Taize is in between the life of traditional religious orders and the life of the majority of Christians today. It is place where Christians can go for a time and olive a monastic life. Many of them receive spiritual strength while they are there to go back to their normal life and be effective witnesses to the power of God in their lives.
Bethlehem
At Bethlehem is the church of the Nativity - built on the traditional site of the birth of Jesus. Most of the Christian pilgrimage sites in the Holy Land are shared by different branches of the church and the church of the nativity is no exception - it has altars which are looked after by the Greek Orthodox Church, Roman Catholics, Egyptians and the Syrians.
This is how a visitor to the Holy Land describes it:
“It really is a cave - except that the walls have been covered in some very dirty, gloomy old tapestries heavy with the smell of centuries of incense. There’s enough incense down there to turn you into a secondary smoker. At the foot of the steps, there’s a small area on the left called the Chapel of the Manger. Here Mary is said to have placed Jesus after he was born. And then to your right is the place of his birth, where there is a big indentation in the rock. If it doesn’t sound too irreverent this actually looks like a very large fireplace. You have to get down on your hands and knees to look inside. What you see there is an old, cracked marble slab with two candles burning on it. A whole collection of tinselly oil lamps hangs over the top like a cluster of bats. In front of the candles, set into the marble, there is a large Silver Star. Written around the star in Latin are the words, “Here Jesus Christ was born of the Virgin Mary”. All this isn’t exactly everyone’s cup of tea - and the place can be disappointing. It is supposed to be one of the holiest places of ground in the world, and yet at the busiest times of the year you can be herded in as if you’re entering Santa’s Grotto. The cave itself felt as packed (and about as holy) as a tube train. What makes it worse is that various branches of the Christian church jealously guard their rights here. The Armenians, the Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholics all have their own zones within the church. They have been known to hold long and bitter disputes over who should mop step number six, who should stand where in processions, and where the no-go areas are. On the plus side, it seems that the cave really could be where it all happened. Many Bethlehem houses had caves in the time of Jesus. Houses were built on top of them, and the cave was used as sort of downstairs, where the animals slept at night.
From the very early days of the Christian faith, this particular cave was identified as the place where Jesus took his first lungful. If you can forget the religious squabbles and see through all the marble, incense and silver trinkets, then it’s amazing to think that Jesus might have been born here.”
Both of these places are important to Christians because of the numerous things they may develop whilst there (explained in the next section). Perhaps the most important aspect of pilgrimage is that the places themselves practise ecumenical worship. This means that all the Christian denominations worship as one. This induces a very good community spirit and makes Christians feel closer to each other. Take Taize for example, it tries to break down the barriers that exist between Christians through prayer, worship, music and bible studies. Some say that ecumenism is a dream – that it works in theory but not in real life. This is because there are too many Christians who like their own style of worship and could not compromise on their beliefs. Yet here we have evidence that ecumenism does work and one can clearly see the advantages in it. However, whether it would work over a long period of time is another matter but nonetheless, places of pilgrimage are the first step towards ecumenism.
Why Do Christians Go On Pilgrimage?
There are many reasons why Christians go on pilgrimages, all of which are valid. However, they may vary in importance due to personal conditions. Christians may go on a pilgrimage just to be in a place where God is especially close. Others may go as an act of thanksgiving or to fulfil a vow or promise made to God. Another reason may be to enjoy a holiday in spiritual surroundings. Other reasons may include to visit places connected with the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Although all of the reasons so far are valid they are perhaps not the most important reasons why Christians go on pilgrimage. Two more far fetched reasons for pilgrimage are for spiritual and physical healing. Some believe that going to places like Lords can cure illnesses. I believe that if a person went to a place such as Taize, it would be quite possible to be spiritual healed so to say because of the relaxing atmosphere. The most important reasons for visiting a place of pilgrimage are to strengthen personal faith and to strengthen relationships with a group of friends. The ecumenical sense at a place such as Taize joins people together and so strengthens relationships between friends. It also unites Christians and so by not feeling alone in your faith would help to strengthen it. The option to spend a week in total silence would also give you time to think upon your relationship with God and others and so would ultimately strengthen relationships. Because each person goes on a pilgrimage for a slightly different reason it is impossible to know why every person goes but, it is easy to say that by visiting a place such as Taize, they will most likely be able to satisfy the reason that they made the pilgrimage for.
What Effect May Pilgrimage Have On Their Own Lives?
The effect pilgrimage would have on a Christians live differs from person to person. If you go on a pilgrimage and treat it as a holiday then it will have little or no effect on your everyday live. Having said that, a pilgrimage would be much more beneficial than a normal holiday because even if you went for no other reason, then you would probably come away with a much greater community spirit. On the other hand if you go on pilgrimage to strengthen your link with God then it would have a much greater effect because you would be refreshed in your worship. This is perhaps the most frequent reason as to why people go on pilgrimage because the places they visit are often holy and so God seems especially present. Perhaps the one that would have the most profound impact on your live would be if you were physically healed. This would allow you to do everything you couldn’t before and so give you a new lease of life. However, it has never been proved that this does happen on pilgrimages and it is so rare that this would only be attempted as a last hope for a Christian. If a Christian was dying though, they may want to go on a pilgrimage to become closer to God and to cleanse their sins before they pass away. You may also come back from a pilgrimage with a sense of spiritual growth. Again, this would have some effect on your life but only as much as you felt refreshed and relaxed much the same as you do after a holiday. Strengthening relationships within a group would a reasonably large effect on your life. It would mean that you would have good friends for life that would help you with anything. This is very important everybody needs some friends that can be depended upon.
For Some Christians Pilgrimage Is An Essential Part Of Their Christian Life, For Others It Is Simply An Excuse For A Holiday. Do You Agree?
The relevance of pilgrimage differs from person to person. This is because everyone goes on a pilgrimage for a slightly different reason, some go for a holiday, some to strengthen relationships. Since this is the case it is hard to give a fair overall view without taking into account most, or all, of the reasons for which a Christian would make a pilgrimage.
If you go on a pilgrimage with the intention of strengthening your relationships with a group of friends then it will be far more beneficial than going on a pilgrimage purely for a holiday. However, saying that, going on a pilgrimage would relax you far more than a beach holiday in Spain because it gives a sense of spiritual restoration. When pilgrimage is essential is when your faith is beginning to weaken. Because pilgrimage is a time when you can be alone and reflect, it gives you time to take this into account and most of the time faith is restored. This could also be because you are said to be closer to God when on a pilgrimage. I think that even if you treat pilgrimage as a holiday, it is still a good thing that you at least went on one no matter what the reasons.
Pilgrimage would be an essential part of your life if you go and are cured of an illness. This would be because it would totally change your way of life. You would also want to return to that place of pilgrimage many times to thank God for what happened. However, the physical healing effects of a pilgrimage are very controversial and so the likely hood of this happening is remote.
Pilgrimage would also be essential if you had to fulfil a vow made to God. This is because you would like to try and uphold your vow and show God how strong your faith is. Most people however, would not feel it necessary to make such a promise and so this is not relevant to all Christians.
I think if you were a Christian it would be essential to visit a place such as Taize. This is because of the great ecumenical spirit there that helps to draw Christians together. Even if it is not taken a pilgrimage, it is still a good place to visit to see if you enjoy a ‘real’ Christian life. The idea of spending the majority of the day praying may put some people off, but the idea of pilgrimage is to become closer to God, and this would not happen if worship was not taken so seriously. Another good thing about pilgrimage at Taize is the opportunity to spend a week reflecting on your life in silence. This would also bring you closer to God, although I wouldn’t say that it was essential to do this unless us wanted to strengthen your relationship with God.
It is good to go on a pilgrimage at least once in your life whatever the reason because of the sense of well being it gives you. It also helps in other aspects of your Christian life. However I would not call it essential to go on one. If you feel you have no need for pilgrimage in your life then don’t go on one, but if you feel you need or want go on one then do. There is no real right or wrong answer to the question, it’s just whether you consider pilgrimage to be essential or not in your life.
