Daniel the Stylite
He was born in Maratha in Syria in c. 409. He was the best known disciple of St. Simeon the Stylite, ( Stylite means pillar in Greek ). Until his 42, he was a monk at near his home, and visited St. Simeon on his pillar at Telassinus. He then relocated to a hermitage near Constantinople, and after the death of St. Simeon, started his own way of life. The platform on which Daniel lived, had two conjoined pillars, a reference to St. Simeon and St. Daniel the Stylites. He was often consulted by the emperors Leo I and Zeno and also by the patriarchs of Constantinople. He was believed by the local to have healing powers, and crowds brought their sick to be cured and prayed over. Daniel appears as uncomplicated man, because he gave practical advise and preached sermons in a simple language and directed towards the point. He live to an advanced age of 84 and buried after his death at the foot of his Pillar in Constantinople.