Saint Simeon Stylites
Syrian ascetic who lived on a tall pillar for nearly thirty-seven years until 459
- Rank
- Saint
- Kind
- Religious, Mystic
- Life
- ~390 – 459
- Era
- 5th century
- Feast
- 5 January
- Countries
- Syria, Türkiye
Life story
Simeon was born around 390 at Sisan, a village on the border country between Syria and Cilicia. According to early biographies he was a shepherd as a youth, then entered a monastery where his austerities were so severe that the superior asked him to leave. He then looked for a remote place on a mountain to pray alone.
Around 423, in the hills near Telanissos, he began to live on a pillar, later replaced by taller ones. The last pillar is given as about eighteen metres high by some sources. He prayed, bowed repeatedly and received food that people passed up by ladder. The historian Theodoret, a contemporary who knew him, told his story in the History of the Monks of Syria.
His fame spread. Pilgrims from Syria, Persia, Armenia and elsewhere came to seek advice and prayer. According to sources, he also wrote letters and met officials, and the emperor Leo I asked his opinion on doctrinal questions. He lived on pillars for about thirty-seven years.
He died on 2 September 459, and his body was taken in procession to Antioch. A huge complex of churches was then built around his pillar, now called Qal'at Sim'an, whose ruins stand in northern Syria. His feast in the West is 5 January, while the Orthodox keep him on 1 September. His example was followed by later stylites in Syria, Mesopotamia and elsewhere, and the practice continued for centuries, including in the Byzantine world. Not everyone approved, and some contemporaries doubted such extreme ascetic displays, but Theodoret and other writers defended Simeon as a man of sincere devotion.
Works and witness
- Born around 390 at Sisan on the Syria-Cilicia border
- Began living on a pillar near Telanissos around 423
- Lived on pillars about thirty-seven years, receiving pilgrims seeking advice
- Theodoret wrote about him in his own lifetime
- Qal'at Sim'an, the church complex around his pillar, is a famous ruin
Saints from the same country
References
- Theodoret of Cyrrhus, Historia religiosa
- Martyrologium Romanum
- Britannica – St. Simeon Stylites
Written by Anawim from documented history. Some details about ancient saints rest on tradition and are marked as such.