Page:A Dictionary of Saintly Women Volume 2.djvu/47

ST. MARTHA 35 last, in 413 he settled in a cell of his own near Antiooh, where a nnmher of deyout men gathered round him. Although he lived shut up in a cell, he was con- tinnally disturbed by persons who came to consnlt him on all subjects, so in 423, to escape from these interruptions he built himself a pillar, of no great height at first; but as this innovation in the customs of the anchorites drew crowds to see this wonderful man, he gpradually built the column higher and higher to be out of their reach. Round the pillar was a wall to keep off intruders, especially women : the enclosure thus formed was called Mandra, a word signifying a fold for sheep or cattle. The emperor Theo- dosins II., his wife Eudoxia, his sisters, sundry bishops and other potentates sent to consult him on divers matters. Some of them begged him, in vain, to descend for a time from his pillar and come to visit theuL His new form of self-mortifi- cation profoundly impressed the age and he had imitators, both in the Church and in heretical bodies. He is credited with the conversion of many Arabs and other heathens. Pilgrims came in great num- bers from aU directions, some fi*om Spain and Britain; so that a house for their entertainment was built in the neigh- bourhood, the ruins of which are there to this day. As ffir as the curiosity and devotion of the world would allow him, he spent his time in perpetual adoration. He wrote several epistles and addresses, and although they are not extant, ex- tracts from them are preserved in the works of reliable authors, and many of the wonderful things told of him by his early biographers are confirmed by tho latest explorations. In 428 Martha dis- covered in this marvellous man her long lost son and sought an interview with him. This he declined, saying that they would meet in the next world. This answer only quickened his mother's desire ; she wished to ascend by a ladder, the better to see and hear him ; but this he absolutely forbade. However, as she entreated the more earnestly, he bade her wait patiently for a short time and then he would see her. She sat down within the Mandra and immediately died Then he directed those who stood by to bring her nearer; they laid her at the foot of his column, and he prayed God to receive her soul. Upon this, the happy mother moved in her death-isleep and a smile irradiated her face. AAj3S. Gu6rin. Compare with " Simeon Stylites " in Smith and Wace. St. Martha (13), May 24, + 651. Mother of St. Simeon Stylites the Younger, who is called also the Thaumastorite, or according to Dr. Stokes, Maumastorites. Martha was a native of Antioch; her husband came from Edessa in Mesopo- tamia, and her son was born at Antioch in 521, and died in 596. He was the second of three SS. Simeon Stylites. He early became a monk in a monastery at the foot of a mountain near Antioch, under St. John the Stylite, who, when he considered him sufficiently advanced in holiness, allowed him to come on to his pillar. The two led a life of penance, standing together on the pillar for some time. Afterwards Simeon had another pillar constructed for himself in a small monastery, hewn out of a single rock in the mountain. On this pillar he stood until his death at a great age. Some accounts say he stood on a pillar for sixty-eight years. He is mentioned by the contemporary historian E vagrius, who bears witness to some of his miracles. Ho was highly esteemed by the Emperor Justinian. Few particulars are recorded of the life of Martha. She spent her whole time in works of devotion and charity, and such was her reverence for sacred places and services tbat she was never known either to sit down in church or to exchange a word with any one while there. She was very humble, and when Simeon wrought miracles she impressed on him that he must remember his own worthlessness and give God tho glory. When she know that her death was near, she went to her son to ask his prayers, and seeing her approaching, he c^ed out to her, " Mother, I commend myself to thy prayers, for thou art going hence to God." She exhorted him to remember her in all his prayers after hor death, and reminded him that she had always prayed for him. She was venerated as a saint during the life of her son, and is commemorated with him in the Greek