Stylites

(sti-li'teez.) [Gr. stylos, a pillar.] (Eccl. Hist.) A sect of solitaries, or fanatics, in the East, who performed ak ind of penance by dwelling on columns or pillars. This strange mode of devotional austerity took its rise in the 2d century, and continued to be practised for a great length of time. See SIMEON. [s. 862]