March 17, 2003 marks the 700th anniversary of the death of St. Prince Daniel of Moscow. He ruled in the period from 1276 to 1303. At this time, Moscow gained the princely throne and became an independent Russian state after the accession of Pereslavl-Zalessky and Kolomna to it. And Daniel himself was the first great Moscow prince and the founder of the new dynasty, as defined by pre-revolutionary historians.
Monastery
In the capital of our state, in honor of the holy prince, a part of the cathedral church of the Seven Ecumenical Councils of the Danilov Monastery is consecrated. It was founded by Daniel near the Serpukhov outpost in Zamoskvorechye. This monastery (St. Danilov) is the most ancient in Moscow. It was founded in 1282.
Prince Daniel of Moscow
The holy prince was the youngest son of Alexander Nevsky. He was born in 1261 in Vladimir. At the age of eleven - according to the division between brothers - Daniel receives Moscow. In 1282, he builds a church on the banks of the Moskva River in honor of St. Daniel the Stylite, who is his patron saint. Here begins the laying of the Holy Monastery of St. Daniel. The young prince, remembering the words of his father that God is in truth, and not in power, seeks peace and peacefulness. Its main goal was to strengthen and strengthen Moscow as an independent state. Already with his eldest son, Ivan Kalita, Moscow receives a label for a great reign, and now before that an inconspicuous city has become the capital of Russian cities until the reign of Peter the Great.
Following the example of his father, Alexander Nevsky, before his death, Holy Prince Daniel takes the schema and monastic rank. He died on March 4, 1303 according to the old style. According to his will, the prince was buried in a simple fraternal graveyard of the Holy Danilov Monastery - "not in the church, but in the fence."
Princely grave
The eldest son of Daniel, Ivan Kalita, transferred his father’s monastery in 1330 to the location of the Kremlin, beyond its impregnable walls, in order to protect him from raids, and attributed him to the Cathedral of the Savior on Bor. He entrusts the old imperial-speaking cloister with the princely grave of Daniel to the authority of the archimandrite of the Kremlin monastery. However, the remote cloister gradually deserted and grew weak. Over time, it became known as Danilovsky village. So the princely tomb after several decades was abandoned by his descendants.
Only during the reign of Ivan the Third did a very significant event trigger the gradual revival of this complex, after which the St. Danilov Monastery in Moscow again began to play an important role in the life of the city, and the memory of Prince Daniel of Moscow received special veneration even before gaining relics and reckoning it to the face of the saints.
Ancient legend
According to legend, Ivan the Third once rode with his servants along the banks of the Moskva River, just past the burial place of Prince Daniel. At this moment, a horse stumbled under one of the riders, as a result of which the servant fell to the ground. An unknown prince appeared to him and said that he is Daniel of Moscow - the lord of this place, here is his grave. He ordered to convey such words to Ivan: "You are pleasing yourself, but you have forgotten about me." After hearing the servant’s story, the Grand Duke ordered the memorial services to be carried out in his ancestors, as well as giving alms for remembrance. Since then, this tradition has been adhered to, and all the princes of Moscow served a memorial service to their ancestor, Daniel of Moscow.
The restoration of the monastery
During the reign of the son of Vasily the Third - Ivan the Terrible, another wonderful event was noted - on the grave of Prince Daniel of Moscow, the healing of a dying man took place. Upon learning of this, the king ordered an annual procession to the tomb of his ancestor and a requiem for him. And most importantly, he restores the monastery of St. Danilov in Zamoskvorechye. Ivan the Terrible orders to build a new building of the cathedral church in honor of the Seven Ecumenical Councils. Fraternal cells are also erected here, and the whole territory is surrounded by high walls, the restored monastery is inhabited by monks. In addition, the monastery of St. Danilov now becomes independent. Prior to this, he was subordinate to the Kremlin Transfiguration Cathedral.
There is a version that the new buildings of this complex were erected not exactly at the place where the former was, with the cathedral church, but a little to the side - five hundred meters to the north. Historians suggest that on the site of the Daniil Church, which was arranged by the right-wing prince, there is the current Church of the Resurrection of the Word in the Danilov settlement.
Temple construction
In the period from 1555 to 1560, a cathedral church was built in the Danilovsky Monastery in honor of the Seven Ecumenical Councils. It was lit in May 1561 in the presence of Ivan the Terrible and the royal family, Metropolitan Makarii. The sovereign gave the newly-built monastery the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, as well as the letters of the tsar’s icon painter, in the hallmarks of which were portraits of Ivan the Terrible, Tsarevich John and Metropolitan of Moscow Makarii.
Canonization
According to legend, in 1652, Holy Prince Daniel appeared in a dream to Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. As a result, by his decree of August 30, Patriarch Nikon and the council of bishops in the presence of the sovereign opened the prince's grave. Thus, the imperishable holy relics of Daniel of Moscow were obtained, from which many people were healed at that time. The holy relics were especially solemnly transferred to the monastery cathedral church and laid to rest at the right choir in a wooden grave. At that time, the noble Prince of Moscow was counted among the saints, a celebration was established for him twice a year - about his death in March and on the day his holy relics were found on September 12 according to the new style.
Service St. Daniel
The first service to St. Daniel was compiled by Archimandrite Constantine (rector of the monastery) in 1761. However, forty years later the life of the prince and a new service were compiled by Metropolitan Plato (Levshin). Now every Sunday in front of the holy relics of Daniel, an akathist read. And in the days of remembrance, a religious procession was sent from the Kremlin cathedrals to the Zamoskvorechensky monastery of St. Danilov. Over time, the chapel in honor of St. Daniel of Moscow was consecrated in the monastery’s church. His tomb was transferred to the left choir and made a silver salary to her on the donation of Fedor Golitsyn. In 1812, he was stolen by Napoleonic troops. Therefore, in 1817, the relics of St. Daniel of Moscow were laid in a new silver shell. Nearby, on the wall, was placed the icon of the prince, painted in full growth on the old wooden cover of his tomb.
New heyday
In the eighteenth century, a three-tier church of St. Daniel the Stylite was erected over the porch and vestibule of the cathedral church in memory of the oldest monastery. This century, and the next nineteenth, is called the heyday of the ancient Holy Danilov Monastery. At this time, new temples and a bell tower were built here, the church of the Holy Life-Giving Trinity (it was erected in 1833 at the expense of the Kumanins and Shustovs). The Kumanins were related to the famous Russian writer Fedor Dostoevsky. The Trinity Church was consecrated by Saint Philaret himself. By the way, it was built by the great architect O. I. Beauvais shortly before his death, it became one of its last constructions. It was previously believed that it was built by the no less famous architect Evgraf Tyurin, who built the Epiphany Cathedral in Yelokhov and the house church of St. Tatiana on Mokhovaya.
Monastery churchyard
During the reign of Catherine the Great, when the plague broke out, the epicenter of which was Moscow, St. Danilov Monastery became the burial place for those who died from this disease, since it was located far from the central regions of the capital. When the plague receded, the cemetery was bombarded with earth. Since that time, the tradition of burying both monks and laity in the monastery has remained. Over time, a cemetery appeared here, where noble and wealthy people were buried. At the graveyard of the Danilovsky Monastery, the last refuge was the musician N. G. Rubinstein, who is the creator of the Russian Musical Society; Slavophiles A. S. Khomyakov and Yu. F. Samarin, artist V. G. Perov and the most famous of the laity - N. V. Gogol. The coffin and his body were brought here in his arms from the Tatianian Church at the University on Mokhovaya Street, where the deceased was buried as an honorary member of Moscow University. However, in 1953, the remains of the great writer were moved to the Novodevichy cemetery.
Hard times
In pre-revolutionary times, the ancient monastery saw many adversities. For example, in 1812, French officers settled in it. Despite the fact that most of the treasures were exported to other cities in advance, many values ​​nevertheless remained within its walls. A curious incident occurred at this time: the first batch of French soldiers warned the monks that another group of officers would come here soon, but they were unclean people. And they recommended to hide all the values. They even helped the monks bury treasures. And in fact, the newly arrived group sacked everything else, they did not disdain even anti-mins.
Another disaster struck the monastery after the October Revolution. It is well known that many priests took refuge in the St. Danilov Monastery, expelled by the Bolsheviks from church departments for refusing to accept a new ideology and faithfulness to the traditions of Orthodox Christianity. They were nicknamed - “Danilovites”. Many were subsequently sent to conclusion and exile. The oldest monastery in Moscow itself was closed in 1930, the very last in the capital.
Monastery opening
In May 1983, by the decision of the Soviet government, the Danilovsky Monastery was again placed at the disposal of the Moscow Patriarchate to organize an official residence in it.
So far, it has not been possible to find the graves that were destroyed during the demolition of the cemetery. Therefore, in 1988, a ossuary chapel was erected here, which is a symbolic tombstone for all buried in the monastery. And next to the places of the graves of Khomyakov and Gogol, two bas-reliefs were erected in their memory. On July 12, 1988, a solemn service was held in honor of the millennium of the Baptism of Russia. Today in the Holy Danilov Monastery is the main residence of the Holy Patriarch, and bishops' cathedrals of the Russian Orthodox Church are also held here.
Holy Danilov Monastery: schedule of services
On weekdays, morning worship is held daily: at six in the morning, a fraternal prayer service and midnight service; then at seven o’clock - the Liturgy. In the evening, the service begins daily at five o’clock: Vespers and Matins. Festive and Sunday services - on the eve of the all-night vigil (Trinity Cathedral), the service begins at five in the evening. On Saturday and the day of the feast, two Liturgies, which take place in the Church of the Holy Fathers at seven and nine in the morning. On Sunday, at five o'clock in the evening, an akathist is held to the Right Prince Daniel of Moscow in the Trinity Cathedral. In addition, a prayer service with an akathist takes place every Wednesday at five in the evening in the chapel of St. Daniel.
During the day, parishioners have access to the relics of the holy prince in the aisle of the Church of the Holy Fathers. Everyone can get acquainted with the regime of the temple, its history and other information related to it by going to the Internet, because the Holy Danilov Monastery (official site - msdm.ru) does not lag behind life and has got its own page on the World Wide Web. In addition, you can come here in person and talk with the on-duty priest who will answer all your questions. It takes from 8 to 18 hours in the lobby of the fraternal corps. The monastery is located on Danilovsky Val street, house 22. You can get from the Tulskaya metro station (about five minutes on foot), or the Paveletskaya metro station (by tram to the stop of the same name with the monastery).
In order to popularize Christianity, a choir of the Holy Danilov Monastery was created here, people from different cities of our country come to listen to it. In addition, anyone can download their compositions on the Internet.
St. Danilov Monastery: choir
Why is this collective so unique and what is its popularity? The festive choir of the Holy Danilov Monastery has the status of the choir of the synodal residence of His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia. He participates in all holiday services. This team has been performing for more than ten years in one composition. He is a continuation of the song tradition that originated in the monastery several centuries ago. The repertoire of the choir includes works of the most diverse genres. It has more than eight hundred works. This is liturgical music, romances, historical songs, military-patriotic, feast, folk, domestic (Rachmaninov, Taneev, Tchaikovsky) and foreign classics (Bruckner, Beethoven, Mozart). The choir of the Holy Danilov Monastery sees its mission in familiarizing the public with samples of ancient Russian culture - folk and church XV-XXI centuries. The collective performs Old Russian chants in one breath, such a manner (continuously lasting sound) is considered the most difficult in singing art.