The Life of Saint Simeon the Stylite

Once referred to as the “wonder of the inhabited world,” Saint Simeon the Stylite the Elder (d. 460) pioneered a whole new form of asceticism: not content with simply fasting and holding vigils, he spent thirty-seven years standing atop a stone column, praising the Lord day and night. His superhuman feats attracted pilgrims from the four corners of the earth, and his example singlehandedly converted the Bedouin tribes of Arabia to the Christian faith.

In the tenth century, another Simeon, the Metaphrast, composed what would become the classic account of the Stylite’s life, drawing on ancient eyewitness accounts. Now, for the first time, Simeon’s beautiful prose is made available in the English language, accompanied by copious historical notes.

80 pages