Saint Daniel the Stylite

Not far from Constantinople and the court where, towards the end of the 5th century, Greeks and Barbarians betrayed and slaughtered one another to ascend or remain on the throne, there rose upon a column a new Simeon, a new prodigy of Christian self-denial and penance, as if to condemn from a higher and closer vantage point the disorders of the court and the city. This was Sa int Daniel the Styli saint Daniel Stylite 5th-century stylite monk and advisor to emperors in Constantinople. te. He was a native of the village of Maratha, near Samosata. At the age of twelve, he withdrew into a neighboring monastery. Long after, his abbot, going to Antioch for the affairs of the Church, told him to accompany him. They passed through the village of Telanissos and wen t to see Sai saint Siméon The first of the stylites and spiritual mentor to Daniel. nt Simeon on his column. This Saint allowed Daniel to ascend to him, gave him his blessing, and predicted that he would suffer much for Jesus Christ. The abbot having died, the monks wished to put Daniel in his place; but he took flight and returned to Simeon. When he had stayed fourteen days in the monastery near the column, he undertook a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. But Simeon appeared to him on the way and ordered him to go to Constantinople. He obeyed and spent seven days in the church of Saint Michael, outside the city walls. From there, he went to establish himself in an old temple of idols, infested by demons; he drove them out by the sign of the cross and prayer, and remained there for nine years. Some clerics of the church of Constantinople wished to trouble him; but he was protected by Bis hop Anatolius: and l'évêque Anatolius Bishop of Constantinople reconciled by Abundius. the bishop having fallen dangerously ill, Daniel healed him and asked, as his only reward, for the pardon of those who had slandered him.

Saint Simeon Stylite Saint Siméon Stylite The first of the stylites and spiritual mentor to Daniel. s had sent his disciple Sergius to bring his festive garment to the emperor. Having been unable to gain access to the prince, he went to find Daniel, of whom he had heard great things, and gave him the gift he was carrying for the emperor. This circumstance, joined with a revelation that Sergius had in this regard, made him resolve to mount a pillar himself.

At his request, Sergius chose for him a solitary mountain not far away, towards the mouth of the Euxine Sea: it was four miles fro Pont-Euxin Ancient name for the Black Sea. m the sea, and seven from Constantinople, on the north side. One of Daniel's friends had two columns built there, joined together by iron bars, which formed only one. Above them was placed another smaller column, at the top of which was a kind of barrel, surrounded by a balustrade. It was there that he dwelt. The situation of the country, subject to great winds and very harsh cold, made his penance even more astonishing than that of Saint Simeon. There was one winter when the winds nearly carried him away; they stripped him of all his clothes, and he remained motionless and frozen with cold. His disciples climbed the column and, with sponges, applied hot water to him to thaw him out. He did not leave his column for that, and continued to live there until the age of eighty.

Without descending, he was ordained a priest, at the request of the emperor, by Gennadius, Bishop of Constantinople, who, having performed the prayers below, climbed the pillar to complete the ceremony and gave him communion. From that time on, he celebrated the holy mysteries upon the pillar itself. Through his prayers, he obta ined a son for l'empereur Léon Byzantine emperor and protector of Daniel. Emperor Leo, who visited him often and held him in great respect. The Saint took advantage of this to give him salutary instructions, to exhort him above all to forgive easily, and to combat the harshness that was natural to him. This prince had a small monastery built near Daniel's pillar for his disciples, and a hospice for those who came to see him, with an oratory to house the relics of Saint Simeon, which Daniel had brought from Antioch.

In the year 465, ther e was a terrib Constantinople City where the saint exercised his ministry and patriarchate. le f ire in Constantin incendie terrible Major catastrophe predicted by the saint. ople, which consumed eight of its districts. Daniel had predicted it, and had advised the patriarch and the emperor to prevent it by holding public prayers twice a week; but he was not believed. The event brought it to mind, and the people ran in great haste toward his column. One complained of having lost his house, another his goods, his friends, his wife, his children. The Saint, touched by their afflictions, melted into tears, and advised them to apply themselves to prayer and fasting. He stretched his hands toward heaven, and prayed for them; then he sent them away, saying that the fire would end at the end of seven days: which came to pass. Then the emperor came with the empress to beg him to ask God to forgive them for the past, and to keep them safe for the future.

Gubazes, king of the L Gobazès, roi des Lazes King of the Laz in Colchis. azes in Colchis, having come to renew his alliance with the Romans, the emperor led him to see Daniel, as the miracle of his empire. The barbarian king prostrated himself with tears before the column, and the Saint was the arbiter of the treaty between these two princes. Gubazes, having returned home, recounted this wonder there, and never sent to Constantinople without writing to Daniel to commend himself to his prayers. He even had a third, higher column built for him, next to the other two, to shelter him a little during stormy weather. Daniel finally consented to the requests made to him by Emperor Leo to allow the top of his column to be covered with a roof.

This prince had in his service a barbarian lord named Ed rane, Edrane Barbarian lord converted by Daniel, who became a monk under the name Titus. always nurtured in war and carnage, who commanded some troops of his nation. Seeing him to be very brave, he had given him the office of constable with the title of count. As the emperor sent all persons of importance to see Daniel and receive his blessing, he also sent Edrane. This barbarian was so touched by the instructions the Saint gave him and by the example of his life that he resolved at that very moment to leave everything and embrace the monastic state. He had all his men assembled, represented to them the vanity of all earthly things, and how unworthy it was to see men shedding the blood of men; that, for his part, he was resolved to serve only Jesus Christ, and to work only for the salvation of his soul; that he exhorted them all to follow him, but that those who did not wish to could withdraw wherever they pleased. This speech touched two barbarians, who had never heard of Jesus Christ. The others were content with the money he gave them and withdrew. Edrane, thus free of everything, received the monastic habit from the hands of Daniel, along with the two barbarians who had followed him, and changed his former name to that of Titus. The emperor was displeased with his resolution and h ad r Tite Barbarian lord converted by Daniel, who became a monk under the name Titus. eproaches made to him; but nothing could shake him. Soon, even the emperor ended up esteeming what he had initially condemned, and, when he visited Daniel, he would also go to see Titus and would receive his instructions with joy. Daniel, upon his pillar, was thus a continual preaching for both the Greeks and the Barbarians.

Saint Daniel the Sty Saint Daniel Stylite 5th-century stylite monk and advisor to emperors in Constantinople. lite died on his pillar on December 11, around the year 489, after having performed several miracles and predicted several political revolutions that came to pass in his time.

As with Saint Simeon and Saint Walfroy, the pillar is the characteristic attribute of Saint Daniel the Stylite.

Rohrbacher, Life of the Saints; Father Calder, Characteristics of the Saints.