Crossword clues for stylite
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Stylite \Sty"lite\, n. [Gr. ?, fr. ? a pillar.] (Eccl. Hist.) One of a sect of anchorites in the early church, who lived on the tops of pillars for the exercise of their patience; -- called also pillarist and pillar saint.
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
ascetic living on the top of a pillar, 1630s, from Ecclesiastical Greek stylites, from stylos "pillar" (see stet).
Wiktionary
n. (context Christianity historical English) A Christian ascetic in ancient times who lived alone on top of a tall pillar.
WordNet
n. an early Christian ascetic who lived on top of high pillars
Wikipedia
A stylite (from Greek στυλίτης, stylitēs, "pillar dweller", derived from στῦλος, stylos, "pillar", ʼasṯonáyé) or pillar-saint is a type of Christian ascetic who live on pillars, preaching, fasting and praying. Stylites believe that the mortification of their bodies would help ensure the salvation of their souls. Stylites were common in the early days of the Byzantine Empire and the first stylite was probably Simeon Stylites the Elder who climbed a pillar in Syria in 423 and remained there until his death 37 years later. Stylites today, such as Maxime Qavtaradze, continue to devote their lives to God atop pillars.
Usage examples of "stylite".
The so-called religious element was in partnership with fraud, superstition, ignorance, incompetence, and an asceticism like that of Simeon Stylites, leading to nothing.
He had found remnants of Therapeutae and Anchorites in the Mideast, and even a trio of Stylites, each sitting alone atop a stone pillar in the Gobi Desert.
Saint Simeon Stylites the Younger explained the wonders of the moon to her,--Tycho and the grooves radiating from it, Kepler and Copernicus with their craters and ridges, and all the most brilliant shows of this wonderful little world.