Our Venerable and God-bearing Father '''David of Thessalonica''', also '''David the Dendrite''' ({{el icon}}: Ὁ Ὅσιος Δαβὶδ ἐν Θεσσαλονίκη) circa 450 AD - 540 AD, was a renowned [[Asceticism|ascetic]] and [[Fool-for-Christ|blessed fool]] of Thessaloniki, in Byzantine Greece who lived as a dendrite for three years, in a form of [[asceticism ]] similar to that of the [[Stylite]] saints.

His [[feast day]] is celebrated by the [[Orthodox Church]] on [[June 26]], while the translation of his [[relics ]] is observed on [[September 16]].<ref name=SYNAXARION>Great [[Synaxarion|Synaxaristes]]: {{el icon}} ''[http://www.synaxarion.gr/gr/sid/3982/sxsaintinfo.aspx Ὁ Ὅσιος Δαβὶδ ἐν Θεσσαλονίκη].'' 26 Ιουνίου. ΜΕΓΑΣ ΣΥΝΑΞΑΡΙΣΤΗΣ.</ref><ref group="note">On [[September 16]], 1978 through the efforts of Metropolitan [[Panteleimon (Chrysofakis) of Thessalonica]], the sacred [[relics]] of [[Saint ]] David were triumphantly returned to Thessaloniki from Milan, Italy.</ref>

Saint David came from [[w:Al-Jazira, Mesopotamia|Northern Mesopotamia]], which was a great [[monasticism|monastic ]] center, and was born around 450 AD. For reasons not mentioned, he travelled to Thessaloniki together with the [[monk ]] Adolas. Althoigh Although we do not know why either David or Adolas traveled from Mesopotamia to Thessaloniki, both the Synaxarion of Constantinople and the Menologion of Emperor Basil II assure us that he did come from somewhere in the "east".

In Thessaloniki David became a [[monk]] at the Monastery of Sts. Theodore and Mercurius, otherwise known as Koukouliaton (Κουκουλιατῶν) Monastery,<ref group="note">It was known as ''Koukouliaton'' because the monks wore '''hooded-cloaks''', for which it was known, and which is depicted in the icons of the Saint. In fact in January 1944, a marble slab was found in the Jewish cemetery that depicted an icon of Saint David dating back to the 10th century, in which he is wearing a cloak with a hood hanging off his shoulders.</ref> at a young age between the years 465-470. We are told that the Monastery of Sts. Theodore and Mercurius was next to the walls of the city, at the gate known as ''Aproiton''. We are further informed that there was another monastery next to this one known as Aproiton Monastery,<ref group="note">The word "Aproiton" probably indicates the austere rule of the monasteries since it implies that the monks were not allowed to leave their monastery. This gate was probably located along the northern wall of the city to the west of the Acropolis which the Turks called Eski Delik during Ottoman times.</ref> though it is possible that it could have been another name for the same monastery. It is believed that outside this gate, along the wall, was the Monastery of StsSs. Theodore and Mercurius, where Saint David lived a monastic life.<ref group="note">However others say that the monastery was northeast of the Acropolis in an area known as the ''Garden of the Sheep.''</ref>