By Fr. George Dorbarakis
Venerable Daniel lived during the reign of the great Emperor Leo the Thracian, the Butcher. He came from Mesopotamia, in the region of Samosata, from a village called Maroutha; his parents were named Elias and Martha. After his fifth year of age, his parents placed him in a monastery, where he excelled in the ascetic life. When he had already advanced in asceticism, he went to Saint Symeon the Stylite and was blessed by him. By divine revelation, he came to the regions of Thrace, near Byzantium, in the area of Anaplus. There he enclosed himself in a certain pagan temple and endured many demonic temptations. Afterwards he ascended a column, demonstrating great asceticism and patience, in heat and in cold, exposed to the assaults of the winds. He performed many miracles, to such an extent that the fame of his virtue reached Emperor Leo, as well as his successor Zeno and the usurper Basiliscus. They visited and venerated the Saint, and he foretold to them the things that were about to happen, thus helping the holy Church, which was being attacked by heretics. He lived his life in a holy and blameless way and departed to the Lord.
Mount Athos is considered — and truly is — the point of reference for Orthodox Christians to the ends of the world. Though one may hear that there is much earthly human element there as well, it nevertheless offers, to all who are willing, every condition necessary for overcoming their passions, for the purification of their hearts, and for the illumination of their being with divine light. If nothing else, the Holy Mountain is regarded as a place of asceticism and sanctification, which throughout the centuries has given birth to and raised up great saints, who are the glory of the Church. Thus Mount Athos has functioned and continues to function as a point of orientation, an image that always refers back to its sanctified figures, moving the hearts of all well-intentioned people to compunction.
For who, hearing of it — excluding those whose corrupted minds distort all things, taking occasion from real or imagined scandalous stories — does not call to mind figures such as Elder Paisios, Elder Porphyrios, or Elder Ephraim of Katounakia? O Holy Mountain: “it is enough to see you, and to hear about you,” to give vision and upward impetus to the soul of every believer!
Why this reference to Mount Athos today, when we celebrate Venerable Daniel the Stylite? For the simple reason that the hymns of our Church, in presenting the Saint, describe him as “the holy mountain of the Church of Christ.” This means: just as the earthly Holy Mountain lifts a person’s soul upwards merely through its memory or its sight, so — and even more — the believer is stirred to spiritual ascent simply by hearing the name of Venerable Daniel. Why? Because the Saint, according to his Hymnographer, is the very model of the ascetic, the spiritual athlete, the most eager struggler, the most experienced physician.
“What shall we call you, Daniel? Ascetic, because you subdued the passions with your mind; athlete, because you endured every hardship; a pillar lifted from the earth to the heights, founded upon the rock of truth; the most eager of strugglers and the most experienced of physicians.”
Saint Joseph the Hymnographer further clarifies the description “holy mountain”: the Saint, having overcome the passions through the self-control he practiced, reached the mountain of true dispassion, and therefore, according to the promise of the Lord Himself, became the dwelling place of Him who lives in the purified heart of man. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”
“With the rod of self-control, Father, you split the sea of the passions and crossed it without being submerged; you reached the mountain of true dispassion, and you spoke with God through the purity of your nous.”
The parallel is very clear: the Saint is likened to Moses, who, at God’s command, struck the Red Sea with his rod, and it split in two; the people of Israel passed through, and afterwards Moses ascended Mount Horeb to receive the Ten Commandments.
A particularly noteworthy element of the hymn — one that appears repeatedly throughout nearly the entire Service of the Saint — is the fact that Venerable Daniel overcame his passions and ascended to God with the rod of self-control. The self-control of the Saint is constantly emphasized by Saint Joseph, because by it the Saint journeyed throughout his life, proving that he had placed his mind and heart entirely in the Lord: only the one who is “joined to the Lord” can be truly self-controlled, in the sense of limiting his impassioned attachment to this world.
“Father, you bridled your desires and the impulses of the passions through the labors of self-control.”
The virtue of self-control — which is a fruit of the presence of the Holy Spirit (“for the fruit of the Spirit is… self-control”) — is one that we especially need today, in an age when the world and its attractions have become nearly the sole source of life for human beings, sadly even for Christians. But the matter is very clear, and the life of Venerable Daniel emphasizes it: no one can approach God, no one can ascend spiritually even a little, no one can truly taste Christ, without the general virtue of self-control. To the extent that we begin to restrain our desires — in our actions, our words, our wishes, and our thoughts — we begin to become true Christians. Especially in light of the coming feast of Christmas, we might say that this is the only path.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
