practice are clear, and the practice worried such teachers as
Saint Augustine.o Just as pilgrimages were made in Greco-Roman religion to
prophetic and healing shrines—people of all social classes went
to hear the oracles given by Apollo at Delphi, and thousands
traveled to seek healing
at the shrines dedicated to
Asclepius—so did Christians
make pilgrimage to the holy
men and women in the desert
to experience direct contact
with power.o More elaborate pilgrimages
were also made to the Holy
Land, the location of the
biblical story and, therefore,
considered to be particularly
filled with power. For
example, Helen, the mother
of Constantine, traveled to
Jerusalem and discovered
the relic of the Holy Cross;
Constantine built the Church
of the Holy Sepulchre on the
supposed site of Jesus’s burial.The Sanctification of Time
• Christianity also extended its cultural influence through the
sanctification of time. The life of individual Christians was marked
at each stage by rituals that came to be called sacraments.
o The most ancient of these rituals are connected to entry into the
community: baptism, confirmation, and the Eucharist. When
children are baptized at birth, these rituals are separated in time
and become marks of growth (confirmation = “maturity”).
Constantine built the Church
of the Holy Sepulchre on the
supposed site of Jesus’s
burial in Jerusalem; to this
day, it is a place to which
Christians continue to
make pilgrimages.© iStockphoto/Thinkstock.