In this home atop the Katskhi Pillar in the central Imereti region of the Republic of Georgia, monk Maxime Qavtaradze lives his life according to the teachings of the Stylites (a Byzantine religious order), who believe that living up high removes them from temptations and allows for plenty of prayer. The only way to reach the house is via a 131-foot ladder, which is a 20-minute climb. Brother Maxime is the first Stylite to live on the Katskhi Pillar in 600 years.
The Katskhi Pillar has been considered a sacred place since pre-Christian times, though it’s been uninhabited since around the 1400s. When climbers ascended for the first time in centuries in 1944, they found the ruins of a church and the bones of the last Stylite who lived there.
Brother Maxime took monastic vows in 1993. With the help of local villagers and contributions from donors, he has been working to rebuild the 1,200-year-old monastery complex, chapel, and hermitage for the last fifteen years. At the pillar’s base lies a chapel named after St. Simeon, considered the first Stylite. Though isolated, Brother Maxime is not a total hermit, coming down once or twice a week to counsel the troubled young men who come to the monastery at the base of the pillar (last photo) for his guidance.
The crypt under the chapel holds the bones of the previous unknown Stylite who made his home there (photo #6). Once Brother Maxime is too frail to use the ladder, he intends to remain at the top until his death, with his remains to be placed in the same crypt when his time comes.
Check The Stylite film documentary page and this Huffington Post article for more about Qavtaradze.
Steel Phoenix Studios 