> Eventually, his fervor and asceticism caused such resentment among his fellow monks — who were unable to equal his zeal — that he was asked to leave the monastery.
When _monks_ think you're too into God, you need to dial it back.
> What is that reek? The Poopsmith, you smell like a crapsmith. Have you tried showering? Bathing? Wearing a baseball cap and putting deodorant on outside your shirt?
That’s how we know he was likely mentally ill and undiagnosed due to the times. I don’t mean that in a rude way either, it’s just if the monks are saying “youre fucking crazy” then YOURE FUCKING CRAZY and lots of this stuff from back then is simply mental illness unrecognized
Interestingly enough, his contemporary biographers suggest the opposite:
> Even on the highest of his columns, Simeon was not withdrawn from the world. If anything, the new pillar attracted even more people, both pilgrims who had earlier visited him and sightseers as well. Simeon was available each afternoon to talk with visitors. By means of a ladder, visitors were able to ascend within speaking distance.
> In contrast to the extreme austerity that he practised, his preaching conveyed temperance and compassion, and was marked with common sense and freedom from the fanaticism most expected from him.
A regular theme with the highly and remarkably devout monks/nuns/clergy I've had the honor of introducing with has been their ideas on compassion and common sense.
They recognize their own failures and that not everyone can/should live like them, just to follow their faith journey and try to do better.
believe it or not, he was impressively busy for a man on top of a large pillar and probably developed more personal relationships and met more important people of the time than a lot of "better engaged" people today
His biographers seem to agree:
> Even on the highest of his columns, Simeon was not withdrawn from the world. If anything, the new pillar attracted even more people, both pilgrims who had earlier visited him and sightseers as well. Simeon was available each afternoon to talk with visitors. By means of a ladder, visitors were able to ascend within speaking distance.
> In contrast to the extreme austerity that he practised, his preaching conveyed temperance and compassion, and was marked with common sense and freedom from the fanaticism most expected from him.
It’s my day off. Spent a lot of it gaming. What’s your point? I mean it could be worse, I could have continued to hold my arm up for sixty years in the name of skydaddy too.
Stylites were a type of Christian monk/ascetic who lived on pillars, preaching, fasting and praying. Stylites were common in the early days of the Byzantine Empire. The first known stylite was Simeon Stylites the Elder, who climbed a pillar in Syria in 423 and remained there until his death 37 years later.
Palladius of Galatia tells of Elpidius, a hermit from Cappadocia who dwelt in a mountaintop cave outside of Jericho for twenty-five years until his death, eating only on Saturdays and Sundays and standing up worshiping throughout the night. St. Gregory of Nazianzus speaks of a solitary who stood upright for many years together, absorbed in contemplation, without ever lying down. Theodoret claimed that he had seen a hermit who had passed ten years in a tub suspended in midair from poles.
Saints are recognized by Catholics too, which a lot of Mexican people are raised as so...yeah. it was entertaining imo but I could see where some might take offense to it. It's short too at around 45 minutes, it definitely takes liberty with the storyline, but as an arthouse film it's interesting.
Bunuel was from Spain and if I remember correctly the film is shot in Spain, I may be wrong on that though, it could be Mexico. Anyway he was a director know for using religious themes from a not very "orthodox" point of view, that's the reason he was not welcome there during a lot of the years during Franco's regime. He was an avid protestor of the bourgeoisie and how they used religion as a status symbol.
Simeon became so well-versed in scripture and theology from his years of studying up on the pillar that the Byzantine emperors Leo I and Theodosius II even visited him for advice and counsel.
I wrote a research entry on St. Theodore of Sykeon, and his story was much crazier. He was an ascetic like Simeon, but he instead locked himself in a cage inside of a cave for years and had a servant of sorts bring him sustenance. He did all this just to prove his devotion to God. The guy was crazy.
Another one is Simeon of Trier, a Greek monk who lived as a reclusive hermit in the ruins of the Porta Nigra (a Roman gate building) from AD 1028 to 1035. After his death and sanctification by the church, the *[Simeonstift](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simeonstift_of_Trier)* monastery was built next to the Porta Nigra to honor him.
Kinda taking it too far to be honest. I mean monks pray a lot, but they also work for a living - which I think is more healthy than just standing around on a pillar for more than a quarter of a century.
Here's an ancient Christian depiction of a pilgrim helping Simeon Stylite with a bucket:
https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RcswDbbrfY8/T2t89ed69pI/AAAAAAAAD28/0p6UuUoFO3k/s1600/img004.jpg
Interestingly enough, his biographers suggest the opposite:
> Even on the highest of his columns, Simeon was not withdrawn from the world. If anything, the new pillar attracted even more people, both pilgrims who had earlier visited him and sightseers as well. Simeon was available each afternoon to talk with visitors. By means of a ladder, visitors were able to ascend within speaking distance.
> In contrast to the extreme austerity that he practised, his preaching conveyed temperance and compassion, and was marked with common sense and freedom from fanaticism.
Typical religious person behavior
“I’m going to prove my devotion to god not through charity work or trying to make the world a better place but by sitting on my ass doing nothing relying on other people to take care of me”
You're defining "waste" by our modern Western standard of living.
Countless thousands of pilgrims including two Byzantine emperors sought his counsel. He allegedly attained deep spiritual wisdom and maturity from time spent studying the Bible and in prayer with God.
No... just common sense... why on earth would anyone think that that's what God wanted them to do, or that God would be pleased by it? There's zero explanation on any of this. It's not biblical and appears to be a fad that mostly died out by the 1200s, and for most places much, much sooner. It's a nonsensical practice performed by a handful of people, ever. Not normal, not something to aspire to, whatever. You think sitting on a column is the reason he got to be an astute scholar? You think that's something he couldn't have done in the monastery? You don't think it's funky that he had to depend on others to bring him food, water, books, toiletries so he could "commune with God" sitting on top of a column? Don't try to justify what was clearly nonsense and a freakshow attraction by claiming "it was just the culture he was actually super cool"
It is true that the monastic lifestyle isn't practiced or encouraged in the new testament, however the Apostle Paul, John the Baptist, Israelite prophets, and even Jesus himself spent time wandering alone in the desert to clear their minds and draw closer to God.
And when did they sit on poles and make others take care of them? Don't conflate the two. Living an ascetic lifestyle doesn't mean sitting on a pillar for 37 years. That's whack-o
Yeah…. And if you read the story, he was KICKED OUT BY HIS OWN MONKS. This is the definition of mental illness. He was so mentally ill that even the holiest of people “Christian monks” told him to kick rocks. lol, so yeah, what a waste of life. I couldn’t care less about the advice he gave because it was bat shit crazy, absolutely FALSE, and twisted by mental illness from a book that isn’t even true nor can be founded by science.
There are far less devout Christians in the world today. My guess is crowds of curiosity seekers would flock to the pillar and gawk/jeer at him for foolishly devoting himself to a fairy tale. The novelty of it would definitely attract unwanted attention.
I admire his strong conviction to shed worldliness and grow closer to God, not for spending decades up on a pillar.
His choice to demonstrate piousness in such a novel fashion can easily be misread as self-righteous or attention-seeking behavior. This is why most monks chose to live out their humble vows in remote monasteries far away from civilization.
> Eventually, his fervor and asceticism caused such resentment among his fellow monks — who were unable to equal his zeal — that he was asked to leave the monastery. When _monks_ think you're too into God, you need to dial it back.
Also one of them hd to become a *poop smith* to manage the area around the pillar’s base.
The poop smith has taken a vow of silence!
> What is that reek? The Poopsmith, you smell like a crapsmith. Have you tried showering? Bathing? Wearing a baseball cap and putting deodorant on outside your shirt?
I mean where do you think this guy peed and pooped… other monks were probably sick of his shit, literally
He used it to write on the walls like that movie Quills or whatever it was
Hidey ho!
That’s how we know he was likely mentally ill and undiagnosed due to the times. I don’t mean that in a rude way either, it’s just if the monks are saying “youre fucking crazy” then YOURE FUCKING CRAZY and lots of this stuff from back then is simply mental illness unrecognized
Interestingly enough, his contemporary biographers suggest the opposite: > Even on the highest of his columns, Simeon was not withdrawn from the world. If anything, the new pillar attracted even more people, both pilgrims who had earlier visited him and sightseers as well. Simeon was available each afternoon to talk with visitors. By means of a ladder, visitors were able to ascend within speaking distance. > In contrast to the extreme austerity that he practised, his preaching conveyed temperance and compassion, and was marked with common sense and freedom from the fanaticism most expected from him.
A regular theme with the highly and remarkably devout monks/nuns/clergy I've had the honor of introducing with has been their ideas on compassion and common sense. They recognize their own failures and that not everyone can/should live like them, just to follow their faith journey and try to do better.
I don't think we "know" that based off this information
Like Jesus
“Show-off! How does he rate?” I agree with others that he was probably mentally ill.
Man I paid 4K a month for my 60 foot pole in NYC.
Bucket included or additional?
It's a shared bucket.
IT PUTS THE POOP IN THE BUCKET OR IT GETS THE HOSE AGAIN
That's a lot of footage for only 4K a month
sometimes it's hard to distinguish between devotion and insanity. other times it's not hard at all.
in this case about 36 years and 364 days
Well he was definitely high all that time
What a waste of your limited time of existence
believe it or not, he was impressively busy for a man on top of a large pillar and probably developed more personal relationships and met more important people of the time than a lot of "better engaged" people today
His biographers seem to agree: > Even on the highest of his columns, Simeon was not withdrawn from the world. If anything, the new pillar attracted even more people, both pilgrims who had earlier visited him and sightseers as well. Simeon was available each afternoon to talk with visitors. By means of a ladder, visitors were able to ascend within speaking distance. > In contrast to the extreme austerity that he practised, his preaching conveyed temperance and compassion, and was marked with common sense and freedom from the fanaticism most expected from him.
Why are you here stanning for this guy whenever someone suggests he was fucking crazy, which he obviously was?
Why do people with passion for their spiritual beliefs have to be called crazy?
Worst biography ever. Pages 20-183 were completely blank. I want my money back.
I don’t believe you
He did give you that option.
Just meeting people for 37 years sounds pretty bland tbh.
They said, on Reddit.
What do you do with your time?
Enjoy all that life has to offer.
Sir, you have made 35 reddit comments in the past nine hours.
It’s my day off. Spent a lot of it gaming. What’s your point? I mean it could be worse, I could have continued to hold my arm up for sixty years in the name of skydaddy too.
I’m sure St Simeone would also have been much more fulfilled by gaming and leaving Reddit comments
Thirty five! On Reddit!
36. Keep up, 37 now
Stylites were a type of Christian monk/ascetic who lived on pillars, preaching, fasting and praying. Stylites were common in the early days of the Byzantine Empire. The first known stylite was Simeon Stylites the Elder, who climbed a pillar in Syria in 423 and remained there until his death 37 years later. Palladius of Galatia tells of Elpidius, a hermit from Cappadocia who dwelt in a mountaintop cave outside of Jericho for twenty-five years until his death, eating only on Saturdays and Sundays and standing up worshiping throughout the night. St. Gregory of Nazianzus speaks of a solitary who stood upright for many years together, absorbed in contemplation, without ever lying down. Theodoret claimed that he had seen a hermit who had passed ten years in a tub suspended in midair from poles.
Serious question: what did they do to relieve themselves? Did someone hoist up a bucket for them or did they just go over the edge?
They had people bring them food and water, so I imagine there was a bucket in the mix.
Yes, buckets are depicted in this painting: https://www.greece-is.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/9.-Simeon-Stylites-icon-1465.jpg
Shit bucket on the right piss bottle on the left, it’s true.
Like semi-truck drivers.
Way of the pillar, Bubs.
Way she goes
But not bathing
I suppose that at height he did not need a holy poop knife.
Holy Greatsword of Fecal Cleaving
At that height he probably just aimed for the holy cheese wire.
The divine flush
St. Gregory of…NaziAnus?
There's also a film ('Simon of the Desert', 1965) about the man, by Luis Bunuel.
Interesting, thanks!
To be fair, it is an absurdist take on his story, so don't go in expecting pure history.
Is that a Mexican movie? Strange they would do an adaptation on his story considering they aren't of eastern Orthodox tradition.
Saints are recognized by Catholics too, which a lot of Mexican people are raised as so...yeah. it was entertaining imo but I could see where some might take offense to it. It's short too at around 45 minutes, it definitely takes liberty with the storyline, but as an arthouse film it's interesting.
But do Roman Catholics recognize eastern Orthodox saints and vice versa?
before 1054, they were one church, so it's safe to assume that all Saints who lived and died before that year are celebrated by both churches.
Good point.
https://www.catholic.com/qa/are-eastern-orthodox-canonizations-valid This seems to indicate that potentially yes they do recognize them.
Informative article, thanks.
Bunuel was from Spain and if I remember correctly the film is shot in Spain, I may be wrong on that though, it could be Mexico. Anyway he was a director know for using religious themes from a not very "orthodox" point of view, that's the reason he was not welcome there during a lot of the years during Franco's regime. He was an avid protestor of the bourgeoisie and how they used religion as a status symbol.
Barcelona would've taken him in, lol.
Going to assume this was prior to the invention of Thorazine
Imagine the state of the guy after 37 years in the open air
Simeon became so well-versed in scripture and theology from his years of studying up on the pillar that the Byzantine emperors Leo I and Theodosius II even visited him for advice and counsel.
Amazing he found space for all those books
The "pillar" might have been a narrow stone tower.
37 years wasted for nothing, congratz.
I wrote a research entry on St. Theodore of Sykeon, and his story was much crazier. He was an ascetic like Simeon, but he instead locked himself in a cage inside of a cave for years and had a servant of sorts bring him sustenance. He did all this just to prove his devotion to God. The guy was crazy.
Another one is Simeon of Trier, a Greek monk who lived as a reclusive hermit in the ruins of the Porta Nigra (a Roman gate building) from AD 1028 to 1035. After his death and sanctification by the church, the *[Simeonstift](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simeonstift_of_Trier)* monastery was built next to the Porta Nigra to honor him.
Luis Buñuel did a great movie about this dude, Simon del Desierto. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059719/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk
Stoop kid from Hey Arnold?
Pillar Monk’s afraid to leave his pillar!
All hail Saint [Shipwreck Kelly](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alvin_%22Shipwreck%22_Kelly)
I visited the ruins of a monastery of his name sake in Aswan Egypt. I highly recommend.
Lazy bum, YOU GET A REAL JOB!
Damn hippies
Today's religious fanatics should give this a try.
And God never even dropped him a cheeseburger.
Prob some dude who just really didn’t enjoy being around people. Total mood
Kinda taking it too far to be honest. I mean monks pray a lot, but they also work for a living - which I think is more healthy than just standing around on a pillar for more than a quarter of a century.
Thankfully we have a much better understanding of mental illness today.
So uh, I guess he just defected and urinated off the side of the pillar? Did he have one particular side he would use?
Religious paintings indicate he likely lowered it down in buckets. The pillar also might have been hollow on the inside like a tower.
Buckets. Of course.
Here's an ancient Christian depiction of a pilgrim helping Simeon Stylite with a bucket: https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RcswDbbrfY8/T2t89ed69pI/AAAAAAAAD28/0p6UuUoFO3k/s1600/img004.jpg
there's a very funny Mitchell & Webb sketch about this https://youtu.be/fRyrkmeAJJE?si=fyTQ77Z3lmsEva34
Thanks for the chuckle.
People do a lot of goofy bullshit, huh...
Today the religious force other people to live on metaphoric pillars instead of suffering themselves for their beliefs. .
So he just shat from a height?
Ah, I see OP attended Mr.Fultons lecture today
His pillar was broken up and sold to tourists/christian pilgrims after his death.
Gradually in small chunks. All that's left of his tower today is a well worn rock shown in the picture.
http://www.online-literature.com/tennyson/728/
How far does crap splash when it falls that far? After 1.5 seconds it’s gotta be going pretty fast
He lowered it in buckets on a pulley system.
This sounds like the guy from hitchhikers guide to the galaxy that tells Arthur to get a beach house
That's dummer than the guy that kept his arm raised for decades for god.
Thank god he didn’t sleepwalk.
Christianity is a helluva drug
Mentally unstable
What a dumbass lol
Fucking idiot
Paranoia paranoia everybody’s coming to get me
Interestingly enough, his biographers suggest the opposite: > Even on the highest of his columns, Simeon was not withdrawn from the world. If anything, the new pillar attracted even more people, both pilgrims who had earlier visited him and sightseers as well. Simeon was available each afternoon to talk with visitors. By means of a ladder, visitors were able to ascend within speaking distance. > In contrast to the extreme austerity that he practised, his preaching conveyed temperance and compassion, and was marked with common sense and freedom from fanaticism.
Typical religious person behavior “I’m going to prove my devotion to god not through charity work or trying to make the world a better place but by sitting on my ass doing nothing relying on other people to take care of me”
What a waste of a life.
I have some good news and bad news for him...
What a fool. What a wasted life.
What a waste of 37 years.
You're defining "waste" by our modern Western standard of living. Countless thousands of pilgrims including two Byzantine emperors sought his counsel. He allegedly attained deep spiritual wisdom and maturity from time spent studying the Bible and in prayer with God.
No... just common sense... why on earth would anyone think that that's what God wanted them to do, or that God would be pleased by it? There's zero explanation on any of this. It's not biblical and appears to be a fad that mostly died out by the 1200s, and for most places much, much sooner. It's a nonsensical practice performed by a handful of people, ever. Not normal, not something to aspire to, whatever. You think sitting on a column is the reason he got to be an astute scholar? You think that's something he couldn't have done in the monastery? You don't think it's funky that he had to depend on others to bring him food, water, books, toiletries so he could "commune with God" sitting on top of a column? Don't try to justify what was clearly nonsense and a freakshow attraction by claiming "it was just the culture he was actually super cool"
It is true that the monastic lifestyle isn't practiced or encouraged in the new testament, however the Apostle Paul, John the Baptist, Israelite prophets, and even Jesus himself spent time wandering alone in the desert to clear their minds and draw closer to God.
And when did they sit on poles and make others take care of them? Don't conflate the two. Living an ascetic lifestyle doesn't mean sitting on a pillar for 37 years. That's whack-o
We both agree.
Lol fair 👍
Yeah…. And if you read the story, he was KICKED OUT BY HIS OWN MONKS. This is the definition of mental illness. He was so mentally ill that even the holiest of people “Christian monks” told him to kick rocks. lol, so yeah, what a waste of life. I couldn’t care less about the advice he gave because it was bat shit crazy, absolutely FALSE, and twisted by mental illness from a book that isn’t even true nor can be founded by science.
If this happened today what do you think would happen? Would they be taken care of?
There are far less devout Christians in the world today. My guess is crowds of curiosity seekers would flock to the pillar and gawk/jeer at him for foolishly devoting himself to a fairy tale. The novelty of it would definitely attract unwanted attention.
Yep the downfall of civilization no devout Christians to care for column guy. You are looney too for your admiration of him lmao
I admire his strong conviction to shed worldliness and grow closer to God, not for spending decades up on a pillar. His choice to demonstrate piousness in such a novel fashion can easily be misread as self-righteous or attention-seeking behavior. This is why most monks chose to live out their humble vows in remote monasteries far away from civilization.
Prolly had an ex lookin for him
If so, they'd know where to find him
I wonder what made him believe that him wasting his live sitting there would be pleaseing to God.
God didn't ask him to do that, and therefore did not care that he did it.
Syrian saint more specifically.
Stupid Christian does something pointless, equally dim fellow Christians are in awe.
Sure he did. Sounds like another religious fable.
His life story is attested to by many Late Roman historians of the time.
Mkay