Meet A Modern Day Monk Who Lives Atop A Pillar

Meet A Modern Day Monk Who Lives Atop A Pillar May 21, 2014

Remember the pillar saints? Like Simon Stylites the Elder? The next time you think that absolutely nothing can get done in this world unless you get physically involved, remember Maxime the Monk is praying for you.

“When I was young I drank, sold drugs, everything. When I ended up in prison…. It was time for a change. I used to drink with friends in the hills around here and look up at this place, where land met sky. We knew the monks had lived up there before and I felt great respect for them.” In 1993 Maxime took monastic vows and climbed the pillar to begin his new life. “For the first two years there was nothing up here so I slept in an old refrigerator to protect me from the weather.” Since then Maxime and the nearby Christian community have constructed a ladder to the top, rebuilt the chapel, and built a cottage where Maxime spends his days praying, reading, and “preparing to meet God.”

He and his fellows are praying for us all. Click through to see his fascinating vocation.


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