pilgrim

(pĭl'grəm)

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.]

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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.

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• Individuals and Titles - pilgrim: person traveling to sacred place as affirmation of devotion, usu. Christian to Holy Land or Muslim to Mecca

Pilgrim by Gheorghe Tattarescu.

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

For the English settlers of New England, see Pilgrim (Plymouth Colony).

...

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. Typically, this is a physical journeying (often on foot) to some place of special significance to the adherent of a particular religious belief system. 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.

Contents 1 History 2 Modern era 3 Notable pilgrims 4 See Also 5 References 6 Literature 7 External links

History

An Indian pilgrim in Gangasagar in West Bengal, India

Pilgrims and the making of pilgrimages are common in many religions, including the faiths in ancient Egypt, Persia in the Mithraic period, India, China, and Japan. 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. In Greece, pilgrimages could either be personal or state-sponsored.^[1]

Pilgrims at the Jordan, near Jericho, 1891

Russian Pilgrims on board S.S. Kormiloff returning from Greek Easter at Jerusalem, 1891

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. While many religious pilgrims travel toward a specific 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". They left their homes to wander in the world.^[2] This sort of pilgrimage was an ascetic religious practice, as the pilgrim left the security of 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 in continental Europe.

Modern era

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

Orthodox pilgrim in Kiev Pechersk Lavra, Ukraine.

Many religions still espouse pilgrimage as a spiritual activity. The great Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca (now in Saudi Arabia), is obligatory for every able Muslim. Other Islamic devotional pilgrimages, particularly to the tombs of Shia Imams or Sufi saints, are also popular across the Islamic world.

Beginning 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.^[3][4] International Bible Students Association (IBSA) pilgrims were excellent speakers, and their local talks were typically well-publicized and well-attended.^[5] Prominent Bible Students A. H. Macmillan and J. F. 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.^[6][7]

A modern phenomenon is the cultural pilgrimage, which 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."^[8] An example might be a baseball fan visiting Cooperstown, New York. Destinations for cultural pilgrims include examples such as Auschwitz concentration camp, Gettysburg Battlefield, the Ernest Hemingway House or even Disneyland.^[8] Cultural pilgrims may also travel on religious pilgrimage routes, such as the Way of St. James, with the perspective of making it a historic or architectural tour rather than a religious experience.^[9]

Secular pilgrims also exist 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.

• Bridget of Sweden
• Columba
• Egeria
• Godric of Finchale
• Ignatius of Loyola
• James, son of Zebedee
• Judah HaLevi
• Junichiro Koizumi
• Mahatma Gandhi^[10]
• Malcolm X
• Margery Kempe
• Mansa Musa
• Mustapha Kartali
• Pope John Paul II
• Ruslan Gelayev
• Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama and Rangjung Rigpe Dorje
• Piligrim
• Thomas the Apostle

This is an incomplete list, which may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries.

See Also

The Pilgrim's Progress

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. JSTOR 1206041. 
2. ^ "The Celtic Saints". Heart O' Glory. 2007. http://www.heartoglory.com/celtic/celtic-saints.php. Retrieved 2007-10-23. 
3. ^ "Noteworthy Events in the Modern-day History of Jehovah’s Witnesses", Jehovah's Witnesses - Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, page 719, "1894 Traveling overseers that in time came to be known as pilgrims (today, circuit and district overseers) are sent out in connection with the Society’s program for visiting congregations"
4. ^ "Sweden", 1991 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, page 126
5. ^ "Switzerland and Liechtenstein", 1987 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, page 123, "“Pilgrims” were traveling representatives of the [Watch Tower] Society, as circuit overseers are today. Their efforts contributed to the unity of the brothers and brought them into closer contact with God’s organization. The Society would announce in Zion’s Watch Tower the proposed itinerary of the pilgrim brothers, and congregations and smaller groups along these routes would then write and express their desire to be visited. The pilgrims were excellent speakers, and their public lectures were usually well attended. In 1913, for example, their audiences in Switzerland totaled some 8,000 persons.
6. ^ "Development of the Organization Structure", Jehovah's Witnesses - Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, page 222, "[Beginning] in 1894, arrangements were made for the [Watch Tower] Society to have well-qualified speakers travel more regularly to help the Bible Students to grow in knowledge and appreciation for the truth and to draw them closer together. ...An effort was made to have each group in the United States and Canada visited twice a year, though not usually by the same brother. In selecting these traveling speakers, emphasis was placed on meekness, humility, and clear understanding of the truth as well as loyal adherence to it and ability to teach it with clarity. Theirs was by no means a paid ministry. They were simply provided with food and lodging by the local brothers, and to the extent necessary, the Society helped them with travel expenses. They came to be known as pilgrims. Many of these traveling representatives of the Society were dearly loved by those whom they served. A. H. Macmillan, a Canadian, is remembered as a brother to whom God’s Word proved to be “like a burning fire.”
7. ^ "Part 1—United States of America", CMP'1975 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, page 83
8. ^ ^{a b} Welsch, Chris (January 3, 2007). "Travelers define such a pilgrimage in many different ways". Star Tribune. http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/travel/11279306.html. Retrieved 2008-03-11. 
9. ^ "Cultural Pilgrimage to Compostela". Circa Tours. February 17, 2008. http://www.circaterras.com/Tours-Heritage-Culture-Spain/Santiago-Compostela.htm. Retrieved 2008-03-11. 
10. ^ Kumar, Nirmal (May 1954). "My Days with Gandhi". The American Journal of Sociology 59 (6): 597–598. doi:10.1086/221466. JSTOR 2772622. 

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

• The Pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela Wiki
• 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

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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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