The son of a shepherd, Simeon Stylites was born in the Amanus mountains village of Sis, now the Turkish town of Kozan, in Adana Province around 386 AD.
Simeon developed a zeal for Christianity when at the age of 13 he heard a reading of the Beatitudes as he was watching his father's sheep. The verse "Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh" particularly intrigued him. Simeon asked an old man the meaning of these words, and it was explained to him that eternal happiness is obtained by suffering, and that it is in solitude that is most surely gained.
Young Simeon at once joined some hermits of the district, with whom he lived for two years. Then he lived for some 10 years at the monastery of Teleda where he practiced an austerity so extreme that his brethren made the decision that he was unsuited to any form of community life. Simeon was asked to leave the monastery.
From then on Simeon lived in a solitary manner. He carved himself a virtuous reputation by such saintly acts as going without any food or drink for the entire Lent period, chaining himself to a rock and standing for days at a time in furious prayer.
By the 420s, pillar dwelling had become quite a fad amongst holy men. Simeon made the decision to spend the last part of his life on top of a pillar in Syria. His decision to build himself a nine-foot high column was prompted by the constant interruptions from curious crowds congregating outside the cave where he was residing, who had heard reports of his already extreme self-denying lifestyle.
Simeon climbed his pillar in 422 AD and as time went by, he graduated to higher and higher columns until this his final one which was 60ft high. On it was a platform 6-foot wide dressed in the skins of animals, where Simeon ate food sent up to him in a basket by people below.
Simeon prayed on his pillar almost without ceasing and bobbled about a great deal, kneeling and jumping about with dervish like frenzy, sometimes shouting sermons to the crowds below.
On one occasion for a period of a year Simeon stood on one leg and tied a rope around his waist so tightly that his lower body became putrefied and infested with ulcers and maggots. He proceeded to eat the maggots saying, "Eat what God has given to you."
In Simeon's lifetime, hermits were viewed as luminaries who people flocked to see and he preached to increasingly large congregation. Thousands of Arabs, Persians, Armenians and locals were converted by his sermons.
In his later years, Simon Stylites was the foremost famous personality in his part of the world. The Emperor Theodocus and Leo 1, the Bishop of Rome, would often consult him and request his prayers and Marcian, another Emperor visited him frequently although in disguise.
After 30 years on his final pillar, Simeon Stylites died on September 2, 459. He passed away with his body stooped over in prayer.
Simeon developed a zeal for Christianity when at the age of 13 he heard a reading of the Beatitudes as he was watching his father's sheep. The verse "Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh" particularly intrigued him. Simeon asked an old man the meaning of these words, and it was explained to him that eternal happiness is obtained by suffering, and that it is in solitude that is most surely gained.
Young Simeon at once joined some hermits of the district, with whom he lived for two years. Then he lived for some 10 years at the monastery of Teleda where he practiced an austerity so extreme that his brethren made the decision that he was unsuited to any form of community life. Simeon was asked to leave the monastery.
From then on Simeon lived in a solitary manner. He carved himself a virtuous reputation by such saintly acts as going without any food or drink for the entire Lent period, chaining himself to a rock and standing for days at a time in furious prayer.
By the 420s, pillar dwelling had become quite a fad amongst holy men. Simeon made the decision to spend the last part of his life on top of a pillar in Syria. His decision to build himself a nine-foot high column was prompted by the constant interruptions from curious crowds congregating outside the cave where he was residing, who had heard reports of his already extreme self-denying lifestyle.
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| Wikipedia |
Simeon climbed his pillar in 422 AD and as time went by, he graduated to higher and higher columns until this his final one which was 60ft high. On it was a platform 6-foot wide dressed in the skins of animals, where Simeon ate food sent up to him in a basket by people below.
Simeon prayed on his pillar almost without ceasing and bobbled about a great deal, kneeling and jumping about with dervish like frenzy, sometimes shouting sermons to the crowds below.
On one occasion for a period of a year Simeon stood on one leg and tied a rope around his waist so tightly that his lower body became putrefied and infested with ulcers and maggots. He proceeded to eat the maggots saying, "Eat what God has given to you."
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| A 1901 illustration by W. E. F. Britten for Alfred Tennyson's St. Simeon Stylites. |
In Simeon's lifetime, hermits were viewed as luminaries who people flocked to see and he preached to increasingly large congregation. Thousands of Arabs, Persians, Armenians and locals were converted by his sermons.
In his later years, Simon Stylites was the foremost famous personality in his part of the world. The Emperor Theodocus and Leo 1, the Bishop of Rome, would often consult him and request his prayers and Marcian, another Emperor visited him frequently although in disguise.
After 30 years on his final pillar, Simeon Stylites died on September 2, 459. He passed away with his body stooped over in prayer.
"St Simeon Stylites" is a poem written by Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson, in 1833 and published in his 1842 collection of poetry. The poem describes the actions of Simeon Stylites, who counts his various physical acts and hopes that he has earned his place in heaven. It captures Tennyson's feelings following the death of a close friend, Arthur Hallam, and contains feelings of self-loathing and regret.
According to The Guinness Book of Records, Saint Simeon Stylites is responsible for their oldest unbroken record having been responsible for the longest time someone has remained on top of a pole for over 1550 years.
There are still remains of the immense pillar, where Simeon Styltes stood for so long, at The Church of Saint Simeon Stylites located approximately 30 kilometers (19 mi) northwestern part of Aleppo, Syria.
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| The remains of the pillar of Saint Simeon Stylites. Wikipedia |
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