While we were in Syria a couple weeks ago, our team visited the ruins of a church dedicated to one Simeon Stylites. Born around 390 A.D., Simeon was an ascetic monk who lived on a platform atop a pillar for a total of 37 years until he died in 459. Minus the boulder, the structure Crystal and I are standing in front of is the remains of what used to be his 45-foot-high home (he lived on other smaller pillars earlier, but this rocky pole was his last perch).

Wikipedia explains:

“In order to get away from the ever increasing number of people who frequently came to him for prayers and advice, leaving him little if any time for his private austerities, Simeon discovered a pillar which had survived amongst ruins, formed a small platform at the top, and upon this determined to live out his life. It has been stated that, as he seemed to be unable to avoid escaping the world horizontally, he may have thought it an attempt to try to escape it vertically.”

His odd abode eventually drew a crowd, and he permitted visitors by ladder. From his roost he wrote letters and preached to those gathered below.

Simeon’s unconventional arrangements, of course, present all sorts of logistical questions. Some are probably best left unasked.

Side note: In 2002, magician David Blaine, in Simeonesque fashion, performed a stunt called “Vertigo” where he stood on top of a 90-foot-tall pillar in New York City for 35 hours.