In the very beginning of what became The Pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela those making the pilgrimage would begin, in the case of the route we will be taking, by attending a Eucharist Service in the Cathedral of Saint Trophime in Arles. That is what we did on Friday morning. This was the “official” beginning of our Pilgrimage. Peter Sills led the service assisted by the Rev. Lynne Boughton. Lynne teaches at Cambridge and is an authority in interpreting the iconography of medieval churches. We have travelled with her before and she is exceptionally knowledgeable. After the liturgy this morning we are stood in front of the Cathedral while Lynne explained the complex and detailed iconography we were looking at. Think about it! This was art work in stone done almost eight hundred and fifty years ago.
Cathedral Completed in 1178
The construction of this cathedral was completed is 1178 and it took nearly a hundred years to build. I never enter one of these structures without a sense of awe. “Where did this come from? Whose creation is this?” Is is not just the massive architectural and building undertaking something like this is but also the art and knowledge of the subject matter that is involved. The entire biblical story, at least as it was understood then, is contained in the intricate carvings made into the stones used to construct the edifice of this building. Workman devoted their life energies to a buildings like this knowing, many of them, that they would not live to see the work completed. Lynne said that the people who saw the finished product, though most of them could not read, readily understood what they were looking at. I’m confident that most of the highly educated people who look at the front of these cathedrals now could tell you very little about what they are actually seeing.
We all actually gathered for a welcome reception and dinner at a restaurant nearby to the hotel where we are staying in Arles. There are twenty-nine people on this Pilgrimage. Many of them we have travelled with before.
After spending most of the day exploring Arles, we drove a short distance to St. Giles-du-Gard to see the burial site of St. Giles. He was a most beloved church leader much like St. Nicholas. He lived in the 8th century and this place is the fourth most highly visited Pilgrimage destinations during Mideval times.
Pilgrim Statue in Church of St. Giles
I confess that I knew and know little of St. Giles. I did not grow up in a religious tradition that spoke about, much less honored, the Saints. On adventures like this and hearing Peter speak of St. Giles I see that I have missed something important.
We had evening prayer in the crypt of this church. the crypt is huge and Peter said that over the centuries it has accommodated hundreds of thousands of Pilgrims.
After this we returned to Arles for dinner and to prepare to depart Arles in the morning for another segment of this Pilgrimage.
A personal note: It is hot here. Very hot. I know Houston is also hot but Houston is also air conditioned. That is not true for this part of the world. They are not prepared for consistently high temperatures.