Pilgrimage tourism

In the 1990s, the forgotten word pilgrimage entered the lexicon. With the opening of the borders, many Russians rushed abroad. To a large extent, tourists were driven by a desire to see life in other countries. Some of these trips were to countries of great interest to religious people. For example, trips to Israel, Greece and Egypt. Focusing on the demand of the population, travel agencies began to use the word "pilgrimage.

A pilgrimage is a journey or trip to a holy place with a clear cultic purpose. Pilgrimage is accepted in almost all religions of the world. Today, pilgrims make extensive use of the possibilities of the tourism industry, and special tour firms have been created to organize such trips. Pilgrimage tours have a meaning filled with faith, performing rituals and pursue not only cultural and cognitive purposes. The meaning of such a trip is to visit the holy places. The worship of shrines is religious in nature.

One of the main aspects of pilgrimage is spiritual and educational activities. During visits to holy places pilgrims learn about the history of the founding, about the religious traditions of the monasteries, about the peculiarities of worship, about shrines and saints whose lives were connected with the shrines visited. People have the opportunity to talk to the population of the monasteries. Pilgrimage today plays a very large educational role. The church, monasteries and temples of Russia have always been centers of culture and religion. Knowledge, books, icons, folk and religious crafts have been accumulated here for centuries. Monastic constructions and religious buildings were architectural monuments of the era.

Паломничество на Руси делится на две ветви, которые определены историей христианской религии – это паломничество в Израиль, на Святую Землю и паломничество по культовым святым местам России. Сегодня традиция паломничества возрождается. Русская Православная церковь всячески поддерживает паломников, помогает с поездками на Святую землю и религиозными путешествиями по территории России. В настоящее время паломники могут останавливаться в монастырях, ходить на службы, питаться в монастырских трапезных. Храмы и монастыри имеют опыт по проведению поездок и походов паломников по русским святыням.