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Introductory Lecture: How Did a Sacred Place Come Into Being?

What makes a person a saint, a site a holy place and an act a religious tradition? Is holiness something ancient that we merely preserve, or can it also be created here and now? In the opening lecture we will present the main theories in the study of holy places, and the processes and characteristics associated with them: how their character changes, what the connection is between pilgrimage and modernity, what role "saint impresarios" play, and what links exist between religious and national sanctification. We will see how holy places become arenas of conflicting interests and power struggles, and how a new tradition gradually gains validity and meaning as if it had "always been here". We will examine several case studies and try to understand how people and communities, faith, memory and physical space create holiness before our eyes.