Luke the Stylite
Encyclopedia
Venerable
Luke the Stylite lived in Constantinople in the 10th century. He served as a soldier during the reign Constantine Porphyrogenitus the Byzantine Emperor. During battle against the Bulgaria
ns Luke witnessed the death of several thousands of people, but he survived. He believed God had preserved his life and out of this experience he decided to take up the ascetic and eremitic life
of a stylite.
For 45 years Luke lived atop a pillar near the city of Chalcedon
in pursuit of sanctity in Christ
. He is held to have died circa 970AD.
Luke the Stylite is commemorated on 11 December in the Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Rite
Eastern Catholic Churches.
Venerable
The Venerable is used as a style or epithet in several Christian churches. It is also the common English-language translation of a number of Buddhist titles.-Roman Catholic:...
Luke the Stylite lived in Constantinople in the 10th century. He served as a soldier during the reign Constantine Porphyrogenitus the Byzantine Emperor. During battle against the Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
ns Luke witnessed the death of several thousands of people, but he survived. He believed God had preserved his life and out of this experience he decided to take up the ascetic and eremitic life
Hermit
A hermit is a person who lives, to some degree, in seclusion from society.In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Christian who lives the eremitic life out of a religious conviction, namely the Desert Theology of the Old Testament .In the...
of a stylite.
For 45 years Luke lived atop a pillar near the city of Chalcedon
Chalcedon
Chalcedon , sometimes transliterated as Chalkedon) was an ancient maritime town of Bithynia, in Asia Minor, almost directly opposite Byzantium, south of Scutari . It is now a district of the city of Istanbul named Kadıköy...
in pursuit of sanctity in Christ
Christ
Christ is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
. He is held to have died circa 970AD.
Luke the Stylite is commemorated on 11 December in the Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Rite
Byzantine Rite
The Byzantine Rite, sometimes called the Rite of Constantinople or Constantinopolitan Rite is the liturgical rite used currently by all the Eastern Orthodox Churches, by the Greek Catholic Churches , and by the Protestant Ukrainian Lutheran Church...
Eastern Catholic Churches.