David the Dendrite (c. 450–540), also known as David the tree-dweller and David of Thessalonika, is a
patron saint
A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...
of
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...
. David became a monk at the Monastery of Saints Merkourios and Theodore outside Thessaloniki. Famed for his sound advice, he was hounded by crowds seeking words of wisdom and prayer. Wishing a quiet, contemplative life, David fled to the seclusion of an almond tree, where he lived for three years.
He left the tree to petition the Byzantine emperor
Justinian the Great
Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565.
His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovat ...
in
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
to send soldiers to defend Thessaloniki from attack. David died in 540 as his ship was en route to Macedonia.
David is commemorated on June 26 (by the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church
Orthodox Church in America: Monkmartyr David of Thessalonica
/ref>).
See also
*Church of Hosios David
The Church of Hosios David ( el, Όσιος Δαυίδ) is a late 5th-century church in Thessaloniki, Greece. During the Byzantine times, it functioned as the ''katholikon'' of the Latomos Monastery ( gr, Μονή Λατόμου/Λατόμων), ...
Notes
References
*
Further reading
*Velimirovic, Nicholas. ''The Prologue from Ochrid'', vol. 2. Birmingham: Lazarica Press, 1986
External links
God's Foolishness
a discussion of holy fools, including David the Dendrite
{{Authority control
540 deaths
6th-century Christian saints
Byzantine Thessalonians
Saints of medieval Macedonia
Saints of medieval Greece
Greek hermits
Greek Christian monks
Year of birth unknown
Year of birth uncertain