The Christian Church has bestowed on the world many saints, a special order of which is called saints. Most often, monks become monks, famous for their virtuous life and great spiritual exploits. The Monk Daniel the Stylite is one of these holy ascetics.
The Monk Daniel, who was called a pillar, was born at the beginning of the 5th century (in 410). The place of his birth is considered to be Messopatamia - the city of Samosata, located on the western coast of the Euphrates River. The boy was a child of pious parents, but the Lord until the time did not give the parents the opportunity to conceive a child. Only ardent prayers of the mother revealed the miracle of the birth of a child.
At the age of five, Daniel was sent to a monastery for dedication to God. However, the governor of the monastery rejected the zeal of the parents to the extent of Daniel's infancy. Over time, the boy nevertheless ended up in a monastery - when he was twelve years old, the boy decided to devote his whole life to monastic work.
Feeling zeal for the greatest spiritual exploits, the youth Daniel desired even greater solitude. He had heard about the great ascetic life of Saint Simeon the Stylite, who asceticised for many years on a pillar (a kind of tower in the form of a pillar). Daniel even met this great old man. The latter predicted to Daniel a future filled with many labors for Christ.
Daniel left the monastery to live in a deserted pagan temple near Constantinople. From this temple the monk drove out many demons. For nine years the ascetic stayed in this place in labors and prayers.
Daniel saw a pillar in a vision. Taking this for God's will, the ascetic himself built a place for his future asceticism - a pillar on which the saint asceticised for the rest of his life. The Lord endowed the saint for his pious life with the gift of clairvoyance and miracles. Many suffering ones came to Daniel for help, and the saint, the emperor of the Byzantine Empire, Leo, predicted the attack of the Vandal ruler Hanzerich.
At the end of his life, Saint Daniel was ordained a priest. The Patriarch of Constantinople himself performed the sacrament, but the saint did not leave the place of his deed even during the reading of the prayers.
In all, the Monk Daniel lived on the pillar for thirty years. The great righteous man died at the age of 91. The body of the saint of God was buried with honors in the temple, founded near the pillar.
The church annually commemorates the Monk Daniel the Stylite on December 24 in a new style.
