Venerable Luke the Stylite

Life

Luke lived in Constantinople in the time of Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus. As a soldier he participated in the war against the Bulgarians, in which he saw the death of many thousands of people, and from which war he emerged alive and unharmed. Seeing in his salvation the finger of God, he despised all the vanity of the world, withdrew to a pillar near Chalcedon, on which he struggled for a full forty-five years, cleansing his soul from every sinful desire and thought. Having pleased God, he reposed between the years 970-980 and passed into the better life.