the Holy Land, and even later, towards the end of the 12th century, the murderers of Thomas Becket made a pilgrimage of penance to Jerusalem, where tradition holds that some of them died and were buried on the Temple Mount. Monastic Pilgrimage The development of the cult of saints was crucial to the growth of pilgrimage as a place-orientated activity, as opposed to a focus on “heavenly Jerusalem.” The perceived presence of saints, through their relics, attracted pilgrims and helped establish a new sacred geography, not only in the Holy Land, but later throughout Christendom. However, as relics were transferred from one place to another and new local saints emerged, debates arose, often motivated by political and economic agendas, as to whether pilgrimages should be undertaken to the Holy Land, or to local shrines. In addition, monastic ascetic migration to the Holy Land began to develop in the fourth and fifth centuries. It drew devout Christians to the Holy Land desert in acts of spiritual migration, to reflect on the experience of Abraham, of a stranger and a guest, the figure of Moses, who guided the people out of Egypt and led them to
the Promised Land, as well as that of Elijah, who met God on Mt. Carmel. The believers founded monasteries, lauras, hermitages and coenobia in the desert of Judea, among other places, and many fervent followers came in their wake from all over the Christian world, either to stay with them for a short while before returning home, or establish their own monasteries and communities - which in turn drew other pilgrims. Hundreds of monasteries dotted the Judean Desert terrain about 1400 years ago, and many desert retreats were established as well, not unlike the settlement of the Essenes at Qumran, where John the Baptist grew to manhood, and which Jesus frequented. Today, no more than five are active: St. George, in Wadi Kelt; Qarantal, on the Mount of Temptation; St. Gerasimos, in the Jordan-Jericho Wadi; Mar Saba, on the banks of the Kidron Valley; St. Theodorus, on the Bethlehem- Dead Sea road. All offer the visitor fortunate enough to see them, an intriguing blend of starkly exotic terrain, ascetic piety and biblical holiness. From All Christendom Pagan Roman Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity in the fourth century AD and entrusted Empress Helena, his mother, with a mission to visit the
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