noun
- an early Christian ascetic who lived on top of a pillar as a form of religious devotion
Usage: historical; religious
Examples
- Saint Simeon Stylites was the first and most famous stylite in Christian history.
- The stylite spent decades living on a small platform atop a stone column.
- Medieval pilgrims would travel great distances to seek advice from a stylite.
- The practice of becoming a stylite was most common in Syria and the Byzantine Empire.
- Archaeological remains of stylite pillars can still be found in parts of the Middle East.
- The stylite’s extreme form of asceticism attracted both followers and critics.