These were sung, without musical accompaniment, by the whole congregation. They spurned crosses, statues, stained glass windows, elaborate church architecture, icons and relics as signs of idolatry. And in the end some discontent on his part, by occasion whereof he left them something ubruptly…But he is to be pitied and prayed for; and so I shall leave the matter and desire the Lord to show him his errors and reduce him into the way of truth and give him a settled judgment and constancy in the same, for I hope he belongs to the Lord, and that he will show him mercy.”. Structural similarities are discernible, however, across disparate traditions of sacred travel. Led by Richard Clyfton, John Robinson, and William Brewster, by 1606 the group was secretly holding meetings in Scrooby Manor, where Brewster was employed as the postmaster. They celebrated the first Thanksgiving in autumn of 1621. The Ganges is regarded as the holiest Hindu river because it is believed to issue from the very locks of Shiva’s hair. 62, No. “”Faith of the Pilgrims.”  Plimoth Plantation, www.plimoth.org/what-see-do/17th-century-english-village/faith-pilgrims With the 1685 codification of laws, even more laws were passed concerning religious and moral conduct. In Hinduism ritual bathing often takes place at the confluences of rivers, which are imbued with sacred meaning. He served as Plymouth’s pastor for a while but soon left when he felt that the pilgrims’ beliefs were not as pure as his own. They lived in a time that accepted fairies and witches, astrological influences, seasonal festivals and folklore as real parts of their lives… The Pilgrims believed baptism was the sacrament which wiped away Original Sin, and was a covenant with Christ and his chosen people (as circumcision had been to God and the Israelites), and therefore children should be baptized as infants. The Elder was a lay-person responsible for church government, and he was also the church’s eyes and ears, assisting the Pastor and Teacher in admonishing the congregation. Ce repas est considéré la première célébration du « Thanksgiving Day » érigé en fête nationale en 1863 par le président Abraham Lincoln, puis à partir de 1942, un acte du Congrès, promulgué par Franklin Delano Roosevelt, le Thanksgiving Day est célébré le quatrième jeudi de novembre[6]. 13, No. Years later, in the 1670s, when the first generation of settlers – many of whom had musical training – had died, the colonists had difficulty with the music of the psalms. The Pilgrims were part of that opposition. The Pilgrims, who journeyed to America in search of religious freedom, remind us that the right to practice our Catholic faith cannot simply be taken for granted. Only those God elected would receive God’s grace, and would have faith. Les passagers, qui désiraient s'établir dans la colonie anglaise de Jamestown en Virginie, découvrent alors qu'ils ont fait fausse route. Elder was a layperson who assisted the pastor and teacher with spiritual needs in the church and governing the body. Persecution of the Pilgrims, or Puritan Separatists as they were called then, began in England under the reign of Elizabeth I (1558-1603). The following is a list of some of the religious issues of the day, and the Pilgrims’ beliefs regarding them. 1, The New England Quarterly, Vol. The Christian New Testament does not specifically enjoin believers to go on pilgrimage, but sacred texts in other religious faiths do. From there the group moved to the town of Leiden, Holland, where they remained for about ten years, able to worship as they wished … No votes so far! [5][6] International Bible Students Association (IBSA) pilgrims were excellent speakers, and their local talks were typically well-publicized and well-attended. [11] Under communist regimes, devout secular pilgrims visited locations such as the Mausoleum of Lenin, the Mausoleum of Mao Zedong and the Birthplace of Karl Marx. In response, King James had his own edition of the Bible translated and published in 1611 for use by the Church of England. En avril 1621, après la mort du premier gouverneur de la colonie, John Carver, Bradford fut choisi à l'unanimité pour occuper ce poste; il sera réélu 30 fois et a été gouverneur de Plymouth pendant presque cinq ans jusqu'en 1656. Pilgrimage usually entails some separation (alone or in a group) from the everyday world of home, and pilgrims may mark their new identity by wearing special clothes or abstaining from physical comforts. This friction is what prompted the pilgrims to draw up the Mayflower Compact as a way to unite the saints and strangers and keep the peace. During the reign of Queen Elizabeth, Puritan-leaning religious opinions were generally tolerated, but when King James came to power in 1604 the Church of England again began to root out, prosecute, and jail those who openly believed the Church needed to be purified of its false ceremonies, non-Scriptural teachings, and superstitious rituals. The Pilgrims considered marriage a civil affair, not to be handled by the church ministers, but instead by civil magistrates. Sacraments: The Pilgrims' religion included only two sacraments: infant baptism and the Lord's Supper. Such visits were sometimes state-sponsored. The group made the decision to flee England to Holland, where they had heard they could practice their religion without the threat of jail, punishments, and fines. There were also bills passed that required a fine of ten shillings or a whipping for anyone who profaned the Sabbath. The pilgrims of Plymouth Colony were religious separatists from the Church of England. Church Government: The Pilgrims' church had five officers: pastor, teacher, elder, deacon, and deaconess. At that time, the Church and State were one in England and the act of separating from the Church of England was considered treasonous. The separatists were the saints and the non-separatists were the strangers. The cultures of ancient Greece and Rome did not establish boundaries between religious ritual and the secular world in ways evident in the modern West, and festivals easily combined celebration of the gods with urban commercial activities. 2, Early American Literature, Vol. These holidays were invented by man to memorialize Jesus, and are not prescribed by the Bible or celebrated by the early Christian churches, and therefore cannot be considered Holy days. History of Plymouth Plantation. Ils commencent leur voyage le 16 septembre 1620[1] (6 septembre selon le calendrier julien en usage chez les pèlerins) à Plymouth et traversent l'océan Atlantique à bord du voilier Mayflower. The Crusades initiated by Pope Urban II in 1095 allied elements of pilgrimage with chivalry and the gaining of booty. Tracy McKenzie Professor, Author. In Greece, pilgrimages could either be personal or state-sponsored.[2]. Thanksgiving is approaching, and before we turn on the football game or rush off to the mall, the more traditional among us will honor the day by reminding our families of the story of the Pilgrims. Among Hindus, perhaps the ideal pilgrimage would involve a journey around the four most sacred sites in India (the dhamas), covering the country in an auspicious clockwise direction. See: Of Religious Communion, Private and Public, by John Robinson (1614). He is the author of "Hope for Hurting Singles: A Christian Guide to Overcoming Life's Challenges. Numerous factors determine the location of sacred sites. Motivations for pilgrimage vary, within as well as between traditions. John Robinson was the pastor of the Pilgrims, but was never able to get to America before his death in 1625. "Noteworthy Events in the Modern-day History of Jehovah's Witnesses". The feast lasted three days. However, none of the five offices was considered essential to the church. Of the 102 colonists, 35 were members of the English Separatist Church (a radical faction of Puritanism) who had earlier fled to Leiden, the Netherlands, to escape persecution at home. In … Sources: The Mahabharata, an important Hindu epic dating from the 1st millennium bce, recommends visits to many holy places in India, mentioning shrines in an order corresponding to the Sun’s movement across the sky. What religious beliefs did the Pilgrims have, that made them so intolerable to the English authorities?