Crossing Surfaces in Search of the Holy: Landscape and Liminality in Contemporary Christian Pilgrimage

Surfaces play a pivotal role in Christian pilgrimage, serving as dynamic platforms for journeying, ritual performance, and multisensory experiences. A study comparing ecumenical pilgrimages on the Isle of Man with Orthodox pilgrimages to Meteora’s monasteries revealed that surfaces act as hermeneutical texts, liminal thresholds for divine encounters, and tangible fragments encapsulating pilgrimage memories. These functions vary across theological and cultural contexts but share universal significance, offering a spiritually informed perspective on perceptions and 'more-than-representational' practices. The research employed ethnographic methods to analyze faith adherents’ experiences, highlighting the materiality of surfaces in shaping pilgrimage mobilities.

Maddrell, A., & della Dora, V. (2013). Crossing Surfaces in Search of the Holy: Landscape and Liminality in Contemporary Christian Pilgrimage. Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space, 45(5), 1105–1126. https://doi.org/10.1068/a45148