History of the Saints
Who was Saint Simeon the Stylite?
An insight into Mortification
The story of St. Simeon the Stylite is a most peculiar one. Like many other Saints of the Early Church, Simeon would also be known for displaying his piety and faith, but not by usual means, such as becoming an influential theologian or through martyrdom. His method, which he employed to mortify his flesh, was in a sense revolutionary and not practiced by any other Christian before.
Before we delve more into who St. Simeon was and what his distinctive method of mortification looked like, I would like to explain this concept beforehand and it is in fact very simple. The Catholic Encyclopedia describes it as a way of (bodily) self-denial, “training the soul to virtuous and holy living”. This usually includes ascetic practices, including fasting, wearing uncomfortable garments, etc. but was not limited at times to acts, such as self-flagellation. We can trace the idea of self-denial-based imitation of Christ back to Saint Paul, who described the way of our new life in Christ as a bodily death. He writes:
“Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.” — Colossians 3:5 RSVCE
“For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body you will live.” — Romans 8:13 RSVCE
Now that we know what mortification of the flesh entails, we will have a look at the special case of St. Simeon. The following summary of his life and the quotes stem from the account of St. Simeon's life, which was originally written by his student Antonius, translated from W. B. Crum “Die koptische Übersetzung des Lebens Symeons des Styliten.” (1927) which means “The coptic translation of the life of Symeon the Stylite”.
Antonius proclaimed that through his writings scripture will be fulfilled,
“[F]or the righteous will never be moved; he will be remembered for ever.“
— Psalm 112:6 RSVCE
(The translation of the Coptic account was conducted by W. E. Crum, taken from the German version of Crum, W. E. “The Coptic Translation of the Life of Simeon the Stylite”. Journal for New Testament Studies and the Ancient Church, vol. 26, 1927, pp. 119–128.)
Abba Simeon was born to a shepherd in modern-day Syria, which means that he would naturally tend to the flock of his father from an early age. During this time, he grew closer to God:
“[…] with hand and staff he counted the sheep, but in the mind he looked forward to the things of God, looking up to heaven, directing his gaze to the movements of certain details and multiplying the prayers and thanksgivings and blessings of the great (welfare) and the human love of the Demiurge.”
— Antonius (translated by W. E. Crum) p. 123.
Besides his activity as a shepherd, the Syrian was known for being a simple but God-fearing person and a zealot for the word of God. When he was finished tending to the sheep, it was common for him to make his way into town to be present at Mass, after which he would inquire about Christian belief and the benefits of monastic life. He learned that a life like this can be challenging, but if he was able to resist the temptations that would wait for him, he would be consoled by the angels. The elder of his church soon recognized the devotion of Simeon and asked him, “Pray for me, my beloved son, for I see that you will become a temple of God, a house of prayer of the Most High.”.
After a one-week-long fast in the desert, which he devoted to prayer, Simeon decided to join the desert monastery. We have to keep in mind that Simeon, by this time, was a relatively young man, not even 18, and did all this without the knowledge of his parents, who were looking for him high and low for over two years before they gave up. The most charitable Simeon kept his alacrity in giving his rations to the poor hidden from his fellow monks, for Jesus said:
“Thus, when you give alms, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by men. Truly, I say to you, they have their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” — Matthew 6:2–4 RSVCE
Unfortunately for Simeon, affliction struck him in his early years after joining the religious community. After he bound a rope around his waist, the palm fiber started to cut into his abdomen, inflicting a deep cut. The horrible smell of his wound and the rule-breaking behavior of him donating his rations to the poor, discovered by a jealous monk, prompted the other members of the monastery to pose an ultimatum to the archimandrite, who is the superior of an Eastern Church monastery: Either Simeon leaves or the monks do.
Faced with the judgment and appalled faces of his fellow brothers, Simeon humbled himself, calling himself a “stinking dog” that would “receive the dues of [his] many sins” and citing Sirach 3:18:
“The greater you are, the more you must humble yourself; so you will find favor in the sight of the Lord.”
His eloquent answers astounded the members of the monastery to such an extent, that they were eager to keep him and tend to his wounds, which took over fifty days to heal. Nevertheless, these experiences caused Simeon to look for a way to leave the monastic life. After his departure to a desolate well, which was said to harbour many snakes and “evil spirits” the abbot had a dream in which he saw many luminous men with lights who sought after Simeon in the monastery.
“We will burn down the monastery if you do not bring back the saint, that he might pray for you; for he will be greater than you on the day of judgment.”
— Antonius (translated by W. E. Crum) p. 125.
This prompted the abbot to send out his monks to look for the young man, who subsequently found him, but treated him as an evil deserter. Yet, when he was brought back, the archimandrite fell to his knees, begging Simeon for forgiveness and spiritual mentorship.
Though now consolidated with his fellow monks, Simeon was still not comfortable in his newfound situation. He fled the monastery, after trying to leave for over three years, finding his new place in a carved-out space in a nearby quarry. Here he lived for four years, only eating boiled lentils on Sundays while standing upright the entire time.
Life Atop the Pillar
Yet again, Simeon's reputation for his spiritual practices caught the attention of others, who sought to see the hermit who lived in this minimalistic way. He left the cave and climbed on top of a small pillar amounting to roughly four cubits (one biblical cubit equates to roughly 45 cm or 17.7 inches, meaning Simeon's pillar was approximately 1.8 meters/5‘9 feet high) upon which he stood for another seven years.
Unsurprisingly, this caused word to spread once again. Not only did the young hermit stand on a small pillar, but he only ever ate every 40 days! This time it was the crowds that gathered that tried to preserve Simeons tranquility by erecting a “court” (most likely simple walls to create space around it) for him around his newly built pillar, which now stood over 30 cubits tall (13.5 m/44‘3 feet) upon which Simeon stood or kneeled an additional 15 years.
Many miracles were ascribed to Simeon during his time as the first pillar hermit when he became known as the first Stylite. He healed the bodily sick by praying over them, allowing them to walk away healed, people plagued by evil spirits were healed through the grace of Christ, and those filled with greed or hatred, he led to the light.
When his mother learned of the whereabouts of her son, who had been missing at this point for about 27 years, she tried to approach him. But after so many years of progress in his spirituality, he did not want her to see him.
“Women, in general, were not permitted beyond the wall. The saint did not make an exception even for his own mother […]” — The Orthodox Church of America
This prompted her to cry out to him:
“My Son and my Father, you have mercy on everyone, have mercy on the womb that bore you! …Let me see your face and die.” — Antonius (translated by W. E. Crum) p. 126.
Still, he did not answer her. She tried to climb the walls, which were mentioned earlier, but stumbled, which caused Simeon to apologize to his mother and comfort her, which only caused his mother to cry even more. Simeon then told her to lean her head upon the wall, praying to God that He might embrace her, which he did. She then was buried next to his pillar. Following this incident and many more pilgrims wanting to see the desert hermit, the people added another 10 cubits to Simeon's pillar, now reaching up to 18 m or 59 feet in size.
Pious men attract the devil; for he seeks what he cannot have. As with Job, he tried to tempt the first Stylite to sin against God by attacking the Saint's health, causing him to develop a gash on his thigh.
“So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord, and afflicted Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. And he took a potsherd with which to scrape himself, and sat among the ashes.” — Job 2:7–8 RSVCE
This did not cause the pillar-dweller to recant his faith, which he so steadily fastened over his previous years. Simeon kept simply standing on one leg or kneeled. He did not give in to the temptation to blame or even curse the Lord, but yet again practiced humility by proclaiming to the vermin infecting him:
“Eat, nevertheless, what God has ordered you to eat.” — Antonius (translated by W. E. Crum) p. 127.
The mixture of his unusual hermitical practice and the many wonders ascribed to him caused his reputation to exceed his small pillar, even making its way to Saracens, of whom he healed their king and converted many. The story of the healed king is a special and rather odd one:
While praying on his pillar, the king of the Saracens pleaded with Simeon to lecture him on justice and virtue, when a worm from his thigh fell down. The pillar Saint admonished the monarch to leave it but the monarch picked it up and put it on his blind eye, which miraculously healed, turning the worm into a precious pearl. Then the king asked Simeon to let him keep the pearl as a keepsake and blessing.
According to Simeon's student, he performed many more miracles besides the ones I listed. In the end, Saint Simeon died atop his pillar, where he was found by his student Antonius, kneeling in prayer.
“[He] spent 80 years in arduous monastic feats, 47 years of which he stood upon the pillar. Many pagans accepted Baptism, struck by the moral staunchness and bodily strength which the Lord bestowed upon His servant.” — The Orthodox Church of America
What Can We Learn From Saint Simeon?
Saint Simeon did not only develop a new way of hermitical lifestyle, which many people followed. He was also a man of complete subjugation to God’s will and humility. Exerting his zeal for the Christian faith in desolation through continuous prayer allowed him to be steadfast in his faith in the face of temptation.
“Rejoice in your hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.” — Romans 12:12 RSVCE
He is an example of how we can overcome physical suffering, or as Saint Paul says tribulations, and be steadfast in our faith and spirituality. The unusual method of his mortification of the flesh, coupled with his spiritual exercises portrays a man of zeal, humility, and devotion to the Christian faith.
“O God, who in your kindness called your servant blessed Simeon to the following of Christ, grant, we pray, through his intercession, that, denying ourselves, we may hold fast to you with all our heart. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.” — Brother Silas Henderson, S.D.S. for Aleteia
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