Simeon Stylites
The first and most famous of the pillar saints, Simeon was a shepherd until he was 13, when he began to work as a servant at a monastery. Well-loved, he entered a stricter monastery, where he outfasted his brothers. Simeon was expelled from the monastery for excesses. He lived on Mt. Teleanissę until 423, when he set up his first 9-foot pillar. His ascetical feat drew such attention that he later erected pillars of 12 and 20 feets to escape the crowds who came, twice daily, to hear him preach. At the end of his life (495), he lived on a pillar 60 feet high and 6 feet wide.
Karen Rae Keck
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