Feastday: December 11
St. Daniel, the Stylite, Priest. Feast day is December 11. Daniel was born in Maratha, Syria in 409 and became a monk in nearby Samosata on the Upper Euphrates. He learned of St. Simeon Stylites the Elder, living on a pillar at Antioch and got to see him twice. At the age of forty-two, Daniel decided that he too wanted to become a stylite (from the Greek word "stylos", meaning pillar) and live on a pillar at a spot near Constantinople. Therefore, Emperor Leo I, built a series of pillars with a platform on top for him, and Daniel was ordained there by St. Gennadius. The saint quickly became an attraction for the people. He celebrated the Eucharist on his pillar, preached sermons, dispensed spiritual advice, and cured the sick who were brought up to him. He also gave prudent counsel to Emperors Leo and Zeno and the patriarch of Constantinople. All the while, Daniel lived his particular type of pillar spirituality. He came down from his perch only once in thirty-three years - to turn Emperor Baliscus away from backing the heresy of Monophysitism. Daniel died in 493 and became the best known Stylite after St. Simeon Stylites the Elder. The life of St. Daniel the Stylite is an apt reminder that there are many ways to live the spiritual life. All of us have our own way to be close to God every day. Our task is to find that way and follow it to the very end.
Jewelry Sale 15% OFF
FREE Shipping over $60
5th-century Christian saint
Saint Daniel the Stylite (Greek: Δανιὴλ ὁ στυλίτης, c. 409 – 493) is a Saint and stylite of the Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Eastern Catholic Churches. He is commemorated on 11 December according to the liturgical calendars of these churches.
History
Early life
St. Daniel was born in Maratha, a village in upper Mesopotamia near Samosata in present-day Turkey. He entered a monastery at the age of 12 and lived there until he was thirty-eight. During a voyage he made with his abbot to Antioch, he passed by the city of Telanissos (today Deir Semaan) and received the benediction and encouragement of St. Simeon the Stylite. Then he visited various holy places, stayed in various convents, and retired in 451 A.D. into the ruins of a pagan temple.
Stylite
St. Daniel established his pillar north of Constantinople. The owner of the land where he placed his pillars had not been consulted, hence he appealed to the Byzantine emperor and patriarch Gennadius of Constantinople. Gennadius proposed to dislodge him, but was deterred through unknown means. Gennadius ordained Daniel as a priest. When the ceremony was over, the patriarch administered the Eucharist by means of a ladder, which Daniel had ordered to be brought. Gennadius then received the Eucharist from Daniel. People from all over came to see him and touch his pillar, which healed the faithful. Daniel stood through rain, snow, and the freezing cold.
Daniel lived on the pillar for 33 years. Due to continuous standing, his feet were reportedly covered with sores, cuts, and ulcers, and the winds of Thrace sometimes stripped him of his scanty clothing.
He was visited by both Emperor Leo I the Thracian—accompanied by King Gubazes I of Lazica—and Emperor Zeno. As a theologian, he came out against monophysitism.
Associated prayers
The following is his prayer before he began his life on the pillar:
I yield Thee glory, Jesus Christ my God, for all the blessings which Thou hast heaped upon me, and for the grace which Thou hast given me that I should embrace this manner of life. But Thou knowest that in ascending this pillar, I lean on Thee alone, and that to Thee alone I look for the happy issue of mine undertaking. Accept, then, my object: strengthen me that I finish this painful course: give me grace to end it in holiness.
The following is the advice he gave to his disciples just before his death:
Hold fast humility, practice obedience, exercise hospitality, keep the fasts, observe the vigils, love poverty, and above all maintain charity, which is the first and great commandment; keep closely bound to all that regards piety, avoid the tares of the heretics. Separate never from the Church your Mother; if you do these things your righteousness shall be perfect.
