September: Day 1: Teaching 2: Venerable Symeon the Stylite

September: Day 1: Teaching 2: 
Venerable Symeon the Stylite
 
(Lessons From His Life: 
a. Our Life in Heaven, 
b. We Must Practice Prayer, and 
c. The Path to the Kingdom of Heaven is the Path of Sorrows)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. The Venerable Symeon, celebrated today, when thirteen years old, earnestly prayed to God to show him the way to salvation. One day the Lord enlightened him with the following vision: Symeon dreamed that he was digging the earth to lay the foundation for a building, and he heard a voice: “Dig deeper.” After toiling for some time, he stopped, thinking that the depth was sufficient for a solid foundation, but again he heard the voice: “Dig deeper.” The same thing happened a third time, and then Symeon continued to toil without ceasing until he heard a voice that said to him: “Stop, the foundation is solid.” From this vision Symeon learned that to obtain salvation labor is necessary, and at that, continuous and unrelenting labor. Venerable Symeon, indeed, began to toil in an extraordinary way, mastering sinful passions. He started by ascending a high hill and binding himself with a chain to a stone. However, when Saint Meletius of Antioch saw him in such a state, he did not commend his physical shackles, asserting that a person can possess oneself without shackles, through the power of will.

Hearing these words, Symeon immediately took off his shackles and undertook another feat, hitherto unheard of: he first built a pillar of 6 cubits (an cubit is equal to 14 vershoks), but then, with the help of pious visitors, the pillar was raised to 40 cubits. Struggling on the pillar, the Saint endured both heat and cold. Only an old mantle and a monastic cowl protected him from wind, rain and all kinds of bad weather. But nothing could make the Saint change the way he lived his life. Until the end of his life, he remained in his ascetic feat, never descending from the pillar. 

The Saint’s extraordinary feat and the glory of his miracles attracted many visitors from different countries. Some of them built permanent homes for themselves there, and thus a sort of noisy city was formed at the foot of the pillar. The Saint desired solitude and silence above all else, but such was the will of God that this lamp, standing on the candlestick, could not be hidden from the eyes of people, but had to shine for people, so that they, seeing the good deeds of the Saint, glorify the Father in heaven (Matt. 5:15, 16). 

The service of Venerable Symeon did not consist of prayer alone; no, the Saint took an active part in public affairs. He spent the night in prayer, and during the day he taught the people around him, preached the gospel, gave advice to those in need, reconciled those at war, and healed the sick. Standing in one place, the Saint was as useful to the Church as if he had traveled through different countries with his preaching. 

Gradually renouncing his attachment to the earth and everything earthly and constantly striving for heaven, the Venerable Symeon attained such a state of grace as the Apostle Paul was granted (2 Cor. 12:4). Once the Venerable One, in a spiritual rapture, was raised to the seventh heaven and there he saw wondrous things: he saw paradise, gardens, chambers, he saw Adam and the wise thief; another time he saw Jesus Christ on a high throne; at His right hand was paradise and the souls of the righteous, and at his left – hell. 

The Venerable One died in prayerful standing before the Lord, being 103 years old. When the emperor wanted to have the incorruptible remains of the Venerable One in his capital, the inhabitants of Antioch opposed this and said: “Our city does not have stone walls, therefore let the holy body of Symeon rest with us; it will be a wall and defense for Antioch.”

II. The feat of the Venerable Symeon is astonishing! Of course, we, the weak, cannot imitate him. But still we can draw some edification from it.

a) The Saint, by his feat on a high pillar, teaches us that our dwelling is not below – on earth, but above – in heaven, and that we must strive for there with all our being. We have sorrow in our hearts, so the holy Church calls to us, demanding that we lay aside all worldly cares during prayer and think only of heavenly things. "Be wise in things above, and not in things on earth," teaches the Holy Apostle Paul. After all, we are sojourners on earth; our eternal fatherland, our native home is in heaven; but it is good to be a sojourner, but better at home; it is natural for the soul to strive for one’s native home. Blessed Augustine says: “What memory should there be for you, a believing Christian, wandering on this earth, sweeter than the memory of that heavenly city to which you are traveling? If you have no desire to reach this city, then you will never be its citizen. Learn from the branch of the field: although its roots are firmly planted on the earth, its top always turns toward the sun. Our sun, which shines upon the Heavenly Jerusalem, is Jesus Christ, and to enter there, where He dwells in His eternal glory, should be our only desire."

b) But in order to attain the Kingdom of Heaven – this desired fatherland, it is not enough to simply strive for heaven, but it is necessary to practice prayer as often as possible. Prayer is the raising of our mind and heart to God. By the power of prayer, a person’s entire being changes: his mind is enlightened, his heart is enlivened, his will is strengthened, and his body itself is spiritualized. Prayer so spiritualized Venerable Symeon that even a high pillar seemed low to him, and he wanted to rise higher and higher until he reached the real height – eternal blessedness. 

c) Venerable Symeon the Stylite teaches us that the path to the Kingdom of Heaven is the path of sorrows, labors, and struggle with one’s passions and lusts. Jesus Christ Himself walked the narrow, cramped, and painful path. Having suffered for us, He left us an image, that we might follow in His footsteps (1 Peter 2:21). That is why all the saints walked the path of ascetic labor and sorrows. Have you seen the picture of Jesus Christ carrying a cross on His shoulders, surrounded by many other cross-bearers like Him? Thus, those who are saved enter eternal life through patience and ascetic labor, following Christ.  

 

Source: A Complete Annual Cycle of Short Teachings, Composed for Each Day of the Year. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.