6th century depiction of Simeon on his column

St Simeon Stylites or Symeon the Stylite (c. 390 – 2 September 459) was a Christian ascetic saint who achieved fame because he lived for 37 years on a small platform on top of a pillar in Syria. Several other stylites later followed his model (the Greek word style means pillar). Image File history File links Size of this preview: 520 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (582 × 671 pixel, file size: 127 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Plate showing Saint Simeon Stylites on his column with a snake. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 520 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (582 × 671 pixel, file size: 127 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Plate showing Saint Simeon Stylites on his column with a snake. ... Events In response to the murder of his general Butheric, Theodosius I orders a massacre of the inhabitants of Thessalonica. ... September 2 is the 245th day of the year (246th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events Dathusena becomes king of Sri Lanka Arguably the worlds first recognizable labor union is formed in Turkey Births Deaths Simeon Stylites dies on top of his tower along the road from Antioch to Seleucia Hormizd III, king of Persia Category: ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      A Christian () is a... An ascetic is one who practices a renunciation of worldly pursuits to achieve spiritual attainment. ... In traditional Christian iconography, Saints are often depicted as having halos. ... Pillar-Saints (Stylites, from Greek stylos) are a class of ascetic who, from early Christian times, retired from the world to the Syrian Desert, and, perched on pillars, used to spend days and nights in fasting and praying, in the belief that by mortification of their bodies they would ensure...

Early life

Simeon was born at Sisan in northern Syria, the son of a shepherd. Syria was incorporated in the Byzantine Empire in 395 and Christianity grew quickly. Reportedly under the influence of his mother Martha, he developed a zeal for Christianity at the age of 13, following a lecture of the Beatitudes. He subjected himself to ever-increasing bodily austerities from an early age, especially fasting from food. After beginning life as a shepherd boy, he entered a monastery before the age of 16. On one occasion, moving nearby, he commenced a severe regimen of fasting for Lent and was visited by the head of the monastery, who left him some water and loaves. A number of days later, Simeon was discovered unconscious, with the water and loaves untouched. When he was brought back to the monastery, it was discovered that he had bound his waist with a girdle made of palm fronds so tightly that days of soaking were required to remove the fibres from the wound formed. At this, Simeon was requested to leave the monastery. He then shut himself up for three years in a hut, where he passed the whole of Lent without eating or drinking (it should be noted that the Sabbath is not counted among the days of Lent, allowing those who fast to eat every seven days). He later took to standing continually upright so long as his limbs would sustain him (a practice still employed by some sadhus in today's India). Byzantine Empire at its greatest extent c. ... Saint Martha (died 551) was the mother of Simeon Stylites the Younger. ... The Beatitudes (from Latin, beatitudo, happiness) is the name given to the well-known, definitive and beginning portion of the Sermon on the Mount of the Gospel of Matthew. ... It has been suggested that Cuaresma be merged into this article or section. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      In Christianity, the Sabbath... In Hinduism, sadhu is a common term for an ascetic or practitioner of yoga (yogi) who has given up pursuit of the first three Hindu goals of life: kama (pleasure), artha (wealth and power) and even dharma (duty). ...

After three years in his hut, Simeon sought a rocky eminence in the desert and compelled himself to remain a prisoner within a narrow space less than 20 metres in diameter. But crowds of pilgrims invaded the desert to seek him out, asking his counsel or his prayers, and leaving him insufficient time for his own devotions. This at last led him to adopt a new way of life. Mary Magdalene in prayer. ...

Atop of the pillar

He despaired of the ever increasing number of people who regularly came to him for prayers and advice, leaving him little if any time for his private austerities. Simeon discovered a pillar which had survived amongst ruins, formed a small platform at the top, and upon this determined to live out his life. It has been stated that, as he seemed to be unable to avoid escaping the world horizontally, he may have thought it an attempt to try to escape it vertically. This first pillar was little more than four metres high, but his wellwishers subsequently replaced it with others, the last in the series being apparently over 15 metres from the ground. At the top of the pillar was a platform, with a baluster, which is believed to have been about twelve feet square. A page of fanciful balusters from A Handbook of Ornament, Franz S. Meyer, 1898 A baluster (through the French balustre, from Italian balaustro, from balaustra, pomegranate flower [from a resemblance to the post], from Lat. ...

Even on the highest of his columns, Simeon was not withdrawn from the world. If anything, the new pillar drew even more people, not only the pilgrims who had come earlier but now sightseers as well. Simeon made himself available to these visitors every afternoon.

By means of a ladder, visitors were able to ascend, and it is known that he wrote letters, the text of some of which survived to this day, that he instructed disciples, and that he also delivered addresses to those assembled beneath, preaching especially against profanity and usury. In contrast to the extreme austerity that he demanded of himself, his preaching conveyed temperance and compassion, and was marked with common sense and freedom from fanaticism. Look up usury in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Ruins of basilica with remains of his column, Syria.

Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2272 × 1704 pixel, file size: 2. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2272 × 1704 pixel, file size: 2. ...

Fame, Final years and Legacy

Simeon's fame spread throughout the Empire. The Emperor Theodosius and his wife Eudocia greatly respected the saint and listened to his counsels, while the Emperor Leo paid respectful attention to a letter he sent in favour of the Council of Chalcedon. Simeon is said to have corresponded with St Genevieve of Paris. Simeon became so influential that a church delegation was sent to him to demand that he descend from his pillar as a sign of submission. When, however, he showed himself willing to comply, the request was withdrawn. Once when he was ill, Theodosius sent three bishops to beg him to come down and allow himself to be attended by physicians, but Simeon preferred to leave his cure in the hands of God, and before long he recovered. Byzantine Empire at its greatest extent c. ... Theodosius II Flavius Theodosius II (April, 401 - July 28, 450 ). The eldest son of Eudoxia and Arcadius who at the age of 7 became the Roman Emperor of the East. ... Portrait of Aelia Eudocia on a tremissis. ... Imperator Caesar Flavius Valerius Leo Augustus or Leo I of the Byzantine Empire (401 - 474, reigned 457 - 474), sometimes known as Leo the Thracian, was the last of a series of emperors placed on the throne by Aspar, the Alan serving as commander-in-chief of the army. ... The Council of Chalcedon was an ecumenical council that took place from October 8 to November 1, 451, at Chalcedon (a city of Bithynia in Asia Minor), today part of the city of Istanbul on the Asian side of the Bosphorus and known as the district of Kadıköy. ... In Eastern Orthodoxy and Catholicism, Saint Geneviève (Nanterre near Paris, ca 419/422 - Paris 512) is the patron of Paris. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      This article is about... The Doctor by Luke Fildes This article is about the term physician, one type of doctor; for other uses of the word doctor see Doctor. ...

After spending 37 years on his pillar, Simeon died on 2 September 459. He inspired many imitators, and, for the next century, ascetics living on pillars, stylites, were a common sight throughout the Byzantine Levant. He is commemorated as a saint in the Coptic Orthodox Church, where his feast is on 29 Pashons. September 2 is the 245th day of the year (246th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events Dathusena becomes king of Sri Lanka Arguably the worlds first recognizable labor union is formed in Turkey Births Deaths Simeon Stylites dies on top of his tower along the road from Antioch to Seleucia Hormizd III, king of Persia Category: ... Pillar-Saints (Stylites, from Greek stylos) are a class of ascetic who, from early Christian times, retired from the world to the Syrian Desert, and, perched on pillars, used to spend days and nights in fasting and praying, in the belief that by mortification of their bodies they would ensure... The Levant The Levant (IPA: /ləvænt/) is an imprecise geographical term historically referring to a large area in the Middle East south of the Taurus Mountains, bounded by the Mediterranean Sea on the west, and by the northern Arabian Desert and Upper Mesopotamia to the east. ... Christ - Coptic Art Coptic Orthodox Christianity is the indigenous form of Christianity that, according to tradition, the apostle Mark established in Egypt in the middle of the 1st century AD (approximately AD 60). ... 28 Pashons - Coptic calendar - 30 Pashons All fixed commemorations below are observed on 29 Pashons by the Coptic Orthodox Church Saint Simeon the Stylite (175 A.M.), (459 A.D.) Coptic Synexarion Categories: | ...

A contest arose between Antioch and Constantinople for the possession of Simeon's remains. The preference was given to Antioch, and the greater part of his relics were left there as a protection to the unwalled city. Antioch on the Orontes (Greek: Αντιόχεια η επί Δάφνη, Αντιόχεια η επί Ορόντου or Αντιόχεια η Μεγάλη; Latin: Antiochia ad Orontem, also Antiochia dei Siri), the Great Antioch or Syrian Antioch was an ancient city located on the eastern side (left bank) of the Orontes River about 30 km from the sea and its port, Seleucia Pieria. ... Map of Constantinople. ...

The ruins of the vast edifice erected in his honour and known in Arabic as the Qal at Simân ("the Mansion of Simeon") can still be seen. They are located about 30 km northwest of Aleppo (36°20′03″N, 36°50′38″ECoordinates: 36°20′03″N, 36°50′38″E) and consist of four basilicas built out from an octagonal court towards the four points of the compass. In the centre of the court stands the base of the style or column dedicated to St. Simeon. Arabic ( or just ) is the largest living member of the Semitic language family in terms of speakers. ... Aleppo (or Halab Arabic: , ) is a city in northern Syria, capital of the Aleppo Governorate. ... Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ... St. ...

Film

Luis Buñuel's film Simón del desierto (1965) is loosely based on the story of Saint Simeon. Luis Buñuel Portolés (February 22, 1900 – July 29, 1983) was a Spanish-born filmmaker who worked mainly in Mexico and France, but also in his native country and the United States. ... Simón del desierto (Simon of the Desert)is a 1965 film by director Luis Buñuel. ...

Internal Links

• Hermit

Onuphrius lived as a hermit in the desert of Upper Egypt in the late 4th century A hermit (from the Greek erēmos, signifying desert, uninhabited, hence desert-dweller) is a person who lives to some greater or lesser degree in seclusion and/or isolation from society. ...

External links and sources

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Simeon Stylites

• He Dug Deeper and Ended Up High, by Margaret Visser
• Canon to Saint Symeon Stylites
• Saint Simeon Stylites, by George Lamb
• Simeon Stylites the Elder, from the Catholic Encyclopedia
• St. Simeon Church, from Syria Gate
• Simeon Stylites, from Syria Gate
• Attwater, Donald and Catherine Rachel John. The Penguin Dictionary of Saints. 3rd edition. New York: Penguin Books, 1993. ISBN 0-140-51312-4.