The Pilgrimage Center of St. Symeon the Younger: designed by angels, supervised by a saint, constructed by pilgrims

The present study, The Pilgrimage Center of St. Symeon the Younger: Designed by angels, supervised by a saint, constructed by pilgrims, evaluates the architectural characteristics of the building complex built around the column of St. Symeon the Younger at Wondrous Mountain/Antioch (Turkey) from different perspectives. The main focus remains on the architectural development of the site throughout the sixth century, although available archaeological and textual data concerning the preceding and successive periods is briefly presented. A full account of the state of the site at present is given in Chapter 2. This chapter is a detailed documentation of the remains and is strictly descriptive in nature. The historical sources are introduced and discussed in Chapter 3. The goal of this section is to elucidate the historical context under which the site was constructed and flourished. The focus is essentially the sixth century, while the later periods are presented cursorily. In Chapter 4, I discuss and reconstruct the development of the building complex. The section aims at establishing a clearer picture of each building phase. This process also involves contextualizing the architectural features and design decisions within each period whenever possible, while reconsidering the historical discussions presented in the previous chapter. Chapter 5 discusses how the site should be reconsidered in light of other examples of the Early Byzantine period. To do this, I compare the site of St. Symeon the Younger with other stylite sites, especially the Syrian ones, as well as with other pilgrimage centers of the period. Finally, I propose that the complex at Wondrous Mountain was originally an unconventional pilgrimage site in the sixth century, because of the need to establish a site appropriate for a living and immobile saint who is active in liturgical practices. Towards the end of the saint’s life, the site was prepared for the aftermath of his death and it was transformed into a site including a new veneration route to its south