“Stylites,”

Long before “social distancing” became the chic and trendy thing it is today, there were those in the Church who chose to purposefully distance themselves from others by living atop a column, tower, or pillar. Known as “Stylites,” from the Greek word stylos, meaning pillar, these ascetics, common in the Byzantine Empire, lived, prayed, preached, and fasted on their perch amidst all climatic conditions and may have been inspired to do so by the Old Testament Prophet Habakkuk, who notably stationed himself upon a tower to await God’s Word (Hab. 2:1). The most famous Stylite was, St. Simeon whom we commemorate today, September 1st.

Fr. John