Pilgrimage
Pilgrimage is an ancient practice of a journey with intention, seeking to deepen our connection with God, Creation and ourselves.
For most of the history of the church pilgrimage there has been an approach to getting closer to God. Traditionally it has involved walking a route known to be associated with a saint or other spiritual leader and with the intention of visiting a site associated with one of the saints or of a significant spiritual event.
Today’s pilgrimage may resemble the traditional form but increasingly is being done either as an exercise in spiritual reflection or with a primary focus on the beauty of God’s creation.
Scotland is rich in both pilgrim routes and in places with major faith links. While many will view pilgrimage as an event covering a number of days, it is also possible to use shorter journeys, which can be completed in a single day as a form of pilgrimage or spiritual journeying.
Recently there has been a resurgence of interest in pilgrimage. The Scottish Pilgrim Routes Forum (SPRF) was established in 2012 to promote the development of pilgrimage and to help in the creation of more walking and cycling pilgrim routes. The Scottish Episcopal Church and some of its individual churches are members of the SPRF.
Pilgrimage routes
There are several pilgrimage routes in the Diocese:
St Magnus Way
Orkney
St Duthac’s Way
Aberdeen to St Andrews
The Deeside Way
Aberdeen to Ballater
Old Deer to Deer Abbey
Old Deer to Deer Abbey
People Stories – The Diocese oF Aberdeen and Orkney
St Magnus
Magnus Erlendson (1080 – 1117), a pious man, was brought up amongst the strife of family struggles for power in Orkney. He ruled as Earl jointly with his cousin Haakon from 1106 until 1114, when their followers fell out. Captured by trickery on the island of Egilsay, Magnus was executed and buried where he fell. Miracles were attributed to his corpse almost immediately, and he was soon venerated in Scandinavia as well as the British Isles. He was canonised in 1136.
Today the pilgrim route, the St. Magnus Way, takes a 58 mile route around mainland Orkney with a start on Egilsay, ending in Kirkwall at St. Magnus’ Cathedral.