Discovery of the relics of the blessed Prince Daniil of Moscow

On March 17, the Orthodox Church honors the memory of the holy noble prince Daniel of Moscow, whose holy relics are kept in the Danilov Monastery in Moscow The future saint was born into the family of the famous Prince Alexander Nevsky in the ancient majestic city of Vladimir But the youngest of four brothers was not destined to remember his great parent, having lost his father at the age of two After the division of his father's inheritance by his older brothers, Daniel received the small Principality of Moscow, which until then had been ruled only by governors Upon arrival in Moscow, the young prince saw the neglect and insignificance of the city First of all, he decides to build a monastery in the principality On the banks of the Moscow River a temple and monastery were built in honor of the Monk Daniel the Stylite The activity of the faithful was based exclusively on mercy and Christian virtues, which was not typical for rulers during internecine wars In 1293, the prince allowed refugees from Russian cities devastated by the alliance of his brother Andrei and the Horde into Moscow Together with the rescued and ordinary Moscow people, Daniil Alexandrovich experienced all the hardships of the enemy attack, preserving the fragile peace and the lives of the Orthodox After the destruction of Moscow, the prince divides his property with the townspeople and begins the restoration of the city Moscow, of which only ashes remained, was rebuilt in just a year The saint was distinguished by his courage and desire for justice; in 1300 he opposed the Ryazan ruler Constantine, who had stained himself with connections with the Tatars Daniel defeats the mixed troops of the Ryazan principality, exterminating many Horde soldiers, but refuses to appropriate the conquered lands and rich booty And he makes the captive Konstantin a guest of his lands, thereby strengthening peaceful relations with Ryazan Wise rule makes the Moscow principality one of the most significant This was especially facilitated by the expansion of the boundaries of the principality after Daniel received the city of Pereslavl-Zalessky as an inheritance from his uncle Ivan Dmitrievich Before his death, the Moscow ruler comes to the monastery and accepts the great schema, bequeathing to bury his remains within the walls of the monastery Muscovites mourned the death of their ruler as if they were their own father But after only 30 years, the name of Daniil Alexandrovich and his great deeds were forgotten, and the faithful reminded of himself by appearing to one of the close associates of Tsar John III Daniel reproached his descendant for forgetfulness and neglect of his great family After what happened, John ordered requiem services to be served in honor of the ancestors, and when miraculous healings began to occur at Daniel’s grave, it was decided to hold an annual religious procession to the holy remains Under Tsar Alexei Romanovich, the relics of the beneficent prince were discovered, which remained incorrupt Daniel was canonized, and his relics were solemnly transferred to the monastery cathedral