Venerable Luke the New Stylite (+c. 970–980)

The Venerable Luke the New Stylite was a soldier in the time of the Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus (912–959). In the war with the Bulgarians (915), by God’s providence, Luke escaped alive, after which he was tonsured a monk and ordained presbyter. Seeking spiritual perfection, the father put on fetters and stood on a pillar. Three years later, by God’s inspiration, he moved to Mount Olympus, then to Constantinople, and at last to Chalcedon, where he again found a pillar and laboured on it for forty-five years. The Lord granted His chosen one the gift of wonderworking, and at last, around 980, received his soul in peace.