International congress of byzantine studies belgrade, 22 27 august 2016

Florin Filimon
Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität, Münster, Germany, 
[e-mail] 
The Monastic Community of Alypius the Stylite: Double or Twin Monastery?
The “mixed,” “twin,” and “double monasteries” are the three coenobitic establishments 
traditionally referred to in scholarship. What distinguishes the “twin monasteries” 
from
the “double” 
ones (διπλᾶ μοναστήρια) is that in the case of the “double monasteries,” the group of monks and the 
group of nuns were subjected to the spiritual authority of the same person. Even if they have been 

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the object of the Justinianic imperial legislation, the “double monasteries” flourished in the middle 
and late Byzantine period throughout the empire.
Daniel Stramara is the first scholar who included among the “double monasteries” the monastic 
community which emerged around the pillar of Alypius, the prominent stylite saint who allegedly 
died during Heraclius’ reign. Based on Alypius’ earliest biography extant (BHG 65), the only source 
attesting the existence of this monastic community, my paper challenges this assumption. Through 
an thorough analysis of the text, this paper offers an interpretation of those details which concern 
the emergence of the community, the ascetic routine, and the ‘monastic rules’ imposed by the pillar-
saint. By hypothesizing a structure of the monastic complex that fits the details of the 
vita
, one can 
conclude that the description provided by the anonymous author does not fit into a coherent image. 
Moreover, besides the overemphasis that the biographer gives to the complete separation of men 
from the female ascetics, the presence of the nuns receives more attention than the one of the male 
ascetics. Based on these observations, the paper concludes that, while there is not enough evidence 
for including the community in the category of the “double monasteries,” the author of the 
Life
defends it and, in addition, Alypius.