Jerusalem/The Holy Land4th Century Pilgrimage

Holy City and Holy Sites• Jerusalem – a Holy City• Many Holy Sites that draw visitors to the area• Different views/opinions of the City

and the Sites importance, in the past and in the present

• There have been additions, changes, wars, politics

• Romanesque Architecture

2 Main Focus Points

• How and when did Jerusalem become a pilgrimage site?• Why did people take pilgrimages here?

• The Church of the Holy Sepulchre

Why did people make pilgrimages to Jerusalem during this time period?

Visit monks and hermits

Get away from the occasion of sin.

Can be a form of penance.

It is often a sacrifice to travel the distance and to afford the trip.

The hope is to receive a release from sin and be prepared for the after life.

Pilgrimage sites are thought to be where a miracle did, still is, or will happen.

A person’s faith is strengthened from exposure to the Holy Site.

Miracles are a reward for the journey.

Relics of saints and centers of cults help spiritual and historical power.

A Holy Obligation?

• Pilgrimages are not commanded in Scripture.• St Jerome and St Gregory – God’s grace is not more present

to people at pilgrim sites than other areas.• Christ is not confined.

Before Jerusalem become a Pilgrimage Site?

• Jerusalem renamed Aelia Capitolina• Jerusalem was a former city of Jews & pagans• A city that had rejected Jesus

How and When did Jerusalem become a Pilgrimage Site?

• After the Council of Nicea in 325.• Palestine came under Christian rule.• Finally, Jerusalem and places of the life of Christ were in hands of

Christians.

• Initiated by Constantine in 326• To make clear that he is the Emperor in the East.• In favor of Christianity• Put up his own buildings, especially in Constantinople – the

“new Rome.”• The temple of Venus was destroyed and a basilica was built to

mark the site of Christ’s Passion.

Jerusalem as a Holy City

• Jerusalem as a holy city was the symbolic focus of a Christian empire.

• Symbolic of a Victory – for Christ and for Christianity.• Christians were eager to “see God” in this

world with them.• An opportunity to retrace Jesus’ footsteps.

Egeria• A nun from Spain• First vivid account of pilgrimage – late 4thc.• Gives account of prayer and thankfulness. • Visited 3 main types of places• Caves/houses of saints connected to the Old Testament and a few

from New Testament.• Martyra – tomb of martyrs. • Places of Christ’s ministry.

Holy Sepulchre

The Holy Sepulchre Church commemorates the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.

Christ’s Resurrection

“as at once similar to His return to life – entering the light after being in darkness.” Eusebius

The Site is a clear testimony to the Resurrection.

Savior’s Victory over Death

A monument to the Savior’s Victory over Death.

Holy Sepulchre Church

Places in the Holy Sepulchre Church• The Choir of the Canons• Different choirs sing here• There is a high altar and a smaller altar marked with an insignia showing the spot

Jesus was lain to be cleansed after he was taken down from the cross. • The Holy Fire• Awaited from heaven on Easter Eve.

• Chapels• St. Mary – Armenians * The Lord’s Prison• Holy Cross – Syrians * Altar of St. Nicholas• Holy Cross – Christians * Door Leading to Cloisters• Chapel of St. Helena and grotto in which Cross was found, 326 a.d..• Chapel of the Flagellation – includes part of column where Jesus was tied.

Places in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher• Chapel of John the Baptist • Tombs of Kings of Jerusalem• Chapel of Crucifixion• Altar of Our Lady of Sorrows• Holy Sepulcher• Catholicon – Center of World

Stone of the Anointing – Mount Calvary/Chapel of Golgotha

Other Sites in Jerusalem and area.

• Jewish Temple• Dome of the Rock• Garden of Gethsemane• Mount Zion• Peter’s Prison• Church of Nativity

Sources usedEgeria’s Travels to the Holy Land. Edited and translated by John Wilkinson. London: S.P.C.K., 1971. [BQ6174.A43 W5 1971]

Theoderich. Guide to the Holy Land. Translated by Aubrey Stewart. New York: Italica Press, 1986. [DS105 .T4713 1986]

Encyclopedia of Medieval Pilgrimage. Edited by Larissa J. Taylor, et. al. Leiden: Brill, 2010. [selections posted to Moodle]

Walker, P. W. L. Walker. Holy City, Holy Places? Christian Attitudes to Jerusalem and the Holy Land in the Fourth Century. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1980. [BT93.5 .W35 1990]

Webb, Diana. Medieval European Pilgrimage, c. 700 – c. 1500. New York: Palgrave, 2002. [BX2320.5.E85 W43 2002]

www.Jerusalem.com, accessed July 18, 2016.