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Howard Kramer's, The Complete Pilgrim, Religious Travel Site

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ROCK CHURCHES OF NEW JERUSALEM

June 8, 2014 By Howard Kramer Leave a Comment

ROCK CHURCHES OF NEW JERUSALEM

Lalibela, Ethiopia While the Church of St. Mary of Zion in Axum may be Ethiopia’s holiest site, the Rock-Hewn Churches of Lalibela are by far the more amazing and interesting.  This collection of eleven churches was carved from the living rock near the city of Lalibela by the orders of the Ethiopian King of the same name.  While these spectacular shrines are not unique to … [Read more...]

ECHMIATSEN CATHEDRAL

June 2, 2014 By Howard Kramer Leave a Comment

ECHMIATSEN CATHEDRAL

Echmiatsen, Armenia The small nation of Armenia, wedged between the Slavic nations to the north and Turkey and Iran to the south, has the honor of being the world’s oldest Christian state, with a population that has somehow managed to remain largely outside of the Muslim sphere for the better part of fourteen centuries.  The Bishopric of Armenia was the first major Christian … [Read more...]

XI’AN BEILIN MUSEUM

June 2, 2014 By Howard Kramer Leave a Comment

XI’AN BEILIN MUSEUM

Xi’an, China Because of the complete triumph Islam in the Middle East in the early Middle Ages, it is easy to forget that in its early centuries, Christianity had spread throughout much of Asia.  By the 5th century it was a major, if not the predominant, religion of Mesopotamia and Persia, and Christian missionaries had penetrated into India and China even before the Prophet … [Read more...]

BASILICA OF ST. SIMEON STYLITES

June 2, 2014 By Howard Kramer 1 Comment

BASILICA OF ST. SIMEON STYLITES

Aleppo, Syria After Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire, die-hard Christians began to seek increasingly extreme ways to outdo each other in their public displays of humility towards God.  At first they expressed themselves by founding or entering monasteries, or seeking seclusion as hermits.  But as the 5th century dawned, more and more devotees … [Read more...]

MONASTARIES OF ST. ANTHONY AND ST. PAUL

June 2, 2014 By Howard Kramer Leave a Comment

MONASTARIES OF ST. ANTHONY AND ST. PAUL

Zafarana, Egypt When the pious Anthony arrived on the shores of the Gulf of Suez in the 4th century in his quest for solitude and a more Godly life, little did he know that he would be initiating what would become one of Christianity’s favorite pastimes: monasticism.  A small, and by some accounts completely unwanted, following of the famous hermit later emulated his example … [Read more...]

COPTIC ORTHODOX PATRIARCHATE

June 1, 2014 By Howard Kramer Leave a Comment

COPTIC ORTHODOX PATRIARCHATE

Alexandria, Egypt For almost two thousand years, Alexandria has been home to one of Christianity’s five great Patriarchal seats.  It was once considered, and still is by the Coptic Orthodox Church, the Papal See of Africa, and according to tradition the Patriarch is still technically the senior bishop of that continent.  However, that tradition is obscured by the fact that … [Read more...]

CHURCH OF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE

June 1, 2014 By Howard Kramer Leave a Comment

CHURCH OF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE

Jerusalem, Israel Jerusalem was the heart of Judaism for more than a thousand years before the birth of Jesus of Nazareth and the arrival of Christianity.  It was perhaps inevitable that when he challenged the authority of the Jewish priests and the Roman governor, the central battleground would be in Jerusalem.  It was here that Jesus spoke against the commercialization of … [Read more...]

CHURCH OF THE NATIVITY

May 31, 2014 By Howard Kramer Leave a Comment

CHURCH OF THE NATIVITY

Bethlehem, Palestine The Church of the Nativity stands on the traditional site of the birthplace of Jesus Christ, and is the second holiest site in Christendom after the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem.  The current structure dates in part to the 6th century AD and is one of the oldest Christian churches still in use in the Holy Land.  The Church of the Nativity is part of a … [Read more...]

ASSYRIAN ORTHODOX PATRIARCHATE

April 12, 2014 By Howard Kramer Leave a Comment

Chicago, Illinois The Assyrian Church of the East is one of the oldest Christian churches, and also one of the least known and most mysterious.  Known throughout the Middle Ages as the Nestorian Church, it broke away from the rest of the Church in the 5th century, and is not in communion with Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy.  Nevertheless the … [Read more...]

ARMENIAN ORTHODOX HERITAGE SITES

April 12, 2014 By Howard Kramer Leave a Comment

ARMENIAN ORTHODOX HERITAGE SITES

Fresno, California The Armenian Orthodox Church, one of the ancient Middle Eastern Churches not in communion with either the Eastern Orthodox or Roman Catholic churches, was largely founded by refugees fleeing brutal persecution in Asia.  Those who arrived in Southern and Central California discovered a new land reminiscent of their homes and established one of the most … [Read more...]

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THE COMPLETE AMERICAN PILGRIM – NOW AVAILABLE ON AMAZON

THE COMPLETE PILGRIM

Welcome to The Complete Pilgrim(TM)! This site, created by Howard Kramer, is a combination travel blog and online guide to the world's greatest sites of religious interest (with some historic and recreational places thrown in for good measure). All written content has been originally researched and produced and is provided free for public research and enjoyment. Thank you for visiting!

Site of the Week

WITTENBERG CASTLE CHURCH

WITTENBERG CASTLE CHURCH

Wittenberg, Germany The … [Read More...]

Friends of TCP Spotlight

5 PLACES TO VISIT IN HISTORIC PHILADELPHIA – MUSLIM TRAVEL ROCKS

5 PLACES TO VISIT IN HISTORIC PHILADELPHIA – MUSLIM TRAVEL ROCKS

by Glory Ali The City of Brotherly Love offers tons to see and do and get this, it’s FREE. That’s right you heard it right it’s FREE. Click here for complete article  

MOVING THE U.S. EMBASSY TO JERUSALEM – FAITH IN FAITHS

MOVING THE U.S. EMBASSY TO JERUSALEM – FAITH IN FAITHS

by Mary Neuhauser President Trump recently announced his intentions to move the United States Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, thereby recognizing Jerusalem as the official capital of Israel. The purpose of this article is to give you a brief overview of what this decision means and why it matters. Click here for […]

Photo of the Week

BASILICA OF ST. DENIS

Last month, I visited one of the most fascinating churches I have ever been to, the almost completely ignored Basilica of St. Denis in the northern suburbs of Paris.  Almost every French monarch is buried here, and almost nobody goes here.  Here are some pics I took:

Basilica of St. Denis

Tomb of Clovis

Tomb of Clovis

Tombs of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette

Tombs of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette

Tomb of Louis XIV The Sun King

Tomb of Louis XIV The Sun King

Royal Tombs

Royal Tombs

The Crypt

The Crypt

 

 

 

 

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Where would you like to go?

Africa (North) Africa (Sub-Sahara) Arabia Armenia/Azerbaijan/Georgia Australia/Pacific Austria/Switzerland Balkans Belgium/Netherlands British Isles Canada Caribbean Central Asia China Czech Republic Egypt France Germany Greece Hungary/Romania/Bulgaria India (NE)/Nepal India (NW) India (South)/Sri Lanka Iran/Iraq Israel Italy/Malta Japan/Korea Latin America Mexico Palestine Poland/Lithuania Russia Scandinavia Southeast Asia Spain/Portugal Syria/Jordan/Lebanon Turkey/Cyprus Ukraine US-California US-Mid Atlantic US-Midwest US-New England US-New York US-Pacific Northwest US-South US-Southwest

Contact Us

Have a comment, a great photo or a religious site you'd like to nominate for the weekly spotlight? We would love to hear from you. Email us at hkramer@thecompletepilgrim.com.

About the Author

Howard Kramer is the creator and author of The Complete Pilgrim. He first took an interest in religious sites in his early twenties when traveling through Italy after college. In the two decades since he has traveled to more than two dozen countries and almost every state, visiting and photographing hundreds of the world’s greatest churches, synagogues and other places of religious interest. Howard has been writing about religious sites for the better part of the last decade, and The Complete Pilgrim is the culmination of years of his work and passion.

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