Pilgrims' Progress to the Holy Land
By GEOFFREY WIGODER
The earliest known Christian pilgrim to the Holy Land was the mid-second-century Bishop Melito of Sardis (in Turkey), who was motivated by Christian devotion and a tourist's curiosity. He recounted that, in order to establish the accuracy of the books of the Holy Testament, he traveled "to the place where these things were preached and done." Systematic pilgrimage, however, began only after the Emperor Constantine made the Roman Empire Christian in the fourth century, and his devout mother, Helena, went to the Holy Land to identify the sites connected with the birth of Jesus. Tradition holds that she found the remains of the cross and even the original nails, one of which she fashioned into a bit for her son's horse. In Jerusalem, she announced that she had identified the exact site of Jesus's crucifixion and burial, and to commemorate these events Constantine built the Church of the Holy Sepulcher at that site. He ordered that in every detail it should surpass all the fairest buildings of the world.
Now the pilgrims flocked to the Holy Land, especially to see the Holy Cross. Their enthusiasm was unbounded. One traveler recounted how in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, in the presence of a bishop, a casket containing the holy wood of the cross was brought in and the contents were placed on a table for the pilgrims to pass and kiss. On one occasion, however, a pilgrim fixed his teeth in the remains, and so stole a piece of the holy wood. Subsequently, deacons were placed around the table to prevent a recurrence, and regenerative qualities were ascribed to the relic so that any missing piece was believed to grow back into place.
The logo for the year 2000 observance is hung on the walls of Jerusalem's Old City. Tourism officials said they expect up to four million Christian pilgrims during the millennium year. |
Not everyone approved of the increasing popularity of pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Some in the Church thought that the Christian message was universal and should not be linked with specific sites which diminished its significance. One holder of this view was St. Jerome, who lived in a grotto in Bethlehem (still open to visitors), where he was engaged in translating the Bible into Greek. A man, he said, must carry his cross everywhere, "and by the cross I mean not the wood but the passion. And that cross is in Britain, in India, in the whole world." My own suspicion is that Jerome was actually disturbed by the stream of tourists who distracted him from his work. He pointed out that St. Hilarion, who had lived in the Holy Land for 50 years, boasted that he had visited the Holy Sites only once.
People also came to Jerusalem in anticipation of the Second Coming. The three original attractions were the Churches of the Holy Sepulcher, the Nativity in Bethlehem, and the Ascension on the Mount of Olives. Nazareth was a late addition to the Holy Sites route. The jet set of the time traveled the pilgrim circuit with great fanfare, taking in sites en route, such as Edessa, Antioch, and the Sinai Desert. A pilgrim coming overland from western Europe must have allowed at least a year for the journey, which averaged 20 miles a day. Much of it was dangerous, and in some stretches soldiers were provided to ensure the safety of the travelers.
The roads were lined with staging posts and hostels supervised by local monks. Dangers and temptations lurked everywhere. St. Gregory of Nyssa warned virgins and intending monks of one of the main hazards: Men and women could not be segregated on the journey. The women, he wrote, needed help getting off their mounts and at difficult points in the journey, and there were unscrupulous persons in the hostels. Forbidden emotions might surface and, as he noted, "How is it possible to pass impassively through places where passions lurk?" The alternative was to travel by boat, but such travel involved other dangers -- shipwreck and pirates. In Venice, special facilities were provided for pilgrims to make out their wills before embarking on their journey.
Before long, the Holy Land was studded with biblical relics, ranging from the home of Rahab the Harlot in Jericho to the actual stone rejected by the builders (according to Psalm 118:22). Visitors to Sinai could see where Moses broke the tablets, the place where the manna fell, and the tracks of Pharaoh's chariots. Relics became a hit and souvenirs a thriving business. Some relics ended up elsewhere: the remains of St. Stephen in Minorca, those of the prophet Samuel in Constantinople, and pieces of the true cross at many churches throughout Europe (to the later amusement of Mark Twain).
A surge of visitors arrived during the Crusader period when, after four centuries of Muslim rule, the Holy Sites were again under Christian control. Visiting the Holy Sepulcher, a Russian abbot observed that the spiritual experience could be enhanced by a generous tip: "The keeper of the keys pushed back the slab that covers the part of the Holy Tomb where Christ's head lay--and broke off a section of the sacred rock. This he gave me as a blessed memorial, begging me at the same time not to mention it to anyone in Jerusalem."
It was a common belief that Jerusalem was the physical center of the world, as the Crusader pilgrim Saewulf explained: "At the head of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, not far from the place of Calvary, is a spot where our Lord Jesus Christ with his own hands marked out the middle of the world." This spot was a magnet for the visitors.
After the Muslims retook the Holy Land, Christian pilgrimage at first fell off but then gradually picked up again, although now the visitors had to behave circumspectly. In 1483, the Father Guardian of Mount Zion issued advice to pilgrims to Jerusalem, including the following:
"Pilgrims of noble birth must not deface walls by drawing their coats of arms on them or by writing their names or making marks with holy tools to show they have visited them; pilgrims must beware of laughing together as they walk about Jerusalem to see the holy places, lest the infidels feel they are being laughed at; pilgrims must not hesitate to pay money to save themselves from the many annoyances that beset them, and when money must be handed over, it should be given straight away and without grumbling."
On one occasion, pilgrims to the Holy Sepulcher were locked in the church for 24 hours. This gave them plenty of time to spend their money at the shops inside the Church, where food and miscellaneous items could be purchased. An Italian priest-pilgrim noted at the end of the 15th century: "Everyone who goes on a voyage to the Holy Sepulcher needs three sacks--a sack of patience, a sack of money, and a sack of faith."
During the 19th century, as Western powers became involved in the region and travel to the Holy Land became speedier and safer, new types of visitors began to flock to the area. Missionaries arrived in considerable numbers, many remaining to take up residence. The affluent made the "Grand Tour," which now encompassed the entire Middle East ("the Levant"). Before the 1860s, when travel was more of an adventure, most of the non-pilgrim visitors were young men. After that time, middle-aged travelers and increasing numbers of women also came.
The 19th century also saw the arrival of geographers and archeologists seeking to identify monuments and uncover traces of the past, especially biblical sites. Many of the visitors were now Americans, and a tourist infrastructure developed to meet their needs and those of other Westerners. Safaris were organized, complete with tents, servants, guards, and guides, plus all the food needed for stylish survival in the wilderness. The visitors often published accounts of their journeys, and so books such as Three Vassar Girls in the Holy Land appeared. A number of well-known authors arrived, some of whom wrote debunking accounts. Notable was Mark Twain in his Innocents Abroad; one of his comments was, "Can it be that this is all there is of the land of which such a fuss and noise have been made? Can it be that this little seven-by-five country was all that the deity who had created the whole earth and all the suns and stars cared for and selected?" Later, H.L. Mencken wrote on his stay in Jerusalem: "And so to bed, and sweet dreams of Abraham, Jeremiah, Micah, and Elijah and co. Jerusalem would be a swell place for sleep if it were not for the church bells."
Of course, the past half-century has seen the revolution of plane travel. The number of tourists in Israel has risen from a few hundred thousand to a couple of million annually. Since the 15th century the Catholic Church has observed a jubilee, or Holy Year, every 25 years. Previous popes have declared Rome as the goal of pilgrimage, but for the year 2000 Pope John Paul II has added the Holy Land. Other Christian churches are also planning to visit in large numbers to strengthen their spiritual faith.
Visitors to Israel during the millennial celebrations will be treading in the footsteps of pious Christians who hallowed the pilgrim routes throughout the ages. Modern pilgrims will join an invisible throng of forerunners who fulfilled their yearnings -- often at great danger and through tremendous sacrifices -- to have the unique spiritual experience of standing in the places enshrined in the Christian consciousness: Bethlehem and Nazareth, Jordan and the Sea of Galilee, Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives. These are not merely spiritual places encountered in a revered book -- nor ancient sites no longer found on a map -- but living realities that maintain the magical aura imparted by 2,000 years of religious belief and hope.
(This essay was among the last authored by the scholar Geoffrey Wigoder, who died in April 1999. He was the chairman of the Israel Jewish Council for Interreligious Relations and editor of Jewish-Christian Relations Since the Second World War (Manchester University Press, 1988). He was also a former editor of the Encyclopedia Judaica.)
"Pilgrimage in a New Millennium:
Spiritual Reflections from Christians and Jews in the Holy Land"
With Millennial Messages from the Vatican
Interreligious Coordinating Council in Israel
Israel Ministry of Tourism
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