Northern Cross is an annual, ecumenical, Christian cross-carrying, walking pilgrimage to Lindisfarne (Holy Island) that takes place at Easter. The pilgrimage was founded in 1976 by walkers from Student Cross seeking a new destination, who led a group of pilgrims on a walk from Penrith (near Carlisle) to Lindisfarne, taking it in turns to carry the Cross. The pilgrimage has grown over the decades and currently consists of up to seven different 'Legs' that start from different areas of the Scotland-England border region leading up to the celebration of the Easter Triduum. The Pilgrimage has been officially ecumenical since its start and welcomes all faiths and those of none, although it has a strong Christian flavour.
The act of the pilgrimage is considered[ by whom? ] a unique witness to the passion, death and resurrection of Christ, as carrying a cross is a very symbolic act, which relives the road to Calvary, and reminds of the importance of Christ, and specifically Easter, both to the pilgrims taking part and those who watch it pass. Pilgrims are hosted along their way by the communities they pass through (Anglican, Catholic, Church of Scotland, Methodist and Baptist) and the walkers join in worship with them along the way. The pilgrimage is open to people of all ages, and all shades of Christianity.[ citation needed ]
For many, Northern Cross is said to give a chance to get away from the world, a retreat, to top-up their faith, and to share in a small Christian community for the week. [1]
It has been featured in mainstream media [2] on many occasions, notably on BBC Songs of Praise, [3] [4] and various journals and daily newspapers. [5] [6] [7]
All the main legs walk for seven days, over a distance of approximately 70 to 120 miles. There are also usually two other legs: (1) a family group leg, based in one location during Holy Week, and which follows shorter routes suitable for young children and toddlers. and (2) an 'extreme' long distance leg which has in the past walked to Lindisfarne from locations as far distant as Iona, St Ninian's Bay (Dumfries), and St Andrews, over a longer period of up to two weeks. This extreme leg varies in route and method each year. All the participating leg groups meet at the Beal Sands tidal causeway on the morning of Good Friday and celebrate the Easter liturgy together on Lindisfarne over the Easter weekend.
The typical five main legs are known as:
The Holy Island of Lindisfarne, commonly known as either Holy Island or Lindisfarne, is a tidal island off the northeast coast of England, which constitutes the civil parish of Holy Island in Northumberland. Holy Island has a recorded history from the 6th century AD; it was an important centre of Celtic Christianity under Saints Aidan of Lindisfarne, Cuthbert, Eadfrith of Lindisfarne and Eadberht of Lindisfarne. After the Viking invasions and the Norman conquest of England, a priory was reestablished. A small castle was built on the island in 1550.
Cuthbert, possibly Cutimbetas/ Stombast, was an Anglo-Saxon saint of the early Northumbrian church in the Celtic tradition. He was a monk, bishop and hermit, associated with the monasteries of Melrose and Lindisfarne in the Kingdom of Northumbria, today in North East England and South Eastern Scotland. After his death he became the most important medieval saint of Northern England, with a cult centred on his tomb at Durham Cathedral. Cuthbert is regarded as the patron saint of Northumbria. His feast days are 20 March, also 31 August and 4 September.
In some traditions of Christianity, Holy Week is the most sacred week in the Church year. In Eastern Rite Churches, also known as Eastern Orthodox, Holy Week occurs the week after Lazarus Saturday. In the rites of the Western/Latin/Roman Church it begins with Palm Sunday and concludes on Easter Sunday. For all Christian traditions it is a moveable observance that falls on the last week of Lent or Sixth Lent Week.
These are lists of long-distance trails in Ireland, and include recognised and maintained walking trails, pilgrim trails, cycling greenways, boardwalk-mountain trails, and interconnected national and international trail systems.
Walsingham is a village in North Norfolk, England, famous for its religious shrines in honour of the Virgin Mary. It also contains the ruins of two medieval monastic houses. Walsingham is 27 miles (43 km) northwest of Norwich.
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St Cuthbert's Way is a 100-kilometre (62 mi) long-distance trail between the Scottish Borders town of Melrose and Lindisfarne off the coast of Northumberland, England. The walk is named after Cuthbert, a 7th-century saint, a native of the Borders who spent his life in the service of the church. The route links Melrose Abbey, where Cuthbert began his religious life, with his initial burial place on Holy Island. Cuthbert achieved the status of bishop, and was called a saint eleven years after his death, when his coffin was opened and his remains found to be perfectly preserved.
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Circumambulation is the act of moving around a sacred object or idol.
Our Lady of Walsingham is a title of the Blessed Virgin Mary venerated by Roman Catholics, Western Rite Orthodox Christians, and some Anglicans associated with the Marian apparitions to Richeldis de Faverches, a pious English noblewoman, in 1061 in the village of Walsingham in Norfolk, England. Lady Richeldis had a structure built named "The Holy House" in Walsingham which later became a shrine and place of pilgrimage.
Parikrama or Pradakshina refers to circumambulation of sacred places to imbibe their energy in Sikh, Hindu, Jain or Buddhist context, and the path along which this is performed. Parikrama means "the path surrounding something" in Sanskrit, and is also known as Pradakshina, representing circumambulation. Both words are mostly used in the context of religious deities in a temple, sacred rivers, sacred hills and a close cluster of temples, and "doing a parikrama" as a symbol of prayer is an integral part of Hindu worship. In Hinduism and other Indian religions, the Parikrama inside temples or sacred sites is traditionally clockwise.
Student and Pilgrim Cross is the annual, Ecumenical, cross-carrying, walking pilgrimage to Walsingham that takes place over Holy Week and Easter. It is the longest continuous walking pilgrimage in Britain and is walked by students, graduates and their families. The pilgrimage was founded in 1948 by a University of London student, Wilfred Mauncote-Carter, who led a group of students including many ex-servicemen, on a walk from London to Walsingham, taking it in turns to carry the Cross. The pilgrimage has grown over the years and currently consists of 11 different 'legs' that start from different areas of the country and at different stages of the week leading up to the celebration of the Easter Triduum. The Pilgrimage has been officially Ecumenical since 1972 although it still retains a Catholic flavour.
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