The Monk Who Lived On Top of a Pillar For 36 Years

And inspired an odd ascetic movement

(By Unknown author — https://meyer-schodder.jimdo.com/festegedenktage/simeonstylites-27-07/, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=96273864)

Saint Simeon Stylites the Elder picked up Christianity at a young age. After being personally touched by the Beatitudes, he entered a monastery at the age of 16 in the pursuit of God. From the very beginning, Simeon was fond of ascetic practices. He routinely sought silence, solace, and isolation. At some point, Simeon’s devotion to asceticism alarmed his peers, and many sought his removal from the monastery, saying that monastic life was a communal life and Simeon was not fit for community.

After this, Simeon shut himself away in a hut during Lent (forty days) and allegedly went the entire time without eating or drinking. When he emerged from within, quiet and emaciated, many hailed this as a miracle. From that point on, Simeon became a sort of local celebrity. Romans, Christians, and skeptics alike sought him out for advice, prayer, intercession, and supplication.

Crowds of people sought Simeon out, and it drove him crazy. In a bid to rekindle that solace and silence that he so enjoyed in his youth, Simeon fled out into the wilderness. When wandering around Roman Syria, Simeon stumbled upon a large pillar standing in the ruins of Telanissa. The pillar was tall and strong. It had survived numerous calamities and remained steadfast. The top was…