Memorial Day of St. Alypius the Stylite

In Orthodoxy, the feast day of St Alypius the Stylite is celebrated on December 9 according to the new style He is revered in many areas of Christianity for his ascetic lifestyle and asceticism His status as a “pillar” is an indicator of a special feat pleasing to God In the literal sense, “standing on a pillar” meant continuously being in prayer on a large stone, an open, elevated platform The founder of this type of asceticism is considered to be Saint Simeon, who spent 37 years doing this The act inspired many followers, one of whom was Alypius They, along with Saint Daniel, are the most famous ascetic monks who chose this type of service to the Lord Alypius was born in 515 (according to some sources - 522) in the south of Asia Minor, which belonged to the Roman Empire, in the city of Adrianople His mother, a professing Christian, had a vision shortly before the birth of her son The Lord indicated the chosenness of Alypius - at the moment of his birth, the room was filled with divine radiance Having become a widow at an early age, the woman gave her son to be raised and educated by Bishop Theodore, and completely dedicated her life to the Lord The young man showed amazing results in the study of the Divine Scripture and possessed many virtues unusual for young age This earned him the favor of his mentor: he was ordained a priest and received the position of assistant bishop But after a while, the thought of solitude and complete renunciation from worldly life began to haunt him more and more insistently One day, in the vicinity of the city, he came across an unusual deserted place - a former pagan temple where the dead Hellenes were buried It was abandoned, people avoided it, and for this reason it was perfect for Alypius, who was looking for solitude He was not afraid of evil spirits: he drove them away with prayer and the sign of the cross The ability to see and understand the hidden is a gift that visits the chosen few After destroying the statue of the idol and installing the cross in the place of the overthrown one, two messengers appeared to him in a dream, confirming his mission - to consecrate this territory and bring the word of God to people But Alypius was forced to return to the monastery to his duties The trip to Constantinople on bishop's business turned out to be significant Along the way, he had a divine vision of St Euphemia, a famous martyr of the 4th century, who promised intercession He, in turn, returned to the previously chosen place and built a church in her honor using donations Then he ascended the pillar to enlighten and protect with prayer the parishioners, who soon increased in number, as the news of his activities and ability to heal spread throughout the area The teacher and mentor from God confirmed this by opening two monasteries, male and female The burden of asceticism was not light: he spent the last 14 years of his life paralyzed, lying on one side But hardships did not prevent him from continuing his activities, giving his help to believers The monk died at the age of more than 100 years - in 640 His relics also have power - many people received healing Today, some of them are located in one of the monasteries of Athos The iconography has its own distinctive features associated with the activities of the monk On the most ancient frescoes and icons of the X - XII centuries he was depicted on a pillar-column, often with a blessing hand and a scroll in the image of a venerable old man The veneration of Alypius in Orthodoxy was established quite quickly, because in Rus' some saints became famous for this type of asceticism On Memorial Day, those seeking advice in a difficult or hopeless situation after a prayer appeal are rewarded