St. Simeon the Stylite “To Rise Above”-
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On the 15th day of the Coptic month Pashons we celebrate the life and teachings of St Simeon the Stylite.

A stylite, also known as a “pillar-saint,” was a type of Christian ascetic who lived on a pillar. They believed that the subjection of their bodies in this way would aid them in the salvation of their souls. The first famous stylite was Saint Simeon the Stylite (the Elder), who climbed a pillar in Antioch in 423 and remained there until his death 37 years later.

We have all heard of extreme asceticism, within the Coptic historical context of our celebration of orthodox faith. Chief among these is the father of monasticism, Saint Antony the Great. The notion of seclusion from the world is not unique in monasticism. This was the main reason why Saint Antony chose the wilderness, and then the cave hundreds of feet above sea level. It was the locational choice of this celebrated saint that was unique.

When the monastic desert elders of the time heard about Simeon and his choice of self-denial, they wanted to test him to determine whether his choice was rooted in humility or pride. They asked, ”So that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.” (Matt 6:18)

The idea at the time was genuinely extreme, for St. Simeon had chosen to live out the remainder of his life on the top of a pillar that was less than a few feet wide in diameter. Saint Mary of Egypt chose to live naked in the desert hidden from the world. Saint Paul the Simple elected to live at the foot of St. Antony’s cave seeking guidance in the monastic life. And there are many more examples among the desert fathers. As the elders struggled with this choice of St Simeon, a growing number of followers of people seeking out his prayers, his wisdom, and his guidance grew. The desert fathers felt they needed to seek out a solution.

They decided to order Simeon, under obedience, to come down from the pillar. They rationed that if he disobeyed, they would forcibly drag him to the ground and label his apparent austerity as an act of vanity and self-glory. But, if Simeon was willing to submit, they were to leave him on his pillar.

When asked to leave his plateau of solitude, St Simeon reluctantly came down and showed complete obedience and humility. But before he came down fully, the monks recognized his willingness to submit and told him to stay where he was.

Over the remainder of his life St Simeon chose other pillars of even greater height. But even on the highest of his columns, Simeon was not completely isolated from the world. If anything, the new monolith attracted even more people, both pilgrims who had earlier visited him and sightseers as well. As his reputation for wisdom grew, the Church built walls of isolation around his pillar so he could remain removed from the world. Despite his dedicated life to his ascetic choice of seclusion, he continued to set a limited amount of time daily to minister to those who sought his advice.

Lessons from this story

One of his chief guides was to council against the use of “filthy language” (Colossians 3:8). His advice was to rise above the dirt of the world and not let your words reflect the dirt from which you rise from. We live in a highly secular world today, divided along many lines. Influences from the river of darkness surround our daily life. And in each instance more and more extreme usages of filthy language have become permissible, acceptable and even encouraged. But these rages of word usages are elements of the deceit to desensitize us from their true purpose. Profanity, by its nature, is a curse.

“For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” (Matt 12:37)

We all get mad, angry and tormented by...