DENDRISTS. — From the Greek δένδρον, tree; Christian ascetics who, in the Byzantine East, spent part of their lives in the hollows of large trees. The category of dendrists was much more restricted than that of the stylites, nor did they ever acquire the popularity of the latter, although their manner of life was no less rigorous and mortifying. They were few in number and known only in the regions near where they practiced their asceticism.
One of the most notable is St. David of Thessalonica (Salonica), originally from Mesopotamia, who lived for three years in an almond tree (d. c. 535; cf. G. Moschus, Pratum Spirituale, 69; PG 87, 2921 and BHG, 493). The same Moschus (ibid., ch. 70, col. 2924) also recounts a monk named Adola, from Mesopotamia, who dwelt in a large plane tree. Germano Giovanelli