Pilgrim
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2008-07-12T21:43:36Z
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[[Image:Gheorghe Tattarescu - Pelerin.jpg|thumb|upright|''Pilgrim'' by [[Gheorghe Tattarescu]].]]
{{This|religious pilgrims|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 [[Christianity|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 the United States|Native Americans]] in 1621.
==Religious pilgrims==
{{main|Pilgrimage}}
[[Image:Burgos pilgrim.jpg|thumb|right|Monument to pilgrims in [[Burgos]], Spain]]
Pilgrims are common in many [[religion]]s, including the faiths in [[ancient Egypt]], [[Persia]] in the [[Mithraism|Mithraic period]], [[India]], [[China]], and [[Japan]]. The [[ancient Greece|Greek]] and [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] custom of consulting the [[god]]s at local [[oracle]]s, such as those at [[Dodona]] or [[Delphi]], both in Greece, is widely known. In Greece, pilgrimages could either be personal, or state-sponsored.<ref>{{cite journal |title= Pilgrims and Pilgrimage in Ancient Greece by Matthew Dillon |first= James Constantine |last= Hanges |journal= The Journal of Religion |volume= 80 |issue= 3 |month= July |year= 2000 |pages= 543–545 |accessdate= 2008-03-11 |url= http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0022-4189%28200007%2980%3A3%3C543%3APAPIAG%3E2.0.CO%3B2-9 |doi= 10.1086/490704}}</ref>
In the early period of [[History of ancient Israel and Judah|Hebrew history]], pilgrims traveled to [[Shiloh]], [[Dan]], [[Bethel]], and eventually [[Jerusalem]], leading the way for the other [[Abrahamic religion]]s to include the practice. The great [[Islam]]ic pilgrimage to [[Mecca]] (now in [[Saudi Arabia]]), is obligatory for every able Muslim, and other Islamic devotional pilgrimages, particularly to the [[tomb]]s of [[saint]]s, are numerous. The [[Early Christianity|early Christians]] made pilgrimages to the scenes of the [[Passion (Christianity)|Passion of Christ]] in [[Jerusalem]]. Even after Jerusalem had been occupied by the [[Saracen]]s, 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.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.heartoglory.com/celtic/celtic-saints.php |title= The Celtic Saints |work= [http://www.heartoglory.com Heart O' Glory] |date= 2007 |accessdate= 2007-10-23}}</ref> This sort of pilgrimage was an [[asceticism|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 [[abbey]]s and spreading Christianity among the pagan population in [[Sub-Roman Britain|Britain]] as well as on [[continental Europe]].
==Cultural pilgrims==
[[Image:Koizumi in Graceland 2006.jpg|thumb|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."<ref name=star>{{cite news |url= http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/travel/11279306.html |first= Chris |last= Welsch |work= [[Star Tribune]] |title= Travelers define a soulful journey in many different ways |date= [[January 3]], [[2007]] |accessdate= 2008-03-11}}</ref> 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]].<ref name=star/> 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.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.circaterras.com/Tours-Heritage-Culture-Spain/Santiago-Compostela.htm |title= Cultural Pilgrimage to Compostela |work= [http://www.circaterras.com/ Circa Tours] |date= [[February 17]], [[2008]] |accessdate= 2008-03-11}}</ref>
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 [[Karl Marx House|Birthplace of Karl Marx]]. Such visits were sometimes state-sponsored.
==Notable pilgrims==
[[Image:Popeinsyria2001-279.jpg|thumb|upright|[[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]]<ref>{{cite news |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7141994.stm |title= Ahmadinejad invited to be pilgrim |work= [[BBC News]] |date= [[December 13]], [[2007]] |accessdate= 2007-12-19}}</ref>
*[[Bridget of Sweden]]
*[[Egeria (pilgrim)|Egeria]]
*[[Godric of Finchale]]
*[[Columba]]
*[[Mahatma Gandhi]]<ref>{{cite journal |url= http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0002-9602%28195405%2959%3A6%3C597%3AMDWG%3E2.0.CO%3B2-E |title= My Days with Gandhi |first= Nirmal |last= Kumar |journal= The American Journal of Sociology |volume= 59 |number= 6 |month= May |year= 1954 |pages= 597–598 |accessdate= 2007-10-23 |doi= 10.1086/221466}}</ref>
*[[Ruslan Gelayev]]
*[[Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama]] and [[Rangjung Rigpe Dorje]]
*[[Ignatius of Loyola]]
*[[Pope John Paul II]]
*[[Mustapha Kartali]]
*[[Margery Kempe]]
*[[Junichiro Koizumi]]
{{Dynamic list}}
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==Literature==
*[http://www.eurovia.tv/home/component/page,shop.product_details/flypage,shop.flypage/product_id,21/category_id,8/manufacturer_id,0/option,com_virtuemart/Itemid,170/lang,en/ Documentation, of a modern pilgrimage to Rome]. Kerschbaum & Gattinger, Via Francigena. DVD. Vienna: Verlag EUROVIA, 2005. ISBN 3200005009
==External links==
[[Image:Pilgrim.ogg|right|thumb|Traditional folk song about a pilgrim]]
{{Wiktionary}}
{{commonscat|Pilgrims}}
*[http://www.york.ac.uk/projects/pilgrimage Pilgrims and Pilgrimage - An Online Teaching and Learning Resource]
*[http://www.pilgrim-wiki.com The Pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela Wiki]
*[http://www.eurovia.tv/home/component/option,com_frontpage/Itemid,44/lang,en All about Pilgrimage and Ways in Europe from the EUROVIA Association]
*[http://www.wayofapilgrim.com Way of A Pilgrim] Modern Christian pilgrim loosely based on the Russian Orthodox classic The Way of A Pilgrim
*[http://www.vwsp.eu How to be a pilgrim] Theory & Practice
*[http://chass.colostate-pueblo.edu/history/seminar/seminar97.html Pilgrimages to Jerusalem] Descriptions of pilgrimages to Jerusalem from the 3rd-20th centuries
*[http://www.larsdatter.com/pilgrims.htm Medieval Pilgrims' Clothing] Illustrations of 13th-16th century pilgrims, and links to photos of 16th century clothing made for pilgrimage
*[http://www.ancientmusic.co.uk/hobby/Norway Account of pilgrimage to Nidaros (Trondheim) in Norway on Olav's Way. With useful page about kit.]
*[http://www.pilgrimsociety.com Pilgrim Society from Canada]
[[Category:Pilgrimages]]
[[Category:People associated with religion or philosophy]]
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[[gl:Peregrino de Santiago de Compostela]]
[[he:עלייה לרגל]]
[[id:Peziarah]]
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[[ja:巡礼]]
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