The Serbian Orthodox Church and its faithful celebrate Saint Alimpius the Stylite on December 9 according to the new calendar (November 26 according to the old one). Saint Alimpius is depicted in a hermit’s robe sitting on his stolp (pillar).
One of the most famous frescoes is in the narthex of the Patriarchate of Peć. He is considered one of the three great stylites, along with Simeon and Daniel the Stylite.
Saint Alimpius the Stylite was born in Adrianople in the 6th century. In his youth, he withdrew to a Greek cemetery outside the city, which was believed to be a place full of demons and unclean forces.
There he erected a cross, built a temple, and raised a stolp, a pillar, on which he spent 53 years in fasting and prayer. That is why he was named the Stylite.
Over time, people began to respect him and come for comfort, teaching, and healing.
According to some, he lived a hundred years; according to others, 112 years. His relics are still healing today. His head has been preserved and is now in the Koutloumousiou Monastery on Mount Athos.
In Serbia, Saint Alimpius the Stylite is celebrated as a family patron saint (krsna slava), always with a fast because of the Nativity Fast.
It is said among the people that he stopped the plague and leprosy, warded off unhealthy winds, and performed various other miracles.
Saint Alimpius is considered the protector of livestock, so people once believed that livestock should not be harnessed today. Beef is avoided, and in eastern Serbia, veal is not served at the table so that prosperity, harmony, and peace may prevail in the house. On this day, people go to church early so that everything is healthy in the coming year.
He is considered one of the three great stylites, besides Simeon the Stylite and Daniel the Stylite. He is revered in both the Catholic and Orthodox Churches.
Saint Alimpius is represented in the icon in an ascetic, i.e., hermit’s robe, sitting on his pillar.
He is the protector of livestock, which is why livestock is not harnessed on his day. According to tradition, he stepped over the plague, and since then it has not appeared.
Although the feast of Saint Alimpius is not a mandatory, and thus non-working, day for the faithful, his cult is widespread among Serbs and is also celebrated as a family patron saint.
In some parts of Serbia, he is also called Saint George Alimpius. This is because the commemoration of the consecration of two temples of the Holy Great Martyr George, in Russia and Greece, is celebrated on that day. The people merged the cult of both saints into one.
It is believed that Saint Alimpius performed many miracles by the grace of Christ. He healed the sick, cast out demons from people, and predicted the future.
14 years before his death, his legs were afflicted with a severe illness, so that for all that time he could not stand, but lay on one side from the very moment of his death. And when his disciples wanted to turn him to the other side, he did not allow them.
According to folk tradition, it is also not good to eat beef on this day. Hence, especially in the eastern parts of Serbia, in order for “the house to prosper,” no cow, beef, or veal meat should be found on the table on this day.
As on all other great Orthodox holidays, all heavy work should be skipped on this one too, at least as far as folk tradition and customs are concerned.
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Source: Novosti, Photo: Wikimedia Creative Commons