Daniel the Stylite (, c. 409 – 493) is a

saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

and

stylite A stylite ( () "pillar dweller", derived from () "pillar" and ()) or pillar-saint is a type of Christian ascetic who lives on pillars, preaching, fasting and praying. Stylites believe that the mortification of their bodies would help ensure ...

of the

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

and

Eastern Catholic Church The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also known as the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous ('' sui iuris'') particular churches of ...

es. He is commemorated on 11 December according to the

liturgical calendar The liturgical year, also called the church year, Christian year, ecclesiastical calendar, or kalendar, consists of the cycle of liturgical days and seasons that determines when feast days, including celebrations of saints, are to be obs ...

s of these churches.

History

Early life

Daniel was born in Maratha, a village in

Upper Mesopotamia Upper Mesopotamia constitutes the Upland and lowland, uplands and great outwash plain of northwestern Iraq, northeastern Syria and southeastern Turkey, in the northern Middle East. Since the early Muslim conquests of the mid-7th century, the regio ...

near

Samosata Samsat (, Ottoman Turkish صمصاد ''Semisat''), formerly Samosata () is a small town in the Adıyaman Province of Turkey, situated on the upper Euphrates river. It is the seat of Samsat District.monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

at the age of 12 and lived there until he was thirty-eight. During a voyage he made with his

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; , ) "Antioch on Daphne"; or "Antioch the Great"; ; ; ; ; ; ; . was a Hellenistic Greek city founded by Seleucus I Nicator in 300 BC. One of the most important Greek cities of the Hellenistic period, it served as ...

, he passed by the city of Telanissos (today Deir Semaan) and received the benediction and encouragement of Simeon the Stylite. Then he visited various holy places, stayed in various

convent A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

s, and retired in 451 AD into the ruins of a pagan temple.

Stylite

Daniel established his pillar north of

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

. The owner of the land where he placed his pillars had not been consulted, hence he appealed to the Byzantine emperor Leo I and patriarch

Gennadius of Constantinople Gennadius of Constantinople (; died 17 November 471) was the patriarch of Constantinople from August 458 until his death. Gennadius is known to have been a learned writer who followed the School of Antioch of literal exegesis, although few writ ...

. The emperor proposed to dislodge him, but was deterred through unknown means. Gennadius

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

Daniel as a priest. When the ceremony was over, the patriarch administered the

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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 Thrace (, ; ; ; ) is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe roughly corresponding to the province of Thrace in the Roman Empire. Bounded by the Balkan Mountains to the north, the Aegean Sea to the south, and the Black Se ...

sometimes stripped him of his scanty clothing.''Vita S. Daniel'', ap. Surium, ad diem ii. decemb. cap. xli., xlii., xliii. He was visited by both Emperor

Leo I the Thracian Leo I (; 401 – 18 January 474), also known as "the Thracian" (; ), was Eastern Roman emperor from 457 to 474. He was a native of Dacia Aureliana near historic Thrace. He is sometimes surnamed with the epithet "the Great" (; ), probably to ...

—accompanied by King

Gubazes I of Lazica Gubazes I ( ka, გუბაზი; ) was a king of Lazica who flourished in the 450s and 460s. His relations with the Roman Empire are recorded by Priscus.Toumanoff (1963), p. 363. Around 456 Gubazes tried to negotiate an alliance with the Sassa ...

Dawes & Baynes (1948), p. 79.—and Emperor

Zeno Zeno may refer to: People * Zeno (name), including a list of people and characters with the given name * Zeno (surname) Philosophers * Zeno of Elea (), philosopher, follower of Parmenides, known for his paradoxes * Zeno of Citium (333 – 264 B ...

. As a theologian, he came out against monophysitism.

Associated prayers

The following is his prayer before he began his life on the pillar:Cellier, x. 344, 403, 485

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:Robertson, ''Christian History'' ii. 41-3, 274

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.

Notes

References

* Dawes, Elizabeth & Baynes, Norman H. (1948), ''Three Byzantine Saints: Contemporary Biographies of St. Daniel the Stylite, St. Theodore of Sykeon and St. John the Almsgiver''. London: B. Blackwell
Online version
from

Internet Medieval Sourcebook The Internet History Sourcebooks Project is located at the Fordham University History Department and Center for Medieval Studies. It is a web site with modern, medieval and ancient primary source documents, maps, secondary sources, bibliographies, ...

External links

St Daniel the Stylite
Orthodox Icon and Synaxarion (December 11)
Orthodox Church in America - Lives of the Saints
{{DEFAULTSORT:Daniel The Stylite 409 births Byzantine hermits Stylites 493 deaths 5th-century Christian saints People from Adıyaman Province