The Venerable Daniel the Stylite was born in the village of Bethara in Mesopotamia in the early 5th century. His parents, Elias and Martha, were devout Christians. According to the hagiography, the pious couple was childless for a long time. Martha prayed ceaselessly and vowed that if God allowed her to bear a child, the child would be dedicated to God. Her prayers were heard, and Martha soon gave birth to a son.

Until the age of five, the boy remained nameless. The boy’s parents decided that since he was born through the goodwill of God, he should also receive his name from God. According to the hagiography, they took their son to a monastery located nearby and approached the hegumen. The head of the monastery opened at random one of his service books and found the name of the Prophet Daniel on the page. Thus, the future hermit received his name of Daniel.

At the age of twelve, Daniel left home for a monastery where he was accepted as a novice. His parents were happy to find out that their son was at a monastery and hurried over there. Seeing that he was still wearing his regular clothes, they asked the hegumen to admit Daniel to monastic vows.

Once, the hegumen decided to take a trip to Antioch and asked Daniel to join him. On their way to Antioch, they passed by the place where the Venerable Simeon Stylites was living atop a pillar — praying ceaselessly on a high rock.

Daniel saw Simeon Stylites who endured hardship and bad weather while praying and became fascinated with the idea of serving God in the same way. He received the blessing of Saint Simeon and established his own pillar in Thrace, near Constantinople. He settled in the area of an abandoned pagan temple where he was tempted by the demons on many occasions.

Daniel erected a high pillar and lived a life of extreme spiritual asceticism for thirty-three years on top of it. According to the hagiography, Daniel, like Simeon Stylites, was granted the gifts of miracle-working and healing. Many people came to the place of his hermitage seeking his blessing.

The saint possessed the gift of gracious words as he guided many onto the path of changing their lives. Near the end of his life, Daniel was honored with the rank of a priest. He received the Holy Gifts from Patriarch Gennadius of Constantinople without leaving his pillar.