The Syrian monastery dedicated to St Simeon Stylites, the fifth-century monk who set a trend for hermits to live on top of pillars, has become the latest victim of the country's civil war.
Activists yesterday said both the church and the remains of the original pillar on which St Simeon is said to have spent 47 years in prayer and contemplation were damaged by a Russian air strike.
St Simeon climbed his pillar in AD412 to get away from the hordes of disciples and onlookers who came to visit him, having heard reports of his already extreme self-denying lifestyle. He once survived Lent without eating or drinking anything and followed this achievement up by standing stock still until he collapsed.
He spent the rest of his life on a succession of ever higher pillars, to get away from the crowds who continued to visit him, with supplies delivered by village boys climbing up to the top.
After he died, his fame spread and his example spawned scores of imitators, known as Stylites from the Greek word for pillar, style.
The monastery, north-west of Aleppo, has been a tourist attraction for centuries, and has come under the control of different groups in the civil war, including the Free Syrian Army, Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil), the Kurdish YPG and most recently the Islamist group Ahrar al-Sham.
It remains close to the front line between rebels, including Jabhat al-Nusra, the local al-Qaeda branch, the YPG, and the regime.
Amr al-Azm, a Syrian-American academic who is organising the preservation of Syria's endangered heritage, said three sources in the area told him they believed Russian jets were responsible for the attack. He said the facade of the church was holed, while part of the original pillar on which St Simeon lived, preserved on a pedestal in front of the church, was knocked over.
"You can see the damage to it," Mr Azm said.