THE CATHEDRAL. THE WAY OF ST JAMES
The Asturian King Alfonso II
the Chaste, considered the refounder
of the city of Oviedo where he moved
his court, who sought the support and
friendship of the Frankish Emperor
Charlemagne, was the founder of the
Christian pilgrimage to Santiago de
Compostela to venerate the Apostle’s
remains.
That way,the Asturian Monarch set up
a religious belief which, in the course
of time, would become an exceptional
movement, halfway between social and
tourist event, and religious experience.
That primitive Way of St James started
at S Salvador, nowadays’ Cathedral
of Oviedo, where pilgrims, before setting
off for Santiago, were instructed to
venerate the Holy Relics, admire the
Sacred Chamber Treasure and venerate
the polychromatic Romanesque sculpture
of the Holy Saviour.
When, in the course of time, pilgrims
started to fear the Asturian mountains
and opened a new way across León,
traditional pilgrims coined the saying “ quien
va a Santiago y no a San Salvador,
visita al criado y no al señor” (He
who goes to Santiago and neglects the
Holy Saviour, pays tribute to the servant
and not to The Lord”) thus trying
to emphasize the importance of the
primitive Way from Oviedo to Santiago.
It is specially important for the believer
to pay a visit to the Cathedral in
the period between the 14th and the
21st of September so as to “ganar
el jubileo” (be granted a general
pardon) and admire the Holy Shroud
on the only days along with Good Friday
the Shroud is shown to the general
public.
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