Head for the hills – and find peace with pilgrims

Pilgrimage is as old as the hills. The three big monotheistic religions – Judaism, Christianity and Islam – look back to a journey of a 75-year-old man who heard a call to embark on a journey.

Abraham set out in faith; it was a journey that changed the world. According to the Hebrew Scriptures, God told Abraham: “Get out of your country to a land I will show you. I will make you a great nation.”

This is either the stuff of madness, or of something greater. I’d like to have been a fly on the wall for the conversation between Abraham and his wife.

“Sarah dear", says Abraham, with a gentle cough. “I’ve got news for you ... We’re moving.”

“Oh", says Sarah, “where are we going to?” “I don’t know”. “Why are we moving?” “Because God told me”. “God told you! Abraham – you batty old fool! You’ve been reading too many religious books. I told you not to lie out in the midday sun!”

Soon the Middle East version of Pickfords – several camels – was at the door.

This was not two people going out on a Saga tour of the Holy Land. The Holy Land didn’t even exist. In fact, that’s the whole point of this crazy journey. It was the beginning of a pilgrimage that would lead to a holy land, and a holy people. And it started with a man, who in today’s terms, would be entitled to his free TV licence as well as his free bus pass.

Down through the centuries, pilgrimages to holy places became common; it might be people seeking religious understanding, or seeking guidance, or seeking healing for themselves or for a loved one.

Any individual journey might be penitential in nature, or an expression of thanksgiving for healing experienced, or for the birth of a grandchild.

However it was done, seekers found that walking to places of spiritual significance revived their spirits and allowed them to dream again.

Not all pilgrimages were made for overtly religious reasons. Think Canterbury Tales: these were convivial events, with a great deal of storytelling. Some of the tales were more bawdy than pious, even those told by clerics. What was said on pilgrimage stayed on pilgrimage – although Mr Chaucer could not resist publishing a juicy story.

The Icelandic sagas are full of pilgrimages. Orkney earls Haakon and Rognvald (founder of St Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall) went on pilgrimage to the Holy Land. The murderous Haakon came back a new man from his penitential journey.

I became much more aware of this when I was deputy warden of Iona Abbey in the 1980s. Iona had been a spiritual powerhouse since the early Middle Ages, attracting pilgrims from all over Europe.

Indeed, Iona became a holy destination in the sixth century AD after St Columba of Ireland made a penitential pilgrimage in a coracle boat, accompanied by 12 followers.

Even after the Benedictine abbey fell into disrepair, Iona remained a place of pilgrimage. Boswell, Johnson, Keats, Sir Walter Scott, Mendelssohn, Wordsworth, and Robert Louis Stevenson were among the luminaries who visited the island.

In modern Europe the great Comino de Santiago pilgrim way attracts seekers from many countries.

There’s a terrific movie about this, called The Way. The main character, played by Martin Sheen, walks the Santiago route to try to understand his son, who had died while making his pilgrimage.

The film shows how many of the pilgrims, from different countries, often had more profound reasons for making the journey than they were prepared to admit to when they first set out.

Why am I talking about pilgrimage? In last week’s column, I spoke about the events being organised around the 900th anniversary of the martyrdom of St Magnus of Orkney.

One of the most imaginative schemes has been the creation of a St Magnus Pilgrim Way, which follows the route the body of Magnus would have been carried after his brutal execution on the island of Egilsay.

I felt honoured to be invited to officially open the new pilgrimage route. More than 200 people participated in the event. The buzz was tremendous, as pilgrims walked the route in stunning coastal scenery.

Conversations were lively and spirits were revived as people of all ages made their pilgrimage.

So let’s hear it for the ancient and modern practice of pilgrimage. It is good for one’s health, in so many ways.

This was not two people going out on a Saga tour of the Holy Land. The Holy Land didn’t even exist. In fact, that’s the whole point of this crazy journey