March 17, 2003 marked the 700th anniversary of the death of St. Prince Daniel of Moscow. He ruled from 1276 to 1303. At this time, Moscow acquires the princely throne and becomes an independent Russian state after Pereslavl-Zalessky and Kolomna join it. And Daniel himself is the first great Moscow prince and the ancestor of a new dynasty, according to the definition of pre-revolutionary historians.
Monastery
In the capital of our state, a part of the cathedral church of the Seven Ecumenical Councils of the Danilovsky Monastery was consecrated in honor of the holy prince. It was founded by Daniil near the Serpukhov outpost in Zamoskvorechye. This monastery (St. Danilov) is the oldest in Moscow. It was founded in 1282.
Prince Daniil of Moscow
The holy prince was the youngest son of AlexanderNevsky. He was born in 1261 in Vladimir. At the age of eleven - according to the division between the 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 heavenly patron. Here begins the laying of the male St. Danilov Monastery. The young prince, remembering the words of his father that God is in truth, and not in power, strives for peace and peacefulness. Its main goal was to strengthen and strengthen Moscow as an independent state. Already under his eldest son, Ivan Kalita, Moscow received a label for a great reign, and now, before that, an inconspicuous city became the capital of Russian cities until the reign of Peter the Great.
Following the example of his father, Alexander Nevsky, before his death, Saint Prince Daniel accepts the schema and the 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 St. Danilov Monastery - “not in a church, but in a fence.”
Prince's Grave
Daniel's eldest son, Ivan Kalita, in 1330 transferred his father's monastery to the Kremlin, behind its impregnable walls, in order to protect it from raids, and attributes it to the Cathedral of the Savior on Bor. He entrusts the old monastery outside Moscow with the princely grave of Daniel to the jurisdiction of the archimandrite of the Kremlin monastery. However, the remote monastery gradually became empty and decayed. Over time, it became known as the Danilovsky village. So the princely tomb, after several decades, wasabandoned by his descendants.
It was only under Ivan the Third that a very significant event took place, which served as an impetus for the gradual revival of this complex, after which the St. relics and canonization of him as a saint.
Ancient legend
According to legend, Ivan the Third once rode with his servants along the banks of the Moscow River, just past the burial place of Prince Daniel. At that moment, a horse stumbled under one of the riders, causing the servant to fall to the ground. An unknown prince appeared to him and said that he was Daniil of Moscow - the master of this place, here is his grave. He ordered the following words to be conveyed to Ivan: “You please yourself, but you forgot about me.” Hearing the story of the servant, the Grand Duke ordered to hold cathedral requiems for his ancestors, as well as distribute alms for remembrance. Since then, this tradition has been carried on, and all Moscow princes served requiem services for their ancestor, Daniil of Moscow.
Restoration of the monastery
During the reign of Vasily the Third's son, Ivan the Terrible, another miraculous event was noted - a dying man was healed at the grave of Prince Daniel of Moscow. Upon learning of this, the king ordered an annual religious procession to the tomb of his ancestor and a memorial service 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 inhonor of the Seven Ecumenical Councils. Fraternal cells are also being built here, and the whole territory is surrounded by high walls, the restored monastery is inhabited by monks. In addition, the monastery of St. Danilov from now on becomes independent. Prior to that, he was subordinate to the Kremlin Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral.
There is a version that the new buildings of this complex were erected not exactly at the place where the former one was, with the cathedral church, but a little to the side - five hundred meters to the north. Historians suggest that the current Church of the Resurrection of the Word in Danilovskaya Sloboda stands on the site of the Daniilovsky Church, which was arranged by the noble prince.
Building a temple
In the period from 1555 to 1560, a cathedral church was built in honor of the Seven Ecumenical Councils in the Danilovsky Monastery. It was consecrated in May 1561 in the presence of Ivan the Terrible and the royal family by Metropolitan Macarius. The sovereign presented the newly built monastery with the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, as well as letters from the royal icon painter, in the hallmarks of which were portraits of Ivan the Terrible, Tsarevich John and Metropolitan Macarius of Moscow.
Canonization
According to legend, in 1652 Saint Prince Daniel appears in a dream to Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. As a result, by his order of August 30, Patriarch Nikon and the cathedral of bishops, in the presence of the sovereign, opened the princely grave. Thus, the incorruptible holy relics of Daniel of Moscow were acquired, from which many people were healed at that time. The holy relics were transferred with special solemnity tomonastery cathedral church and were laid to rest at the right kliros in a wooden grave. At the same time, the faithful Moscow prince was canonized, the celebration was established for him twice a year - on his death in March and on the day of finding his holy relics on September 12 according to the new style.
Service of St. Daniel
The first service to Saint Daniel was composed by Archimandrite Konstantin (abbot of the monastery) in 1761. However, forty years later, the life of the prince and a new service were compiled by Metropolitan Platon (Levshin). Now every Sunday an akathist was read before the holy relics of Daniel. And on the days of remembrance, a religious procession was sent from the Kremlin cathedrals to the Zamoskvorechinsky monastery of St. Danilov. Over time, a chapel in honor of St. Daniel of Moscow was consecrated in the temple of the monastery. His tomb was transferred to the left kliros and a silver salary was made for it at the donation of Fyodor Golitsyn. In 1812 it was stolen by Napoleonic troops. Therefore, in 1817, the relics of St. Daniel of Moscow were placed in a new silver shrine. Nearby, on the wall, was placed an icon of the prince, painted in full length on the former wooden cover of his tomb.
A period of new prosperity
In the eighteenth century, a three-tiered church of St. Daniel the Stylite was erected over the porch and the vestibule of the cathedral church - in memory of the ancient monastery. This century, and the next nineteenth, is called the heyday of the ancient St. Danilov Monastery. At this time, new temples and a bell tower were built here, the Church of the Holy Life-GivingTrinity (it was erected in 1833 at the expense of the Kumanins and Shustovs). The Kumanins were related to the famous Russian writer Fyodor Dostoevsky. Trinity Church was consecrated by St. Philaret himself. By the way, it was built by the great architect O. I. Bove shortly before his death, it became one of his last buildings. It used to be believed that it was erected by the equally famous architect Evgraf Tyurin, who built the Epiphany Cathedral in Yelokhovo and the house church of St. Tatiana on Mokhovaya.
Monastic churchyard
During the reign of Catherine II, when an epidemic of plague broke out, the epicenter of which was Moscow, St. Danilov Monastery became the burial place of 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 covered with earth. Since then, there has been a tradition to bury both monks and laity in the monastery. Over time, a cemetery appeared here, where noble and we althy people were buried. On the graveyard of the Danilovsky Monastery, the musician N. G. Rubinstein, who is the founder of the Russian Musical Society, found their last refuge; 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 their arms from the Tatian Church at the University on Mokhovaya, 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.
Heavytimes
In pre-revolutionary times, the ancient monastery saw many hardships. For example, in 1812, French officers settled in it. Despite the fact that most of the treasures were taken to other cities in advance, many valuables still remained within its walls. At this time, a curious incident occurred: the first batch of French military men warned the monks that another group of officers would soon arrive here, but they were dishonest people. And recommended to hide all valuables. They even helped the monks to bury treasures. And in fact, the newly arrived group plundered everything that was left, they did not disdain even antimins.
Another trouble came to the monastery after the October Revolution. It is well known that many clergy, expelled by the Bolsheviks from church pulpits for refusing to accept the new ideology and loy alty to the traditions of Orthodox Christianity, took refuge in the St. Danilov Monastery. They were called so - "Danilovites". Many were subsequently sent into custody and into exile. The very oldest monastery in Moscow was closed in 1930, the last one in the capital.
Opening of the monastery
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, the graves that were destroyed during the demolition of the cemetery have not been found. Therefore, here in 1988 a chapel-ossuary was erected, which is a symbolic tomb monument for all those buried in the monastery. And next to the places of gravesKhomyakov and Gogol, two bas-reliefs were installed in their memory. On July 12, 1988, a solemn service was held here in honor of the millennium of the Baptism of Russia. Today, the St. Danilov Monastery houses the main residence of His Holiness the Patriarch, and also Bishops' Councils of the Russian Orthodox Church are held here.
St. Danilov Monastery: service schedule
On weekdays, the morning service is held daily: at six o'clock in the morning, a fraternal prayer service and midnight service; then at seven o'clock - Liturgy. In the evening, worship begins daily at five o'clock: Vespers and Matins. Festive and Sunday services - an all-night vigil (Trinity Cathedral) is held the day before, the service begins at five o'clock in the evening. On Saturday and on the day of the feast, two Liturgies are held 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 to the Right-Believing Prince Daniel of Moscow is held in the Trinity Cathedral. In addition, a prayer service with an akathist takes place every Wednesday at 5 pm 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 working hours of the temple, with its history and other information related to it, by going to the Internet, because St. 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 to the priest on duty, who will answer all your questions. Heaccepts from 8 to 18 hours in the lobby of the fraternal building. The monastery is located on Danilovsky Val Street, house 22. You can get there from the Tulskaya metro station (on foot for about five minutes), 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 St. Danilov Monastery was created here, and 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
What is so unique about this team and why is it so popular? The festive choir of St. Danilov Monastery has the status of the choir of the synodal residence of His Holiness the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia. He participates in all festive services. This team has been performing in the same line-up for more than ten years. He is the successor of the song tradition that originated in the monastery several centuries ago. The choir's repertoire includes works of a wide variety of genres. It contains more than eight hundred works. These are liturgical music, romances, historical songs, military-patriotic, drinking, folk, domestic (Rakhmaninov, Taneyev, Tchaikovsky) and foreign classics (Bruckner, Beethoven, Mozart). The choir of the St. Danilov Monastery sees its mission in acquainting the public with samples of ancient Russian culture - folk and church culture of the 15th-21st centuries. The group performs ancient Russian chants in one breath, such a manner (continuously lasting sound) is considered the most difficult in the art of singing.
