Church of Saint Simeon Stylites
- UNESCO World Heritage
Interesting facts
- The platform on top of Simeon's pillar is thought to have measured only about one square metre, fenced by a railing.
- Each afternoon Simeon spoke with visitors, who climbed a ladder until they were close enough to talk to him.
- An onlooker is said to have counted 1,244 of Simeon's deep bows in prayer before giving up the count.
- When Simeon fell ill, Emperor Theodosius II sent three bishops to beg him to come down and see doctors; he refused and recovered.
- A double wall was built around the pillar to hold back crowds, and women, even Simeon's own mother, were not allowed inside.
- After his death Antioch and Constantinople competed for his body, and Antioch won most of the relics as protection for the unwalled city.
- Pilgrim tokens bearing Simeon's image have been found across the Byzantine world, showing how far his cult spread.
- Unlike most great medieval churches, the complex was conceived and built as a single project in a short span of time.
- Substantial parts of the column shaft were still visible in the 17th century, and the dome over it apparently survived into the 19th.
- Simeon's life inspired Tennyson's 1842 poem 'St. Simeon Stylites' and Luis Buñuel's 1965 film Simón del desierto.
Why it is worth it
On a limestone ridge northwest of Aleppo stand the ruins of what was, for nearly half a century, the largest church in the Christian world. It was built around a single column. Simeon Stylites, born around 390 in the Amanus mountains, became so famous for his ascetic feats that crowds of pilgrims gave him no peace, so he climbed onto a platform atop a pillar some three metres high. The column was raised over the years to about 18 metres, and he lived on it for several decades, preaching to the people gathered below, until his death on 2 September 459. Estimates of his years on the pillar range from 35 to 42.
A few decades later, from about 473, a monumental pilgrimage church was raised on the spot and completed in 490; it was surpassed in size only when Hagia Sophia in Constantinople was finished in 537. The plan was bold and unusual. Four three-aisled basilicas radiated in the form of a cross from a central octagon, where the pillar itself stood, beneath a dome; the eastern arm, larger than the others, served for the main liturgy. Together they covered more than 5,000 square metres. Around the church grew a walled complex of monastery buildings, chapels and hostels, and a processional way descended the hill past a monumental arch to an octagonal baptistery.
The site's later history was turbulent. In the wars between Byzantium and the Arabs the Byzantines fortified the church, and it is still known as Qal'at Sim'an, the Fortress of Simeon. In 986 it was sacked by the Hamdanid commander Qarghuya and its monks were killed. Pilgrims chipping away relics over the centuries reduced the famous column to a stump about two metres high, which was further damaged in 2016. Since 2011 the church has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Ancient Villages of Northern Syria, the so-called Dead Cities.
Getting there
The church stands on Mount Simeon in the Aleppo Governorate, about 30 km northwest of Aleppo. The nearest town is Ad Dana, about 15 km away. The nearest airport is Aleppo International Airport (ALP), about 38 km away.
On these lists
From the encyclopaedia
The Church of Saint Simeon Stylites is one of the oldest surviving church complexes, founded in the 5th century. It is located approximately 30 kilometres (19 mi) northwestern of Aleppo, Syria. It was constructed on the site of the pillar of Saint Simeon Stylites, a renowned stylite monk. The church is popularly known as either Qalaat Semaan or Deir Semaan. Completed in 490, it was not surpassed as a Christian church until the construction of Hagia Sophia was finished in 537.
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