Celebration date: 11/12/2021
Someone somewhere wrote the following very correct. “All Saints are admirable, but not imitable…”. Many of them, and even the Saints, undertook and performed paradoxes, all of which are of course inspired by true virtue. But it is not for everyone, which is why such works are not only not worthy of imitation, but also not everyone is worthy of imitation. Such a work admirable, but not imitable, is the achievement of the stylists. Many Saints spent their entire lives on a pole, exposed to the heat of summer and the frost of winter. One of them is Saint Daniel the Stylite, whose memory the Church celebrates today. We must not, because we cannot, imitate him. However, it is worth admiring him for his determination and learning a lot from his self-sacrifice. The Cross has its own value, outside of any social utility.
Saint Daniel the Stylitis, therefore, was born in 410 AD, in the village of Maroutha in the region of Samosata. His pious parents were named Elias and Martha. Daniel was born while his mother was barren. That is why his parents promised to dedicate him to the service of God. They brought him up with great care, and their labors were not wasted. Daniel bore fruit.
While still young, he went to the neighboring towns and explained the Gospel. Then he went to a community monastery, where he indulged in pious exercises, theological studies and the cultivation of humility. Once, on a journey with the abbot of the Monastery, he met Simeon the Stylite (see September 1) and received his blessing.
When the abbot of the Monastery died, Daniel went back to Simeon and asked his advice on where to go. Simeon advised him to go to Constantinople, which Daniel did. There he settled in the precincts of the temple of General Michael in Propontis.
After some time, he saw a vision of Simeon calling him. Daniel, interpreting this vision, built a high pillar and settled on it. The purpose of his installation on the pole was the struggle for the elimination of passions and the acquisition of more virtues. He received the prophetic gift, performed many miracles and his participation in the Council of Chalcedon was important.
She died at the age of 80, full of “fruits of righteousness through Jesus Christ” (To the Philippians, verse 11). That is, full of fruits, which virtue produces and which are accomplished through Jesus Christ.
