1.1 About This Element

Egeria’s Itinerarium is a unique document from the time of the early church.Footnote ¹ It is one of the few surviving works from antiquity written by a woman and is one of the first Christian travelogues depicting a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. In her Itinerarium, Egeria describes – in a fascinating way – not only her travels but also the practices of pilgrimage and the liturgical life in Jerusalem at a time when both of these were developing rapidly. As a pilgrim, Egeria came to the east from “the far western coast of the ocean,” as the seventh-century monk Valerius of Bierzo put it, and Egeria explained for her western readers what she had observed and experienced during her travels. Egeria’s Itinerarium has been studied extensively but, to date, her role as a communicator between the eastern and western traditions has received less attention. Therefore, this Element focuses on that particular topic.

Christian pilgrimage to Jerusalem and the Holy Land had increased rapidly after the journey made by Emperor Constantine’s mother, Helena, to Jerusalem in 326, and by the end of the fourth century the number of pilgrims from all over the empire and even outside its borders was already significant.Footnote ² In Jerusalem, and at pilgrimage sites in the Holy Land, innovative liturgical and devotional practices emerged.Footnote ³ At the same time, even the topography of the Holy Land was changing: The emperor Constantine had begun great building projects in Jerusalem and Bethlehem; elsewhere in the Holy Land new churches, monasteries and even an infrastructure for the growing number of pilgrims were being built and pilgrimage sites and routes developed.Footnote ⁴ The new edifices and the altered layout of the city and the landscape, together with the new practices, such as public processions accompanied by singing and the carrying of candles, made Christians visible and audible in the Holy Land in a completely new way. The character of Jerusalem was, thus, being changed into a Christian city.Footnote ⁵ Nonetheless, during this century, in many areas in the Holy Land, the Jews still formed a majority of the population and even pagans were well represented, especially in the cities.Footnote ⁶

Egeria made her pilgrimage to the biblical sites in 381–384 CE, and during her pilgrimage she wrote detailed notes on what she observed, experienced and learned.Footnote ⁷ These notes are written in the form of a travel diary, addressed to her friends at home, that is, some kind of community of Christian women. Egeria enthusiastically described her route, the places she visited, the people she met and her impressions of the nature and landscape, but, above all, she focused on the practices of the local Christians and the pilgrims. Egeria’s explicit goal in her travel narrative was to communicate her observations and thoughts to her friends who were expected to be interested in these things in particular, and she “was sure” that her readers wanted to know about the things she was going to write about (It. 24.1). She compared the practices in Jerusalem with those at home and explained to her readers how things were done differently “here” (hic) in Jerusalem than “among us” (apud nos) in the west (It. 27.1). Although Egeria primarily focused on practical matters, and doctrinal theology is not the mainstay of her text, she did transmit information about the contents of faith, too.

Egeria, and other early Christian travel writers, operated in a world where there were some linguistic and cultural differences between the eastern and the western parts of the Roman Empire.Footnote ⁸ Cultural influences had mostly spread from the east to the west, which even the Romans had admitted earlier,Footnote ⁹ and this same trend continued even in Egeria’s time: Information concerning the liturgical innovations of the church in Jerusalem, the practices of pilgrimage and the different forms of asceticism spread to the west with the pilgrims as they returned home or in their sending of letters. The western pilgrims brought impulses with them to the east, too, but very few traces of these remain in the sources available to us today. Egeria, in spite of enthusiastically reporting on the pilgrimage practices and liturgical innovations in the east, never suggests to her readers that they should imitate the eastern practices, even if we know from other texts that this did indeed happen.Footnote ¹⁰

As traveling from the west to the biblical places required time, money and effort, not everybody could embark on such a journey. By means of letters and travel diaries, however, even those who remained at home not only could obtain information about the biblical places and ecclesial practices in the Holy Land but also had the opportunity to participate in the spiritual journey the writer was experiencing. Egeria’s travelogue is one of the earliest examples of communication between a Christian pilgrim to the Holy Land and her community back at home in the west.Footnote ¹¹ It is so lively and thorough that the readers did not need to make a similar journey themselves.

Egeria’s travel journal reveals that she acted as a communicator not only through her travelogue but also orally between Christians she met on her journey. She describes her encounters and the exchange of information with both local Christians who stayed at a particular site, such as the ascetics living on Mount Sinai, and other pilgrims who, like her, traveled to the different holy sites (It. 13.1; 20.5; 23.2–4). This network of pilgrims communicated information about the practices of local Christians and pilgrims as well as theology.

When reading Egeria’s text, one gets the impression that she feels at home everywhere and that she always seeks out the company of local Christians. Wherever she goes, she participates in the liturgy and the Eucharist and prays together with local Christians and other pilgrims. This notwithstanding, she describes events, groups and people also from an outsider’s perspective, as a reporter, and for example while she writes in detail about the singing, she does not mention whether she herself sung or not. Thus, she belongs to three distinct communities: the community back home, the local Christians in the Holy Land and the group of pilgrims who, like her, were traveling to the biblical sites. Through her texts and through her discussions with others she acts as a communicator.

1.2 Previous Studies

As Egeria’s Itinerarium is a rich text, dealing with many topics, it is no wonder that it has been studied extensively and from various angles.Footnote ¹² There are several editions,Footnote ¹³ and the text has been translated into at least twenty-five languages and to many of these several times.Footnote ¹⁴ It is an important source for the study of the practices and theology of the early Christian pilgrimage in the Holy Land;Footnote ¹⁵ Christian topography and geography;Footnote ¹⁶ the development of the liturgy and ecclesial life in Jerusalem;Footnote ¹⁷ early ascetic and monastic life;Footnote ¹⁸ the Christian views on sacred spaces and edifices;Footnote ¹⁹ the roles and the possibilities of Christian women in antiquity;Footnote ²⁰ the use of the Scriptures in Jerusalem and the pilgrimage sites;Footnote ²¹ and the development of the Latin language in late antiquity.Footnote ²² In this Element, the views of the scholars are presented and discussed in connection to each of the particular topics.

1.3 The Goal and the Structure of This Element

This Element focuses on a topic which, to a large extent, has not yet been studied in spite of it being central to understanding Egeria’s Itinerarium: Egeria as a communicator between eastern and western traditions. Egeria came from the Latin-speaking west and for three years participated in the liturgical life in the Holy Land, where Greek and Syriac were the main languages. In her travel diary, she shared information about the practices and theology in the east with her western readers. In this Element, both the contents of her text, namely what she wanted to communicate, and the techniques she used to mediate her experiences and learning to her friends at home, that is, how she chose to communicate, are scrutinized.

Throughout the Element, I focus on the methods Egeria uses to communicate to her western readers what she experienced and learned in the east and the reasons for the choices she made. She did not report everything she saw and heard but made choices on what she told her readers and how she did this. According to her own words, her choices were based on her personal interests and what she thought were the wishes of her readers. Her personal competences and abilities impacted what she observed and wrote. Additionally, she certainly carried ideas pertaining to what was expected of a pilgrimage story. At the time of her writing, the art of writing Christian travel narratives was only just emerging; in antiquity, however, there had been other forms of travel writing and most probably Egeria was aware of these to some degree. In her travel journal, she writes about discussions with other pilgrims and local Christians who were used to meeting pilgrims and these oral traditions influenced her, too. Another important source of inspiration for her was the biblical texts.

In Section 2, Egeria and her travelogue are presented and placed within their context. While there is a scholarly consensus on many matters concerning Egeria’s work, there are differing opinions on some things influencing her opportunities and ability to observe and communicate information to her readers: Egeria’s status in the church and the society, the character of the group of her addressees and the level of her learning and her linguistic skills. There is discussion concerning whether she and her addressees were ascetic or not,Footnote ²³ as well as different ideas of what can be said about her social class.Footnote ²⁴ More importantly, while her familiarity with the Scriptures and her deep interest in liturgical practices have generally been acknowledged,Footnote ²⁵ some scholars have suggested that she did not understand Greek or that she had only a superficial comprehension of theology and interpretation of the Bible; these deficits would explain her focusing on the practices she observed rather than the contents of the homilies and teaching to which she was exposed.Footnote ²⁶ As both knowledge of Greek and Christian theology were necessary requirements for conducting proper observations about what was done in the liturgical and ecclesial life in the Holy Land, and for them to be reported correctly to others, it is important to study what Egeria’s Itinerarium reveals of those matters.

In Section 3, Egeria’s routes, the places she visited and people she encountered are examined. It becomes evident that she belonged to three communities: the group of her sisters at home, the community of Christian pilgrims and the Eucharistic community in Jerusalem and in the Holy Land.

Section 4 focuses on Egeria’s expressions on the senses, emotions and experiences. It is typical for Egeria to comment on things she saw, heard, smelled, tasted and touched and how it felt to move around, for example to climb a steep mountain. Unlike some other contemporary pilgrims, Egeria does not write about the spiritual senses, such as seeing with the eyes of faith, but prefers to report on the contents of her perceptions.

In Section 5, I discuss Egeria as a mediator of theological and biblical traditions. Egeria is famous for her description of the liturgical life of Jerusalem and her familiarity with the Scriptures has generally been acknowledged. Egeria’s account of the liturgy in Jerusalem is the most thoroughly studied topic in her diary; in this Element, it is examined from the viewpoint of the communication: What did she choose to describe in her travel journal and why? Her appreciation of the Scriptures is evident throughout her text. Which biblical books she uses, how she uses them and what she writes on the use of the Scriptures in the catechetical instruction and the liturgical life in Jerusalem, and during the travels to the holy sites, are scrutinized. Her frequent use of the Scriptures and explicit comments pertaining to their use in the life of the church, and her detailed descriptions of liturgical feasts, show the centrality of this topic in her thinking.

The final part of Section 5 – “Egeria as a Theologian” – is more tentative than those which precede it, as Egeria does not explicitly express her doctrinal thoughts. I discuss some theological ideas that Egeria’s text witnesses more or less explicitly: the unity of the church, the connection between the earthly Jerusalem and the heavenly Jerusalem, baptism and water and Christology and the Trinity. I suggest that Egeria wanted to mediate to her readers the theological idea of unity and participation, both between Christians in different parts of the Roman Empire (and even outside it) and between Christians in the earthly and heavenly Jerusalem.

The concluding section summarizes the results. Egeria did not merely travel for fun or write a travel diary solely for herself but she did both these things with other people in mind. Her goal was to share with her friends those things she held most important. When writing to her dear sisters in the west, Egeria used several methods to translate what she had learned and experienced in the east into a language her readers in the west were able to understand. She was interested in very many things, ranging from the beautiful fish in Edessa to how catechetical instruction in Jerusalem was organized. Her attention was, however, not drawn to mysticism or doctrinal discussions, as is the case with some other pilgrims from the same time, but rather to how ordinary people participated in the liturgical life in Jerusalem and what the pilgrims experienced during a pilgrimage.

1.4 The Method of This Element

The method of this Element is close reading.Footnote ²⁷ I also consider viewpoints brought to the fore by the study of lived religion in antiquity,Footnote ²⁸ in particular the focus on the ways ordinary Christians lived their lives, the agency of actors other than the institutional elite and the leaders, the communication within and between communities, the expressions of emotions and the idea that sense perception, gestures and movements are an important part of a pilgrim’s experience.Footnote ²⁹

I do not limit myself to this vantage point only, however, because Egeria presents material which falls outside of the focus of the study of ancient lived religion, in particular her notions on the clergy and the contents of theology. The study of lived religion, also lived ancient religion, is often defined as not being interested in theologies and dogma but in “what people actually do, the everyday experience, practices, and interactions that relate to and constitute the religion.”Footnote ³⁰ When it comes to the study of early Christianity, I agree with Georgia Frank, who opines that lived religion should not be separated from lived theology. She refers, further, to Averil Cameron who warns that when cultural history separates lived religion from theology it misses crucial dimensions of late antique Christianity.Footnote ³¹ Even if the focus of certain texts – including Egeria’s Itinerarium – is on the everyday life and practices of ancient Christians, I think it is natural that the same people would be aware of, and interested in, theology. Attention to ritual, material objects, experiences and sense perception does not exclude an interest in dogmatical matters, and, in fact, by describing them, an author can very well be expressing theological views, too. Reading Egeria’s text from the perspective of lived religion helps us to see the ordinary, the bodily and the sensory features in her text.

Further, as the study of lived religion in antiquity focuses on the lives of ordinary believers rather than that of the religious or institutional elite, it is important to note that late antique pilgrims and ascetics – those who play a central role in Egeria’s work – were not really quite ordinary Christians.Footnote ³² Some of the pilgrims and ascetics also belonged to the clergy and, in one sense, even lay pilgrims and other kinds of ascetics can be counted as the elite because of their special status and expertise. Egeria herself wrote from the perspective of a pilgrim and might well have been an ascetic herself. However, when describing participation in the life of the church in Jerusalem, she rarely draws a difference between the local ordinary Christians and those pilgrims who had traveled there. She focuses on the viewpoint of the faithful, not the clergy, and thus she provides material for the study of ancient lived religion.

Section 4 focuses on what Egeria writes about in terms of the senses and emotions. However, when studying texts about sense perception in antiquity, one must be aware of some limitations. Because sense perception and its depiction are, to a certain degree, dependent on context, such as education, culture and language, we cannot be certain that Egeria experienced and interpreted everything precisely in the same way we do today. On the other hand, there is no reason to overemphasize the differences between antiquity and our own time. Based on our own experiences, we can grasp something of how it might have sounded when many people from different countries sang psalms together in the great Constantinian basilica, Martyrium.

Finally, even if Egeria addressed her travel diary to her friends and nothing suggests that she originally had a wider readership in mind, it is nonetheless good to remember that when writing and making choices she was influenced by the customs of travel writing and pilgrimage narratives. By means of her travelogue, she created an image of herself as a pilgrim and, moreover, of what a pilgrim, according to her, should do and what a successful pilgrimage consists of.Footnote ³³

2.1 Egeria’s Itinerarium as a Book

The Pilgrimage of Egeria (Itinerarium Egeriae) is preserved in only one manuscript, which was found by Francesco Gamurrini in a monastery library in Arezzo in 1884, and even that is incomplete.Footnote ³⁴ This manuscript, Codex Aretinus 405, was written in Monte Cassino around the year 1000, and today, the beginning and the end as well as some pages from the middle of Egeria’s texts are missing. Since then, two fragments and eleven quotations have been found.Footnote ³⁵ A Galician monk, Valerius of Bierzo, wrote about Egeria’s travels in his letter in the seventh century, and Peter the Deacon used her text in the twelfth century when compiling his book Liber de locis sanctis; both texts contain some information about events described in the missing pages.Footnote ³⁶

Itinerarium Egeriae is clearly divided into two parts. There are some thematic, stylistic and linguistic differences between the two parts, which is understandable as the texts were written in different times and contexts. The first part, chapters 1–23, contains Egeria’s annotations on her journeys in Palestine, Syria, Egypt, Mesopotamia and Asia Minor, while the second, chapters 24–49, focuses on Jerusalem and the liturgical life there. In the first part, Egeria describes her route, writes in detail about the biblical sites she and her companions visit, recalls her discussions with local guides and the holy men, describes what the pilgrims did when visiting the holy sites and comments on the beauty of nature. When doing this, she often uses the first person singular and even quotes herself. In the second part, she describes in detail the daily and weekly services in Jerusalem, the great feasts and the pre- and postbaptismal teaching given by the bishop of Jerusalem. The character of this part of Itinerarium is more of general description concerning how things were usually carried out in Jerusalem rather than depicting one pilgrim’s own experiences. This part does, however, contain her personal comments, too.

Egeria’s style can be compared to posts in social media today. Even if both parts of her work progress in chronological order, her text is not fully coherent but rather gives the impression of letters written over a longer period of time. She often repeats herself and, for example, on numerous occasions expresses her happiness over how well the readings, hymns and prayers are chosen to suit precisely the place and time in question. Her descriptions of events or places are often short, and instead of summarizing the homilies and teaching, she paints flashy pictures of milieus and encounters with different people. Her Latin is reminiscent of spoken language.

2.2 Pilgrimages and Other Journeys from the West to the East

3.1 A Pilgrim in a Nutshell

Egeria was keen to pray at authentic biblical locations. Many times she expressed her intention to visit and to see sites mentioned in the Old and New Testaments.Footnote ⁹³ Nonetheless, it would be more precise to say that she was more interested in understanding the biblical texts connected to specific sites rather than locating the biblical events historically. The memorial sites were not always located precisely, geographically speaking, but rather chosen so that they could be visited more conveniently; on a few occasions Egeria shows that she is aware that the shown locations are uncertain or incorrect, but that is not a problem for her.Footnote ⁹⁴ While Melania and many other pilgrims wanted primarily to visit the monastics, the holy men, Egeria was more interested in the geography and biblical history. She described routes, buildings, ruins and nature. For her, holy men were guides who helped others understand the Scriptures better, but it was also important for her to pray with them. Egeria described for her readers the geography, topography and the people she encountered in order to take them along on her journey.

The Christians in Jerusalem had the unique possibility to celebrate Jesus’ life events at the actual sites at which they had taken place. In and near Jerusalem, the Christians participated in what can be called a moving liturgy or stational services. Egeria describes, in detail, how, along with their bishop, the Christians assembled in churches and at biblical sites, and walked together from place to place singing antiphons, hymns and psalms.Footnote ⁹⁵ This practice involved all Christians, not only the clergy and ascetics; everybody walked together. The walking in common, the singing and the listening to the Scriptural readings helped the participants to understand and remember the biblical events. It was also a way of making the Christians more visible and audible to one another and also to others; moving together singing in a public place strengthened the idea that Jerusalem was now a Christian city.Footnote ⁹⁶

Egeria carefully described the church buildings in and near Jerusalem and how they were decorated during the festivals. The architecture and building materials used, the spaces and the streets between them and even the decorations affected how the pilgrims experienced the liturgy.Footnote ⁹⁷

3.2 Jerusalem at the Time of Egeria

In Egeria’s time, there was not much left of the Jerusalem of the time of Jesus.Footnote ⁹⁸ The Romans had destroyed it twice, first in 70 CE when the Temple was destroyed, and subsequently in connection with the Bar Kochba War (132–135). The emperor Publius Aelius Hadrianus had rebuilt the city as a Roman city with temples and a military camp.Footnote ⁹⁹ New main roads, cardo and decumanus structured the new layout. The emperor had renamed Jerusalem after himself as Colonia Aelia Capitolina, a name Egeria knows, too, and which she explains to her readers as meaning Jerusalem (It. 9.7).

A new era began with the emperor Constantine’s and his mother Helena’s building projects; Egeria mentioned both of them by name. Constantine started the transformation of Jerusalem into a Christian city by initiating the building of three great basilicas: the Holy Sepulchre, Eleona on the Mount of Olives and the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem. During the fourth century, more churches and monasteries were built, including the infrastructure the pilgrims needed. Egeria does not directly comment on the earlier changes but instead describes the edifices as she saw them.

The Christians had not built anything on the Temple Mount.Footnote ¹⁰⁰ They used to celebrate many of Jesus’ life events at their real places – Pentecost in a church on Mount Sion, Maundy Thursday in Gethsemane – but according to Egeria’s text, the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple was not celebrated at the location where the Temple had stood but instead in the Church of the Resurrection, the Anastasis (It. 26).Footnote ¹⁰¹ This change signals that the location of the crucifixion and the resurrection of Jesus had taken over the role that the Temple had once had.Footnote ¹⁰²

Egeria wrote about two church buildings on Mount Sion (It. 43.2–3).Footnote ¹⁰³ The Christians walked there in procession together and celebrated the liturgy (It. 25.6,11; 27.5–6; 29.1; 37.1; 39.2,4–5; 40.2; 41.1). There was a pillar where Jesus was scourged, and Egeria writes that on Good Friday, all Christians eagerly went there to pray (It. 37.1).Footnote ¹⁰⁴ Peter the Deacon transmits information, possibly coming from Egeria, that the bishop’s chair of James the brother of Jesus was in that particular church. Pentecost was celebrated in the second church which at that time was brand new (It. 42.3).

At the time of Egeria the church of the Holy Sepulchre was not one church but rather a building complex consisting of the Constantinian basilica, Martyrium, the Church of Resurrection, Anastasis, and courtyards between these,Footnote ¹⁰⁵ and most of what Egeria wrote about the liturgical life in Jerusalem took place there. To understand Egeria’s text, it is necessary to know something about the topography and the history of that site. The different parts of the building complex were not under one roof as they are today but were connected via courtyards. Unfortunately, Egeria was not completely consistent in her way of naming the different parts.

The emperor Constantine and his mother Helena initiated the building of the great basilica, Martyrium, in 326, at a location shown by the local Christians.Footnote ¹⁰⁶ According to tradition, Helena found the Cross of Jesus during the excavations, and in Egeria’s time, this relic, together with the title, was shown to the Christians (It. 37.1–2). Martyrium, which Egeria often calls “the great church” was located so that the main entrance was on the side of the Roman cardo which Egeria refers to as Quintana, a great market street, and the altar faced toward the west. Egeria described the magnificence of the building and its decorations as follows: “For what shall I say about the decoration of the buildings themselves, which Constantine, with his mother’s presence and as far as the resources of his empire extended, adorned with gold, mosaic, and precious marble, both the major church and the Anastasis, at the Cross, and the other holy places in Jerusalem?” (It. 25.9). At the time of Egeria’s visit, the Anastasis, mentioned in the quotation, was a new edifice. It was a round building, and Egeria mentions its doors several times (It. 24.1.9; 25.2; 47.2). The burial cave of Jesus was located inside the Anastasis. There was an enclosure at the mouth of the cave: a waist-high balustrade. The bishop went into the cave each morning, and every evening in connection with the lucernare service a fire was brought from a lamp burning inside the cave (It. 24.4). Between the churches was Golgotha, which, at first, was under the open sky but was subsequently covered with a roof, and courtyards. Between Golgotha and Martyrium there was a small chapel or an area which Egeria calls “Behind the Cross,” a place where the holy wood of the cross was venerated on Good Friday. The baptistery was probably located near Anastasis. All these buildings or areas had their specific uses.

Egeria mentions other churches as well. Eleona (the name means “olive grove”) was also built by Constantine and was located on the Mount of Olives (It. 25.11; 30.2–3; 31.1; 33.1; 35.1–3; 39.1–3; 40.1; 43.3–6; 49.3). Egeria described this church as being very beautiful (It. 25.11) and mentioned that there was a grotto there where Jesus had taught the apostles (It. 33.3). During the Great Week, the Christians assembled at Eleona several times (It. 33.2; 39.1; 39.3). Imbomon, the site of Jesus’ ascension, was located on the summit of the Mount of Olives (It. 31.1; 35.4; 36.1; 39.3; 40.1; 43.5). In Egeria’s time, it was an open area, surrounded by pillars, but soon afterward a church was built there. On the way down from the top of the Mount of Olives, in Gethsemane, there was a church that Egeria called “charming” (It. 36.1). In Bethany, a church called Lazarium was located in the place where Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead (It. 25.11; 29.3–5; 39.1). Egeria even mentions Lazarium among the churches that were decorated in a special way during Easter (It. 39.1). The beginning of Easter was announced in this church alone (It. 29.5).

Egeria mentioned the third Constantinian basilica in Bethlehem several times (It. 25.8; 12; 39.1; 42.1), but in the preserved part of her diary she does not write about her visits there. However, she does mention that there is “the cave where the Lord was born” (It. 42.1) and that during the Great Feast this church was beautifully decorated as equal to Anastasis and Martyrium (It. 25.8), and that the week after Epiphany was celebrated “with decoration and rejoicing by the presbyters and all the clergy” (It. 25.12).

3.3 Egeria’s Route and the Places She Visited

It has been estimated that Egeria’s whole journey took at least four years. She mentions having stayed in Jerusalem for three years during which time she made two excursions to Egypt and some shorter trips to biblical sites closer to Jerusalem (It. 17.1). Most likely she had set off from Northern Spain or Southern Gaul and it is possible that she returned there – the manuscript leaves that question open. That her journey was exceptionally long is confirmed by the words of the bishop of Edessa: “As I see, daughter, that you have taken on yourself such great labor for the sake of piety that you have come to these places from the farthest distant lands” (It. 19.5).

Because the beginning and the end of Egeria’s text are missing, attempts have been made to use other sources to reconstruct the parts described in them. Egeria mentioned herself that she had visited Chalcedon, Bithynia, Galatia and Cappadocia already on her way to Jerusalem (It. 23.7), and when in Egypt, she mentioned having already been there earlier (It. 7.1; 9.5). The letter of Valerius of Bierzo confirms this information. Peter the Deacon possibly used Egeria’s text in his Liber de locis sanctis (1137 CE), and therefore, it can be used in the reconstruction, too. However, he used other sources as well, and so a certain caution is necessary. According to these authors, Egeria came to Mount Sinai along the coast visiting Pelusium, Clysma and Paran en route.Footnote ¹⁰⁷

The preserved text starts with Egeria and her companions approaching Mount Sinai (chapters 1–9). Even if the true location of the mountain is debated, at the time of Egeria the Christians believed that it was the mountain nowadays called Jebel Musa, the Mountain of Moses. Her descriptions of the visits to the summits of Mount Sinai and Mount Choreb are typical for her: She vividly described the landscape and the labor of climbing, but most important for her was participating in the Eucharist in both places and hearing the Scriptural readings about the biblical events there (It. 3–4). When shown particular sites or memorials, such as the burning bush, Egeria regularly referred to the biblical passage (Ex 3:5). On their way down, the pilgrims saw the memorial stone at the place of the Golden Calf (Ex 32:4), the place where Moses broke the tablets (Ex 32:17–19) and several other places mentioned in the books of Moses. Egeria also told her readers why she reported everything in such detail: “when your affection reads the holy books of Moses, you will perceive more accurately everything that was done there” (It. 5.8).

They returned the same way they had arrived and visited Paran and Clysma. The coastal road was sometimes so close to the sea that the waves touched the feet of the donkeys (It. 6.1). Another peculiar detail was the way the people in Paran could travel safely by night: Their camels could navigate well in the dark (It. 6.2). From Clysma by the Red Sea they traveled to the land of Gosen. Egeria was shown places the Israelites had visited when fleeing from Egypt: Epauleum, Magdalum, Belsephon, Oton and Socchoth, that is Migdol (Ex 14:2), Baal-Sefon (Ex 14:2), Etam (Ex 13:20) and Sukkot (Ex 13:20); the name Epauleum comes from the Septuagint translation of Ex 14:2 where epaulis means a guesthouse. She mentions a visit to Heroonpolis (Numeri 45:28–29). From the town of Arabia she went to Ramses (Ex 1:11). There she saw a sycamore tree with the name of dendros aletheias, the tree of the truth (It. 8.4); and she transmitted a strange tradition according to which the pharaoh burned down the town of Ramses. From Arabia she returned to Jerusalem through Tanis (Thebaid) and Pelusium.

Having rested a while, in January or February 384 she visited Mount Nebo on the other side of the River Jordan (It. 10–12). During this journey she visited Livias and a valley where many of the events described in Deuteronomy had taken place. She saw where Moses had written the book and recited his Canticum (It. 10.6–7). On the summit of Nebo she saw the tomb of Moses and was shown magnificent views (It. 12).

Egeria then wanted to visit the tomb of Job in Carneas in the land of Uz (It. 13; 16.5–7). On her way from there, she visited Salem/Sedima, presented as the town of Melchizedek; its church was called opu Melchisedek (“where Melchizedek was”). In Aenon, the pilgrims got to know the location where John the Baptist had baptized people, and to which people still came to be baptized (It. 15). Again she chose to inform her readers what the place was called in Greek. A presbyter told her that the name of that garden was Cepos tu agiu Iohanni, and added, “that you call in Latin hortus sancti Iohannis,” St. John’s garden. She also visited Tisbe, known as the home of the prophet Elijah (It. 16.1–2).

After having lived in Jerusalem for three years, and having visited all the places to which she had gone gratia orationis, to pray, Egeria decided to return home (It. 17.1). On her way to Constantinople, she decided to visit Mesopotamia, especially Edessa. She gave several reasons for the visit: firstly, she wanted to visit the holy monks who lived an “indescribably excellent life” there; secondly, to see the martyr chapel of St Thomas; and, thirdly, it was in Edessa that the correspondence between Jesus and King Abgar was to be found. She set off from Antioch, stopped in Hierapolis, crossed “the great river Euphrates” and came to Edessa.

Egeria’s narrative about her visit in Edessa focused on her encounter and dialogue with the bishop and what he told her about King Abgar (It. 17.1–2).Footnote ¹⁰⁸ The bishop guided her and showed her the palace of King Abgar and the statues of Abgar and his son Magnus. Egeria was impressed by the palace and the water pools filled with fish and clear water and also reported in detail the miracle of how the city was saved from the Persians as the water changed its direction. Egeria was most interested in the correspondence between King Abgar and Jesus.Footnote ¹⁰⁹ Egeria reported to her friends that she received copies of the correspondence and thought that the copy was better and more complete than the one she had at home (It. 19.19).

From Edessa, Egeria went on further to Carrhae. She was interested in that it was seen as the place from which Abraham left for the Holy Land (It. 20). She saw the well of Rebecca and the martyr chapel of Helpidius. Interestingly, she noted that almost everybody was pagan in that city; she met only a few clergy and monks.

On her way from Antioch to Constantinople, she stopped at Tarsos in Cilicia, Pompeiopolis, Corycos and Mopsucrene. From the province of Cilicia she came to Isauria and visited the city of Seleucia. From there, she traveled through Cappadocia, Galatia and Bithynia to Constantinople. The only place she wrote about more was Saint Thecla in Seleucia, Isauria. There she met her friend, Marthana, who was an abbess there. Visiting Chalcedon, she mentions only the martyr chapel of Euphemia, an important saint who had been killed in the persecution of Galerius in 303–304. She did not write much about her visit to Constantinople, only that she visited “all the churches, or the Apostles, as well as in all the martyria, which are very many there,” and in all these she said thanks to “our God Jesus” (It. 24.8).

Egeria’s subsequent destiny is not known. The section which describes her travels ends with the following words, written in Constantinople:

Egeria ended the description of her travels with an address to her home community, her dear sisters whom she here calls her light. She had described her route, the places and the people she had encountered to people who were not able to travel themselves. By means of reading her travelogue, they were able to imagine these and in that way participate in her journey.

3.4 People Egeria Encountered

4.1 Senses in Egeria’s Text

In her role as a communicator, Egeria used several techniques to mediate her experiences to her friends at home. When her book is read from the perspective of lived religion in antiquity, one notices that instead of referring to the contents of faith in doctrinal formulations, she focused on events, encounters, material religion, sense perception and emotions.Footnote ¹²⁷ It is typical for her to describe vividly what she sees (It. 16.4), tastes (It. 15.2), hears (It. 46.4), smells (It. 24.10) and touches (It. 37.3) in the Holy Land.Footnote ¹²⁸ Encountering the holy in the form of liturgy, homilies, as well as holy people and holy places, moved her.Footnote ¹²⁹ As a pilgrim, she noticed both material objects related to her Christian faith and the soundscape of the Holy Land. Sometimes she also expressed her own emotions or commented on how other Christians express their feelings (It. 24.1). Egeria did not often write about the act of sensing but focused on what she sensed.

As discussed in the Introduction, for a modern reader it is difficult to grasp precisely in what ways people in late antiquity sensed things, interpreted their sense perceptions or felt emotions, with all these being dependent on one’s culture and upbringing.Footnote ¹³⁰ The most secure ground is when focusing on what the author explicitly writes, and even then, one cannot be sure whether we are interpreting those texts in the precise way they were originally intended.

When it comes to how well ancient people communicated what they experienced and how well they understood each other’s texts, it is clear that a successful communication presupposes that the author and the readers shared sufficiently similar worldviews, experiences, level of knowledge and memory.Footnote ¹³¹ In Egeria’s case, it can be taken for granted that she knew the recipients of her text well and thus knew what they might understand. Unlike some contemporary pilgrims, such as Paula, Egeria did not write about the spiritual senses.Footnote ¹³² However, sense perception and bodily experiences formed an important part of spirituality for the pilgrims and did not necessarily have to be interpreted for the readers; they were still able to understand the theological meaning.

4.2 Hearing the Holy

4.3 Seeing the Holy

The preserved part of Egeria’s Itinerarium begins with an expression that is subsequently repeated numerous times with minor variations: “ … were shown according to the Scriptures” (… ostendebatur iuxta Scripturas).Footnote ¹⁴⁰ This phrase summarizes well two features typical of Egeria’s travelogue. First, what she was most interested in seeing were the biblical places, and second, at the pilgrimage sites there were holy people and guides who showed her and her companions what they should see and how these sites were related to the Scriptures.Footnote ¹⁴¹ The guides helped the pilgrims quite practically, but Egeria’s references to them also gave authority to the information she was transmitting. Egeria depicted herself as an active agent who planned her route so that she could see biblical places for herself and pray there; and during her journey, she saw not only those places which were usually shown to visitors but on several occasions she also asked that some things would be shown to her (It. 3.7; 6.11).

Equally important as the idea that the places were shown to the pilgrims are the verbs videre “to see, to look at,” and pervidere “to see all, to really see.”Footnote ¹⁴² Seeing a biblical place was so central for Egeria that she sometimes used the word “to see” to mean “to visit” (It. 5.2). The main idea of Egeria’s pilgrimage was to see the holy places. She eagerly desired to see the holy sites (It. 4.1) and labored hard to reach her goal (It. 3.1–2). It is worth noticing that all instances of her use of the verb “to see” are in the first part of her journal where she describes her journeys in the Holy Land. In the second part, she describes what she saw in Jerusalem but no longer writes about the seeing in itself.

As a travel writer, Egeria did not rely only on what the guides told her but also mentioned to her readers that her own eyes confirmed the information given by the monks. The following is an example of this in her own words: “The valley is very huge, lying under the mountain of God, and was, as far as we could estimate by looking or they said, about sixteen miles in length” (It. 2.1). Sometimes she seems to be critical of what is shown to her and informs her readers what she really saw or did not see. On the summit of Mount Sinai, when the pilgrims had received the Eucharist and eulogiae, Egeria asked the holy men to show various places to the pilgrims; they saw a lot but she was also somewhat cautious:

Not all of these areas could be seen from Mount Sinai, and Egeria’s final sentence, if we read it in the context of the whole section, shows that she knew that and wanted to share that information with her sisters, too, however politely. This passage reveals three other features common in Egeria’s description pertaining to what she saw: first, she not only saw what the guides chose to show to her but also actively asked to view other places of which she had read or heard; second, she combined the visual experience and the specific Scriptural passages; and third, she tried to describe the landscape and the views in such a way that her readers could imagine the scene themselves and learn to understand the Scriptures better.

The passage about Egeria’s visit to Mount Nebo is also revealing (It. 12.3–7). Entering the church on top of the mountain, Egeria spontaneously noticed (vidi) a slightly raised place and asked the holy men what it was; they then told her about a tradition about the grave of Moses. After a prayer, the presbyters and monks asked if Egeria wanted to see (videre) the places mentioned in the books of Moses. Egeria was pleased, and the holy men showed her all the places that were visible (parent) from there. Egeria reports both what they saw and what they did not see: “But believe me, revered ladies, that the pillar [of Lot’s wife] itself was not visible, but only the place was shown” (It. 12.79). By means of her depiction of the conversation, Egeria fashions herself as an active and competent agent who encounters the local holy men respectfully but also critically.

Apart from biblical places and beautiful views on her journey, Egeria saw how the services were celebrated in Jerusalem and at the pilgrimage sites; she saw churches, chapels and memorial sites, as well as material objects such as candles, doors and the decoration of the churches. However, when describing Jerusalem and the events there, she did not write explicitly about seeing; nor did she write about spiritual seeing or experiences of seeing biblical events becoming alive in front of her eyes, as Paula did; she wrote solely about what she saw with her corporeal eyes.

“Illustrated Bible” is an expression which characterizes well the goal and the art of Egeria’s seeing the holy places.Footnote ¹⁴⁶ When describing a visit to a biblical site, she reported to her readers what the place, the views, the edifices, the people and the liturgical life there looked like. It was important for her to see the biblical sites with her own eyes in order to understand and memorize the Scriptural events better. Jerome describes this kind of seeing as “One who has seen Judea with his own eyes … will gaze more clearly upon the Holy Scripture.”Footnote ¹⁴⁷

The difference between Egeria’s way of seeing and that of some other pilgrims in her time becomes clear in the light of what Augustine writes about different modes of seeing: corporeal vision, vision which enables one to see things in one’s mind even when the eyes are closed (from memory and mind), spiritual vision by which one can see things from which one has read or heard about (e.g. from the Scripture) and visio beatifica.Footnote ¹⁴⁸ While Paula is a good example of the third category, and her approach can be characterized as “re-experienced Bible” or as “biblical realism,”Footnote ¹⁴⁹ Egeria represents the first and second categories. She wrote about seeing in its ordinary meaning, and when writing, used her memory.

4.4 Tasting the Holy

Egeria told surprisingly little about the celebration of the Eucharist in Jerusalem and in the Holy Land.Footnote ¹⁵⁰ McGowan and Bradshaw explain this as Egeria’s way of omitting things which were similar to home and focusing mostly on what was new or different; and they refer to her recurring expressions such as “everything is done according to the custom by which it is also done everywhere on the Lord’s Day” without mentioning what the custom was.Footnote ¹⁵¹ In Egeria’s text, the Eucharist was celebrated on Sundays and Feast Days but possibly even on other days, too. The Latin word for Eucharist, for her, is oblatio (offering) and its cognate verbs oblationem facere and offerre (It. 35.2). In Egeria’s understanding, the whole congregation offer the Eucharist; she, for example, writes that on Choreb “we made both the oblation there and most earnest prayer” (fecimus ergo et ibi oblationem et orationem impensissimam, It. 4.3).Footnote ¹⁵² Participating in the Eucharist is expressed with the verb communicare (It. 3.6–7; 16.7; 35.2). The subject used in the first part of the book is “we,” and in the second, “they.” For example, on Mount Sinai, Egeria and her group met presbyters and monks and participated in the Eucharist in a little church on the summit of this Mountain (It. 3.5–7).

Another way of tasting the holy are the gifts (eulogiae) the pilgrims received when visiting certain monasteries or cells of monks. On Mount Sinai, at the Well of Moses, at Aenon and at the Well of Jacob, Egeria and her companions received gifts as blessings from the monks (It. 3.6–7; 11.1; 15.6; 21.3). Twice Egeria explains what these eulogiae were: fruits that the monks grew at the holy sites. Egeria does not say that they ate them but that can be assumed.Footnote ¹⁵³

Tasting, or seeing, fresh water is found in Egeria’s text several times. When she describes the places she visited and the biblical texts that were read at those places, she often chooses topics that, in one way or another, are connected to water. Egeria is keen to see biblical places connected to water but also contemporary sites with their traditions and practices which are connected to water. It is natural that pilgrims traveling in dry and arid areas notice water, but as water and fish also have so many biblical and theological connotations which Egeria’s readers easily could have thought of, it is possible that the author has had theological interpretations in mind. It seems that in her text historical, geographical, biblical and theological interpretations of water are interwoven. Egeria’s story culminates with a long description of baptism in Jerusalem at Easter – it is preceded by the pre-baptismal catechesis (It. 45–46) and followed by post-baptismal teaching (It. 47). The name Egeria uses for baptism is bath (It. 45.4).

In Aenon, the water was, according to Egeria, used for baptism, drinking and washing. She was shown the location where John the Baptist baptized people and where people were still being baptized (It. 15.1–5). The local presbyter called this water “pure” and “excellent” and coming from a stream and told her that holy monks used to come there to wash. On the way to Nebo, Egeria visited the Well of Moses (It. 10.8). The local presbyter guided Egeria to the place where Moses gave water to the children of Israel when they were thirsty. The pilgrims tasted the “abundant water, very beautiful and clear, with excellent taste.” In Edessa, Egeria saw “springs full of fish, such as I never saw before, that is, of such size, and so bright and of such a good taste” (It. 19.7). Egeria’s emphasized interest in tasting and seeing water, combined with her references to biblical narratives about water, can be understood as a way of reminding her readers that this biblical and theological topic is physically present everywhere in the Holy Land, culminating in the baptismal rite in Jerusalem.

Two further topics belong to tasting: the fasts and a story of one person misbehaving during the showing of the wood of the cross. Fasting means controlling the tasting; Egeria reports the rules and practices for fasting when it comes to the catechumens (It. 26.5), all the faithful (It. 27–37) and different groups of the ascetics (It. 27.9; 28.1–3), at different times of the week and during the developing liturgical year. Egeria’s description of the Lent in chapters 27–37 is an important source for the early phases of this time.Footnote ¹⁵⁴ Once she uses the word “taste” (gustare), when writing that some ascetics do not taste bread, oil or fruit during Lent, only water and a little broth (It. 28.4).

Egeria tells a peculiar story of misconduct beside the relic of the “holy wood of the cross” (It. 37.2). On one occasion on a Good Friday when this relic was being shown to all at a table in Golgotha, the people came up one by one to kiss the wood. Egeria recorded that someone had bitten off and stolen a piece of the wood. Thereafter, in Egeria’s time, the relic was guarded by deacons. Egeria seems a bit hesitant when referring to this story as she frames it “because, I don’t know when, someone is said to have bitten …” Perhaps she did not quite believe the story.

4.5 Touching and Smelling the Holy

The study of lived religion focuses attention onto what is said about material objects in the practice of religion. The attention of the early pilgrims to the Holy Land was directed both to sacred architecture and topography and to relics and items they could carry home when returning from their journey.Footnote ¹⁵⁵ In this section, I deal with the touching and smelling; the sacred architecture and topography has already been discussed in Sections 3.2–3.

Egeria mentioned some objects that were shown as relics. The only passages where she explicitly wrote about touching (tangere) are the above-mentioned episode with the holy wood of the cross (lignum sanctum crucis), the inscription (titulus) and two other relics, Solomon’s ring and the horn with which the kings were anointed (It. 36.4–37.2), objects that were shown to the faithful at Golgotha on Good Friday.Footnote ¹⁵⁶ She explained that every year a chair was placed for the bishop and the deacons stood around him. A table covered with a linen cloth was placed before him and upon it a silver-gilt casket. The holy wood of the cross was taken from the casket and, together with the inscription, placed on the table. Both the faithful and the catechumens came forward, in good order, one by one, kissed the holy wood and touched it with their foreheads; however, they were not permitted to touch it with their hands. Two other holy objects were also venerated; Egeria wrote that the faithful “kiss the horn and venerate the ring.”Footnote ¹⁵⁷

Already in Egeria’s time, there was a custom of bringing souvenirs from holy places. The only instance where Egeria mentions anything like this, however, is when she writes that holy men could give eulogiae (blessings, gifts) to the pilgrims (It. 3.6–7; 11.1; 15.6; 21.3). These eulogiae were fruit and, therefore, there was nothing for the pilgrims to carry home.

Egeria’s travelogue is one of the earliest witnesses of the use of incense in the liturgy.Footnote ¹⁵⁸ In It. 24.10, Egeria describes the morning service in Anastasis. Early in the morning, the doors were opened and the people came into a brightly lightened basilica. After a recitation of three psalms and three prayers, sensers (thiamataria) were brought into the cave of Anastasis and the whole basilica was filled with the smell (odor). The incense added an important aspect to this already impressive experience.

Touching holy objects and smelling incense, however, play only a minimal role in Egeria’s text. The object she was most interested in bringing back home was the manuscript containing a copy of the correspondence between Jesus and King Abgar, and that was for the purpose of study not veneration (It. 19.19).

4.6 Emotions and Experiences

Egeria never wrote about negative emotions; on the contrary, she expressed happiness over many things. However, this kind of language can be understood as something she thought was expected of a pilgrim. She is happy and grateful for having been able to travel:

She was equally happy to meet her dear friend Marthana again: “I gave endless thanks to Christ our God, who was gracious enough to fulfill for me, unworthy and underserving, my desires in all things” (It. 23.3–5). Repeatedly she commented that the psalms, antiphons, hymns and readings were well chosen and, for example in It. 25.5, she noted that this is quite remarkable. In It. 19.19, she states she is very pleased to have received copies of the letters of Abgar, and she informs her readers why: The copies at home are less complete than those she now has received.

Another kind of experience Egeria witnessed was in connection to liturgical services. She thought it was worth informing her friends far away about the strong reaction of the Christians in Jerusalem to readings from the Scriptures (It. 24.10; 34; 36.3; 37.7). The “groaning and moaning” and “such emotion and lamentation from all people that it is astonishing” must have been different from home. Egeria did not mention whether these kinds of strong reactions were spontaneous or something the Christians in Jerusalem had learned to do.

More frequently than directly mentioning emotions, she described events that were great experiences or exceptionally demanding for ordinary Christians, such as the Palm Sunday procession when great numbers of Christians followed their bishop down from the Mount of Olives to Jerusalem, singing together by candlelight, parents carrying children on their shoulders (It. 31.2–3; 36.2). It must have been equally impressive to sit by the Anastasis before dawn, singing and praying together and, at the cockcrow, to go through the opened doors into the church where numerous lamps were lit as the room filled with incense (It. 24.8–10).Footnote ¹⁵⁹ On the other hand, days filled with a program of liturgical services and processions, or the time of fasting, could, according to Egeria, be “great labor for the people” (It. 43.1). When reporting of her travels around the Holy Land, she sometimes told her friends how difficult and exhausting it was to climb or descend a mountain (It. 11.4). As an energetic pilgrim, however, she never stopped with the hardships but remembered to add that “however, the labor was partly not felt because I saw that the desire that I had being fulfilled by God’s will” (It. 3.3). She interpreted her experiences in the light of how she understood a pilgrimage to be and how a good pilgrim reacted to the difficulties of the journey.

Compared to Egeria’s descriptions on experiences, her contemporary pilgrim Paula had a different approach. In her letter to Marcella, Paula imagines what they would do when Marcella arrived in Jerusalem: entering the cave of the savior, weeping inside the grave of the Lord, kissing the wood of the cross, being exalted in prayer, seeing Lazarus emerging in his burial clothes and seeing the prophet Amos still playing his shepherd’s horn.Footnote ¹⁶⁰ For Paula, visiting holy sites meant the possibility to re-experience the Bible,Footnote ¹⁶¹ whereas Egeria describes Christians experiencing pilgrimage and liturgy.

4.7 Sense Perceptions and Emotions in Communication

In the ancient world, not everybody could travel to Jerusalem. Those who did were able to share their experiences by means of travel diaries and letters. What Egeria experienced in Jerusalem clearly impressed her, and her frequent mentions of sense perception was one way of taking her readers along with her on the journey. She described what she saw, heard, smelled, touched and tasted in order to inform and inspire her friends at home, to enhance their understanding of the Scriptures and theology and to do what any traveler does: to describe the local milieu just for entertaining.

As Carol Harrison has noted, people in antiquity understood sense perception differently from the way people do today. It was seen as a process by which images were impressed upon the mind and stored in the memory.Footnote ¹⁶² Therefore, it was of great importance what the Christians chose to fill their minds with and, in the case of someone like Egeria writing a travelogue, her readers’ minds. By focusing on liturgical experiences, she formulated her view on what a pilgrim does, namely participating in the liturgical life of the local church.

Even if Egeria was not an educated rhetoric, she did what a rhetoric should do: teach, delight and persuade. Describing sense perceptions is an effective way of achieving this. As a communicator, Egeria’s goal was to take her readers along with her on her journey and to describe her experiences in such a way that pertinent information, as well as the delight and sense of participating in the events in the Holy Land, could be transmitted to her readers. A narrative is an effective way to give an example of what a pilgrim – or any Christian – should do.

Unlike many others of her time, such as Paula of Bethlehem according to Jerome’s depiction, Egeria focused only on describing the physical sense perception, not on the spiritual one.Footnote ¹⁶³ Jerome wrote about Paula: “She knew the Scriptures by heart and although she loved the historical facts, referring to them as the foundations of truth, she preferred to follow the spiritual meaning”; the first part would of course characterize Egeria, too, but not the second.Footnote ¹⁶⁴

Finally, Egeria’s description of the landscape and soundscape – what she saw and heard – sheds light on the Christianization of Jerusalem and of the Holy Land.Footnote ¹⁶⁵ The atmosphere of this city and the land was not changed only by the erection of new buildings, such as churches and monasteries, but also by who was allowed to be seen and heard on its streets and roads. Even if she chose to describe only Christian sounds and ignored the others, nonetheless she bore witness to a change that was happening during the fourth century in the Holy Land.Footnote ¹⁶⁶

5.1 Different Ways to Communicate Theological Views

It has been pointed out that Egeria does not say much about dogmatic issues,Footnote ¹⁶⁷ nor does she explain in any depth the different ways to interpret the Scripture, even if she knew that they existed.Footnote ¹⁶⁸ There is little about the contents of the sermons or the catechetical instruction and she does not explain the theology expressed by the practices. Instead, she limits herself to mentioning that homilies, teaching and liturgy took place or writes very concisely about their contents. When thinking of the time and the geographical area in which she traveled and lived, she must have heard something of the debates on the Trinity or Christology or of the different Christian groups, but even if she did visit Edessa, notable for its various communities,Footnote ¹⁶⁹ and visited Constantinople close to 381, the year of the Council, she did not directly comment on any of the theological disputes.

Compared with her contemporary pilgrim, Paula of Bethlehem, whose letter to Marcella contains both exegetical and dogmatical arguments, Egeria merely describes the ecclesial practices. Seen from the viewpoint of the “study of lived religion,” it is possible that she was not interested in doctrinal matters or differences between theological traditions; for her, the rituals would have been more interesting. It also might be that she lacked the capacity to understand the doctrinal differences. Theological views can, however, be presented in several ways: Egeria seldom comments directly on dogmatic questions, but she does present her views through narratives. By focusing on certain practices and topics, including pre- and post-baptismal instruction, pilgrimage, meeting holy people and visiting holy places, participating in the liturgical life and using the Scriptures, she emphasizes their importance for her.

From the point of view of the “study of lived religion,” it is natural that a pilgrim can focus on material and practical things and the experiences obtained; but this does not indicate that they are unaware of the theology behind the praxis. Theological ideas can be expressed very well through the narration of liturgy, experiences or even soundscapes. Egeria’s theological interests can, thus, be identified by the topics she chooses to present to her readers. To a certain degree, the topics might have been defined by her expectations of the interests and learning of the addressees. Expressions such as “I want you to know, ladies, revered sisters …” (It. 3.8) and the recurring comparison between practices in Jerusalem and at home show that she had her readers in mind when choosing what to write about. What she omitted, or deemed unnecessary to explain, is also dependent on what she thinks of her readers’ level of knowledge: It is a waste of time to explain things both she and her intended readers were already familiar with.Footnote ¹⁷⁰

It is not always easy to discern how well Egeria was aware of the theological thinking behind the practices she describes. In order to identify possible lines of thought, it is helpful to read her text together with other texts from the same time and place, in particular those of the bishop of Jerusalem, Cyril, and the letter of Paula and Eustochium. However, where Egeria does not explicitly explain the theological ideas, one must be careful not to read too much into the omission. Later in this section I discuss some examples of theological ideas that she probably embraced but which she does not formulate explicitly: First, I think it is possible to understand her enthusiastic and detailed description of the continuous liturgical life in Jerusalem in the light of the theology of the contemporary bishop, Cyril of Jerusalem, as a reflection on the liturgy in the heavenly Jerusalem, and second, the recurring theme in her text, fresh water, might be connected to her lengthy description of baptism in Jerusalem.

Finally, Egeria’s way of arguing is to present only positive ideas. She never criticizes anyone. A good example of Egeria’s way of dealing with theological disputes, which from other sources we know existed at that time, is her description of her visit to Edessa: She says nothing about the different groups there but focuses instead on those theologians of whom she approves.

5.2 Egeria and the Scriptures

For the Bible, Egeria uses the word scripturae or sanctae scripturae (It. 48.2). She shows awareness of the difference between canonical and noncanonical books (It. 20.10). She mentions, by name, several biblical books or parts of them, such as Genesis, Exodus, Deuteronomy, Psalms, Acts of the Apostles and the letters of Paul. She mentions the “Book of Moses” by which she means Exodus (It. 3.1). According to the practice in the Septuagint, she referred to the Books of Samuel and Kings as Liber regnorum, “The book of the Kingdoms” (It. 4.3). In several instances she writes that certain readings come from “The Gospel” (It. 27.2), while the epistle readings are called “The Apostle” (It. 37.5). Sometimes Egeria neither identifies the readings read nor gives sufficient information for others to do so. However, relatively often she reveals enough for an identification to be possible.

When it comes to the Old Testament, Egeria used some version of the Old Latin translations based on the Septuagint.Footnote ¹⁷¹ Some of her information comes from the choices made in the Septuagint, such as her calling Laban a Syrian (It. 20.10). As noted earlier, she is well aware of the existence of different languages used in the church and states that in Jerusalem the Scriptural readings must always be read in Greek (It. 47.4).

Both the Old and New Testaments were important for her; she visited places mentioned in both, quoted texts from both and alluded to themes in both. She wrote about the relation between the two Testaments when she talks about what was done on Good Friday. She emphasized that everything concerning the Lord’s passion had been foretold by the prophets, and what they had foretold had now been completely fulfilled. The Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles witness the Lord’s passion; the hymns chosen to suit to the theme.

Diligent mentioning of the Scriptures was an important strategy Egeria used in her travel journal. For her, not only was it central to emphasize that the Scriptures were read and heard, or how they were interpreted, but where they were read was also of importance. The last point includes both a geographical and a liturgical aspect. Visiting biblical sites and praying there was naturally the reason for the whole pilgrimage (It. 13.1). Both Christians living in the Holy Land and pilgrims traveling there had the unique possibility to read the biblical texts in the correct places, and Egeria described this custom eloquently, especially when dealing with the celebration of the Great Week (It. 30–39). In the second part of her Itinerarium, Egeria emphasized two fundamental sites in the use of the Scriptures: the liturgical life and the catechetical instruction.

Egeria not only described the use of the Scriptures but even commented on their importance. A few times, she formulated her appreciation of knowledge of the Scriptures directly. Once she wrote to her “lady sisters” that the local Christians knew their Bible so well because the catechetical teaching was organized in such a way to achieve this (It. 46) and sometimes she described an ideal ascetic as a person who is “very learned in God’s Scriptures”; such is the bishop of Arabia (It. 8.4).

When describing her travels in Egypt, the Holy Land and Mesopotamia and the liturgical year in Jerusalem, Egeria often quoted the Scriptures or alluded to recognizable Scriptural passages.Footnote ¹⁷² She and her companions planned their routes and knew which biblical places they wanted to see. On the road, even when they had guides, she also remembered the biblical geography herself and actively asked to see places she knew were close by.Footnote ¹⁷³ She reported that when visiting a particular biblical site the pilgrims always heard passages connected to that particular place; often she additionally retold the actual biblical narratives in her own words. Both on her travels and when writing about the liturgical life in Jerusalem, she repeatedly expressed her admiration that the Scriptural readings, prayers and songs were well chosen to suit that particular place and time. It is clear that she felt it important to communicate to her readers her appreciation of the frequent use of the Scriptures.

Egeria’s way of connecting pilgrimage sites to the relevant Scriptural passages is pedagogical. The pilgrims traveled toward any biblical site knowing where to go and having the Scriptural narratives in mind – Itinerarium starts with her mentioning that when they were heading toward Mount Sinai they had a travel plan (It. 1.1; 2.3). On the road, they were shown other places mentioned in the Scriptures (It. 1.1). Egeria not only names the places they saw when passing by but also describes the nature, the views and how it felt to travel there (It. 1.1–2.1). She and her companions often had guides who told them what to do in order to reach a certain biblical site (It. 1.2). Once at the site, the appropriate readings were read. An example of this kind of use of the Scriptures is found in Egeria’s depiction of the visit to the plain where Moses sang his Canticle (Deut 32). She wrote: “For it was always our custom that whenever we were about to visit places we desired, first prayer was made there, then the reading was read from the codex, also one psalm relevant to the matter was recited and prayer was made there again” (It. 10.7).

In Jerusalem, the whole congregation gathered on certain Feast Days at precise locations or churches to celebrate together. The Great Week, in particular, consisted of processions and stational liturgy celebrated on the Mount of Olives, Gethsemane and Golgotha (It. 30–38).Footnote ¹⁷⁴ As Egeria describes these practices, it is pedagogical and emotional to walk together, sing hymns and listen to texts, all “appropriate to the place and time,” as our author puts it many times.

During her travels to the biblical sites, it was not only the Scriptural readings which added to the understanding of the Scriptures and the particular location; readings were always joined by prayer and the singing of hymns that were connected to that particular site, and when possible, by the celebration of the Eucharist. Moreover, Egeria repeatedly described the views and the nature of that specific location. In this way, she invited her readers to imagine the Scriptural events better and so learn more about the contents of the Scripture.Footnote ¹⁷⁵ However, because of her frequent personal comments on what she sees, hears and experiences, one does get the impression that not only is her goal to enhance her readers’ knowledge of the geography or the Scripture but that, through her narrative, they could participate in her experiences.

When describing the liturgical life in Jerusalem, and the visits to the pilgrimage sites, Egeria constantly mentioned the Scriptural readings. There was already an early system of lectionaries, that is, prescribed texts for certain Sundays and Feast Days; and in several cases it is possible to identify the texts Egeria mentions. A good example is the passage from Acts which was read each year at Pentecost in the church on Mount Sion, and that a passage about the resurrection was read every Sunday. On Tuesday of the Great Week, Matthew 24:4 was read; today the same text is still read in the Orthodox churches on that same day.

A more complex question is Egeria’s knowledge and her use of different ways to interpret the Scriptures. Anne McGowan and Paul Bradshaw point out correctly that Egeria never uses allegorical or typological interpretation of the Scriptures.Footnote ¹⁷⁶ However, when describing the catechetical instruction given by the bishop of Jerusalem, Egeria shows that she is aware of two ways of interpretation:

Angelo Tafi summarizes Egeria’s understanding of the use of the Scriptures in two words mentioned in this quotation: carnaliter and spiritualiter, “literally” and “spiritually,”Footnote ¹⁷⁷ and Catherine Sider Hamilton writes that in Egeria’s text the literal history becomes a spiritual transformation. According to both, for a pilgrim, the biblical story comes alive, “inviting the reader to come in.”Footnote ¹⁷⁸ Egeria’s descriptions about her visits to pilgrimage sites mentioned in the Old Testament point to an understanding of Christological interpretation of the relevant biblical texts – why else would a Christian visit those particular sites? Christian hymns and prayers certainly included typological or allegorical interpretation of the relevant Old Testament passages, and even at these sites, Egeria comments that the prayers and hymns are appropriate to that place.

An explanation for the lack of reference to specific typological or allegorical interpretations is the genre itself: A travel narrative did not necessarily contain such material. Egeria’s texts were meant to be read aloud within a circle of ladies who knew the Scriptures and their interpretation well, and it was not necessary to write about things with which addressees were already familiar.

Having participated in the liturgical life of Jerusalem and listened to homilies and hymns almost daily for three years, I think Egeria must at least have been aware that allegorical and typological interpretations did exist even if she does not explicitly write about them. I also think that some themes she deals with point to typological and allegorical thinking. I present two topics suggesting this in what follows: the centrality of baptism and texts about water and the connection between the earthly and heavenly Jerusalem.

5.3 Participating in the Liturgical Life of Jerusalem

Egeria was a pilgrim, and her travel diary reflects the experiences of a pilgrim. She says that pilgrims, including herself, came to Jerusalem to pray, gratia orationis (It. 13.1–2; 17.1–2). In fact, her whole diary can be understood as an account of what this oratio included.Footnote ¹⁷⁹ With oratio or the verb orare, which together occur ninety-six times in Itinerarium, she never meant silent prayer. A prayer of only one person is found only when it occurs in connection to specific biblical figures, but in her description of her own time oratio exclusively denotes common prayer in a holy place, a church or a site of pilgrimage. Oratio thus meant participating in the liturgical life in the Holy Land.

The second part of Itinerarium, chapters 24–49, deals with the liturgical life in Jerusalem and its neighborhood and includes a section about pre- and post-baptismal catechesis (chapters 45–47). These topics have been studied extensively, as Egeria’s text is one of the first sources on the development of the Byzantine liturgy and the baptismal instruction in Jerusalem.Footnote ¹⁸⁰ Only an overview on the theme, therefore, is given here and it is focused on how Egeria communicates to her readers how the liturgical and catechetical practices were organized. Some interesting details are discussed, too.

Egeria’s description of the liturgical week and year is detailed but not as completely and logically as a modern reader might wish. She has omitted things that were probably familiar for her readers and she does not explain everything. She sometimes uses terminology, such as hymn, antiphon and psalm, in an inconsistent way. The information presented by Egeria can, to a certain degree, be filled in, corrected and understood with the help of other materials from approximately the same time, such as the catechetical homilies of Cyril of Jerusalem and the Armenian lectionary.Footnote ¹⁸¹

Egeria clearly thought that the liturgy and catechetical instruction were of interest to her readers. The second part of her work begins with her address to her dear sisters expressing her confidence in their eagerly wishing to know how regular ritual was celebrated in the holy places; it is indeed her duty to inform them about this (It. 24.1). Typical for Egeria is to compare how things are done in the east (hic, here) with those in the west, at home (apud nos, by us). She knows both traditions and helps her readers create a picture of the Jerusalemite customs by comparing them with customs at home. She never explicitly suggests that Christians in the west should adopt eastern ways of doing things, but an enthusiastic story is, of course, inspiring in itself. Three examples are presented here.Footnote ¹⁸² In the first quotation, Egeria first states that the Sunday service is similar everywhere and then adds what is specific to Jerusalem; in the second, she notes the differences during Lent; in the third, she introduces the practices of baptismal instruction in Jerusalem which differed from those in the west.

In addition to how the liturgical life and catechetical instruction were organized, Egeria reported about liturgical details such as the veneration of the cross (It. 37.1–3), use of incense (It. 24.10), participation of babies carried by their parents in processions (It. 36.2) and how the churches were decorated during the high festivals (It. 25.8–9).

The character of the church in Jerusalem and in the Holy Land was unique. The Christian church had its origin there, and many biblical events could be celebrated at their original places. The Christians could, and did, embrace Jewish traditions and practices, such as organizing services at certain times each day.Footnote ¹⁸³ Influences came from both the monastic service and the so-called cathedral service.Footnote ¹⁸⁴

The practice of stational services that Egeria described so vividly was found in Jerusalem.Footnote ¹⁸⁵ The fourth-century bishops of Jerusalem began the custom of walking in procession from one station to the next with their congregation, having a short service and then proceeding together to the next station. The wandering Christians sung hymns, antiphons and psalms. Another thing found only in Jerusalem was the custom of the bishop reciting the reading about the resurrection of Christ every Sunday morning – at the very spot where, according to tradition, the event had taken place (It. 24.10). The great number of local and visiting clergy, ascetics and pilgrims made it possible to organize an unusually rich liturgical life. Services could be held every day, and even at night (It. 24.1).

In Egeria’s time, daily and weekly services were held in the Martyrium and Anastasis according to a well-organized scheme. Unfortunately, when Egeria described this system, she took her addressees into consideration too well and omitted things that were familiar to them. Many times she wrote that something was done “according to the custom” without writing anything more about the custom; this is particularly the case with the celebration of the Eucharist.Footnote ¹⁸⁶ There were daily prayers from Monday to Saturday at the cockcrow, morning, sixth and ninth hours as well as in the evening. During Lent there was prayer even at the third hour. On Sundays the Christians started their day already before cockcrow, followed by vigils and a Eucharistic service. Lucernare was celebrated every evening.Footnote ¹⁸⁷ Egeria knew this prayer in Latin by the names lucernare or lucernarium (she uses both) but she explained to her sisters that in Jerusalem “they” call it lykhnikon (which she wrote licinicon).Footnote ¹⁸⁸ She described the beginning of this impressive service at Anastasis as follows:

The daily prayers and vigils consisted of prayers, the singing of hymns, psalms and antiphons; sometimes Egeria mentions even Scriptural readings. According to Egeria, Sundays started very early, before the first cockcrow (It. 24.8). The Eucharist was celebrated at least every Sunday (It. 25.1; 43.3), sometimes even on Fridays and Saturdays, too (It. 27.7).

Egeria’s use of the words psalmus, antiphona and hymnus is somewhat inconsistent. The word psalmus occurs eight times in the first part of Itinerarium, and in the latter part eighteen times. Psalmus often refers to the biblical psalms, which could be sung without hymns and antiphons. They were sung both during the night and day and there were already psalms for certain times of the day, lucernare and morning. The word antiphona occurs only once in the first part of Egeria’s text but thirty-one times when she describes the liturgical life of Jerusalem. Antiphons were always sung in connection to the psalms or hymns. The word hymnus occurs only in the second part of Itinerarium and is found very often, seventy-two times. For Egeria, the hymns belonged to Jerusalem and they were often sung in processions when the bishop was led from one place to another cum hymnis, with the singing of hymns. Egeria often comments that these psalms, hymns and antiphons are well chosen to suit that specific place and time. Her comments stress the contents of the songs, but liturgical song had other functions, too; it provided temporal and acoustic space for prayer and devotion. Even if she does not point out this aspect, the mere fact that she writes so enthusiastically about liturgical song throughout her text speaks for itself.

Egeria lived in Jerusalem for three years and participated in the yearly liturgical feasts. She described how the great feasts, in particular Easter, were celebrated in Jerusalem. The greatest feasts were Epiphany (It. 25.6–12), Easter and Eastertide (It. 30–41), Pentecost (It. 43) and Encaenia (It. 48–49),Footnote ¹⁸⁹ but as Egeria described it, even the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple was celebrated with great joy (It. 26). On her travels, Egeria also participated in annual memorials of the martyrs (It. 20.5; 23.7). Participating in these yearly celebrations brought a time dimension to Egeria’s place-oriented pilgrimage: During a liturgical year the church commemorated Jesus’ life events and different times in salvation history.

It can be debated as to why Egeria chose to report in such detail on how the liturgical life in Jerusalem was organized. She claims that her readers were interested in it, but it could also be that she became so impressed by it that she wanted to share her enthusiasm and perhaps give ideas to the west. However, as I claim in the following section, it may also be that she had listened to the homilies of Cyril of Jerusalem, who taught that the continuous prayer in the earthly Jerusalem reflected the continuous liturgy in the heavenly Jerusalem.

5.4 Egeria as a Theologian