

• Mahmoud Ahmadinejad^[5]
• Bridget of Sweden
• Columba
• Egeria
• Mahatma Gandhi^[6]
• Ruslan Gelayev
• Godric of Finchale
• Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama and Rangjung Rigpe Dorje
• Ignatius of Loyola
• Judah HaLevi
• Pope John Paul II
• Mustapha Kartali
• Margery Kempe
• Junichiro Koizumi
• Mansa Musa

This is an incomplete list, which may never be able to satisfy certain standards for completion. You can help by expanding it with sourced additions.

References

1. ^ Hanges, James Constantine (July 2000). "Pilgrims and Pilgrimage in Ancient Greece by Matthew Dillon". The Journal of Religion 80 (3): 543–545. doi:10.1086/490704. http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0022-4189%28200007%2980%3A3%3C543%3APAPIAG%3E2.0.CO%3B2-9. Retrieved on 2008-03-11. 
2. ^ "The Celtic Saints". Heart O' Glory. 2007. http://www.heartoglory.com/celtic/celtic-saints.php. Retrieved on 2007-10-23. 
3. ^ ^{a b} Welsch, Chris (January 3, 2007). "Travelers define a soulful journey in many different ways". Star Tribune. http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/travel/11279306.html. Retrieved on 2008-03-11. 
4. ^ "Cultural Pilgrimage to Compostela". Circa Tours. February 17, 2008. http://www.circaterras.com/Tours-Heritage-Culture-Spain/Santiago-Compostela.htm. Retrieved on 2008-03-11. 
5. ^ "Ahmadinejad invited to be pilgrim". BBC News. December 13, 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7141994.stm. Retrieved on 2007-12-19. 
6. ^ Kumar, Nirmal (May 1954). "My Days with Gandhi". The American Journal of Sociology 59 (6): 597–598. doi:10.1086/221466. http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0002-9602%28195405%2959%3A6%3C597%3AMDWG%3E2.0.CO%3B2-E. Retrieved on 2007-10-23. 

Literature

• Documentation, of a modern pilgrimage to Rome. Kerschbaum & Gattinger, Via Francigena. DVD. Vienna: Verlag EUROVIA, 2005. ISBN 3200005009

External links

Traditional folk song about a pilgrim

Look up pilgrim in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Pilgrims

• Pilgrims and Pilgrimage - An Online Teaching and Learning Resource
• The Pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela Wiki
• All about Pilgrimage and Ways in Europe from the EUROVIA Association
• Way of A Pilgrim Modern Christian pilgrim loosely based on the Russian Orthodox classic The Way of A Pilgrim
• How to be a pilgrim Theory & Practice
• Pilgrimages to Jerusalem Descriptions of pilgrimages to Jerusalem from the 3rd-20th centuries
• Medieval Pilgrims' Clothing Illustrations of 13th-16th century pilgrims, and links to photos of 16th century clothing made for pilgrimage
• Account of pilgrimage to Nidaros (Trondheim) in Norway on Olav's Way. With useful page about kit.
• Pilgrim Society from Canada

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
n. - pilgrim
v. intr. - valfarte

Nederlands (Dutch)
pelgrim, reiziger, een bedevaart doen, zwerven

Français (French)
n. - pèlerin
v. intr. - faire un pèlerinage

Deutsch (German)
n. - Pilger, Wallfahrer
v. - pilgern

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - προσκυνητής
v. - οδοιπορώ

Italiano (Italian)
pellegrino, andare in pellegrinaggio

Português (Portuguese)
n. - peregrino (m), romeiro (m)
v. - peregrinar, viajar, sofrer

Русский (Russian)
пилигрим, паломник, паломничать

Español (Spanish)
n. - peregrino
v. intr. - peregrinar

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - pilgrim
v. - vallfärda

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
旅行者, 香客, 朝圣者, 朝圣

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 旅行者, 香客, 朝聖者
v. intr. - 朝聖

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 순례자, 방랑자
v. intr. - 순례하다, 유랑하다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 巡礼者, 放浪者
v. - 巡礼する, 流浪する

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) حاج (فعل) يحج, يرتحل, يسافر‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮עולה-רגל, צליין, נוסע, נוסע ב"מסע החיים"‬
v. intr. - ‮נדד‬

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