St. Daniel

St. Daniel was born in the 15th century (October, 1459) in Pereslavl-Zalessky. His parents were Konstantin and Fekla who came to Pereslavl-Zalessky from Mzensk (a small city in Orlovskaya region). The name of that boy was Dmitry. In the childhood the young boy didn´t like playing games, he didn´t have familiarity or children´s stubborness. He liked reading the Bible and the books about the lives of holies.

At age of 11-13 St. Daniel was sent to the Nikitsky monastery for learning there. While he was living in the monastery the boy decieded to become the monk himself.

At age of 23 St. Daniel left the Nikitsky monastery and went to Panfutiev monastery where he stayed for 10 years. There he got the new mane - Daniel. After that he returned to Pereslavl-Zalessky and entered the Goritsky monastery. He served there for 30 years (1495-1525).

Many people came to St. Daniel to confess or to get a piece of advice and nobody left him without the benefit for his/ her soul.

Beggars and wanderers always had a special help from St. Daniel. He took care of the people who were killed by wild animals or robbers, or who were drawned or frozen in winter. St. Daniel found that people, took them to "skudelnitsa" (fratermal cemerety ) and buried them there.

"Skudelnitsa" was the special place where that poor people were buried. That place was so dear to Daniel´s heart that all his thoughts and wishes were driven to it. Very often people and St. Daniel himself saw the heavenly light, candle light over the "skudelnitsa" and heard the singing from there.

That time three old monks came to visit St. Daniel in the Goritsky monastery. He talked for a long time with them about the soul-saving. St. Daniel told them about his wish to build the temple on "skudelnitsa" and about the heavenly light above it. That old monks replyed that if a man had a wish and a thought about something, he should wait for three years. If that wish and thoughts were pleasing to Providence so it would came true. St. Daniel followed the piece of monks´ advice. Besides he was very poor and hadn´t any money to begin the builging of the temlpe. After three years Providence suddenly showed its will.

Two brothers Chelyadnini lived in Pereslavl who were boyards, they fell from Grace with the Tzar and lost their positions. They asked St. Daniel to pray with them in the church and as soon as they began praying the Tzar´s herald came into the church and announced that the Chelyadninis were invited to came back to the Tzar´s palace. The brothers were so grateful to St. Daniel that asked Tzar to give him allotment for building the temple. After that St. Daniel got some money (300 silver coins) from people who ask him to pray for thier parents. So in 1508 St. Daniel began to build the wooden temple. Very soon some people began to take up their residences around the new church. They were the first monks. They built the cells so the monastery was creating by itself. Some time later (1511-1523) the new church was enlarged and another church with refectory was built. The service took place every day. The new monastery was surrounded by the wall. The both churches were supplied with the books and decorated by the icons of the best masters; even on the gate of the monastery there were the icons either.

St. Daniel´s feats were mated with the heavy temptations. St. Daniel and his community had to bare wrecking and plots from the local lords. At last the community began to growl at extremely poor food and clothes. St. Daniel prayed every day for many hours and told his community that God would not leave them. So it happened. In time the monastery became very rich.

Poor people and beggars always had asylum and got alms. Some peolple who knew St. Daniel´s love to miserable brought disabled and sore people to the gate of the monastery and left them there. St. Daniel recieved all that peolpe with the great joy, he fed them, gave thim clothes and treated them. Once there were the starvation in Pereslavl area and they had not enough bread in the monastery. A very poor woman came to the monastery and asked some bread for her kids and St. Daniel ordered to give them all the bread from the larder. All the community was surprised but from that time they always had some flour in their larder, it was a gerat mystery! St. Daniel authority was so powerful that the Tzar excused people from the the death penalty if St. Daniel asked for them. The Tzar gave money for building and reconstruction of the churches in Pereslavl-Zalessky. St. Daniel was the Godfather of Tzar´s sons for two times.

At the end of the life St. Daniel had got the gift of working wonders. He could read secret thoughts and see the evetns in distance. After his prayers the sick people bacame well again and robbers repended.

Before the death St. Daniel saw three old monks who came to visit him at the begging of the monastery building. The old man died when he was 81 in the 7th of April 1540.

St. Daniel´s imperishable relics are in the monastery named after him, Daniel´s monastery.