Most Holy Place
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Most Holy Place is a designation used by multiple religious traditions to indicate a physical location which they consider to be the holiest place. These locations include among others a location within the inner Tabernacle of Moses, the Kaaba, the city of Varanasi, India, the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh, and Harimandir Sahib.
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[edit] Bahá'í Faith
Located in Bahji near Acre, Israel, the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh is the most holy place for Bahá'ís and their Qiblih, or direction of prayer. It contains the remains of Bahá'u'lláh, founder of the Bahá'í Faith and is near the spot where he died in the Mansion of Bahji.
[edit] Buddhism
Bodhgaya, in the state of Bihar in India, is considered by many adherents of Buddhism to be their most holy site. Gautama Buddha is said to have attained enlightenment while sitting under a Bo Tree located in Bodhgaya.
[edit] Hinduism
Varanasi, India is said to be the most holy city in Hinduism. It is considered by many to be the most sacred place of pilgrimage for Hindus irrespective of denomination.
[edit] Islam
The Kaaba in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, is the holiest place in Islam. The qibla, the direction Muslims face during prayer, is the direction from any point to the Kaaba.
[edit] Judaism
The Kadosh Hakadashim, Judaism's Holy of Holies, refers to the inner sanctuary of the Tabernacle in the time of Moses as described in the Hebrew Bible, and the space on the Temple Mount where this sanctuary is located in the Temple in Jerusalem, on the Temple Mount. It could be entered by the High Priest only on Yom Kippur. Orthodox Judaism and Conservative Judaism continue to regard the location as retaining some or all of its sanctitity despite the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE. Entry into sanctified areas remains prohibited in traditional Judaism, and as a result many religious authorities prohibit or restrict entry into the Temple Mount by observant Jews.
[edit] Shinto
Ise Shrine is the formal home of Amaterasu ōmikami, the primary diety of the Shinto religion and traditionally believed to be a direct ancestor of the Japanese Imperial Family. Access is strictly limited, with the common public allowed to see little more than the thatched roofs of the central structures, hidden behind three tall wooden fences. The Ise Shrine has a national treasure in its possession, purportedly the home of the Sacred Mirror.
[edit] Sikhism
Harimandir Sahib or Darbar Sahib (also known as the Golden Temple) is the most sacred shrine in Sikhism, located in Amritsar, Punjab, India.
[edit] Latter-day Saints
The most holy place for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints may be considered a room in the Salt Lake Temple designated as the "Holy of Holies."
Most Latter-day Saints, however, consider other locations, such as LDS temples in general, the Sacred Grove, or Adam-ondi-Ahman, to be their most holy place.
The Bible Dictionary for the Latter-day Saint Edition of the King James Bible states: "A temple is literally a house of the Lord, a holy sanctuary in which sacred ceremonies and ordinances of the gospel are performed by and for the living and also in behalf of the dead. A place where the Lord may come, it is the most holy of any place of worship on the earth. Only the home can compare with the temple in sacredness" [1].
