Saint Martha, Mother of Saint Symeon the Stylite

St. Martha, Mother of Saint Symeon the Stylite (Feast Day - August 1)

Verses

In days of old Martha gave hospitality to Christ on earth,
Now Christ gives hospitality to Martha in the heavens.

Venerable Martha was the mother of Saint Symeon the Stylite, who had him baptized as a child and educated him, meanwhile Symeon worked as a shepherd of his parents flock, until he left home in his teenage years to pursue a life of asceticism. This brought great distress to his mother, of which we read about in the Life of Saint Symeon written by his disciple Anthony, who describes an incident where she came to her son shortly after he ascended his pillar. He writes:

Pilgrimage Tokens From the Tomb of Saint Symeon the Stylite the Younger

Token with Stylite, 6th–7th century. Made in Syria. Tsolozidis Collection, Thessaloniki

Stylites were ascetics who lived on platforms atop columns. This movement had practitioners into the nineteenth century, from Mosul in today’s northern Iraq to Gaul in France. Syria was home to large numbers of stylites, including the first stylite, Symeon Stylites the Elder (ca. 389–459).

The Column of Saint Symeon the Stylite in Aleppo Bombed

The Church of Saint Symeon the Stylite in Aleppo, Syria was taken by Islamist forces in 2013 to serve as a logistics and training base. It made an arresting backdrop for the well-developed media skills of the Islamist forces, who posed groups of black-veiled women engaged in weapons drills in front of the great southern entrance, with its commanding central arch and its richly decorated capitals swathed with wind-swept acanthus leaves.

4 Greek Orthodox Shrines Dedicated to Saint Symeon the Stylite

1. Church of Saint Symeon the Stylite in the village of Monolithos on the island of Santorini (still under construction).

Life of Saint Symeon the Stylite (Theodoret of Cyrus)

By Theodoret, Bishop of Cyrus (+ 457)

1. The famous Symeon, the great wonder of the world, is known of by all the subjects of the Roman empire and has also been heard of by the Persians, the Medes, the Ethiopians; and the rapid spread of his fame as far as the nomadic Scythians has taught his love of labor and his philosophy. I myself, though having all men, so to speak, as witnesses of his contests that beggar description, am afraid that the narrative may seem to posterity to be a myth totally devoid of truth. For the facts surpass human nature, and men are wont to use nature to measure what is said; if anything is said that lies beyond the limits of nature, the account is judged to be false by those uninitiated into divine things. But since earth and sea are full of pious souls educated in divine things and instructed in the grace of the all-holy Spirit, who will not disbelieve what is said but have complete faith in it, I shall make my narration with eagerness and confidence. I shall begin from the point at which he received his call from on high.

Saint Symeon the Stylite Resource Page

St. Symeon the Stylite (Feast Day - September 1)

Verses

Symeon left behind his mounting on the pillar,
He is found to be standing near God the Word.
On the first of September Symeon on high died.

 

Life of Saint Symeon the Stylite (Theodoret of Cyrus)

  

Saint Symeon the Stylite and His Pillar (Evagrius Scholasticus)

 

Saint Symeon the Stylite as a Model for our Lives 

 

September: Day 1: Teaching 1: Venerable Symeon the Stylite

 

September: Day 1: Teaching 2: Venerable Symeon the Stylite 

Prologue in Sermons: September 1 - Venerable Symeon the Stylite

  

Saint Symeon the Stylite as a Supreme Imitator of the Lord

 

Symeon the Stylite and Joshua the Son of Nun as Two Supreme Models for the Christian Life

 

The Relic of Saint Symeon the Stylite

  

The Church of St. Symeon Stylite and Modern Day Aleppo 

 

The Column of Saint Symeon the Stylite in Aleppo Bombed

 

4 Greek Orthodox Shrines Dedicated to Saint Symeon the Stylite

  

Worshipping Among Stylites

 

The Only Remaining Stylite Tower in the Middle East

 

Saint Eudocia the Empress, Wife of Emperor Theodosius the Younger

 

Saint Auxentios of the Mountain (+ 470)

 

 

Saint Symeon the Stylite as a Supreme Imitator of the Lord

By Rev. Dr. Theodore Stylianopoulos

Christ’s good news demands our faithful response of mind, heart, soul and body. The unconditional love of God, shown by the most precious gift of His Son who shed His blood on the Cross for our salvation, requires a total response on our part. St. Symeon the Stylite, whose feast day is observed on the first day of the Church year, is an example of unwavering devotion. St. Symeon for many years lived on top of a pillar (stylos, therefore he is called the “stylite”) in prayer, sustained by the power of God and little else. His ascetic witness was not only a radical denial of all earthly things but also a provocative pointer to the kingdom of God.

Saint Auxentios of the Mountain (+ 470)

St. Auxentios of Mount Auxentios in Bithynia (Feast Day - February 14)

Verses

The mountain of Auxentios is like Carmel,
Where he appeared like Elias save for death.
On the fourteenth Auxentios shed this life.

Saint Auxentios was of Persian parentage but born in Syria, where his father had emigrated during the persecution of Shapur II. He came to Constantinople in the reign of Theodosius II (408-50) and obtained a commission in the imperial guard. Held in high-regard by the Emperor and by all his contemporaries on account of his piety and integrity, he enjoyed the friendship of men illustrious for their virtues and ascesis including Saint Marcian -- the future Steward of the Great Church (10 Jan.) -- Anthimos and Sittas, with whom he spent his days in fasting and prayer and nights in vigils, their faces wet with tears. They participated as often as they could in vigils at the Church of Saint Irene, which had been built by Saint Marcian, and they frequently went to the Hebdomon district to receive the counsels of John, a well-known stylite.

Saint Symeon the Stylite as a Model for our Lives

St. Symeon the Stylite (Feast Day - September 1)

By Protopresbyter Fr. George Papavarnavas

For the Church, September is the first month of the Indiction, and being its first day it is a New Year. On this day, the first month of September, our Church celebrates the memory of the venerable Symeon the Stylite.

Among the chorus of the Venerable Ones of our Church there are those among our Saints who are called "Stylites". They chose as a way of asceticism to remain on a pillar (stylo), which is how they received the name.

The venerable Symeon the Stylite came from a village called Sisan which was located between the province of Syria and Cilicia. He lived in the fifth century, when the emperor was Leo the Great and the patriarch of Antioch was Martyrios. He loved prayer and asceticism from a young age, and with the help of his spiritual teachers he reached higher stages in the spiritual life. After living the cenobitic life in the beginning, he proceeded to quieter areas and placed himself in a dry well to live in hesychasm, that is, prayer and asceticism. Having then settled in a monastic cell, he acquired great fame and many went to see him. As a result he could not find quietude, which is why he fixed in the earth a high pillar of thirty-six cubits on which he remained standing day and night. Under the pillar of the Venerable One crowds of people flocked to see him and hear his inspirational and comforting words, and many from other religions were baptized.

"With his material body he imitated the life of the angels, so much that some wondered whether he had a bodiless nature." (St. Nikodemos the Hagiorite, Synaxarion)

He left this temporary life at the age of fifty-six. In such a short time he reached such great heights of virtue that he led thousands of people to the knowledge of God, and he benefited and continues to benefit with his intercessions and the many miracles he performs.

Saint Symeon the Stylite, by his way of life, reveals:

First, the way in which the saints exercised pastoral and missionary work. And this way, as things have shown, is the most effective. They teach, admonish and console by their way of life and with their words, which are not cerebral and moralistic, but regenerative and life-giving, since it proceeds out of a pure heart that is regenerated and full of the grace of the Holy Spirit. He did not seek to have people near him, and even more so he did not seek to acquire followers. He did not invite the multitudes, but instead he fled from them and sought quietude. As much as he desired invisibility and quietude, so much did fame chase him. He climbed down a well to hide and they found him. He climbed a tall pillar and they ran to be beneath him and waited through heat and cold to hear one of his words, one of his admonitions, by which he comforted, solved problems, and healed wounds. By his prayers he healed people physically and mentally. He regenerated them, leading them to baptism and the experience of the life in Christ. It seems clear that the mission that is done with example and intense prayer, with selfless and sacrificial love, has salvific effects.

Second, the saints are the greatest benefactors of mankind. They offer people what is needed most of all: answers to our greatest existential questions which torment us, and the way by which we can find meaning in our life. Because the greatest problem of man, today and forever, is to find meaning in his life. To be convinced that his life has some meaning, some purpose, thereby making it worthwhile to live. And that which gives worth and meaning to the life of man is the uncreated grace of God, which helps him transcend death within the limits of his personal life and in this way acquires "life and exceeding life". To experience the death of death and experience life truly. To come out of the prison of the senses, where his passions have held him captive and closed off, and to rejoice in his freedom; true freedom from a life of slavery to sin and the devil. The pillar of Saint Symeon is a symbol of true freedom, true love towards God and man, and the authentic life which has meaning and purpose, since it is intended for theosis, for communion with the Holy Triune God.

The most perfect creation of God is man, and he is the greatest blessing for creation when he remains a man or better, when he progresses further and becomes a god by grace. At the same time the biggest and most ferocious beast on earth is also man, when he is enslaved to his passions and loses his humanity.

In a materialistic age such as ours that is characterized by selfishness and self-interest, by self-love and an enslavement to the passions of avarice, vanity and sensuality, the life and work of the venerable Symeon is a powerful slap to awaken. To conquer one's passions is definitely not an easy thing. It takes willpower, lifelong struggle and prayer. But when it is attained, then a man regains his lost humanity and becomes a true man. He becomes a never-ending source of joy and blessing for the people around him, and for the whole universe.

Source: Ekklesiastiki Paremvasi, "ΟΣΙΟΣ ΣΥΜΕΩΝ Ο ΣΤΥΛΙΤΗΣ", September 2001. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.