History is written today

The Way of St. James (Camino de Santiago) leading to the city of Santiago de Compostela in Spain has become an extraordinaiy feature of European cultural heritage and spiritual wealth. The way has a special significance in the formation and establishment of European identity. It is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. 23rd October 2017 commemorated the 30th anniversary of the Council of Europe Declaration of Santiago de Compostela. After the declaration, routes of the Camino de Santiago were drawn throughout Europe. In Lithuania, however, establishment and promotion of the routes of the Lithuanian Camino de Santiago started as late as the second decade of the 2 Is1 century. This article briefly presents the sources and development of the Way of St. James and its extensions into Lithuania. Commemorating the anniversaries of the establishment of the Samogitian diocese (1417) and Telšiai diocese (1926), the attention is focused on the routes of the Camino de Santiago in the territory of the Telšiai diocese. The article presents the aspects of the development of the pilgrimage towards the tomb of Saint James in Europe and the Telšiai diocese; discusses the exclusiveness of St. James’s work and the birth of his cult in Spain; reveals the aspects of the development of the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela; presents the formation of the routes of Camino de Santiago in Lithuania and the Telšiai diocese. On 1st June 2016 the Government of the Republic of Lithuania adopted the resolution (No. 532) concerning the Way of Saint James in Lithuania. During its meeting the Government approved the list of objects (32 shrines) of the Way of Saint James in Lithuania. The list includes shrines within the Telšiai diocese: St. John the Baptist Church in Plungė, the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church in Seda, St. James the Apostle Church in Švėkšna and the shrine of Žemaičių Kalvarija. When Lithuania joined the European Federation of the Saint James Way on 3 rd June 2016, the Lithuanian pilgrimage routes of St. James’s Way - Samogi- tian / Kaliningrad, Šiauliai, Kaunas, Vilnius and St. James Ring - were approved and became part of the whole European Way of Saint James (Camino de Santiago). Two of the routes are of major concern to the Telšiai diocese. The first one is the Samogitian/Kaliningrad pilgrimage route, which starts in Ežere in Latvia and crosses the Telšiai diocese. The stops on this route are Mažeikiai - Seda - Telšiai - Plunge - Kretinga - Klaipėda - Švėkšna - Šilutė - Pagėgiai. The route leads to Sovetsk. The second important route in the Telšiai diocese is St James Inner Ring, which joins all churches of this name in Lithuania. The section of the inner ring in the Diocese of Telšiai includes the following stops: Viešvilė - Pagėgiai - Šilutė - Švėkšna - Klaipėda - Kretinga - Plungė - Telšiai - Varniai. The Lithuanian routes of the way provide with a possibility to travel on foot, like the pilgrims in the old times - from one’s own doorstep all the way to Santiago de Compostela. Pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela causes formation of new routes and development of the service sector, links between separate regions are established and cooperation between different countries is strengthened. The Catholic Church also benefits from St. James Way as learning about traditions and customs of other countries enriches the religious life of the faithful. Pilgrimage of the Way of Saint James forms human values, influences the spiritual well-being of the people and has an evangelical impact