Right-believing (Ruler) 13th century

Right-believing Prince Daniel of Moscow

1261–1303

Also known as Daniel of Moscow · Daniil of Moscow

The youngest son of Saint Alexander Nevsky and founder of the Moscow princely line, who ruled with humility, established monasteries, and took monastic vows before his death in 1303.

Feast Day

March 4

Also Mar 17, Aug 30

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Commemorated as

The Holy Right-believing Prince Daniel of Moscow

Life

Daniel of Moscow (born late 1261 in Vladimir-on-Klyazma) was the youngest son of Grand Prince Alexander Nevsky and Princess Vassa, and the first independent prince of Moscow. He was named after Saint Daniel the Stylite. Inheriting the small Moscow appanage as a child, he came to rule it directly from around 1282 and held it until his death in 1303.

His reign of roughly three decades was marked by an unusual avoidance of warfare: in thirty years he engaged in only one significant military action, defeating Constantine of Ryazan near Pereyaslavl. He laid the foundation for the city's later prominence, founding monasteries and the first stone church in the Moscow Kremlin, and is remembered as the forefather of the Princes of Moscow and the founder of the Daniilovichi dynasty.

Shortly before his death on 4 March 1303, at about the age of forty-two, Daniel took monastic vows. By his own wish he was buried not with princely honors but in the cemetery of the monastery he had founded, a choice his veneration remembers as an act of humility. He was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church in 1791.

Timeline 6 moments Read Hide

1261 Birth in Vladimir Born in late 1261 in Vladimir-on-Klyazma, the youngest son of Alexander Nevsky and Princess Vassa, and named after Saint Daniel the Stylite.
c. 1282 Independent rule of Moscow Came to rule the Moscow principality in his own right and founded the Saint Daniel (Danilov) Monastery on the right bank of the Moskva River.
1280s First stone church in the Kremlin Built the first stone church in the Moscow Kremlin, dedicated to the Great-Martyr Demetrius of Thessaloniki.
4 March 1303 Monastic tonsure and repose Took monastic vows shortly before his death and reposed on 4 March 1303 at about age forty-two; buried by his own wish in the monastery cemetery.
30 August 1652 Uncovering of relics His relics were uncovered and found to be incorrupt, then placed in a tomb at the Danilov Monastery.
1791 Canonization Canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church.

Contributions & Legacy

3 contributions Read Hide

Rule of Moscow

Daniel received the Moscow principality as a young child and came to govern it in his own right around 1282, after the death of his uncle Yaroslav of Tver in 1271 had reshaped the succession of the Vladimir-Suzdal lands. He ruled Moscow until 1303.

In an era of frequent inter-princely conflict, Daniel is distinguished by his restraint: across some thirty years of rule he took part in only one notable military engagement, defeating Constantine of Ryazan near Pereyaslavl. One tradition holds that he was acknowledged as a senior prince among the Russian lands toward the end of his life, though he never became Grand Prince of Vladimir.

Monastic Foundations and Building

Daniel founded the Epiphany Monastery and, around 1282, the Saint Daniel (Danilov) Monastery on the right bank of the Moskva River, roughly five miles from the Moscow Kremlin. He also built the first stone church within the Kremlin in the 1280s, dedicated to the Great-Martyr Demetrius of Thessaloniki.

The Danilov Monastery he established endured long after him. His successors moved the community to the Kremlin, leaving only a graveyard at the original site, which was neglected until Ivan the Terrible rediscovered it in 1560 and resettled monks there; the grounds were fortified in 1591. The monastery was the last to close in Moscow under Soviet rule (1930) and the first to reopen, and since 1983 it has served as the headquarters of the Russian Orthodox Church and the residence of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'.

Relics & Shrines

By his own will, Daniel was buried in the cemetery of the Saint Daniel Monastery rather than with princely honors. His relics were uncovered on 30 August 1652 and found to be incorrupt, after which they were placed in a tomb at the Danilov Monastery.

The relics were lost during the Soviet era. Partial relics were returned to the Church in 1986.

Notes

Principal feast is Mar 17 (also commemorated Aug 30, translation of relics). Mar 4 is a secondary commemoration. Aug 30 = uncovering of his relics (1652).

Sources: OCA Synaxarion (oca.org), Lives of the Saints; en.wikipedia.org