List of holy cities

From Freepedia

This is a list of cities that various groups regard as holy. Cities may be either considered holy in themselves (as Mecca for Muslims), important sites for worship or study (Fatima for Catholics), or the high seat of particular religions (Moscow for Russian Orthodox). Within each section the cities are ordered by their importance to the group. Groups are listed alphabetically.

Contents 1 Ayyavazhi 2 Bahá'í 3 Buddhism 3.1 Tibetan Buddhism 4 Christianity 4.1 Armenian Apostolic 4.2 Roman Catholicism 4.2.1 Jubilee cities 4.2.2 Marian shrines 4.3 Eastern Orthodox 4.3.1 Ethiopian Orthodox 4.3.2 Russian Orthodox 4.4 Anglicanism 4.5 Protestantism 4.6 Latter-Day Saint (Mormonism) 5 Confucianism 6 Hinduism 6.1 Jyothirlingams (Shaivism) 6.2 Kumbh Mela sites 6.2.1 Other "Snanam" sites 6.3 The Shankara Mathams 6.4 Subrahmanya Kshetram's 6.5 Ranganatha Kshetram's 7 Islam 7.1 Shia 7.2 Sufism 8 Jainism 9 Judaism 10 Shintoism 11 Sikhism 12 Taoism 13 See also

Ayyavazhi

1. Swamithoppepathi
2. Ambalappathi
3. Muttappathi
4. Tamaraikulampathi
5. Pooppathi
6. Vakaippathi
7. Avatharappathi

Bahá'í

1. Akko Site of the tomb of Bahá'u'lláh
2. Haifa Second most holy site to Bahá'í, administrative headquarters of the church
3. Shiraz House of the Báb

Buddhism

1. Bodh Gaya where Gautama Buddha's attained Enlightenment
2. Sarnath where Gautama Buddha first taught the Dharma, and where the Buddhist Sangha was founded
3. Kushinagar where Gautama Buddha attained Parinirvana, and was cremated
4. Lumbini commonly recognized as the birth site of Gautama Buddha

Tibetan Buddhism

More important then anything inherent to the places is the presence of the holiest leaders, the highest lamas, who are considered reincarnations of their predecessors.

1. Lhasa, seat of the Dalai Lama (now in exile in Dharmsala, India) in the Potala palace, also national (and under Chinese rule regional) capital of Tibet
2. Shigatse, seat of the Panchen Lama, also the country's second city
3. Tsurphu, (later in exile Rumtek in Sikkim, India), seat of the Karmapa Lama, not a proper city, rather a monastic site fairly close to Lhasa

Christianity

1. Jerusalem The site of some of Jesus's teaching and alleged entombment; Christians believe he was executed on a nearby hill, Golgotha. Nominally the earthly model (under king Solomon) of Heaven, hence old maps in Christian countries were traditionally oriented towards it (and Catholic and Anglican cathedrals point approximately towards it).
2. Bethlehem Birthplace of Jesus
3. Nazareth Site of many of Jesus's acts and miracles
4. Antioch Once the center of Christianity

In addition, various Christian denominations have separate holy cities:

Armenian Apostolic

1. Echmiadzin

Roman Catholicism

Jubilee cities

1. Rome and Vatican City, Center of the Catholic Church, and site of the four Major Basilicas that are required to be visited to gain a Roman Jubilee
2. Santiago de Compostela Site of the tomb of St. James the Greater
3. Santo Toribio de Liébana
4. Caravaca de la Cruz where a piece of the Holy Cross is kept.
5. Assisi Birthplace and site of the tomb of St. Francis of Assisi. Also an important place for pacifism and tolerance between different religions

Marian shrines

1. Mexico City Popular pilgrimage site after a 16th century appearance of Our Lady of Guadalupe
2. Knock Popular pilgrimage site after a 19th century appearance of the Virgin Mary
3. Lourdes Popular pilgrimage site after a 19th century appearance of the Virgin Mary
4. Fatima Popular pilgrimage site after a 20th century appearance of the Virgin Mary
5. Jasna Góra Popular pilgrimage site - monastery with an icon of the Black Madonna of Czestochowa

Eastern Orthodox

1. Constantinople, aka Istanbul Once the center of the entire Church
2. Mount Athos Site of 20 monasteries
3. Kiev Origin of Slavic Christianity, which evolved into Russian Orthodox Church

Ethiopian Orthodox

1. Axum
2. Lalibela

Russian Orthodox

1. Moscow Capital of Russia
2. Sergiyev Posad The center of the modern Russian Orthodox Church

Anglicanism

1. Canterbury, Kent The center of the Anglican Church

Protestantism

1. Wittenberg Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses
2. Geneva earliest center of Calvinism
3. London location of John Wesley's conversion and earliest center of Methodism

Latter-Day Saint (Mormonism)

1. Independence, Missouri
2. Nauvoo, Illinois
3. Salt Lake City, Utah
4. Palmyra, New York

Confucianism

1. Qufu

Hinduism

1. Ahobilam
2. Ayodhya
3. Benares
4. Gaya
5. Haridwar
6. Kanchipuram
7. Madurai
8. Mathura
9. Pandharpur
10. Prayag
11. Sabarimalai
12. Thanjavur
13. Tirupati
14. Udupi

Jyothirlingams (Shaivism)

1. Bhimashankar
2. Deogarh
3. Dwarka
4. Grishneshwar
5. Kedarnath
6. Omkareshwar
7. Rameswaram
8. Somnath
9. Srisailam
10. Trimbakeshwar
11. Ujjaini (Avantika)
12. Varanasi (Benares)

Kumbh Mela sites

1. Haridwar
2. Nashik
3. Prayag
4. Ujjaini (Avantika)

Other "Snanam" sites

1. The Mahamaham at Kumbakonam
2. The Pushkaram at Rajahmundry

The Shankara Mathams

The four Peethams established by Sri Adi Shankaracharya

1. South: Sringeri
2. West : Dwaraka
3. North: Jyotirmath (Badrinath)
4. East : Puri Jagannath Peetham

Subrahmanya Kshetram's

The six main Subrahmanya Kshetram's {Known as "Aaru Padai Veedugal"):

1. Tirupparamkunram
2. Tiruchendur
3. Tiruvavinankudi (Palani)
4. Tiruverakam (Swami Malai)
5. Kundruthoradal (Tiruttani)
6. Palamuthircholai

Ranganatha Kshetram's

The three Ranganatha Swamy kshetrams on islands standing on the river Kaveri -

1. Adi Ranga at Srirangapatna
2. Madhya Ranga at Shivanasamudram
3. Antya Ranga Srirangam

Islam

1. Makkah Holiest city in Islam. Location of the Ka'aba, focus of the Hajj.
2. Medina Second holiest city in Islam, site of Masjid al-Nabawi, where the final prophet of Islam, Muhammad, is buried.
3. Jerusalem Third holiest city. Location of The Dome of the Rock where Muhammad ascended through the heavens to God.

In addition to the cities listed above the following are holy cities for some Islamic sects:

Shia

1. Najaf site of the tomb of Imam Ali in Imam Ali Mosque, who the Shi'a consider to be their founder. Also site of Wadi-us-Salaam cemetery.
2. Karbala tomb of Husayn bin Ali in the Mashad al-Husain
3. Mashhad site of burial of Imam Reza
4. Qom site of the shrine of Fatima Masoumeh, sister of Imam Reza. Also site of Jamkaran mosque.

Sufism

1. Ajmer, India, site of the shrine and tomb of Moinuddin Chishti. Considered significant by most, holy by very few Sufis.

Jainism

1. Mount Abu, site of the Dilwara Temples
2. Shravanabelagola

Judaism

The primary holy city in Judaism is Jerusalem—the ancient capital of the Kingdom of Israel and current capital of the State of Israel. Mentioned repeatedly in the Torah and the site of the Temples in Jerusalem: the First Temple (Solomon's Temple) and the Second Temple. There are also three other "holy cities" of less importance to the Jewish people. These cities have played important roles in Jewish history, and were (along with Jerusalem) the main centers of Jewish population in Palestine between the Roman conquest of Jerusalem and the 19th century:

• Hebron—the second-holiest site and the place where the Tomb of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs is located. According to Jewish tradition this is the burial place of the great patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) and matriarchs (Sarah, Rebecca, and Leah). The capital of the Kingdom of Israel before David moved it to Jerusalem.
• Tzfat, where much of the Jerusalem Talmud was written and kabbalah (Jewish mysticism) was developed by Isaac Luria.
• Tiberias was the last meeting place of the Sanhedrin and the site of a number of important tombs.

Shintoism

1. Ise Site of Grand Shrine of Ise
2. Nagoya Site of Atsuta Shrine
3. Izumo Site of Grand Shrine of Izumo
4. Kyoto Site of other important shrines, such as Yasaka Shrine, Fushimi Inari Shrine and Iwashimizu Shrine. This was also the old capital where the Emperors once resided.

Sikhism

1. Amritsar Site of the most holy location in Sikhism, the Golden Temple
2. Nankana Sahib The Birth place of Guru Nanak. the founder of Sikh religion.

Taoism

See also

• Pilgrimage